Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - "Japanese people think that...."

Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today!

Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!

Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"

FAQ

Memberlist

Usergroups

Profile

"Japanese people think that...."
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4

Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Japan

View previous topic :: View next topic

Author

Message

teacheratlarge

Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Japan

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:55 am Post subject:

Quote:

The American Dream...it's a myth isn't it? The working conditions in America are pretty bad from what I've read.

Yes and no. There are still chances to make a go of it as you don't need a lot of capital to start some businesses. In Japan, it has gotten better, but there really are no angel investors or the kind of venture fund companies that you have out on the west coast in the US.

Quote:

I'm from England, and we're fairly self-deprecating, but at least we can point to stuff like free healthcare (for now anyway).

I seem to keep running into a handful of Brits who think the sun hasn't set on the British Empire. Luckily, they are balanced by those who see things as they are now, not 100 years ago or so.

Fun talking about flexibility, if you want to have 'fun' in Japan, try ordering something not on the menu (of course where it is possible for them to easily make it, ...making a cheeseburger where they have hamburgers on the menu and dishes with cheese), if the situation is not in the manual, it doesn't compute well.

Cool Teacher

Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 930
Location: Here, There and Everywhere! :D

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:43 am Post subject:

steki47 wrote:

GambateBingBangBOOM wrote:

Cool Teacher wrote:

Quote:

This could be a separate thread, but I have mentally collected goofy things other teachers have said.

-The American teacher who asked his Aussie co-worker if they had Lincoln on the Australian five-dollar bill. The American was quite surprised at the answer.

-The Canadian who asked me (also American) if the US produced maple syrup.

I don't know the naser to that last one. Embarassed

The answer is yes, they do. I don't think that last one is a bad question, actually.

Oh, that was a question. I don't know the word "naser". I feel dumb.

Yes, the US produces maple syrup. We are the second largest producer in the world.

Not to argue with you, but I thought it was a silly question as the two countries share a rather large border, some of which includes a lot of forest land.

Funny, I had to explain to my JHS kids that maple syrup comes from a tree. They thought it was from an insect. (That's honey!)

Sorry "naser" was "answer" but I was typing super fast. Embarassed

I think it is difficult for some people to know a lot about maple syrup because it is not a big part of most peoples world so I don't think it is bad if someone doesn't know about it. Many people don't know what a haggis is for example and some people even think it is a wild animal but if you ask a Scottish person they will know more about it. Wink

Some people think a shamrock is a four leaf clover when obviously it is not. Cool

Some people think Sydney is the capital of Australia and Auckland is the capital of New Zealand. These are wrong. Cool

Some people think Toronto is the capital of Canada. It is not always known. Cool

steki47

Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:44 pm Post subject:

Cool Teacher wrote:

Some people think a shamrock is a four leaf clover when obviously it is not. Cool

Some people think Sydney is the capital of Australia and Auckland is the capital of New Zealand. These are wrong. Cool

Some people think Toronto is the capital of Canada. It is not always known. Cool

Gotcha. Good examples, by the way.

Off topic a bit, but I am constantly stunned by the lack of general knowledge among my students, even college-educated students.

"What's the weather like overseas?" (Which continent?)
"Where's Taiwan?"
"Muslims don't eat pork? But it's delicious!"

I don't want to be accused of hypocrisy here, so I will admit that Americans as whole are not geography masters, either.

OneJoelFifty

Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 463

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:58 am Post subject:

steki47 wrote:

"Muslims don't eat pork? But it's delicious!"

Pork is delicious, though...

Teacheratlarge, that is something I've come across. Not always, but restaurants are sometimes far less flexible than in other countries.

Cool Teacher

Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 930
Location: Here, There and Everywhere! :D

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:31 am Post subject:

steki47 wrote:

Cool Teacher wrote:

Some people think a shamrock is a four leaf clover when obviously it is not. Cool

Some people think Sydney is the capital of Australia and Auckland is the capital of New Zealand. These are wrong. Cool

Some people think Toronto is the capital of Canada. It is not always known. Cool

Hay! I love this discussion. Cool

I suppose that Taiwan should eb known to many Japanese becaue it is so claose but many Japanese seem to think it is called Taipei (the capital). I wonder if that is because in the Olympics it is called that? Confused

But even Geroge Bush made a fou pas with that when he said that the two countries of Taiwan and China should negotiate. China went mental! Very Happy

As for the pork thing, well, I dont know why Muslims dont eat pork so I feel a bit stupid again. Embarassed

If the students asked and I said beacuase of religion then I guess that would be a bad anser because obviously the question is why that is agaist the religion. So I would probably think that because Islam comes originally from Jewish-Christianism then it is something to do with what is in the Bibel and have to say that in Leviticus (I think!) it is given the rules for what can be eaten or not and I think it is beacuse pigs don't have cloven hooves but then I still dont know why that is bad so I have to wonder if maybe it is because in those days maybe eating pork was dangerous or the smell of cooked pork smelt like human flesh so there were people who were against it or something but I really dont knwo why Muslims dont eat pork. Shocked

What do you tell your students?

SeasonedVet

Joined: 28 Aug 2006
Posts: 236
Location: Japan

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:59 am Post subject:

Interesting thread. A lot of insightful information. However, I have worked with people from a number of different countries. They would go on at length about Canada and what it has to offer. Australians tended to do the same about Australia. Africans from various African countries tended to do the same. Philipinos did likewise. Americans I have worked with tended not to do it so mich but rather they would try to get information about the other countries. Of course there were never statements like "we have 4 seasons" but I think that Japanese who make statements like that are either not well travelled or not well informed or just very patriotic. I think it is that, rather than their English ability/level. Japanese who have spent a considerable amount of time in other countries/societies are well aware of those statements like " we have 4 seasons" and they would find statements like that just as puzzling as we may. But they would also admit that had they not been exposed to other cultures they may very well be the ones who, make the very statements. A lot of what is learnt here is gathered from TV and other media or from friends and family. This is changing slowly i believe with the increased use of the internet and globalization.

Display posts from previous:

	Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Japan	All times are GMT Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4
Page 4 of 4

Jump to:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Teaching Jobs in China