Job Discussion Forums

[SonicLlama]

So, I work for an eikaiwa (not nova) and recently have been trying to improve my classes. In terms of making the target language understandable, having my lessons go from simple practice communicative use of language, making things interesting, etc., I think I'm doing okay. But, many of my students have not been renewing. I try to be interesting and engaging in class, I try to motivate them and get them as interested in the language as I am.
But, my renewal rate is hovering at around 60% I want a transfer, and I think my bosses may say no if I don't somehow up those numbers. Any tips on how to improve this aspect of the job.
(And please don't say "don't worry about sales." I dislike the business side as much as anyone else, but I need real advice here.)
Thanks in advance!

[zignut]

Sometimes student satisfaction is at odds with valid pedagogy. In other words, the problem is that your student is also your customer. Some of your customers will be happy to find that they've actually improved their English during the course of your class, while many others may only find satisfaction if they're enjoying your class while they're in it. This enjoyment may not come from any notion of serious language acquisition.

I hated some of my best teachers in High School, and it wasn't til late in the class, or even after I left, that I realized how great they were. In that sense, I'm lucky that I was not a customer at the time, as I surely wouldn't have "renewed" with the teacher who was assigning me more work and had higher expectations.

My advice is to just focus on making sure your students are enjoying themselves, insofar as you want this transfer. Eventually, find a job teaching students rather than customers. (I have yet to take this second piece of advice myself, so please don't think I'm lecturing!)

[SonicLlama]

The rift between pedagogy and sales does bother me, but I do try (maybe naively) to mend it. I'm hoping that if my students learn a thing or two, they'll be inspired to improve further and thus renew. That's the theory.

But, I recently had a bit of a spat with another native teacher coworker who insisted that we are not teachers, but entertainers. Honestly, I thought his comments bordered on the inappropriate when he exclaimed that "Japanese people don't want to learn, they just want a funny gaijin." He mainly keeps his students entertained and they do, indeed, come back for more.

His arguments and success bother me. I'm funny, entertaining, and passably good-looking, but I do want to honestly be a teacher. I try to use things like humor as a learning tool, not as a thing in and of itself. Nevertheless, this idea bugs me when I think about what, exactly, students are buying.

Also, I tend to go tense during renewal approaches. When things are all about learning, language, and communication, I'm fine. But, when it comes time to talk about something that involves students spending money, I'm not comfortable. I feel like I'm doing something vaguely bad by trying to persuade someone to part with their money. Which is odd, really- Japan spends so much on unnecessary luxuries like Nintendos and Louis-Vuitton that I really shouldn't feel bad about trying to sell something worthwhile- i.e., language skill. I believe I'm worth every yen of my salary, but I still feel irrationally bad about sales. Thoughts?

[matador]

Hey dude, how about using some DVD clips in the classroom? I always bring my pc into class, connect it to a projector and show 2 or 3 five-minute clips in my 1.5 hour class. You can find a wealth of great stuff on the internet (Youtube has some good clips on use of PowerPoint, etc).

My experience suggests that if you use DVDs in moderation (don't give students a 20 min viewing then ask for their 'opinions') it really adds some new texture to the class.

You could also throw up some online quizzes onto the screen:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/quizzes/

These do not replace FTF interaction time and consistent error correction but they do broaden the learning experience.

Also, try doing a reasonable amount of pronunciation exercises. Students usually love that kind of thing.

[Chris21]

You should try observing the other teachers' lessons (and take notes). At the very least you'll get some insights as to what is effective in your own lessons, and what isn't.

[markle]

Don't overlook external factors as well (which you have little control over). Students drop out for things like school/work commitments, financial reasons.
As far as what you actually deliver maybe you wnt to add in some short term objectives that students can see immediate results from. So when a student asks themselves "What have I learn recently?" they can come up with a few concrete things. Things like new vocab, simple conversation structures, whatever.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the 'edutainment clown'. It's easy to feel that other teachers are doing better, the real story might be quite different.

[southofreality]

Do you have a head teacher or a long-time veteran teacher available to sit in on one of your classes and offer you constructive criticism afterward? It may be a bit unnerving to be subject to peer review, but it can be quite helpful.

Anyway, just a thought.

[Glenski]

Make no mistake about it -- eikaiwa is edutainment. You can do all you want to enhance the learning process, but eikaiwa students usually go there not to learn, but to socialize (with each other and with the teacher). Learning is secondary at best.

So, take to heart what your co-worker said and does.

If you don't like it, and if you are seriously interested in becoming a teacher, move out of eikaiwa. However, realize that foreign teachers often perform "edutainment" even in the most prestigious institutions, whether secondary or tertiary education. It is more often the case that Japanese teachers direct the grammar education here. Foreign teachers merely serve to supplement it with live examples of spoken (usually natural) English and activities on conversation/communication.

This advice comes from teaching here almost 10 years, in eikaiwa, private HS, private lessons, and university.

[markle]

[SonicLlama]

I really like the BBC page! Thanks!

A few of the more senior teachers have observed me, actually. One of them told me when I started that I was crap, two told me I was fine, and most recently I was told that my lessons have become very good. And I do try to be entertaining- but, I try to be amusing as a means to an end. Students who are having fun and enjoying themselves are far more receptive to new information, feel less insecure about using their L2, and are motivated to work harder when the study at home. I think a fun, effective class is far more educational than the staid stuff that happens in Japanese middle schools every day.

But I choke during sales approaches- I feel sleazy asking for money, and, in all honesty, I hate selling myself. What I want to do is make my sales approaches as smooth as my classes, because right now there's a big, big rift between the effectiveness of the two.

[cafebleu]

Soniclama - how long have you been working for your chain school?

If it's been a while or not even one year but near the end of your contract, given you clearly have an approach that has more integrity than your employer and some other teachers, I'd say start searching for other options.

I think you'd be the kind of teacher who would be good at a number of jobs - it might take that terrible pressure off of having to push lessons at students. I never worked for a chain school for a no. of reasons and that was one of them. I worked for a small eikaiwa and while it had its problems, there was the freedom to teach and be appreciated for it. I was not involved in the business side of it.

Having said that, good jobs at smaller or small eikaiwa are becoming extinct in Japan judging from what I have heard from friends still there who are teaching or from Japanese friends who are in the know.

Maybe you need to start freelancing - put together a no. of casual/part time jobs and you could end up making more than what you're making now and you most certainly won't be under the pressure you are now to be utilitarian in that way.

You either are like that or you're not. I was not and am not. I knew foreigners in Japan who had no problem doing that kind of sales pitch (good luck to them) and I knew foreigners who took advantage of other foreigners financially in various ways. I won't go into details - you can pm me if you like.

But at the end of the day, "To thine own self be true."

[markle]

Seems to me that you're getting hung up on the money aspect. Students want to learn with you or not, the money is just a by-product of the process not the be all and end all. You are providing a service which people pay money for but you are hardly prostituting yourself.

[Glenski]

I don't know any eikaiwa that has its foreign staff doing the sales pitches to get students to renew. Isn't that the responsibility of the Japanese staff? I certainly think so.

Sorry in advance, markle, for more generalizations.

[gaijinalways]

Some of the school teachers do get involved, but generally the 'closers' are Japanese staff.

[billysmolesworthy]

Sonicllama, you mentioned that your renewal rate is around 60%. For some context, can you tell us what the average renewal rate is for the staff? The target renewal rate? Your colleague's rate?

You seem concerned, so apparently 60% is a worry, but how big of one?