Job Discussion Forums

[BigZen]

Hi,

Sorry for the long and disjointed post, but I have several questions that have been on my mind, and would like to get some feedback from others...

I am trying to "sell" myself as a qualified teacher here and suggested to my wife that I maybe, on a flyer, list my academic qualifications. I did go to a highly ranked school in N. America (go figure?) and have the CELTA etc. My wife wasn't comfortable with the idea since she felt it would be tooting my horn too much, which according to her, you don't do here in Japan-she is Japanese. The thing I cannot figure out is so much is made here of who went to Todai, Waseda etc., and the juku I teach at, seems to try to help the students who aspire to get into these school in the future. I then asked my wife, well, how else can I prove I am legitimately qualified.

I teach part-time at a college. For open campus week we were encouraged to visit other teachers' classes. I sat-in on a Japanese colleague to watch is English class (reading). He hardly used any English in the 45 minutes I was present, which surprised me since his English is SO good and he is VERY bright. I did not mention this to him, but I have told him in all earnest I believe he could easily complete a PhD in America if he wished to.

When I started at the college I expressed my interest in trying to join one of the sports clubs, since I love sports, and had great experiences doing it when I was on the JET Pgm and as well as teaching at a private high school, where I practiced with the karate team. I subtly expressed my interest on several occasions to the contact person I had at the college, but he never really got back to me about it. When I first was hired there I asked if he could give me the names of the other foreign English instructors to help me settle into the new job; again, after a few weeks of silence, I took the hint. After I began working there I find out the other 3 teachers are dispatched from a local Eikaiwa and had been there for years. Two come once a week for one-hour conversation classes and the third teaches part-time. I kind of wonder if I have a future there since it must be cheaper to employ these teachers than what they pay me.

Thanks,

BZ

[Bread]

[Mr_Monkey]

A reading class need not necessarily be conducted entirely in English, particularly when the students lack the proficiency to actually follow a full lesson in the target language. It might just be more efficient for the teacher to run the class in Japanese.

There are reasons why a lesson might be conducted entirely in the target language, but it's not a sine qua non of teaching reading skills. Moreover, the JTE you observed is probably teaching in a tradition that he is used to and suits the environment he's teaching in - credibility as a teacher is difficult to attain if you do something completely out of leftfield. It might not be the most effective method imaginable, but it might be the most effective method available to him given the institutional, cultural and social constraints that apply to him as a teacher. They are unlikely to apply to you in the same way, as you're... well... foreign.

Your wife might not be the best source of advice on what and what not to put on your CV - I doubt she's an English teacher, and likely doesn't have much experience of what a foreign English teacher's CV should look like. I'm not saying that she's wrong or that you should ignore her, just that there's probably a balance you need to strike between stating facts and selling yourself.

As for the extra-curricular activities and foreign contacts in the area, there might be a bit of miscommunication going on - given how different English and Japanese communication strategies can be, your contact might just have totally missed your subtlety. Conversely, they might just not want to include you in activities that may be perceived as pertinent to in-group only. With the other foreign teachers, maybe the administrator doesn't know who they are, or would prefer to keep you separate - you probably earn a great deal more per hour than they do, for example, and the college might want to minimise potential sources of discord. The college may well have a budget for a directly-employed English teacher and a smaller budget for teachers that are used as dictated by the timetable and number of students. It might indeed be cheaper for the college to outsource all the work, but policy might make that impracticable.

Do you have a future there? Perhaps; perhaps not, but I wouldn't lay my eggs in one basket at the present time anyway.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

An unhelpful and unnecessarily harsh posting has been deleted.

Putting others down doesn't play well with the Mod Team here and it isn't what this board is about or why it exists.

Members engaging in such behavior will be sanctioned.

[genesis315]

BOOM!