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03-02-2009, 01:32 PM
Ah yes, why didn't I think of animes as closing the gap? Silly me.
Also, I don't think I'll get those hundred points. After a lame attempt at Google, I didn't come up with anything concrete  
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03-02-2009, 03:15 PM
Quote:
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03-02-2009, 03:24 PM
Quote:
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03-02-2009, 05:36 PM
I work as a primary school teacher in England, it has its difficulties, but, once you find a job you love, you never work another day of your life.
Thats how i feel about my job  I know what OP means though.. hence why i get so angry at the kawaii's that are like "omg your Japanese i can teach you English" No. You Can't. Because you don't know any Japanese to add meaning.. Teaching like that will be extremely difficult.. if not a waste of time in most cases.. just my opinion. inb4 "Shadow, aren't you going to teach in Japan for a bit?" Yes I am going to Japan to teach for a short amount of time, but I'll be working with Early Years (3 - 5 year olds) and it'll be 100% japanese, so its different. (wish me luck) 
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03-05-2009, 05:02 AM
How difficult teaching can be depends entirely upon the person who is doing the teaching. If you dislike the job, are antisocial, or simply don't like kids, you'll probably think that teaching is difficult.
Schools in Japan require little to no Japanese ability for a reason, and that is that they wish to have their students immersed in English. They want the students to have to think in English, to come up with what words they can to ask questions or otherwise communicate with the teacher. I disagree that using Japanese in the class helps to add meaning, in my experience it doesn't. It is impossible to translate exactly even the most simple Japanese sentence to English, or vice-versa. It's a waste of time to attempt it. If you want your students to become fluent, they must learn to think in the language they are learning, not to read it or hear it, and then translate into their own language before comprehending it. I was skeptical of this method at first, but I've found that it works, and that it works well. I'm often amazed at what the kids are able to retain, and it's amazing to hear them begin to form complete sentences in English. One thing to remember is that some students are shy, and are not comfortable asking questions. This can hamper their learning if you don't pay attention. It's easy enough to tell if a student is struggling by the expression on his or her face. It's not a good idea to ignore such expressions, I always take a look at their work and determine where the problem is, and help them through it. If another student wishes to help, that's fine, so long as they use English in their explanation. Japanese is not permitted in the classroom. When I first began teaching, I felt overwhelmed. I taught an average of 5 classes per day, covering several different levels of English. Therefore, most lessons were different, and had to be planned separately. You have to use the school's texts, and formulate your plans with those, in a manner from which the students can learn. The students are another factor. They won't learn properly if you don't control your classroom, and provide quality lessons. I've heard from other teachers about certain "hell kids" in their classes, but so far I have yet to meet any such kids in my own classes. Some kids are wilder than others, the secret is directing their energy toward learning. Paying attention to them, and planning lessons which they will find interesting enough to participate in keeps them docile enough. The first three months were the most difficult for me. It took time for the students to adjust to me, and me to them. It took time for me to understand the methods used in the textbooks, and how best to employ them in my classes. And while this was going on, I still had to adjust to life in a new country. It's not an easy thing, and many people find that they don't like it. Now its been a year, I find myself enjoying teaching very much. Lessons that once took an hour to plan now take about ten minutes, and in the more advanced classes, I no longer use a pre made lesson plan. I just use the texts and teach the lesson in whichever direction which seems to hold the most interest for the students. The more I teach, the more I enjoy teaching. But not everyone does; of the group of teachers who arrived with me last year, I'll be the only one remaining. The others came only for the experience, or they found that they had no interest in teaching, and are returning home to pursue other goals. For myself, I have no regrets, and I'm looking forward to the start of the new school year next month.
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03-05-2009, 07:59 AM
If I had my choice between a guy/Gal with a great outgoing personality but little/no exp. Or a Education major with 5 years experience and a glowing resume but never quite able to connect with the student.
I take the rookie with the personality 10 times outta 10.
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03-05-2009, 08:27 AM
I believe that when someone learns a foreign language, that is the only language that should be used to teach. It might be harder at the start, but this is a much better way of learning the language in the long run.
It's never a good thing learning a language while trying to think in a different language. I find that most French people I speak to, have problems with English because they try to think in French. This will be the same case for a Japanese speaking English, and vice versa. Think in the language you're learning and don't try to relate to your other language(s). The only time Japanese should be used in an English class is if you've totally failed to explain the meaning of a word (vocab). For example. If someone doesn't understand the word Hat. First you should try to explain it by describing what it is, what it's for etc etc. IF the student is still unable to understand, then you just say the word in Japanese and ask the students to make a sentence or two using "hat".
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03-06-2009, 11:55 AM
Sangetsu, what type of school are you in? Your view on no Japanese at all doesn't jive with mine. Kids NEED to understand grammar. Younger kids can certainly internalise it WITH enough exposure. However, for older students, teenagers, like mine, internalising grammar rules is almost as difficult as it is for adults. Just as I need grammar explanation of Japanese grammar in English, my students need explanation of English grammar in Japanese. And if a JTE isn't there, that means I have to supply it.
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03-07-2009, 12:55 AM
I work at a private school, teaching all levels, from elementary to high school students. I teach the younger kids without assistance, as (as you said) they are able to internalize it with relative ease (though at early ages most emphasis is on vocabulary, rather than grammar).
For the older students, they also have classes with a JTE, but much of what they learn is still through exposure. Grammar can be taught 2 ways, technically (which is rather difficult when vocabulary is limited, and not at all fun), or through exposure. I focus mainly on exposure through reading. Structure is first learned by imitation/memorization, and the rules explained afterward. Exposure actually works quite well, much of our memory of vocabulary and structure is retained photographically in our minds. This is evident when I have students read; sometimes they come across a word and read it incorrectly, without hesitation; this is because the word they are reading has an image similar to another word they already know. Since their vocabulary is limited, their mind associates the image of the word to one which is familiar to them, and they speak out that word. The smaller pictures (individual words) are easily learned this way, and in time, so are phrases and sentences. Correct grammar can be learned indirectly through this method, so long as the students study and practice regularly.
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03-07-2009, 01:01 AM
What you're suggesting is ideographic learning. We tried that about 20 years ago with native speakers in America. The trouble we learned was that while reading becomes very, very quick due to, as you say, recognition of words as pictures (almost like Kanji), the student fails to grasp phonics and cannot usually spell back a word they could read. After three years the project was abandoned. I would no more use it with my students than I would use it with native speakers. I simply don't agree that ideographic learning is a capable overall option.
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