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| Typical ES classroom |
Six months have passed since I hopped on a lousy Air Canada flight to Japan to become an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher). Teaching English *in English* in Japanese schools had been trying at times. On the roughest days, I couldn’t even convince myself why the kids need to learn it.
I’m writing this recap as a follow-up of an eye-opening blog from my fellow ALT Villainy. But his experience was limited to high school, so I’ve written one for the lower grades. Some of these points are common sense.
After you read this, check out Villainy’s blog here.
My realm is elementary and junior high schools (ES and JHS), so everything between 6 and 14-yr olds. My classes are, for the most part, small. I have 11 schools, spanning a large rural to semi-rural area in Miyako, Iwate; I spent more time in my car than in school doing my job. Finally, I don’t teach in every English class in every school due to scheduling conflicts.
#1: The kids aren’t asking for perfection…
But it’s important to try hard. Some of the kids may not know animal names in English beyond cat and dog, but they are smart enough to know that I’m human.
My most extreme example was my last class before summer break. I was teaching body parts to 3rd and 4th graders. It was the perfect storm—I couldn’t figure out how to teach this topic, it’s the last week of classes for the kids before break, and it’s my last work day of the school term. I could tell they lost interest halfway through class. Then the worst possible scenario happened: I ran out of things to do with 5 mins to go, just idling and eating up time. Thankfully, the teacher saved the day with “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes”, and we rolled deep with that until the bell.
Few weeks later, I had those kids as one of my first classes after summer break. We’re learning about animals and had a great time. It was as if my slate was wiped clean.
I have my bad days, and the kids will let me know very quickly that I screwed up. But it seems they don’t hold a grudge for long.
Having said that, forgiveness doesn’t equal forgotten, so I care not to f**k up too often.
#2: Talk to people
Sure, it may be kind of difficult with the language barrier. And my Japanese wasn’t that great; I often lack the vocab and grammar to reply back coherently, if at all. But, you should still make the effort, whether it’s in broken Japanese, retarded English, or hand gestures.
At the end of my 3rd week teaching, I got a nice kick in the nuts, which could’ve been prevented if I could talk the teacher beforehand. In the weeks before, the teachers had, by default, given me freedom on how to teach. Most of those classes were self-intros, but I had a few actual lessons.
However, this particular school (I won’t name names) gave me a nice surprise. It’s my first time at this school. I had a late night preparing some awesome games and props for the lesson. Within the first 5 mins, I realized I was being turned into an English voice box. Being ex-military, I had a massive pet-peeve with wasting time (by that, I meant other people wasting my time). While I kept my cool, I had a rather tense talk with the teacher afterwards, through Google Translate.
Since those growing pain days, I had a much better working relationship with that teacher, and he turned out to be a hilarious and creative guy. I often steal ideas from him to use in other schools. I came to appreciate the arrangement, because he does most of the work and that’s less pressure on me.
I don’t necessarily make small talks with everyone in the office, but I do my best to keep my direct counterparts in the loop, even if it’s 10 mins before class. As my example from #1 shows, the teacher helps make a lesson go smoothly or even pulls out a Hail Mary pass. No one knows the kids better than their teacher.
Having said that, it helps to learn some Japanese.
#3: Don’t be an awkward turtle…
So break out of your shell! Remember when you were learning a foreign language or any difficult subject back in school? Chances are, you were more inclined to keep quiet or hide when the teacher asks a question to the class.
Same thing here. But with language, you can get better with practice. Therefore, one of the ALT’s more difficult tasks is getting the kids out of their shells. “Attack that shyness early”, Villainy would say. That means the ALT needs to get out of his/her shell too.
One thing I refused to do was chant. That’s the absolute outermost comfort line I drew. I avoided every singing activity in my ES textbook like a plague. It’s not that I am scared or hate singing; I just don’t believe in its educational value. I’m more a game person.
A few weeks ago, I gave chants a go, after nonstop fail before the summer on having the kids remember names of months. It wasn’t instant magic, but sure enough, they knew the months after singing the song twenty-something times.
Being an ALT requires a generous stretch in the comfort zone, but I do it at my pace, for everyone’s sake.
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| Sports Festival |
#4: It’s better to be yourself
At my company’s on-boarding training, we were painfully drilled to throw away our pride and to be plain silly. “You need to get inside the mind of the child,” our South African trainer with an Indian accent said every 10 minutes for 3 days (for real, a South African Indian). Apparently, it means ALTs need to become huge bouncing goofballs.
I'm generally a mellow person, but the kids wouldn't know that on our first day. Let's say I acted like a silly clown, now I set a precedence that I would need to keep up for a whole year or longer. The kids may not be good in English, but they can spot a fake like the booty warrior can spot booty.
Yea, #3 says to break out of your shell, but I think there’s a big difference between being adventurous and being a total fake. I may be mellow, but it doesn’t mean I can’t smile and have a good time. I just make the lessons simple and enjoyable, and the kids will have fun too. No need to become a walking game of Pictionary or Charades.
#5: Nothing is too petty for the kids
As adults, we’ve been conditioned by social cruelty and take daily letdowns in stride. You may not think much of it now, but remember the days when you get picked last for flag football or didn’t get invited to someone's birthday party?
Japanese kids don’t think any differently than kids elsewhere: Petty things hurt.
I had experiences with the good and the bad. I’ll start with the bad first. I recall right before summer break when I had an activity on giving directions. Each kid (only 4 kids in the class) listened to my commands (turn left/right, go straight) and navigated around the classroom. Somehow, I forgot about one kid and tried to move on, but my teacher reminded me on the spot. But the damage was done: I could tell he’s hurt. I knew I screwed up because he wouldn’t look at me for the rest of the class.
In the same class 2 months earlier, I was doing the months lesson and we were talking about birthdays. One of the kids (not the same kid) had his birthday that month, and I happened to have presents ready as props, so I just gave him one to keep. I never thought giving an animal eraser (worth< 20¥) would make someone so happy, because he went around and showed everyone after class.
It’s the little things you do that makes a difference, however corny you may think. Call the kids by name, remember their birthdays, ask about their holidays, go to their sports festivals, etc. If they ask you to play soccer or Tag with them, go play! Unless you’re deathly ill (then you shouldn’t be at school anyway), put your big boy pants on. No gesture is too small or petty.
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| ES calligraphy class |
My final thought
This job’s a popularity contest, more so than many other jobs out there. You’re working with people, and kids especially. Chances are, the kids won’t become fluent in English under your tutelage, and many of them think that English is useless. So, they may as well like you as a person. As Villainy puts it, the absolute last thing you want is to be unlikable while teaching a foreign language.
