No matter how prepared you are, how trained or how keen, one thing you won’t be ready for when teaching in an Eikaiwa in Japan for the first time is how quickly your motivation can be sapped. And how many people you’ll deal with who have no seeming motivation to learn. I know I sound miserable and it’s likely not the case for everyone out there, though I’d really like to hear of someone teaching in an Eikaiwa who has never dealt with either problems, even just once.
Alex Case put it better than I could over on his blog, having solved the mystery of Japanese motivation. Which got me thinking… but right now my brain is totally shattered from exhaustion and so I’m gonna leave my own thoughts on this until a little later, when I can actually string an argument and some thoughts together. I swear though, one hour private lessons are the work of the devil.
Seems to be a clear case of cultural differences, my dear cousin. Do not confuse the appearance of lack of motivation with the actual lack of interest, the problem with dealing with other cultures is that we do not get the same ‘reference points’ i.e. a nod of the head, a smile, a raised eyebrow that would confirm to most trainers that this is working and hitting the mark with their delegates.
I am invited to train and present all the time across the UK, the worst gigs are when ‘I talk to bodies in a morgue’ as I sometimes put it, yet time and time again feedback forms suggest that delegates had a great time! Beats me!
If this happens in the UK, it has to be appear worse in Japan.
Keep it up Young Jedi and you will get it.
Until next time
Pascal