The TEFL world just keeps giving to me today. Well actually, Alex’s blog is really the one that keeps giving if truth be told.

I stumbled upon this article which Alex had linked, and which is quite simply amazing in its detailing of the latest forays of English teaching in Japan.

The article details the efforts of a man, who runs a chain of Maid cafes, the quintessential otaku attraction, to set up a school which combines two very simple things: English teaching and cosplay (or cross-dressing using costumes from Anime and Manga). The fact that these two things really have nothing in common doesn’t seem to stop his incredible logic, which is pretty flawless when you consider his argument for such a mind boggling link-up:

Otaku are known for their incredible customer loyalty, while schools are known for their trouble in getting customers to keep on coming back, so I figured a school for cosplayers would achieve the perfect blend

And if all this wasn’t enough, the school’s English focus is also something to behold, deciding to go for that much avoided market of ‘Broken English’… you couldn’t make this up if you tried. Hell, look up the school’s site and its extensive ‘Maximal Broken English’ online lessons!

Still the best is kept for the end, as the article is wrapped up with a quote that I believe could well and truly transform the world of TEFL as it’s known. And if it doesn’t do that, it should at least provide for what could possibly be the most entertaining English lesson to watch or partake in ever.

“I want to start classes for kids some time in the future. And I’ll make the teachers get dressed up in Pikachu suits.”

Somebody give this man an award right now, please.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: geeking, Japan, Random, school, Teaching, TEFL

I’m going back to the world of Teaching English as a Foreign Language for a moment with shocking news of some dodgy dealings in said world. And yes the shocking bit is ironic to say the least.

I got an email from Alex Case recently warning about the head of a UK based language school who was being scummy to say the least. To make the whole thing even funnier, about a week after I got the email, said scummy school owner found a comment by Alex on this here blog and spouted some nonsense about Alex’s evil doings in trying to out him.

Anyways, apologies to Alex for leaving this a little late but continue reading for a warning regarding said school, namely Windsor School. For anyone thinking about a move into TEFL, or anyone who knows someone thinking about such a move, be warned about them, and while you’re at it I can only recommend that you do plenty of research before embarking on a TEFL ‘career’, especially one in Japan or any foreign country. While it would be great for the world to be an ideal place, the cold truth is that even when it comes to teaching the world is full of people that are only after money.

See my own posts on this blog (under the Teaching category) for more regarding my experience about teaching in Japan and especially working for Shane English Schools, who themselves have a bit of a reputation. And now it’s over to Alex.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: dodgy, Japan, ripoff, Teaching, TEFL

Hindsight is a great thing, not least because with it comes the ability to be able to reflect on things that have happened and see them in a different light.

I’m coming up to the end of my short lived ‘career’ as an English teacher in Japan, or to give it a bit more accuracy, my Eikaiwa teacher career in Japan. As of the end of this month I’ll no longer be an English teacher (I guess there is always a next time, especially in this business).

I became an English teacher so that I could move to Japan, and live here for a while. I needed a change of scenery and a challenge, and it seemed like it could provide both. I took a CELTA degree before moving out, even though it’s not required for most Eikaiwa jobs. I always thought that if you were going to do something you should do it properly.

Four months or so after I arrived here and started working in the Eikaiwa industry, I wrote a series of posts debating the good, bad and ugly of the job. Well debating might be the wrong word. I was quite pissed off at the time, and it was more of a way to vent and put things down then really debating the pros and cons. And my experience at the time was limited to say the least.

Now with hindsight might be a good time to revisit some of the ideas.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Teaching

As of this week I officially start in my new job. Even though I’ve been working there once a week for the last month, this week is the proper beginning of my new job life in Japan. I’m leaving the ‘comfort’ of full-time teaching employment for the relative uncertainty of two part-time contracts which can be both be renewed or cancelled every three months. Thing is the ‘job security’ is actually not the biggest concern if I’m honest. What I’m more worried about, though putting it like that makes it sound worse than it is, is my new position as a copy-editor (aka sub-editor in the UK) at the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s biggest English daily newspapers.

Why worried? Well cause it’s all turned out to be a bit of a blag. I applied for the job more as a ‘whatever’ moment than anything serious, considering I didn’t have the required qualification - that magical ‘previous newspaper experience’ requirement which you can never get until you find a job that will give you the job without the pre-requisite ‘experience’. A lovely catch-22 situation most university graduates only know too well about. Looks like I’ve managed to break it this time. Ok I’m not totally blagging it, considering I do have over 4 years of subbing experience, just not in a paper and while I guessed it would be a lot more different, I didn’t know how much.

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Popularity: 6%

written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, motivation, office life, Teaching, writing

In what seems to be a week of people and things going down, I’ve just found out that it seems Nova has declared bankruptcy, as of this morning. Nova is the McDonald’s of the English Conversation industry in Japan - the biggest of the big dogs, and pretty soon it may well be something of the past. Nova’s problems have been ongoing for quite a while, but this year it seems to have all come to a head with teachers and staff being unpaid, the government ruling against them in a case dealing with students and fees, and work places being repossessed after rent has gone unpaid (as well as teachers’ accommodation). This has led to teachers walking out, strikes, and school closures in recent months. More recently some senior members resigned, and the president went into hiding.

Most of which is pretty dark for the people involved - staff and students. And I guess some management. But by and large those at the top have probably known it was gonna go pear shape for a while, and they’re the ones who really have to answer for the collapse of what seemed to be an unmovable corporate giant for a long time. Thing is the business world is a cruel one. The president hasn’t made things easier, having been trying to worm his way out of any responbility since it all kicked off this year. Though that seems to have finally stopped if the claims of bankruptcy filed this morning are correct.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Teaching

Following on from my quick blurb about Alex Case’s recent post on the mysteries of Japanese motivation in the classroom, I’ve got round to formulating some thoughts on the issue. While it’s definitely not something I can claim to have much experience of, having worked in Japanese classrooms (or the pretence of depending on how you view Eikaiwas) for the last 10 months has definitely given me a whole new insight into what the motivations for learning a language can be for Japanese people. In contrast to my short but intensive time training for a CELTA degree last year, and during which I dealt with learners from a variety of countries and levels, dealing with the motivation of certain Japanese learners on a daily basis can be a totally mind boggling experience, and one that definitely forces you to also reconsider your own reasons, and motivation.

The issues with motivation in a Japanese classroom can be varied - some people come it seems just to tell you how great Japan is, others are obviously after a chat and will seemingly do anything they can to delay any sort of teaching, others yet will take any form of trying to teach them pretty badly, some will want your opinion on anything and everything and yet more come because it seems that learning English is their current hobby. The last one is probably the one that winds me up the most. Don’t get me wrong we all need, and have, hobbie especially in this day and age of over consumption and capitalism, but personally I’ve never once considered learning a language as a hobby. I don’t know, I learnt languages because I needed to, and I practice them because I want to, or need to for work (my current employment being a strong case in point). I can understand why someone might want to learn a language as a hobby, especially if they’re older. It passes time, it can be stimulating and it brings a certain amount of cultural learning with it too.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, motivation, school, Teaching

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.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, motivation, Teaching

It’s been a funny few weeks. Back at work following a long and nice break for the Obon holiday (main summer holiday in Japan) and there’s been a string of fairly comic moments, which all culminated today. Let me entertain you if you will…

First I discovered that someone, somewhere thought it would be a good idea to licence (and I use the word lightly here cos I really wonder if they did licence them) extracts from British TV comedies to show in school receptions, while students wait, chat etc… Which sounds like a great idea - British comedy is after all responsible for some of the finest moments in the history of comedy on TV (Fast Show or Monty Pythons just to name two). If there’s one thing I’ve always loved the Brits for, it’s their sense of humour (with a few exceptions - I never quite got some of it, TV or real life). Where it gets a little twisted, and kinda funny, is in the choice of said British TV comedies: Little Britain and the Migthy Boosh… err… what? :???: It ain’t nothing against either of these programmes in particular, I quite liked Little Britain at the start though it got tiring fast and I never got the Mighty Boosh but a lot of friends rave about it, it’s just that well… I don’t quite see how Japanese people would really understand either, there’s an incredible amount of references with regards to culture, society and the likes which I would never expect a Japanese person who hasn’t lived in England for a while to get, and that’s without touching on accents and slang, double entendres etc… What’s more, some of the sketches in Little Britain don’t strike me as particularly good taste - yeah they’re funny, but for a school environment? (ok and here feel free to point out that Eikawa does not equate school) Whatever floats the corporate boat though, it’s pretty funny witnessing moms, children and receptionists watching the only gay in the village sketches or the violent throwing up ones :lol: After all it’s English, which is all that seems to really matter to them.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: design, engrish, funny, Japan, school, Teaching

So it’s been over 7 months since I started being a teacher, and packed it all for a new life (in pretty much every meaning of the sense) on the other side of the world. And after a few rocky moments at the beginning it seems things have definitely settled down, whether or not for the best I’m still not quite sure.

The new life bit has definitely been an interesting one so far, challenging, rewarding and also downright frustrating at times - which is rightfully as it should be I’m sure. The career change bit however has definitely been a lot weirder than I ever imagined it would be.

I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to be a teacher… ever. I love languages though, that’s no doubt, especially having spent so much of my youth learning them and the last ten years living in a foreign country (which has definitely become another home) and I’ve always maintained that English is: a/ the easiest language of the three I can speak (French and Italian being the other two) and b/ the most fun one to use, because of how maleable it is (I’m actually pretty sure that’s not an English word, but hey it sounds like one - in French it means ‘easy to shape’). Having done a CELTA course to become an accredited teacher (the irony of which still amazes me) I’ll now readily admit that English isn’t so easy when you break it down - Japanese most definitely ranks much higher in the mindfu*k category. Though I still think it’s the most fun one to use, I’m just not quite sure how I can convince people of this now, having been reminded of the darker side of grammar and pronounciation :lol: .

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written by Laurent \\ tags: classroom, eikaiwa, Japan, kids, school, Teaching

So I am practising the use of expressions for arranging and scheduling, when I ask this woman I teach on tuesday evenings what she’s doing tonight (we’re doing a mock diary for the week).

Me: So Yachiyo what are you doing tonight?
Yachiyo: Fighting… always fighting. I’m always fighting with my husband.
*cue smile*
*cue me thinking ‘okaaaay what do I do now?’ :???: *

Nice…

Today I was doing what was a pretty good lesson with some of my kids, who are 11/12 years old, and we’re asking each other ‘Do you want…?’ in response to things like ‘I’m thirsty’, ‘I’m hungry’ etc…

Me: I’m ill…
Kid: Do you want supplements?
Me: :lol:

Me: I’m tired…
Kid: Do you want a knife?
Me: :shock: :lol:

Me: I’m sad…
Kid: Do you want a hug?
Me: :lol:

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Random, Teaching

On tuesdays I teach a class of about 7 retired and younger housewives. Really nice bunch of women, quite funny and always up for a laugh. Anyways the other day we’re playing a revision game where they have to ask each other questions. One of which was ‘when was the last time you felt scared?’. To which one of them replied…
‘This morning when I looked in the mirror’ :shock: :lol:

I actually nearly spewed out the water I was drinking at that exact moment.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Random, Teaching

I really do. On Friday I did a cover day in Ebisu, and I was kinda hoping my last student of the day would cancel so that I could leave at 7.30 instead of 9. And I’ve got to say I’m really glad he didn’t. As it turns out my last student was a guy called Asanao, who is the head of SEO at Excite Japan. Doesn’t sound very exciting? Well it is to me, as SEO was my new favourite area of work before I decided to up and leave for Tokyo.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) is a pretty geeky subject by all means - but when you work in online publishing and content management, like I did and still do in my spare time, it’s a pretty big thing. So anyways turns out this guy is the head of SEO at Excite Japan, a pretty big online directory, search engine and portal. Those of you in the UK might know the name quite well if you browse the net regularly. Excite.com burnt out in the US following the burst of the online bubble, but the Japan (and Italian) branches of the company stayed strong, and in Japan it’s doing quite well.

So we get talking and this guy is telling me about all this new SEO stuff happening out here, including the big new mobile SEO stuff which out here is becoming key in 2007, as a huge portion of the Japanese population accesses online content via their mobile and also uses them for email (SMS is pretty much dead in Japan, though you can still use it). And if you’ve ever rode a train out here you’ll know that to be the case seeing as most people are glued to their mobiles constantly - whether they’re browsing or playing games.

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written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

Rouding off on the trials and tribulations of quitting my 9 to 5 to move to Japan and become an English teacher, is the more ugly side of things. As I’ve said before there’s good and bad things, and that’s fine I can take it - it’s life after all. You should always try and take everything that comes to you with a little ‘recul’ (as they say in French) and realise that what goes around comes around.

However there are definitely some ugly things when it comes to English conversation schools in Tokyo. Obviously not anything that is forcing me to leave right now (though even that might not be so easy to do when you’ve packed it all up and are dependent on your job for your housing) but things that definitely make you stop and go ‘wtf!?’

Following from what I mentioned before about school managers, especially franchise owners who aren’t employed by the same company as you, one thing you realise soon enough after teaching for a few months is that no matter what advice you give when it comes to putting students at the right levels for their learning, school managers are likely to ignore you and do what makes the most money. Which means you end up with students who are either on totally the wrong level from the go, or with students who have been studying for so long but haven’t got any better and have done all the books they can do so they are moved to higher levels even though they’re unable to do what the books, or level, requires.

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Popularity: 7%

written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

As much as I’d like it to be different, the truth is that even after just 2 or so months teaching English in Japan I’ve come to realise that the reality of the job is quite far off from what is being advertised and sold to you when you sign up. Which I guess isn’t really surprising - nothing is what it seems these days, but when it concerns a fairly radical change in your life, such as moving to the other side of the world, it’s easy to be worried.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it’s downright untenable and horrible. See my previous post about all the good things that are involved in becoming an English teacher out here. But there are quite a few things which have stuck in my throat from the start, and that of most people who I’ve spoken with and who teach in Japan, whether they have been for a short or long time.

The Eikawa industry in Japan is pretty big business and is primarily controlled by four major companies, all of which are North American. The most famous, both in and out of Japan, is NOVA - a megacorporation of global stature, and which is often referred to as the McDonald’s of the Eikawa industry. NOVA have been getting into a fair amount of trouble these last few years, as documented on the Nambu Union site. These troubles range from what have been claimed to be illegal practices in regards to the treatment of students down to illegal and shady practices in their treatment of staff.

If you look at it from a business point of view, then it’s not that much of a surprise - after all this is business, and like every other business in the world today, its purpose is to make money, not to be nice to people, or care about their needs. I was put off working for NOVA after looking into them, but I’ve met a few people who worked for them before (though mainly outside of Tokyo) and they’ve all seemed to have pretty good experiences - which goes to show that it’s not always all bad no matter how it looks on the surface.

Which leads nicely into my situation, as an employee of a much smaller Eikawa company - which shall remain nameless for the time being. It’s not all bad, far from it, but there are some aspects of the job which were seemingly conveniently avoided or entirely left out when I signed up.

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Popularity: 6%

written by Laurent

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.

It’s been about 5 months now since I packed up my day job in publishing and decided to become an English teacher on the other side of the world. 2 months were spent training and getting ready and I’m now in my 3rd month of teaching English in Tokyo, as what is commonly known over here as an ‘ekaiwa sensei’ (aka English conversation school teacher).

Part of the reason for doing this was the challenge of doing something entirely new that I’d never done before. After nearly ten years in London, life was becoming a little too dull at times - London has a nasty habit of sucking you in and making it incredibly difficult to get out. No matter how much money you seem to be making, there’s never enough to really get out clean and without any hassles. Ok I was never that good at saving but still - anyone who’s lived there for any length of time will know that life in London is most definitely not cheap.

Don’t get me wrong, life in London was great and if it wasn’t for me moving there when I was 18 I don’t think I’d be here today or I definitely wouldn’t have done 90% of the stuff I have or met the people I did. But no matter how good some of it was, or most of it, the bad always ended outweighting the good for me.

So the idea of packing it all in (albeit at a cost) and doing something new and different on the other side of the world was a challenge I needed. And I’m not regreting it (yet!). And after a few months of working there are some things which have already proved this to be the kind of challenge I think I needed. I’ll start by looking at the good things… I’ll leave the bad and the ugly for later.

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written by Laurent