tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post2028379654552628572..comments2008-08-04T16:07:45.247+09:00Comments on My So-Called Japanese Life: DisserviceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-49923723757181298092007-11-04T23:29:00.000+09:002007-11-04T23:29:00.000+09:00Paradoxically I find one-on-one (or man-to-man, as...Paradoxically I find one-on-one (or man-to-man, as they say here) lessons much harder than group lessons, so your job seems to me to be a lot more challenging than mine. I think it must be very rewarding to see their individual progress. I'm very, very lucky in that the group synergy is so good with my ladies that the lessons practically run themselves - I merely provide structure, a focal point, and an alternative form of entertainment I suppose. Otherwise, they do a very nice job of keeping each other amused and educated, I think!<BR/><BR/>Have you never taught children before? I know that many gaijin can't or won't do it, so it's a definite niche market. I really enjoy working with kids. In some ways it's harder than working with adults, but in other ways it's easier, probably because children put up so few mental defenses to learning new things, which makes it easier to get through to them. But yes, there's definitely a knack to it. I've met excellent gaijin teachers who teach without using any Japanese at all, but they generally have Japanese classroom assistants at their disposal. I'm thinking about doing the same.Mikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05410781872502597824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-56193336994148670682007-11-04T08:40:00.000+09:002007-11-04T08:40:00.000+09:00To be fair to people in your position, I have to s...To be fair to people in your position, I have to say that I've never taught a child nor did my statements apply to teaching children since I'm not in a position to know what works best with them. In fact, teaching kids wasn't even on my mind when I made that post. Teaching kids is so far off my radar I never even considered that!<BR/><BR/>I think you get more of the entertainment-desiring crowd than I do because you get more housewives and you teach in groups whereas all of mine are one-to-one and very much focussed on actual improvement. I don't think there's any disrespect or lack of desire to express opinions involved for such people but it may be a little bit objectifying though I'm sure that it's well-intentioned.Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-16962360338418404092007-11-03T21:26:00.000+09:002007-11-03T21:26:00.000+09:00I use SO much Japanese with my kids (I have fifty)...I use SO much Japanese with my kids (I have fifty) that some of them are genuinely shocked to learn that I'm a gaijin. Total immersion just isn't cutting it for me. I want to change my ways, but it's rather difficult at this late stage. Strangely enough in all these years, no parent has ever complained about being shortchanged, but I still feel a bit guilty.<BR/><BR/>With my adults, generally we maintain the fiction that I'm a non-Japanese-speaking gaijin who knows next to nothing about Japanese culture, but it's just that - a fiction. If they desperately need to say something to me in Japanese, then they are supposed to ask first, "May I speak Japanese?" On special occasions, such as Christmas parties and so on, I'll come "out" and chat with them happily in Japanese (at their insistence, mind you), but otherwise it's against the rules. Therefore there's a lot of play-acting involved, but we all enjoy it!<BR/><BR/>I would welcome the opportunity to teach non-Japanese Asian students. I taught a Korean lady, who spoke neither Japanese nor English, and that was very challenging. I was surprised and gratified by her determination to learn, and to squeeze every drop out of the lesson time (actually, I felt a bit exhausted, too!). I have a feeling that many Japanese students have a rather cavalier or "entertain me" attitude to English lessons. To me it comes across as disrespectful but perhaps as you say they are merely reluctant to give their opinions.Mikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05410781872502597824noreply@blogger.com