3.11.2004
McEnglish
The Japan Times Online follows up on last month's article on McEnglish.
Okay I'm going to apologize for drinking the koolaid as usual, but I think my students are learning English. SOME eikaiwas are a racket, but there is a big difference even between the Big 5 schools. I can't believe they can be lumped in together...especially with the odd examples. Everybody could think of something dumb their manager did, in any job, in any industry. That's what employees do sometimes, grouse and make fun of management. It doesn't usually qualify as news.
The work schedule and professionalism varies drastically from school to school (I mainly mean from company to company). Granted there are a lot of foreign teachers who have no previous job experience which makes it quite hard to sort out what is and isn't acceptable or reasonable. But schools with more Japanese teachers are better off because the FT's can get more inside information, help, and just an example if they happen to be clueless.
And as for the teachers' cynicism in the article about whether and why students want to study English, well, the more professional schools probably have the more professional students--i.e. the ones who study and have goals to achieve, or at the very least an intellectual streak that keeps them motivated.
It took me a while when I started teaching to realize you really can't "teach" people. I mean to say, you can't "train" people. You can just be a good facilitator of learning, the students are really the ones doing the work. Respecting your students means teachers can focus on facilitating an effective environment--the right level, right interests, lots of opportunities to work the synapses into a new shape.
What can I say? This is part of my new "sympathy for the world" persona.
The more interesting question is how the business works. I hadn't heard about the 3-year provision for permanent employment. Interesting.
I have always wondered about the economy of having new teachers. Recently a fellow teacher opined (to use a Jim-ism) that it was the school's way of saying, "Look, we've got this great new product for you! A Neeeeeeew teacher!"
I don't know about that. It seems to me there would be less student turnover and fewer problems for management/recruiting/training by having teachers stay longer. I guess it comes down to numbers, but I wonder if there aren't a few false economies here. I also have the notion that offering more support to both Japanese and Foreign Teachers in terms of professional training or in the case of the latter, learning Japanese, would encourage people to renew and stay on.
But the idea that the turnover is intentional because schools fear having to permanently employ teachers is a new one on me. And I wonder how much a concern it really is? If a teacher wasn't up to par, the school could simply refuse the third-year contract. That would still increase the retention rate. And apparently some schools have already got contracts that fall just short to enable this.
But even if they were put in this position, what would happen? Most people would not want to teach at an Eikaiwa forever. For one thing most of us come from a culture that encourages us to change jobs frequently. A number of people are here not just as tourists, but to get some Japanese business experience which they want to use in other industries. And if the teachers were worth renewing for three years they must be an asset and worth employing.
As for the age-old quibble about Eikaiwas as profit-making ventures, so are ballet schools, piano lessons, and no matter what you say, universities to a degree.
I have students who need TOEIC scores to get promotions, who need to work or study abroad or deal with international clients, who want to be better teachers themselves, and yes, some who "just" want to travel, make friends or watch movies. Why shouldn't they broaden their horizons? Why _not_ do it in a friendly, social, educational environment? I suppose you could learn at home, but only to a certain level. You need someone to correct you and that doesn't happen in any other setting (sorry, your SigOt's not going to do it honey, neither are your friends). Besides, why not enjoy your studies?
(I've been reading David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day and I just realized I'm turning into one of his vignettes about a craft book he had when he was a kid, "Why not construct ghost out of leftover gift wrap?...Why not decorate your desktop with a school bus made from a brick?")
I've had a number of teachers in my Japanese lessons and I can say I've learned a lot in addition to the Japanese. First of all, being a student is a lot more work than I remembered. Second, the amount of work a teacher puts in is really apparent, but what's more effective isn't what they cover in the lesson but how they make me use it. Finally, I've observed some different ways teachers motivate me. Some motivate me by being friendly and encouraging. This is necessary because the student ego is so easily deflated. At least mine is. Some motivate me by sneaking up on me and challenging me. It's a little scarier, but appreciated in small doses. Some motivate me by being cute. Well sorry but it's true, I don't want to disappoint the cute ones.
The things that are unmotivating are when the teacher doesn't take the time to prepare well, isn't confident, seems annoyed or is patronizing. There are, no doubt, a number of foreign teachers at various schools who get this way because they feel isolated and they just get wired. They treat people in a way they wouldn't at home. Yet another reason for schools to encourage teachers to study Japanese.
Finally, there's management. I gotta say, I think this one can be cured with a little moxy and sympathy as well. Anywhere you can't pick your boss you're going to run into some duds, but most of the staff at eikaiwas are just trying to keep their job. There's some turnover there too because it's stressful--doing sales and working in two languages. Most management problems would go away with a little respect. Of course, I'm the fruitcake who hangs out with her managers and ex-managers on the weekend so feel free to hate me.
I wonder if I'll make any friends on the blogring this week...hmmm...
Okay I'm going to apologize for drinking the koolaid as usual, but I think my students are learning English. SOME eikaiwas are a racket, but there is a big difference even between the Big 5 schools. I can't believe they can be lumped in together...especially with the odd examples. Everybody could think of something dumb their manager did, in any job, in any industry. That's what employees do sometimes, grouse and make fun of management. It doesn't usually qualify as news.
The work schedule and professionalism varies drastically from school to school (I mainly mean from company to company). Granted there are a lot of foreign teachers who have no previous job experience which makes it quite hard to sort out what is and isn't acceptable or reasonable. But schools with more Japanese teachers are better off because the FT's can get more inside information, help, and just an example if they happen to be clueless.
And as for the teachers' cynicism in the article about whether and why students want to study English, well, the more professional schools probably have the more professional students--i.e. the ones who study and have goals to achieve, or at the very least an intellectual streak that keeps them motivated.
It took me a while when I started teaching to realize you really can't "teach" people. I mean to say, you can't "train" people. You can just be a good facilitator of learning, the students are really the ones doing the work. Respecting your students means teachers can focus on facilitating an effective environment--the right level, right interests, lots of opportunities to work the synapses into a new shape.
What can I say? This is part of my new "sympathy for the world" persona.
The more interesting question is how the business works. I hadn't heard about the 3-year provision for permanent employment. Interesting.
I have always wondered about the economy of having new teachers. Recently a fellow teacher opined (to use a Jim-ism) that it was the school's way of saying, "Look, we've got this great new product for you! A Neeeeeeew teacher!"
I don't know about that. It seems to me there would be less student turnover and fewer problems for management/recruiting/training by having teachers stay longer. I guess it comes down to numbers, but I wonder if there aren't a few false economies here. I also have the notion that offering more support to both Japanese and Foreign Teachers in terms of professional training or in the case of the latter, learning Japanese, would encourage people to renew and stay on.
But the idea that the turnover is intentional because schools fear having to permanently employ teachers is a new one on me. And I wonder how much a concern it really is? If a teacher wasn't up to par, the school could simply refuse the third-year contract. That would still increase the retention rate. And apparently some schools have already got contracts that fall just short to enable this.
But even if they were put in this position, what would happen? Most people would not want to teach at an Eikaiwa forever. For one thing most of us come from a culture that encourages us to change jobs frequently. A number of people are here not just as tourists, but to get some Japanese business experience which they want to use in other industries. And if the teachers were worth renewing for three years they must be an asset and worth employing.
As for the age-old quibble about Eikaiwas as profit-making ventures, so are ballet schools, piano lessons, and no matter what you say, universities to a degree.
I have students who need TOEIC scores to get promotions, who need to work or study abroad or deal with international clients, who want to be better teachers themselves, and yes, some who "just" want to travel, make friends or watch movies. Why shouldn't they broaden their horizons? Why _not_ do it in a friendly, social, educational environment? I suppose you could learn at home, but only to a certain level. You need someone to correct you and that doesn't happen in any other setting (sorry, your SigOt's not going to do it honey, neither are your friends). Besides, why not enjoy your studies?
(I've been reading David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day and I just realized I'm turning into one of his vignettes about a craft book he had when he was a kid, "Why not construct ghost out of leftover gift wrap?...Why not decorate your desktop with a school bus made from a brick?")
I've had a number of teachers in my Japanese lessons and I can say I've learned a lot in addition to the Japanese. First of all, being a student is a lot more work than I remembered. Second, the amount of work a teacher puts in is really apparent, but what's more effective isn't what they cover in the lesson but how they make me use it. Finally, I've observed some different ways teachers motivate me. Some motivate me by being friendly and encouraging. This is necessary because the student ego is so easily deflated. At least mine is. Some motivate me by sneaking up on me and challenging me. It's a little scarier, but appreciated in small doses. Some motivate me by being cute. Well sorry but it's true, I don't want to disappoint the cute ones.
The things that are unmotivating are when the teacher doesn't take the time to prepare well, isn't confident, seems annoyed or is patronizing. There are, no doubt, a number of foreign teachers at various schools who get this way because they feel isolated and they just get wired. They treat people in a way they wouldn't at home. Yet another reason for schools to encourage teachers to study Japanese.
Finally, there's management. I gotta say, I think this one can be cured with a little moxy and sympathy as well. Anywhere you can't pick your boss you're going to run into some duds, but most of the staff at eikaiwas are just trying to keep their job. There's some turnover there too because it's stressful--doing sales and working in two languages. Most management problems would go away with a little respect. Of course, I'm the fruitcake who hangs out with her managers and ex-managers on the weekend so feel free to hate me.
I wonder if I'll make any friends on the blogring this week...hmmm...
