I have got two temporary jobs in schools only for summer. One is teaching English at a school camp of intensive learning only for three days. This is kinda students' preparation for the entrance exam for universities. I will be in charge of five third-year students. Since it has been long time since I before taught Juken-eigo, acquiring special English skills for universities' entrance exam, I am a bit nervous. But at the same time, I am so excited to teach them because I am sooooo bored of being by myself in a daytime.
Another job is supposed to be a teaching one, but it turned out that I am not teaching there. I will check the report of students regularly, not teaching in classrooms because the school is mainly focusing on correspondence courses. Students usually send thier assingment by mail, which is called Report, and teachers check it and return it to the students. The new system in public schools is newly developed in my prefecture and luckily the school is located pretty close to my place.
However, there are some students who attend classes in a classroom setting. Just for my reference, I asked one English teacher to let me observe one class of the Oral Communication 1 the day before yesterday and I was so stunned to see it... Usually I do not like to make a complaint, but I cannot help doing it this time. The class was fifty minutes but the activities the teacher arranged for the class was only two: listening which is in the textbook and a very short speech which was already prepared in the last meeging. For the rest of the time in class, the students were asked to fill in the Report and redeveloped their speech individually. Luckily, the class is small enough for the teacher to take care of every student. But the teacher almost never used English in class although the class was Oral Communication! Only CD spoke and the students used English in their speech.
I rerealized that that is the real situation in English education in Japan, especially public schools. Of course there are great English teachers even in public schools, but I guess not so many, compared with private schools. The experience made me think about the English education system in Japan again... But I am not sure what I can do for it so far...
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3 comments:
I agree with you. Although it is getting better,but I think that the English education system in Japan will not be changed,unless the Japanese "Juken"system is improved. English is not only a subject,that would be great tool for communication,I think.I wish all of English teachers were like you!!
I do not think I am a good teacher, but I think what is important as a teacher is try to struggle to offer a good class to students. Once they lose their energy, nothing may go well.
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