JET shtuff

[flonnebonne]

A university professor calling for the end of the JET program in the Daily Yomiuri newspaper

Longer version of the same article (pdf)

Once I got over my seething rage (the Yomiuri version, which I read first, only has the inflammatory bits), I realized that this guy makes several good points. Everyone kind of knows that the system has plenty of problems. Food for thought.

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So, I asked class 3-1 if they want to sing "Imagine" by John Lennon for their appreciation party thingy for the teachers, but it turns out they're already planning to sing Hare Hare Yukai, aka the ending theme of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. The student body president (who can't sing to save his life) is going to be Kyon. And, yes, they are going to do the dance.

How can "Imagine" possibly compete against "Hare Hare Yukai?" Gaijin smash FAIL.

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Today at one of the local sushi restaurants, Suehiro:

Me: (just finished eating my chirashi sushi) Excuse me, what's that butter scallop thing on the menu? Is it fried?
Chef: No, it's not. But do you want a fried scallop?
Me: Oh no, that's okay, I'm full. Maybe next time.
(five minutes later)
Chef: Here's your enormous fried scallop!
Me: Eeeeeehhhh?!?
(I eat the scallop anyway, yum.)
Me: (trying to make conversation) Do you know what a california roll is?
Chef: Oh yes!
Me: It has avacado in it.
Chef: Ah, avacado, that's difficult.
Me: No no no, I don't want to eat it now!
(we talk some more about fruit and vegetables)
Waitress: Here are some apple slices!
Me: Waaaaaahhh?!?
Waitress: And some coffee!
Chef: Do you like coffee?
Me: Coffee's okay.
(Lots more conversation with the entire restaurant staff, involving lots of praise for my craptastic Japanese and my appearance and about the fact that, yes, Canada is cold and has four seasons.)
Proprietress: Here, have a very expensive kind of mochi from that dessert shop that's around here.
Little boy: Here, have some rice crackers to take home with you.
Me: Thaaaank yoooou!!!!
(Even more conversation, most of which I don't understand but I nod my head a lot.)
Me: I have to go now.
Waiter: To study Japanese, right?
Me: Sure.
(I accidentally leave without paying, walk half a block, have a panic attack, then run back to the restaurant only to find that no one even realized I hadn't paid.)
Staff: Come again!
Me: I will!

In conclusion, I am spoiled.

Comments

[harumi.livejournal.com]

I do feel that the problems addressed by the professor has validity, which is why I think that if they deny me, I'm going to be pissed, because I actually have plans to do serious work there, while almost everybody else there...doesn't.

[flonnebonne]

Tell me about it. Those idiots who skip Tokyo Orientation to go partying, for example...

I do think a lot of JETs start out with big hopes for doing some serious teaching and maybe even changing the system...but after a while in Japan, they get jaded and stop caring. Not everyone is like that though.

One of the things I really disliked about the article was the claim that we just play around in the classroom, and that this is detrimental to the serious study of English. He keeps going on about the advantages of communicative activities over grammar translation, but a lot of these games are communicative activities. At the lower levels, it's really hard to get any sort of communication going without some kind of game to motivate them.

[harumi.livejournal.com]

I agree.

I tutor and teach children English. They don't have to necessarily be non-native English speakers. It's hard enough to motivate native English speaking speakers! Nevermind non-native English speaking children.

My biggest successes have always been with games. Always.

[flonnebonne]

Totally. I think this professor might be a little out of touch with non-university level students. He deals with motivated, high-level students who can already hold a decent conversation. My adult students are like that, and yeah, I don't need to play games with them (though sometimes I do).

[harumi.livejournal.com]

Considering that a lot of JET's teach at lower class high schools (ghetto high school, *giggles*)...he definitely seems out of touch. JET people may be the only foreigner they'll ever have meaningful contact with in such cases.

[flonnebonne]

Hee! Sometimes I feel like I'm at a ghetto school when I'm in my sannensei classes.

Yep, I'm probably the only really "foreign" foreigner the students have regular contact with. There are other immigrants living in my town, but they all seem to have been assimilated.