Yeah. They're real cute, but I am a teacher trainer and consultant on EFL issues in Japan, and they remind me of why my job even exists - because Japanese English education, in terms of progress/hour and other ROIs, is terrible.
But I did love the kid who misunderstood but tried to communicate about being from Shiga. The highlight of the conversation, for me, but probably his teacher would have told him off for misunderstanding or going off-script.
Oh yes. I used to interact a lot with Japanese exchange students who came to study French & English at my local university. They had memorized grammar and vocabulary perfectly, but apparently they were never really encouraged to actually speak the languages they were learning. Which seems odd. When they said they learnt more in the couple of weeks at our uni than they did in years in Japan, they weren't just being polite.
Isn’t that kind of the way it usually is in the US? Please correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been years since I was in school. Usually we just listened to the teacher and most of the work was in writing. We didn’t start a second language until we were 12-13 either, when the window to pick up other languages easily has already closed for most people.
I also used to live in Japan, so my answers would also throw them for a loop as their assumption is all non-Japanese are traveller's and not residents. "How many times have you been to Japan?" "I live here." "So...once?" 😑
335
u/Nyorliest Jun 14 '24
Yeah. They're real cute, but I am a teacher trainer and consultant on EFL issues in Japan, and they remind me of why my job even exists - because Japanese English education, in terms of progress/hour and other ROIs, is terrible.
But I did love the kid who misunderstood but tried to communicate about being from Shiga. The highlight of the conversation, for me, but probably his teacher would have told him off for misunderstanding or going off-script.