Teaching Wild Classes

"Oh look, I've been impaled" *insane laugh*



This is how I feel during classes where the little kids just get... well... rowdy. And little. Like today, they were spanking me and running around like little gremlins. They grab everything from out in front of you that you did not have the forsight to lock and stow before takeoff, and if you do not lock and stow before take off, they take off with it faster than you can say... put that thing back where it came from or so help me!

Come on Pig!

Come on pig! Hurry up and kill the mosquitoes in my room! So they stop screaming in my ears.

If you don`t know how to control mosquitoes at your place, get one of these! 

Classroom Activities 4: The Prepositions Table

Classroom Activities 4: The Prepositions Table

What you need: a large table drawn on any surface, can be done in front of a large group or in a private lesson, writing utensil 

What to do: You can practice any prepositions: on, in, under, between

Usually I ask students what foods or things they like and don't like, the things they like I tell them to draw on the table. Then I tell them to draw a toilet under the table and they get really shocked. Some of them break out laughing because it is unexpected. Then they are allowed to draw their disliked foods in the toilet. You can give students the option of giving each other the commands of what to draw and where, using correct usage of prepositions! Easy as pie and effective! 

Corresponds to: English Land 3 Unit 4 

Vlog #5: At School

At the small eikaiwa school I work at. It's a relaxed place, we have a lot of students but I know almost everyone's name so far.

Cooking: Takoyaki

Japan living: what to do with local ingredients? Takoyaki was cheap and delicious.

Vlog Day # 4 Ballet School, Deliverymen, Creepy Neighborhood

Malia Earns her Flight Wings (or Desk Apple)

I think the previous teacher wrote "Bai Bai" Actually...

And then the little black marker was a student writing...

Then I wrote (Heart) you too!

I must say, before I left the U.S. I was pondering what other jobs might be open to a Japanese speaking person with a lot of people-experience through teaching. One job I considered was Japanese speaking flight attendant for Delta. That may have been exciting, but I decided I would rather have something a little more settled that would still allow me to be in touch with Japan and seeing the world (or Japan, at least) rather than just the world's airports in the world's biggest cities.

I'm very happy with my decision.

My work started at long last, just over one week ago. (Although I came to Japan 3 weeks ago) So far so good. Funds are tight but the necessities of life are pretty affordable. I should be able to start saving in no time if I stop train-traveling around, which I find is my biggest expense.

I work at a casual small-business language school, not a chain or corporation. I'm not an ALT. So my experience is different than other bloggers out there. I'm very happy. Of course, no place is perfect, but I've found myself an excellent fit. I get to see all ages and all personalities, every one of my students is so different- there is never a dull moment at my school. I'm on my feet all day. I don't get the vacations of ALTs, or the down time in the teacher's room... And even though although maybe one day I would still like the immersion into a Japanese school, but for now I am ever grateful to my school and to the city I'm living in. It was good to me in high school when I was an exchange student and it is good to me now when I am working-same city! I'm going out with one of my host family's tonight. Their ages are very close to mine... maybe 10 years old. Only 5-7 years older than my husband. We're in the same age group. Even though I'm in eikaiwa it's not corporate. Like I said, it's a small business and exchanges with my boss and co-workers are warm. We're paid fairly and it's good to be working with happy people.

For the first week I was training under the teacher who's leaving. Since I have experience with returnee students, middle, high, college, and adult students I was able to start out in those classes on my own from the beginning. All they require is patience and skill in moving from subject to subject and keeping the students talking (and knowing when to nix the Teacher Talking Time... because Teacher already knows English ;) ) All that ended yesterday when I took the reigns and did six classes or so... all age ranges. It was just fine. First week was a lot of planning and going to school early and staying late, but I think I've more or less got the hang of it. Just need to expand my repetoire of games for the kiddos. Usually we spend the last 5 minutes of our classes playing a game to leave them with a positive memory of English class.

Anyway, one of my little girls wrote "Bai bai" to the last teacher and "Malia-Teacher" on the white board in front of our school. It was a d'aww moment and my first little kiddo note about me. The picture is in the blog.

Peace.

Enjoying Local Trains

Do you enjoy watching the countryside flash by from the Shinkansen? Well, just imagine how much longer and more intimately you could enjoy it by spending much extra time heading to your destination on local trains~! I visited Tokyo, and money was tight, so I chose this route. One way on shinkansen runs about 105 dollars from where I live. Round trip for one person on local trains ran about 120 dollars or so. So I had a great savings of about a couple hundred dollars. Bus takes about the same amount of time and there' no transferring involved. Huh. Oh well it's a good experience. Enjoy this video I just compiled.

I'm no professional, just warning you.

Vlog Day #2

These videos probably aren't going to have a lot to do with teaching. The teaching is going to be much more basic... I'm still working on my online lesson (well, still need to get to it) and work starts on... this Saturday! I got my schedule. It's like high school all over again, except I'm the teacher. And I don't have to control 40 student classes, I think the max is 4 or so. Most are doubles or privates. So its more like my college tutoring gig except I get to make lesson plans from the books and incorporate my own topics into them.

Well, for now, enjoy Vlog Day #2. I'm still getting used to this Vlog thing.

Feast or Famine

I think it's safe to announce that:

*drumroll*

My job search is over! (for at least a year, but likely longer than that!)

After facing some setbacks with my school and some companies! (Including ones that I trekked all the way to Japan to see!) I was successfully hired after a skype interview at a small, informal, but very warm English school in the town were I lived for my first study abroad. So advice to all the hopefuls out there, dreams will come true, just be patient! (Moral of the story: try to interview in your home country, unless you really have the itch to travel, enjoy the travel but if you're not there for an extended time, don't expect anyone to hire you because you went to see them, but also don't be discouraged if a door slams shut in your face-the universe has something better in store.)

I really do dream of working in the countryside one day (the place where I'm going to is suburban/medium-large, but some areas of the town feel small), but I declined a job as an ALT in Nagano, just because the opportunity to be near friends and in a central area of Japan (Aichi) is too good to pass up.

And on the website I'd definitely recommend, www.gaijinpot.com, a similar small, warm, and personal eikaiwa school requested I contact them. Not that it's a job offer, but it made me happy all the same to be contacted.

I will be going back to Aichi-prefecture, sometime in September with work starting in Fall! After my long job search, it doesn't even feel real! But it is!

Pernicious Prepositions

I worked with some students on phrasal verbs (which more often than not, are combinations of verbs with prepositions) for an entire summer once, and I am seeing the importance more and more as I see how students struggle with the topic. I am offering this list of prepositional verbs and verbs that use prepositions along with other verbs I have noticed in helping a student prepare for the SAT. Even American students are tested on knowing these verb conjugations. Knowing them really increases how natural a speaker sounds.

The beginning of the list was taken from: Evergreen, a Guide to Writing With Readings, International Edition 9th e by Susan Fawcett

The list may be helpful when covering prepositional verbs in high school classes and above.

According to

Acquainted with

Addicted to

Afraid of

Agree on (a plan)

Agree to (something or a proposal)

Afraid of

Angry about or at (a thing)

Angry with (a person)

Apply for (a position)

Apply to (doing something) (One should apply oneself to their studies)

Approve of

Argue about (an issue)

Argue with ( a person)

Capable of

Complain about (a situation)

Complain to (a person)

Comply with

Consist of

Contrast with

Correspond with (write) I corresponded with a young lady in Kushiro, Hokkaido

Deal with

Depend on

Different from

Differ from (something)

Discovered by

Differ with

Displeased with

Donate to

Fond of

Grateful for

Grateful to

Identical to

Inferior to

In search of

Interested in

Interfere with

Number of (nouns) I saw a number of new vendors at the Saturday market.

Object to

Protect against

Reason with

Rely on

Reply to

Responsible for

Sensitive to

Shocked at, shocked by

Similar to

Speak with (someone)

Specialize-in

Succeed in (a noun) I succeed in (I am successful in) my language classes.

Succeed in (Verb-ing) He succeeded in petitioning his case before the committee.

Superior to

Take advantage of

Worry about

____________

From SAT (continue to build this list)

Appointed with

Boon for

Conscript to My uncle was conscripted to the army during the Vietnam War

Conferred on

Demonstration of

Deprived of

Obstruction to vs. Obstruction of

Impediment to

Redeemed for

Relegated to

Life as an ALT Vlog

I've been researching and reading accounts of American ALTs since I first started studying Japanese in high school. Meaphe's V-log on youtube, although containing a lot of face time, is pretty useful at showing the scene without requiring reading and imagination, although some of it functions a little bit that way since a lot of the stories are just recounted orally. However, I say a job well done and commend her for putting herself out there like that.

Meaphe on YOUTUBE:

American, in Japan, Vlogging Daily

http://www.youtube.com/user/meaphe

Sorry, I wanted to embed it but you'll just have to go to the link.