Lost Teacher In Japan

Reflection & Update

08/02/2014

Reflection
This post is way overdue! It has been almost a year since my contract ended with the JET Program and I returned to my hometown in the States in late August of 2013. A month ago I did a presentation on the JET Program, and a week ago I went to a farewell party for this summer's 2014 new JETs. It's odd being on the other side telling people about the program and wishing them the best on their new adventure.

When I left the US in the summer of 2011, I had a secure teaching job at a wonderful school that actually paid a lot more than JET (hey, teachers' salaries have become competitive in some places!). However, I had fancied about JET since I was in high school. I had to ask myself, "If not now, then when?" I had support from my former administration and family and made the decision to teach in Japan.

The JET Program changed me. First, I realized that I worked really hard back in the US compared to this new job! Once I got a car, it was a pretty smooth ride (figuratively) and I had a lot more free time and energy. During my stay, I realized I was pretty competent living, learning, and traveling on my own. I also got to cross a lot of things off my "bucket list." I taught myself a lot of Japanese. I had a car and actually passed the Japanese driving test in one go, so I had a license to drive on their side of road. I travelled to many places in Japan and around Asia mostly by walking, train, or plane. I met a lot of amazing people. And I ate really great food!

When I declined to renew my contract another year, I knew what I was doing at the time. But a few unexpected events happened afterwards, and I ended up wishing I had renewed another year. Still, teaching on the JET Program was an amazing experience. I did it!

I highly recommend this teach-abroad program for anyone who's adventurous and wants to travel, is willing to take a chance, respectful and open-minded, self-motivated, and very importantly, interested in different cultures and teaching.

Update
Transitioning back to normal life was a little hard during the first month. I got back into the groove of finally studying to actually take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Yes, I finally decided I had to prove my level to myself. I also got my things together to apply for grad school, the sole reason why I returned in the first place.

Here are some big things I want to mention:

In December 2013, I took the JLPT N3 and passed! ...I will write more on this soon.
I started an online store around winter-time. It started off as a little project and grew into an obsession. I kept adding to it and even recruited an amateur graphic artist. Then I started producing my own graphics! I'm backing off of it now, but I'm glad to have a personal side project that produces supplementary income!
I started graduate school in January 2014. Yep. I returned and relaxed for about 4 months before starting school in January 2014, and I have been taking classes non-stop.
I will be a TA at university in Fall 2014! Thank you, Professor!

Another thing is I am not working full time. This is the first time in a long time since I got to take a suuuuuper long work break. I would prefer to be working by now, but I decided to do school hardcore and go full-time+. In the mean time, I picked up some part-time jobs around the new year to keep busy and make some money on the side.

An important thing that carried over from my life in Japan is that I am an avid recycler now. Japan takes tidiness and recycling very seriously. When I sorted and stored my recycling in Japan, I began to realize the amount of trash and plastic one little person could make. I couldn't believe I made so much trash, and much of this was going back into the environment where innocent critters had to deal with it. I was tidy before, but now I really pay attention to what my family or I throw away. Even my own family has taken to recycling!

It's been roughly 11 months since I've been back, and I constantly wish I could be back in Japan, but life has been good to me here, too, and I want to keep moving forward =).

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Japanese Enkai Parties: What's for dinner?

05/30/2013

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There are many (obligatory) parties throughout the year. The big one being the 歓送迎会 or kansougeikai. A kansougeikai is a school-wide staff party where staff members who are being relocated can say "Good-bye," and where new staff members re-located to your school can say "Hello." Other smaller enkai parties with the same theme will follow for the smaller teaching departments or subject areas. There may also be enkai parties to celebrate the end of big projects such as Sports Festival enkais. There are a few pages out there on enkai etiquette, so I'm just going to focus on the more interesting part:

The Food.

From my experience (agreeing to go to every enkai at every school I've worked at as long as the party times don't overlapse), it's a good chance to socialize with your neighbors. And most importantly, eat really good Japanese food at restaurants you don't normally go to. =D. Enkais are usually organized at "nice" Japanese restaurants where you get many different courses. You pay a set price to the organizer, and everyone gets the same food. You may, however, order a different drink. Surprisingly, these staff parties only last between 1.5-2 hours. Smaller parties may occur after the big ones.

Staff party costs at my school in the U.S.A. ranged somewhere between $20-$30 USD. In Japan, however, it's upwards of 5000円 or $50. The most I've paid for an enkai thus far has been 8000円 or $80, and the food was disappointing or simply not good. I have noticed that the pricier places disappoint me because they try to make their food unique or fancy, but end up experimenting with or screwing up something that was already perfect. I'm not a picky eater at all, so when I'm disappointed, that means they're no good.

Below are pictures from all the food provided at a recent enkai I attended. It was a departmental enkai for language/social science teachers. This was the second time I've been to this particular restaurant, and I really like it!
Cost: 5000円 or $50. Rating: Excellent.

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"I Can’t Hear You!" What You Have In Common With Students.

05/12/2013

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Today I’m going to talk about an aspect of practicing languages that I find really irritating. If you teach abroad, and you have some knowledge of the foreign language, you'll experience this and so will your students.

One of the hardest parts of studying a language is listening. Listening involves comprehension. But even if you can comprehend, trying to hear is what makes listening hard. If you can’t hear, you can’t listen. Unless you have a hearing impairment, the hearing problem can be solved very easily-- that's why it's more annoying when it isn't solved.

Let's use Japanese as an example. Japanese people in general, speak softly and monotoneously. And most of the time, they don’t realize this. (Women, mostly.) So, unless you’re in a quiet area speaking one-on-one with someone, it can be tough. The annoying part is when I let someone know that I can not hear them clearly, and they still don’t talk loudly or repeat for me. And when it’s an English teacher who’s talking to you in Japanese, (who should understand this basic struggle of foreign language learners) it can simply drive you up the wall.

For example, my recent conversation, with a JTE talking to me diagonally from my desk:

JTE: “mutter, mutter, mutter.”
ALT: “Oh, I can’t hear you, what did you say?” (You were talking so quietly, I couldn’t hear you.)
JTE: “金曜日.” (Friday)
ALT: “No, I did not hear your sentence. The first part, what did you say?”
JTE: “先週末のパーティ.” (Last weekend’s party.)
ALT: “I could not hear your WHOLE sentence. 何を言っていましたか.” (...I understand you, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you asking me a question? What are you trying to tell me?)
JTE: “Thank you for coming to the party last week. On Friday.”

My internal reaction. “Well why the heck didn’t you say that sentence louder instead of telling me in English!” Now this was a better case. She probably didn't understand that I wanted her to speak loudly or repeat the whole sentence. At least this teacher repeated parts of her sentence.

Other internal reactions in differet scenarios:

"Why the heck didn’t you just say that in English in the first place. Aren’t you a JTE who’s supposed to be talking to me only in English?”
“Why the heck didn’t you say that sentence louder instead of asking an English teacher to translate?!”
“Why the heck didn’t you say that sentence again instead of running away? Come back!”

If you’re interested in teaching abroad one day, don’t do that to your students. Please try multiple strategies. Anything else would be undermining their ability or disabling them.

Fortunately, not all teacher-conversationalists are disablers. I would say it's split down the middle between J-teachers who use many strategies, and J-teachers who don't try or misunderstand. I’ve had great conversations with people (I’d recommend people who have loud voices such as older men, gym teachers, lol, JTEs who have a clue, and Japanese friends outside of school.)

I really appreciate it when someone is talking, stops, and asks me, do you understand (this word)? YES, I DO, THANKYOOOU! That's the most basic of pedagogy, "checking for understanding." lol.

Usually when I speak to students, (and there's no time constraints) it goes like this:
Me: English sentence.
Student: Huh?
Me: English sentence, slowly, loudly. (Very American of me, but this works!)
Student: Huh?
Me: Similar-meaning English sentence, slowly, loudly. (Maybe includes hand gestures)
Student: Huh?
Me: Repeat sentence.
Student: Huh?
Me: Considers saying it differently or in Japanese instead.

Most of the time, when students just stop, watch, and listen, we don't resort to Japanese because they would eventually figure it out or their classmate would jump in and support them. That gives them so much satisfaction. Unfortunately, you’ll find that there are many students who run straight to a JTE for a direct translation instead of listening for a little longer. And some teachers don’t enable them by translating without making them listen and think first. Then, they do this to you, too. But you know better than to do this to students, right? Stop this vicious cycle!

Ofcourse, you should only go through multiple strategies accordingly and during an appropriate time or class will never end. I understand that sometimes students will simply not understand. Some can hear but can't listen or understand. But as an ESL teacher, shouldn't you always try multiple strategies because there is a chance they will? Repeat, talk loudly and clearly, or say it differently.

It's so simple. And I guess it's just clearer to me now since I'm learning another language.

Thank you teachers who still keep up the basics and treat learners like they’re learners.

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What’s the Best Way to Really Remember Kanji? How Important Is Writing?

05/05/2013

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Recently, I stumbled upon this page written by a Japanese woman who left Japan when she was 5, lived in England up to age 10, and returned to Japan: The Best Way To Learn Kanji Is Not Online

Some time when she was 10, her family planned to return to Japan. Her mother realized that she was basically illiterate in Japanese, and forced her to practice writing until she hated it-- even threatened to jump out the window several times, lol. When she moved back to Japan, she realized that all this studying paid off. The point of her post is that she was able to learn most elementary kanji in a few months (maybe about a thousand), and that the best way to learn it is through good old-fashioned writing practice.

I read this page maybe over a year ago, remembering how much I disagreed, and I stumbled upon it again, and I still disagree. But there are a few things I agree with. (Her post is old, 2009, so the comments have been long disabled and I couldn’t add my two cents over there.) The purpose of this post isn’t to discredit Maki-san, but to give some opinion on what I think are the best ways to remember kanji, to remember foreign words.

Obviously, she was able to remember so much kanji in a matter of a few months because she’s Japanese. lol. Even if she was not literate in Japanese, she still had extra tools to supplement her memorization process that we non-Japanese don’t.

I went to Vietnamese school once a week for about 2 months when I was about 10-12 years old. That was somewhere between only 8-10 days of schooling in all. I could read, write, and guess a lot of Vietnamese as a teen. Why? Though I grew up American, I am also Vietnamese, my parents speak Vietnamese to me, so I have the ability to acknowledge word encounters, recall them, make sense of them in text, and therefore lock them into my memory longer. And through this support system, I remembered them. I would never tell someone learning Vietnamese that the best way to remember written Vietnamese is to write it a bunch of times! Even Heisig’s “Remembering the Kanji” stresses creative meaning-making elements in kanji writing practice.

You should write whatever language it is you’re studying many times to not only be good at it, but to be able to differentiate it from the other characters that look similar. Like Maki mentioned, muscle writing memory is really important. What she left out is the support of oral and aural memory with grammar in context.

The difficult part is that, unless you’re Japanese, you probably don’t have your grammar and speaking abilities underneath your belt in the first place, to support your literacy excercises.

So what is the best way to study kanji? And how important is writing?

First, how much time do you have and what are your priorities?

If you have a lot of time, (and can follow a college or textbook program) study it holistically: reading, writing, speaking, listening. This way, you’re exposed to vocabulary in many different ways. The problem with this is that seems to be a slow process. At first. Eventually, if you master the building blocks of RWSL, one at a time, you'll be able to support your learning in many way. It’s worked for so many people.

If you have even more time in the world, and you prioritize writing, do Heisig’s method. Yes, I think this strategy takes longer, but has some merits. But you’ll have some sort of kanji knowledge and find that the writing part isn’t such a hurdle when you dive into holistic learning. Not only that, but you’ll probably have a good eye for not confusing it with other similar-looking kanji. Think of yourself as a Chinese student who’s going to study Japanese.

If you have zero time and are boarding a plane to Japan tomorrow, focus on the oral communication and grammar studies. This way requires memorization of a lot of vocabulary, you'll get early satisfaction with communication. When you do begin reading and writing, you’ll find that you already know a lot, and can make many connections to lock it into long-term memory. An analogy would be a 5 year old entering kindergarten and learning how to read and write easier because he already can speak the language. (Versus a 5 year old entering who’s from an immigrant family.)

Let's not forget good old fashioned flashcards. Yes, flashcards. If you're not at a level where you can read Japanese texts well enough to get frequent exposure to it, then flashcards will provide that.

Notice in the end, it all points to holistic learning, the first method I mentioned. (And Hard Work.) This is what textbooks are modeled under; this is what college courses do. No matter how well you think you’ve memorized kanji, whether by writing it or sight recognition (I’m looking at you, Heisig’s RTK users), other components are needed to support your memory and build connections around the words you're learning. Do you really know it if you can’t recall it in it’s multiple facets and in context?

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Choosing Japanese Books and Manga Based On Your Reading Level

05/01/2013

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On this article, I will give my opinions on studying Japanese and supplementing it with reading manga or books. This is written for beginning students or students entering the intermediate level.

When should I start reading Japanese books? What kinds of books should I read at a beginner’s level?

Start reading when you can automatically identify kana. The more you expose yourself to Japanese characters, the faster you can train yourself to recognize and read them.

So first, just start with simple word recognition (flashcards, reviewing familiar sentences and patterns in kana). The best way to know how well you can recognize kana is to check how well and quickly you can write it. You’ll notice that recognizing it would seem easy at first, but if you’re at a loss when it comes to recalling how to write it, you don’t really know your kana. This is the foundation of reading in Japanese. Get it down.

Though kana is the most basic of basic Japanese character recognition, you’ll need a good vocabulary bank, or have memorized several hundred words, and basic grammar or else you won’t be able to understand simple stories. Because of this, it can be really hard at first. It just takes practice!

Your progression in Japanese will depend on your ability to make sense of language, and ofcourse, your motivation! How motivated are you to learn Japanese?

Japanese Levels

There’s a variety of textbooks on the market, but I'll refer to popular textbooks to illustrate my explanations. Genki I will take you to N5. And Genki II will take you to N4 and maybe even N3. After all, you only need 60-70% to pass these tests.

There are many intermediate textbooks on the market, but closer to the intermediate standards are Tobira, An Integrated Approach, and even harder, Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced (titles have been shortened). If you get through 2 of these intermediate ones, You should be on N2. Maybe knocking on the door of N1.

To me, N1 does not mean advanced, but it's the signifier that you're at a place where you can study Japanese with zero English, and make sense without too many explanations. You’re ready to step into "real" Japanese.

Once again, these tests only require a 60%-70% passing score. And there’s no oral exam! That alone tells you that these scores aren’t the most reliable measurements, but they give you a general idea of levels.

The speaking part of Japanese is a hurdle for learners, thus, i.m.o. becomes a hurdle for internalizing what you've learned and apply it quickly to reading. The ability to listen, speak, and use correct grammar on the spot will test how quickly you can recall the grammar you’ve studied.

One of the best advice that I received when I first started learning was “memorize as many words as you can.” You’ll realize that even when your grammar isn’t in place, you can understand or express a lot with key words.

To tell you the truth, I began studying and writing kanji over a year after I studied and conversed in Japanese. The reason was because I began living in Japan before I began to really study, so I found it a necessity to spend more time studying grammar and conversation than reading and writing. If you would like to learn more about this situation and how reading and writing comes to play, it’ll be in a different article.

Now, to the books.

First, any books with pictures is a good place to start.

Children’s Picture Books (Vocabulary in the hundreds)

Short stories. Usually are completely in hiragana, with very few kanji. All kanji have furigana reading.

This is good for the very beginning Japanese learner who can automatically identify kana and have basic vocabulary and grammar. These stories can be completed within a relatively short time frame, and a good way to practice reading and re-reading for fluency practice.

The good thing is that it's mostly kana. The bad thing is also that it's mostly kana. Japanese has relatively few sounds in the language, so a lot of words sound alike, making it hard for early readers to figure out where new words begin sometimes. That's why it's good to learn kanji early on.

Children and Tween Novels (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

Longer stories, may contain chapters. May be harder than manga at times. More kanji, but most kanji are accompanied by furigana. 3rd person stories often use standard grammar, with the exception of dialogue. Nonstandard grammar or vocabulary is usually easy to understand.

Manga General

For a beginner, choose very easy to read manga, or manga with storylines you're already familiar with. Familiar manga have storylines and a lot of pictures that propel you to recall words that you otherwise may be stuck on within a novel. Also, it tends to have a lot of furigana in case you forget how to read the kanji.

Children’s Manga (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

Longer than picture books, but shorter than tween novels. Simple kanji, but accompanied by furigana. Often uses casual vocabulary and grammar due to the dialogue.

In Ascending Difficulty Levels: Shoujo Manga, Shounen (Teens), Jousei, Seinen (Adults) (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Shoujo tends to be easier, mostly because subject matter is within the realm of regular human situations. Shounen is slightly harder depending on the setting. These two genres have similar kanji as “Children and Tween Novels” in that they’re often accompanied by furigana.

Jousei and Seinen are harder to read. Elementary and maybe middle school kanji are expected to be known by the reader, thus, do not have furigana. Harder high school kanji will have furigana.

Manga dialogue tends to be quite casual and often do not follow the regular grammar and vocabulary patterns taught in Japanese textbooks. Any sci-fi or fantasy settings are expected to be slightly harder to comprend due to specific vocabulary.

Light Novels (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Filled with a lot of dialogue, with few pictures, often not following standard grammar patterns studied.

Novels

Hard. When you get to this point, why are you even reading this page? Order your books NOW! =D

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Reflection & Update

Japanese Enkai Parties: What's for dinner?

The Food.

"I Can’t Hear You!" What You Have In Common With Students.

What’s the Best Way to Really Remember Kanji? How Important Is Writing?

Choosing Japanese Books and Manga Based On Your Reading Level

When should I start reading Japanese books? What kinds of books should I read at a beginner’s level?

Japanese Levels

Children’s Picture Books (Vocabulary in the hundreds)

Children and Tween Novels (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

Manga General

Children’s Manga (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

In Ascending Difficulty Levels: Shoujo Manga, Shounen (Teens), Jousei, Seinen (Adults) (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Light Novels (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Novels

Author

Archives

Categories

Reflection & Update

Japanese Enkai Parties: What's for dinner?

The Food.

"I Can’t Hear You!" What You Have In Common With Students.

What’s the Best Way to Really Remember Kanji? How Important Is Writing?

Choosing Japanese Books and Manga Based On Your Reading Level

When should I start reading Japanese books? What kinds of books should I read at a beginner’s level?

Japanese Levels

Children’s Picture Books (Vocabulary in the hundreds)

Children and Tween Novels (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

Manga General

Children’s Manga (Vocabulary past 1,000; preferably 1,500+)

In Ascending Difficulty Levels: Shoujo Manga, Shounen (Teens), Jousei, Seinen (Adults) (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Light Novels (Vocabulary in the thousands)

Novels

Author

Archives

Categories

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