This week I finally started teaching again. I had no idea it would take so long to get back into classes - I was all ready to teach the day I got back from NZ (over two weeks ago). But no, that was a foolish assumption based on not being able to read the schedule in Japanese!
Anyway, I'm finally back into it this week. I've just been doing lots of self-introductions (luckily I don't sleep talk, or I'm sure Jeff would be hearing about my NZ slideshow all night...). I've had some good teacher changes and some disappointing ones, but on the whole I think I've traded up.
At my visit school I lost my favourite teacher and my most difficult teacher - they were replaced by two lessons with an old guy. I was told (warned?) that he was quite 'traditional' in his teaching (this is sometimes a byword for lots of grammar, inflexibility and most instruction in the class being in Japanese). He didn't seem quite up with the play - clearly not always following what I was saying, so if I needed help with a translation or something I would need to rephrase the question - but that's not unusual with teachers that are not yet used to me and my accent (I guess it's tiring at first, getting used to an accent that's not American!). But after class he told me about his summer house in the mountains, close to our wee Jinseki place, and how he wants to invite Jeff and I up for a BBQ. A bit later we ended up having a big discussion about... what else... classic English literature! One of his favourites is Wuthering Heights. Of course the elderly Japanese bloke likes Wuthering Heights... So we traded a few writers names and had a really great chat. Cool! :)
Currently I'm waiting for the students to turn up in the computer room adjoining the staff room. If I am correct (and I may well not be, because the schedules change as fast I can read them) it is cleaning time now and some students should be turning up for me to oversea hoovering and sweeping the computer room. But... no-one is coming, so perhaps not??
Anyway, until I finish work I should start planning some activities for the English club. Currently I have three kids (officially four, but the boy showed up 0/2 times, so I'm assuming I've seen the last of him). So my students who come are three little ichi-nensei (first year) girls. One was so nervous she almost talked herself out of coming to the first meeting! Of course when she DID turn up and recognised another first year buddy, she was very excited.
My third student is a later addition (she signed up this week, so wasn't at last Friday's meeting). I feel bad for being so excited about this third girl joining. She is our little cancer kid. I have no personal knowledge of her cancer - I mean, I don't even know if she has beaten it or still gets treatment - but I know what type of cancer it is, plus it's obvious when you look at her that having cancer and the necessary treatments as a child has stunted her growth, given her thin hair and caused one leg to be bowed. It's really stupid but because of my sister's cancer experience (although I know she was an adult then, albeit a very young one) and my experiences with Camp Quality (for those that don't know, a camp for kids with cancer), I feel this ridiculously strong connection to this little girl. I know it's stupid, that in her eyes just spending a couple of weeks hanging out with sick kids wouldn't give me any real understanding of her situation. But I can't help but feel that when we talk there will be this strong understanding. I literally keep having to remind myself that she doesn't speak English, that getting cancer does not immediately gift one with fluency in English. But it doesn't help that cancer kids are super mature and used to being thrown into adult conversations and trying to understand far more than they really grasp, so when I was speaking to her she had this very self-assured way of nodding and answering in the affirmative whenever I asked if she understood. I was rushing at the time (busy decorating the windows with my spring-themed pictures - thanks for the facebook suggestions!), so I didn't actually ask her anything about herself or have a chat with her. In all honesty I was also a bit flustered at finding out that the student I feel I have a special (although logically I know it's stupid) kinship with had come to join my English club! So that means Friday will be my opportunity to actually find out how much English she knows. Looking forward to it!
In a further note to that, when I told one of the English teachers that this kid had joined the club, the teacher told me that the student is interested in finding out how her condition would be treated in other countries (so I guess I can assume she is still sick?). The student hasn't spoken to me about it yet (obviously), but I'll try to start researching it for her...
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for what you would want to do if you were a 15 yr old Japanese girl trying to learn English, let me know!
Charly xo
No comments:
Post a Comment