Teaching English

Hi!

A big "THANK YOU" to those who have dropped in on my site and left comments. You are all well-remembered by me. I think of you lots and wonder what's happening with you and BWSS. You're really in the final run-up to the exams. Please hang in there!

It's been half a year since I last taught. So it's no wonder that I felt so rusty on Saturday. One of Joseph's friends' daddies asked if I would teach him English. I thought he was joking at first but then I realised that Japanese don't joke about such things. So I thought long and hard about it. As I saw it, there were 2 big problems. First, I did not have very much time with 2 active boys. Second, I had never taught a person English from scratch. I mean, I know how to teach essay writing and comprehension skills but teaching someone the very basics of the language was another thing altogether. But he was genuinely keen and so I agreed.

Our first lesson went fairly well. We went through the basic grammar items and then we tried going through some business articles in the newspapers. He caught on much faster than I expected. The Japanese have some English Language background in high school. They learn grammar, spelling and vocabulary. But their listening and speaking skills are fairly lacking because they don't get much chance to practise. By the time they go to university, graduate and get a job, most have forgotten what they had been taught in high school. But the Japanese people are very hardworking and willing to learn. I heard from my student's wife that he woke up at 5am to do the homework that I had set him before he left for work. How's that for commitment. Hope this inspires you all to do the same.

As for coming back for a visit, I'm hoping to drop in sometime during the end of September. Will you people still be attending school? Don't "pontang", yah?