Behan wrote:A young teacher who sits near me will only speak to me in English. And she's not the only one, just the one who pisses me off the most.
PMS Behan
I find there are two categories of these must speak English clowns. First, the Japanese is only learnable by the unique Japanese ear crowd and therefore any foreign bozo must be addressed in English so as not to confuse them. I reply to these clowns in Japanese only and always begin by saying I can't understand a word they are saying and to please speak Japanese. I will continue this until they either speak Japanese or give up. But, out of their loss of face, I will never be bothered by them using English with me again. However, this type is very easy to spot and should not be confused with someone who has any brains, or common sense. This handy technique should best be limited to those who currently do not, or in the future, could hold a management position controlling your fate or visa!
I have some other majimei speakers of English throughout the office who will always use English with me, because in a sense, it is a part of their career development and better fluency may help them get assigned to one of our overseas offices. For the most part, they will let me know this before hand and ask me not to correct them if they get stuck as they want to try to work it out themselves. I don't mind this and rather encourage it as long as the office doesn't become an eikaiwa kyoushitsu....
