More than 90% of engrish teachers are dogdoo

[Taro Toporific]

Ministry survey finds schools' English teaching falling short
The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 18, 2005
Only 4 percent of public middle schools in the country conduct a good portion of each English lesson in English, a figure far below the goal set by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, ministry officials said Sunday.
...Only 8.3 percent of middle school teachers and 16.3 percent of high school teachers scored more than 730 points in the TOEIC test, a figure indicating thorough comprehension of ordinary English conversation and an ability to provide quick responses....more...

[Big Booger]

I have first-hand experience with this. I used to teach at a high school in a rural area of Japan. When I first arrived there they were teaching a vast majority of the English courses in 98% Japanese with some English vocab repetition, choral reading and so on.. the type of stuff that a kid is quick to forget because it will never be covered on a test.

So by the third year, I and several of the progressive teachers decided to teach the courses including reading and oral communication *which is basically an extension of grammar/reading/writing, etc... with speaking thrown in the mix for good measure* ALL in English. We gave all instructions in English, we made the tests 100% English, with only some Japanese for translating from Japanese to English and so on.

What we discovered at the end of the year was that those students that got the full 100% English treatment, not only improved on listening and speaking, but they also scored higher than 90% of the students in grammar, reading and writing as well. And when I say 90% of students, I mean NATIONALLY.

Once they enforce strict English parameters for teaching English, with some sort of check and balance on it, I think then Japanese will eventually score higher on these English tests like EIKEN. I also think teacher's scores will improve on the TOEIC because they have to use the target language in a 100% situation.

[Charles]

...So by the third year, I and several of the progressive teachers decided to teach the courses including reading and oral communication *which is basically an extension of grammar/reading/writing, etc... with speaking thrown in the mix for good measure* ALL in English. We gave all instructions in English, we made the tests 100% English, with only some Japanese for translating from Japanese to English and so on...

What, you mean that isn't standard methodology? I thought all modern language classes were basically taught in the target language after a few basic introductory weeks. My own Japanese classes were 99% Japanese after the first semester, with only a few rare grammar explanations in English. The whole point is to get as much exposure to the languate as possible. And there comes a point when you're expected to be able to study the language IN that language, using native resources. I know my own Japanese skills improved dramatically once I was able to read Japanese instruction books that were written in Japanese.

[Big Booger]

...So by the third year, I and several of the progressive teachers decided to teach the courses including reading and oral communication *which is basically an extension of grammar/reading/writing, etc... with speaking thrown in the mix for good measure* ALL in English. We gave all instructions in English, we made the tests 100% English, with only some Japanese for translating from Japanese to English and so on...

What, you mean that isn't standard methodology? I thought all modern language classes were basically taught in the target language after a few basic introductory weeks. My own Japanese classes were 99% Japanese after the first semester, with only a few rare grammar explanations in English. The whole point is to get as much exposure to the languate as possible. And there comes a point when you're expected to be able to study the language IN that language, using native resources. I know my own Japanese skills improved dramatically once I was able to read Japanese instruction books that were written in Japanese.

You would have thunk so.. but it was not the case. Basically this is how I have seen most English classes taught.

Students come in, KIRITSU, REI, sit down. Then the teacher basically starts the class by writing the target grammar in English on the board, then they take 10 minutes to explain it. Then the students repeat the new words in English maybe 2 or 3 times. Then the teacher asks the Japanese meaning..

After that, the text is read usually some story about animals or the bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki or something like that... Then choral reading... explanation in Japanese of the text shortly follows, then students take notes in their notebooks, usually translating all the text from English to Japanese.

Nearly every explanation about everything is given in Japanese... It's standard rote memorizations.. text translations, and grammar points all explained in Japanese with the use of English perhaps 2-20% of the time... depending on the teacher and the emphasis that teacher places on English.

Needless to say, after I left, they went back to the old way of doing things or so I've heard.

Junior high schools are much worse than high schools and in fact it is well known that JH teachers are not as bright nor as serious as senior high teachers... or so I have been told.

I posed this question to the teachers when they started given me slack about teaching all the time in English at the high school I taught at... I asked them would you teach Japanese using English? They of course said no, so then I asked them why would they teach English using Japanese.... I think the point got across quite well.

[AssKissinger]

Junior high schools are much worse than high schools and in fact it is well known that JH teachers are not as bright nor as serious as senior high teachers... or so I have been told.

The junior high teachers I've worked with have all been intelligent people and excellent teachers.

[Big Booger]

Junior high schools are much worse than high schools and in fact it is well known that JH teachers are not as bright nor as serious as senior high teachers... or so I have been told.

The junior high teachers I've worked with have all been intelligent people and excellent teachers.

YOu worked in China as well?

[Taro Toporific]

'Incompetent' teacher numbers hit record high
MSN-Mainichi
MSN-Mainichi Daily News: August 10, 2005
Education boards across Japan's largest local governments designated 566 public school teachers officially incompetent during the 2004 academic year, the highest figure on record, the Education Ministry said.
Even though the number of teachers punished for sexual harassment or indecency dropped markedly from 196 to 166, the 566 teachers determined to lack "guidance ability" was 85 more than 2003 and the highest figures since records began in 2000.
Yokohama produced the greatest number of incompetent public school teachers of any major local government in Japan, with 27.....
As for punishments handed out for sexual harassment or indecency, those in their 30s made up the greatest number of offenders......more...

[Taro Toporific]

Wait, wait, I take it back...Japanese teachers of engrish are not dogdoo. They're the creme de la creme.:wink4:

For brighter future for ESL in Korea
Korean Herald / 2005.08.13
Although Korea has one of the most vibrant economies, the friendliest people and perhaps one of the finest cultures of any country in Asia. Korea often loses out to neighbors Japan and China when it comes to attracting highly-motivated and welltrained ESL teachers.
The questions I pose are: Is the poor reputation of the ESL industry in Korea driving professional teachers to foreign shores...more...

[Big Booger]

The root of the problem here is threefold. Firstly, the unhappiest teachers are unusually the most inexperienced and have no idea what to expect from a teaching career in Asia.

Secondly, there is often a huge "culture gap" between the standard manner in which Koreans do business or deal with employees and the manner in which this is handled in the West. The other reason is the reputation for dishonesty and lack of fairplay that some Korean hagwon owners and some recruiters have made for themselves internationally.

That's it blame the "unhappiest teachers because of their lack of experience in Asia." ..yet in the same article state fully that ESL teachers are happy in China and Japan... uhh... does that not mean Korea sucks??? LOL

[Samurai_Jerk]

there is often a huge "culture gap" between the standard manner in which Koreans do business or deal with employees and the manner in which this is handled in the West.

This is true. In the West we have this crazy concept of honoring contracts and paying people what they are owed on time. This runs counter to Korea's cultural traditions and we must be sensitive to this fact.