I often collaborate with a Japanese person for a variety of International events, especially any ones involving English. Some time ago, she asked me for advice that I’ve never been able to give a good answer for, so maybe I can get advice here. Basically, she has a young daughter, maybe in K or about first grade- I’m not entirely sure myself- and because the mother has very strong English, she wants her daughter to also learn English. I expect the mother hasn’t tried simply because she doesn’t feel confident in her own English abilities, and despite all the stuff in this sub, it feels like Japanese people want to learn English from natives, officially qualified or not.
Now you may ask, why not teach the daughter yourself and make some side cash? Very simple: I’m on an instructor visa, and would rather not go through the hassle that is getting immigration to put an exception on visa status or whatever it officially is. In addition, the mother has told she has experience with some of the eikaiwas in the area, and she is… less than impressed, to put it mildly. Y’all know the down low about eikaiwas from our side, so I assume you can guess the feelings of someone who’s a bit more serious about having their child actually learn English rather than be babysat for an hour.
Which is why I ask this sub: for someone who ACTUALLY wants their child to learn English (I know, it’s crazy, isn’t it) but doesn’t want to deal with the local eikaiwas in the area, and I’m ruled out due to visa situation… what would you suggest? I suppose online is a possibility, but something tells me that online lessons and young children don’t mesh so well.
13 comments
Immersion. English has to be fun and the kid needs to *want* to use it. Your friend can try to make the home as English-friendly as possible – be that English kid shows and books. Play games in English.
Everyone i know that was on an instructor visa taught on the side for cash. So dont feel guilty. The bottom line is that it is very hard to find someone who you can actually trust to do a proper job teaching English.
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Teaching a few side lessons, private, cash pay, isn’t messing with anyone’s visa. I’d say 90% of English teachers do so. That said, it’s a good way to get out of teaching other peoples kids.
Decent Private Tutor, I have taught a girl for 3 years at her home. Her mother found me on sensei sagusu or somthing. We do some grammer, vocab, take a break and chat, read together then play games.
We play lots of card and board games cos she likes them. We used to do songs but she’s a bit grown out that. I’m pricey but I spend alot of time and money on preparing the materials and games and I tailor it for her. She’s in the 5th grade but doing chu 3 level texts now.
That is within the scope of your visa, you don’t need permission.
Daily exposure to English is a good starting point. I know a lot of Europeans who speak English fluently because they have been watching tv shows, playing video games, listening to music, etc. Next, I would suggest reading, and later on, writing. And the mother also needs to communicate in English with the child.
Also, as mentioned by many others, you could offer private tutoring. If the mother came to you to discuss her child’s education, she probably wants you to help her. As long as your side hustle isn’t generating too much income to compete with your main income (I think it is up to ¥200,000), you should be fine. If you’re still worried, then you could apply for a “在留資格外活動の許可 Permission To Engage In Activity Other Than That Permitted Under The Status Of Residence Previously Granted” which requires written permission from your employer and a contract from your side job. But I don’t think it’ll matter with you because you’re probably going to be paid in cash.
On the visa issue: it’s not technically allowed but the risk of detection is extremely low. I don’t think immigration is going to send undercover 6 six year old agents posing as students to bust you. Just don’t advertise it other than by word of mouth.
Over the years I have been asked this question many, many times. Most of the time parents are not all that serious about it. They want something simple and easy (and cheap), but the truth is that pretty much all of the real options are expensive and difficult. They often require sacrifices that most people aren’t willing to make. There is a reason why most of the truly bilingual people you meet here are either affluent or lucky.
So, here are a few ideas I have been telling people:
First of all, even when dealing with young children there has to be some intrinsic motivation from her daughter. If her daughter doesn’t want to learn English, no matter how much her mother wants her to, she won’t. How many of us took piano lessons (or whatever) as a kid but hated it and now we can’t play. Same thing goes for foreign language. Her daughter is only going to learn English if she wants to. Parent’s don’t like to hear this but it is true.
However, if children are put into a situation where they have to learn English they will–whether they want to or not. So, my first piece of advice is always: move overseas. Some people get lucky and their company transfers them overseas, some people go find jobs that will transfer them overseas, some people are rich enough that they can just move. (Affluence and/or luck.)
Along the same lines, if parents want to stay in Japan but really want their children to get good at English, they should enroll them in an EMI international school instead of sending them to a regular Japanese school. This is expensive and depending where you live might be very inconvenient. My wife works at an international school and parents who are serious about having internationalized children often move to live near the school. Parent’s take on second jobs to pay for the school fees. Many grandparents who still have those fat savings accounts from their bubble era bonuses pay for school. (Affluence and/or luck.)
Beyond these two, if you can’t put your children in a situation where they have to learn another language, then there isn’t a single do this and she will be fluent type thing–which is the advice most people are looking for. When people ask me this question the answer what they want is for me to tell them the name of a YouTube channel that will magically increase their kid’s ability. The reality is to become truly proficient at a language parent have to provide multiple things off this list and it is not going to be easy or cheap.
So, how did the mother learn English? Whatever it was she could chart a similar path. However, her mother’s parents probably had more money then she does and could provide lots of these things that she can’t. Japanese people these days are just not as well off as in the past.
Something a little cheaper, she should find some parents with English speaking children around her daughter’s age and set-up some play dates. This will probably increase the other children’s Japanese, but some English might wear off on her. However, if she is not lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that has lots of English speaking kids, she might have to move. (Affluence and/or luck.)
Something that often increases motivation for kids is to take them to an English speaking environment so they can see it is a real language and not just something that people on TV speak. Travel is a major motivator for many people. Seeing her mother interact with people in English can greatly increase her daughter’s motivation. The trick is that it can’t be a one and done type thing, but a regular ongoing activity. The child needs to be experiencing interacting with people in English as well. Regular (as in a couple of times a year) vacations to Hawaii or Guam can help with this. I teach at the university level and one of the things that is very common among my fluent students is travel. Their parents took them all over the world. They are 18 or 19 and have been to over 20 countries. (Affluence and/or luck.)
Say want you want about eikaiwa, but they can be effective. The trick is to find a good one. They’re out there, you just have to go look for them. Cost is not necessarily a correlation, but it often is. The more expensive it is, the more serious the students are, they more likely the school is not just a money grubbing fly-by-night type place–they have to deliver. Another thing that has been effective for some people with the juku/eikaiwa system is to attend often. Once a week for 50 minutes is usually not enough. Students need to attend multiple times a week. The people that I know who’ve had real success with eikaiwa usually attend multiple schools on multiple days. (Affluence and/or luck.)
Most of this stuff above is not realistic for most people; they can’t afford it. If you don’t have money, then you have to be actively engaged. The problem is that most people get tired, especially when they are not seeing immediate success, and give up. Here are some things that are cheaper, but require a serious commitment from the parents.
Only have English media in the house. For example, lots of kids watch and re-watch Disney movies again and again. Instead of buying the Japanese version, get only English version. If they are going to watch Frozen three times a week for the next several years, force them to watch it in English. If they have the Japanese versions, get rid of them. Read your kids bedtime stories in English and only English. When the family watches TV together, instead of watching broadcast in Japanese, get a cable or Netflix subscription and only watch English TV shows. The trouble with this is that children will complain that they don’t understand the media and the parents cave in. They watch the DVD once and then never again. Parents have to be active and strict about this and they–the parents–have to do it as well. In fact, the parents should be modeling this behavior and only consuming English media themselves. That’s a big sacrifice that most people won’t make.
Have times when English is the home language. During the specified time, only English will be used by all members of the family–for everything. No exceptions can be made. They can start with 20 minutes everyday or whatever is convenient and as all members of the family increase their proficiency, the time is increased. So an hour a day. Then half a day. Then all day. And so on. The problems are that mom might agree to this–and be able to do it–but it has to be dad as well. Also, people get tired or busy and give it up, but it has to be consistent. Everyone has to stick to it no matter what. It can’t be when I’m in the mood I speak English. It has to be we speak English no matter what’s going on.
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Anyway, I think you can see that none of this advice is what people want to hear. Most people think that being proficient in English is a good thing, but they are not actually willing to do what it takes. Learning a language is not easy and it’s not simple. It takes time, effort, commitment, and unfortunately money.
Teach her yourself and make the money. Your visa is fine. And if its cash in hand who the hell knows anyway.
Mom should just speak English with the daughter at home. So what if her English isn’t native. If it’s strong, as you say, that’s good enough. The important thing is to use it for everyday childhood needs, and to use it a lot. Using it with a strong but imperfect speaking mom daily will be much much better than using it a couple of hours a week with some gaijin dude who has no other interactions in her life.
You are the least of the Immigration Department’s worries. That cash is waiting to jump into your pocket. Go for it.
If the daughter is less than 6 and they live in Sapporo you should try Friends English International. Is a small English school but their preschool students are petty advanced for Japanese kids. She can do a trial lesson ..?
Their elementary classes are about the same as any other but their preschool really stands out.