Teacher Water Cooler – Month of May 2022

Discuss the state of the teaching industry in Japan with your fellow teachers! Use this thread to discuss salary trends, companies, minor questions that don’t warrant a whole post, and build a rapport with other members of the community.

Please keep discussions civilized. Mods will remove any offending posts.

10 comments
  1. I have to teach three in-person university speaking and listening classes, but the students have to wear masks, sit apart from one another, and are separated by four sheets of thick, transparent plastic. Does anyone have suggestions about what to do to enable students to speak and for me to actually hear them besides just asking them to bring in computers and reverting to Zoom?

  2. Whats a casual way of saying in Japanese “I need you guys to dial it back a little” or “can you simmer down some” “I need you guys to keep the joking within bounds”.

    I feel I run into a lot of situations where I don’t want to go full out and chastise kids but just tell a group to quiet down a little.

  3. Hey! Anyone ever teach at Hamamatsu Berlitz center? I’m in a position to accept a job and I’d love to know more about them

  4. Thinking of getting a bluetooth dongle that connects my laptop to projectors. Any recommendations?

  5. Can anyone recommend an English recitation contest in the greater Tokyo area? I’m looking for something for lower level students.

  6. I’m an ALT currently finishing up my MA and applying for university jobs, many of which either require or suggest having publications. I’ve got my first two publication manuscripts under review with different journals, however, I doubt that the review process will be finished before the application deadline of some of these positions. Should I include these manuscripts in my application with an explanation in lieu of publications, instead of nothing at all? Or would that be stretching things too much?

  7. Kiinda wonder about the heavy implicit bias working in Japan has on your teaching style. Just from what I have observed over the years, Teachers who began in Japan tend to be a lot more grammar focus compared to communicative focused teachers who began their career abroad. Training has some effect but does not seem to be as strong as I thought it would be. Even belief does not seem as strong as I through it would be. Lots of teachers talk about communicative approaches seem really heavily influenced by the kind of grammar teaching you see in most schools when I have seen them teach or checked their material. Definitely include myself in this as well.

  8. I work in the tinieist school in the city. With about 49 students, anyways, what in thr world do the teachers do all day? Are they jsut acting busy or what? Most of time is not spend teaching it’s spend doing office ‘work’ . I’m genuinely curious too curious are they acting busy becasue I leave on time anyways.

    Someone please tell me I’m curious.

  9. Being stuck in WFH for 2 years and then suddenly sharing an office with several people has been… refreshing, in both good and bad ways. It’s nice to communicate with other adults face to face again.

    But goddamn. Some of you people are pushing 50 and are still as immature and as composed as 6 year olds.

  10. Finally left my job at a preschool yesterday and going into IT next week.

    I knew the relationships in the office were strained, but none of the Japanese staff even bothered to say good bye as I clocked out.

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