Edit: Update. I spoke with the 2nd Grade homeroom teacher and apologized for causing parents to complain. I reworked the worksheet to have boxes where the kids can draw the fruit they like instead of write. She was really appreciative and seemed to accept the apology. (You never know here because no one shows their true thoughts or feelings.) I’m still frustrated but I’ll get over it.
So long story short: last week, I gave my second graders a little worksheet where they had to choose fruits from the board and copy them onto the page. Super easy. No thought needed. They loved it. Had several ask me how to write the letters. It was so much fun for everyone.
I was asked just asked to change that lesson for the remaining 2nd grade classes because “parents complained that it was too hard”. I know for a fact that they didn’t because no student took the paper home. It was the homeroom teacher.
The teachers here REFUSE to push the students even a little bit. SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE MOMENTS WHERE THINGS ARE HARD!! Besides, copying words on the board is not hard in any way. Working as an alt has made me realize just how uneducated Japanese really are.
TLDR: Got told to change an assignment because it’s “too hard” and I know it’s not.
36 comments
It was probably too hard for the homeroom teacher.
We’re in a dangerous time where a lot of Elementary school students have had a lot more exposure to English than their school teachers.
I agree with you. Sometimes we really need to push the students for them to improve. However, I get to that kind of request if my JTE is a traditional kind. However, the younger (modern) JTEs likes innovation and wants to push the envelope.
Whenever I receive the “that’s too hard comment” I just think of it as “they know their students better”. Because sometime there’s a fine line between the kids not wanting the English subject anymore or they will be excited and want to learn more.
Current level +1. This is the way. Tell that to the teacher.
Too easy = waste of time.
Too hard = waste of time.
Just play Bingo
Technically speaking, Japanese ES students don’t start studying Romaji until the 3rd grade. Doesn’t mean it is too hard, just means that writing the alphabet in the 2nd year is one year ahead of the national curriculum.
Interesting. I have worked as an ALT at the JHS level for quite a while now. We quite regularly put them in situations where they haven’t studied a specific grammar usage but have to get the point across. Keeping them in something that isn’t too difficult yet isn’t too easy.
Sometimes it can be a fine line to straddle and sometimes goes on the wrong side.
Do students at this level write English though? Been a while since I taught at an ES, but not even the 6th graders would write back then. I know things have changed since, but when do they start writing the alphabet? Because if they haven’t learned how to write the alphabet, then I can understand how one could argue that it’s hard, and what they probably mean is that they want you to focus on speaking instead of writing.
To be fair, the JTE and homeroom teacher are probably equally sick of hearing, “why not” followed by, “but …” and an argument from ALTs. So the, “it’s too hard for them” excuse is probably more reflexive than meaningful.
There are a lot of reasons for not teaching something harder, and some are more valid than others.
* The teacher isn’t ready to teach that material yet.
* The teacher has that (or something similar) planned for later in the year.
* The teacher has to cover other material that will be on a test.
* The teacher doesn’t want to.
* A few students actually did find it too hard.
I’m definitely not saying you’re wrong by being frustrated with this kind of response, but don’t forget to consider things from the teacher’s point of view. It can help to make an effort to coordinate activities with the syllabus and consider more difficult activities that compliment the class tregectory, rather than one off activities that don’t take much planning.
I literally have a JTE who literally alters the English listening test so that all the students have to do is listen and circle answers and tells them to write in Japanese instead of English but they mostly remove any part of the test that requires any English writing even if it’s just tracing over words because it’s ‘too hard’ and this way all the students pass English, I still think it’s wrong to alter the test to make it super easy for the students but I’m only the ALT.
Writing is not part of the English curriculum for younger grades in many areas. They’re not supposed to be doing that. It’s the compromise to having English even taught at all to early elementary.
That’s all it is.
To diverge a little… in SHS..I was given feedback to go one step at a time, as in give a model sentence then let them practice the sentence. As an example, they said the kids didn’t know the word itinerary, so I was asked to explain it first. I was like, by the end of the lesson, they understood, right? Yes, was the reply. Okie dokie…….
I’m going to have to agree with your JLT here.
Elementary school 2nd graders should focus more on speaking and listening. Writing and spelling is more for the older kids, usually junior high school.
I think instead of having them write the word, you can do something like you say the word and they draw it as a picture.
Writing the word is a bit much for 6-7 year olds. They haven’t practiced English letters at all. So yeah it’s pretty hard for them. Especially since I think it’s a graded subject now.
Edit: also you’ve never taught junior high I see. English is super difficult and tests usually bring tears of sadness to the kids. Tests are forced to be an average of 60%.
You don’t know the curriculum and your lessons have to follow the curriculum, so listen to the homeroom teacher.
It’s normal for ESL curriculums around the world to not teach writing until higher grades. You are the uneducated one in this situation.
Bro I got a perfectly fluent English speaking JTE and he lets his sixth graders (two students) write in katakana. It’s sad as hell because the kids could have such a jump on next year, but whatever not my problem.
I was once reprimanded for changing “I like dog” and “I like cat” to “I like dogs” and “I like cats”. I got out of English teaching shortly afterwards, as I refuse to teach nonsensical English to young kids.
Excuse me but you sound very judgemental… “made me realize how uneducated Japanese really are” is pretty bad. Your arguments might have had some validity to it but what you said is just not it.
Also, do you really think Japanese schools don’t push kids academically? You don’t seem to know much about Japan.
It’s quite demoralizing, I know. I teach writing to kindergartners, and it makes me sad to know that they’ll be actively discouraged from writing when the leave my class and go to public elementary schools. And it’s even sadder to think that the rich kids, who can afford juku or private elementary, will be allowed to continue their writing skills.
I know it’s the curriculum, and there are many reasons to stick to the curriculum. But, it’s still not great. The educational divide between kids whose parents can afford juku and kids whose parents cannot grows every time you’re told to dumb down a lesson.
> copying words on the board is not hard in any way.
Is this ES Gr 2? JHS Gr 2? If the former it is way beyond the language aquisition level, requiring hours of instruction in printing, from alphabet to word level.
> Working as an alt has made me realize just how uneducated Japanese really are.
Before you start going off on the Japanese teachers, read up on the curriculum. This summary indicates the sequence and suggested way to deliver foreign language education starting with elementary school.
https://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/04/04/1415122_3.pdf
Refer to the course syllabus and confirm with your supervisor/JTE/HRT the content of your lessons.
If parents complained, they probably know the kids can do it/probably don’t actually care about the difficulty. They care about the complaints. It sucks but that’s life as a teacher in any country. If you can find a way to mask the activity so it looks like you’re doing something different, or make it look easier while actually doing something hard (a lot of teachers use games to sneak more difficult language content into the classroom, for example), then that might work.
Happened to a friend of mine. He had been teaching a group of sixth graders in elementary school, and they happened to become the first graders in the JHS where he worked. So he already knew them and had taught them. He got the exact same thing from a teacher. Details are hazy, as this was a long time ago, but I think the exchange went something like:
JTE: They cannot do this. It is too difficult for them.
ALT: I think they can. I did this with them in the sixth grade of elementary school.
JTE: They will have forgotten it by now.
I don’t remember what – if anything – the ALT said to that, but it stuck in my mind as a perfect example of everything that’s wrong with English teaching in Japan.
Maybe educate yourself (and learn to do your job) before calling an entire nation uneducated.
2nd grade ES students don’t learn how to write the alphabet.
Is it impossible for them to do? No.
Is it acceptable for the JTE to ask you to stick to the assigned material? Yes.
You’re the one that once upon a time said non-Catholic teachers working at Catholic private schools should quit and make way for true believers like yourself.
Now you say “Working as an ALT has made me realize just how uneducated Japanese really are.”
I can’t wait to see what completes the trifecta!
Unfortunately, even though you might know what your students like and what they can handle, it all comes down to what the teacher wants. And yeah, the teacher often just ends up getting in the way
This… is an OUTRAGE
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I’ve been an ALT for 10 years and I can say for certain children should be challenged and not CODDLED like PUSSYCATS
Hey OP! Probably just something to keep in mind. They learn how to write Romaji in third grade, which might make it the best time to enforce writing in English. I’m also curious, how much writing practice they’ve had before you introduced this?
When I teach elementary school, my co-teacher and I make sure that there’s a ladder basically.
So for writing it goes:
1st grade – sing fun ABC songs
2nd grade – use their hands or their bodies to dance along with the ABC songs
3rd grade – We make two booklets for the entire year. One is for upper case, and the other is for lower case. Half the time it’s tracing the letters, and then they can write on their own. This is also the time we introduce the four lines and introduce them to the difference between writing in Japanese where they have to be in the middle of the square, and writing in English where you have to write on the line.
4th grade – we do fun games in between speaking lessons to reinforce what we learned in 3rd grade
5th grade – we do lengthier writing practice where we get pretty strict now with penmanship, but it’s mostly copying other literature
6th grade – this is when we have them write short essays (3-6 sentences long) and short presentations.
I’m not saying this is how it should be done. But it’s how we chose to do it. Because this way, the kids are introduced to the abc’s gradually.
Also you said “copying words on the board is not hard in any way” for the second graders. I’m trying to imagine 2nd graders in a Western country having to copy kanji or Thai or Hebrew on the board without learning the proper way of writing it, feels kind of pointless. Remember this is their second language and they DO learn romaji. If you can communicate and coordinate with the JTE’s, I feel that would make the kids’ learning more consistent, for their sake.
Hey, good on ya doing what you can. Seems just fine what you are doing. It’s hard to say exactly what should be done as we don’t know the students, teachers, etc. of course it’s best to accommodate the school but who knows. I don’t teach 2nd grade, but I am responsible for 3rd grade lessons. Are yours also once a week or less frequently? Personally, like some others have said, I would focus more on speaking and listening. Young children benefit most from this. For more, I recommend “Teaching Young Language Learners.” Anyways, hope it all works out. Good luck!
I think the K1 class at my kindergarten could handle that one 🤣
“too hard” 🙄 yeah right
I used to teach in Japan well over 20 years ago. It seems nothing has changed. Pathetic and sad.
It’s because half the things they “know”, they don’t actually know, but they’ve done in class. Teachers seem to take note of things students haven’t properly absorbed and instead of having another go at it, say it’s “too hard”.
And one thing that is eternally too hard is producing any kind of independently written essay, story, recount or review before High School 2nd year and onwards.
Generally speaking younger kids lessons shouldn’t be do writing activities. They don’t learn romaji until 3rd grade and they only learn the alphabet at third grade too but don’t have to write it until 5th.
Just focus on fun games and songs and moving around a lot. That’s what they really love at that age and that’s the impression we need to be giving to the students at that age.
If the kids haven’t learned to write the alphabet then asking them to copy letters off the board isn’t really a great assignment. I’m sure they could do it and I’m sure it was maybe even fun for them, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense if the letters are meaningless. Also, 99% sure the homeroom teacher was freaking out because the kids weren’t doing it in “proper stroke order” and therefore it was Wrong.
I think a better assignment would be something more like color matching. Teach them colors/fruit. Get a sheet of line art fruit and then say “Red, apple” or something. If they know the vocab this is a great exercise. I always start basic, like red -> apple, orange -> orange!, yellow -> banana, and then after the first three “normal” I do something like “watermelon -> purple!”, “cherry -> black!” etc to keep them interested (and to prevent them from just coloring the “right” color without listening to the English.)
Like most Asian countries education is measured by how well you do on a test. Hence all the rote memorization and the lack of actual comprehension.
If you hear it one more time you’ll… post a rant on Reddit?
> Working as an alt has made me realize just how uneducated Japanese really are.
Sorry mate but that’s a pretty stupid comment. You’re there as a teaching assistant… not to be a cynical fuck who runs their own agenda and thinks everybody’s stupid. If you’re feeling this way then I recommend getting on the next plane out of there.
I am sorry, but teaching them how to write, let alone just blind copying is out of their league in my opinion.
Even in English speaking countries, children learn to talk at a much much higher level than what those Japanese students are at before they even touch writing.
I was raised as a trilingual, plus have learnt 3 additional languages on the side. At least for me, I’ve realized the best way to learn is to just talk and copy what other people are saying. Essentially become a baby again. I don’t touch writing until I can kinda hold a conversation (which grade 2 Japanese students can’t).
I agree that schools should have moments where things are hard, but I’d argue that making them copy the alphabet without them having the English level of a native 2 year old is a bit pointless.
*I was asked just asked to change that lesson for the remaining 2nd grade classes because “parents complained that it was too hard”. I know for a fact that they didn’t because no student took the paper home.* ***It was the homeroom teacher.***
I hated this with a passion to this day!! Back in the day, I geve the students an activity to make their own original Momotaro skit. They design their own characters, change the story a little bit from the original, make up names of places, colours, whatever! They had to do it in groups. Everyone looked forward to English class! Everything stayed in the English class under each class number 5-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 and so on so NOTHING left the class! When the students came in, they’d just come in, got their project and continued in their group. Then the JTE and principal had a meeting with me telling me that the parents are angry because I am stressing their children out with this difficult activity. They were already in the cutting and glue stage so the “difficult” part was LONG done (making the script and assigning the roles). Imagine the heartbreaks and mass confusion when I told the students we couldn’t continue working on this activity because of their stress and this activity was too “difficult”. The lying ass teacher couldn’t even look at my face at all. I then took a super far back burner seat from all activities and just did the extra bare minimum as I was told! Ayane sensei, if you ever read this, you’re a lying sack of shit who got jealous because you saw the kids were having so much fun with an activity YOU had nothing to do with.
I’ve heard that a bunch, too. Especially with stuff teachers haven’t seen before. Not universally, though. I’ve worked with plenty of teachers who are willing to try new stuff and do challenging things.
Last year I made a list of greetings for the 3rd grade. The teachers rejected them as too difficult, so I was stuck doing day and weather the whole year because month and “do you like?” is beyond the realm of possibility for 7 and 8 year-olds.