Archive for category Teaching English
October 8, 2004 – Researching bad resumes
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on October 8, 2014
On the Saturday coming up I will be doing a two period special topic voice on resumes. When my shift ended, I went to the internet cafe to do some research on good and bad resumes using www.monster.ca. After about 3 hours of research, copying, pasting (with minimal procrastination), I had plenty of material to build into a presentation.
October 6, 2004 – Last good kids class
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English, Uncategorized on October 6, 2014
Today was the official last day of teaching my Wednesday kids class. Georgia will be taking over the class, so we did a team teach so she could get used to the kids. At the end of the class, I got them to pose for a group picture, and gave them all Canada pencils. I then told them in English (and basic Japanese) that today was my last day teaching them because I was moving to Shizuoka. They all looked really sad. This is the first group of kids that I actually connected with as a teacher, so it was sad for me too.
After my next class, one of the staff told me that some of the students from my class had left a message on the whiteboard for me. I went to the kids classroom and saw that they had filled the entire board with a goodbye message for me. (the picture is above)
For the first time in my year of teaching in Japan, I actually felt like a good kids teacher.
October 3, 2004 – Mick Foley debates
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Teaching English on October 3, 2014
Today I did my first level check, and it was fun! The student seemed really nervous, but I would probably also be nervous if I suddenly had to speak a second language to a native speaker for 20 minutes.
After work I went to the internet cafe “just for an hour”. I caught up on a lot of old email, and then found a streaming video of pro wrestlers Mick Foley and John Bradshaw Layfield debating about the upcoming US election. No chairs or elbow drops were used. It was refreshing to see two wrestlers sounding intelligent and well informed, which is much different than the characters they play in the ring. The WWE gets a lot of grief from people, but they do a lot to encourage people to vote.
I ended up leaving after spending four hours in the internet cafe. Stupid entertaining internet.
October 1, 2004 – New textbook
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on October 1, 2014
I was not at my best after last evening’s festivities. Thankfully, my hangover headache went away just before my group kids class started.
Today was the first day of the new NOVA textbook. The new textbooks are currently only available for low level students, but we did receive a set of good lesson plans to use with the existing outdated textbook for mid and high level students. The new plans are a big improvement over some of the teacher created lessons that are currently being used. This should greatly cut down on lesson prep time and open up a lot of old lessons for students who are stuck in level.
So far there is a mixed reaction to the new textbooks and lesson plans. Students are not used to the new method, and don’t want to pay for new teaching material. Teachers who have created some of their own good lessons are not keen to follow a script in the classroom. Nobody likes change, but I think that when people get used to the new lessons they will like them.
September 29, 2004 – New teaching method
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 29, 2014
I got training on the new teaching method today. NOVA is switching their system as of Friday. There will be a lot less preparation time with lessons, and also a lot less flexibility. This should ensure an even quality of lessons with different instructors, and a lot less thinking for us teachers. I am not sure how I feel about the change yet, but I am optimistic.
(2014 Update) The NOVA teaching method was long overdue for a change. The old method was based on an English textbook from the 1980’s used to teach English to immigrants in America. The pictures and dialogues were hilariously outdated. One lesson in particular was based around a letter written to a hotel to make a reservation in the future. Who makes hotel reservations by letter?
There were 40 lessons per level. Teachers were supposed to find some target language in the lesson material (usually grammar or vocabulary) and invent a situation where the student would use that language. The lesson often had little to do with the textbook material. Coming up with a situation and building a lesson around it was not always easy to do. Lesson quality and difficulty could vary wildly depending on the experience and creativity of the teacher.
The newer system was based on teaching a variety of language for a particular situation. The situations are usually common like choosing a restaurant, asking a friend for a favour, or hotel complaints. The lesson would introduce some vocabulary and sentences that could be used in the situation, and provided a chance to practice the new language. At the end, students were given different parts in a role play situation and had to use the new language.
The new lesson material was created by a team of experienced teachers, and provides templates and all needed material for better lessons. Since the lessons matched the textbook material, students could review outside of the classroom. It was a huge improvement for both teachers and students.
September 25, 2004 – Birth control
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on September 25, 2014
Teaching English to children is a very effective form of birth control. Some days they are HORRIBLE.
September 24, 2004 – Japaniversary!
Posted by Barniferous in Life in Japan, Teaching English on September 24, 2014
Today is my one year Japaniversary! I can’t believe I have been living in Japan for a year already!
Even more exciting, I got official notification of my transfer. As of November 1st, I will be living in Numazu and working at NOVA’s Mishima branch. Woo hoo! More information as I get it!
September 18, 2004 – All night like an idiot
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on September 18, 2014
Last night I stayed up all night like an idiot playing NHL 2002 on Playstation 2. It did not help me deal with a busy day at work.
September 11, 2004 – Early Saturday
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on September 11, 2014
I got to work an early shift on Saturday for a change! It was strange for me to have a Saturday evening free.
September 10, 2004 – CAT training
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 11, 2014
Today I went to NOVA’s Shinjuku head office for CAT training. CAT is NOVA’s level check system. I assume that CAT stands for something like “conversation ability test”, but with this company it could be anything.
NOVA divides students into different levels of ability, with 7 being the lowest level and 2 being the highest. There is no level 1 for some reason. Nobody really knows why, but the most common reason I have heard is that level 1 is equivalent to a native English speaker. Also, there are three divisions in level 7; 7C, 7B and 7A.
CAT is used when a new student joins NOVA, or when an existing student has been recommended for a level up. The training is used to make sure that level classification is consistent across different NOVA branches. During training we listen to examples of students of different abilities, and follow through the level assessment decision tree.
The system is actually pretty interesting. For a new student, you start with a brief conversation. Based on how they do, the next steps are some tasks using English and a situational role play. After the tasks and role play, the decision tree will tell the instructor which level the student belongs in.
My favourite role play situation is for level 5 – the student is on vacation and their luggage did not arrive. The instructor plays the airline staff. To successfully complete the situation, the student must inquire what happened to their luggage, when their luggage will arrive, and if the airline can do anything to help them in the meantime. I enjoy being the unhelpful airline employee.
There was a test at the end of training, which I think I might have failed. For some reason, every teacher from Kawasaki NOVA who has taken the test recently has failed. I am not sure if this says something about the training or my branch. (Probably the branch!!)
Drinking in Japan 
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