Posts Tagged Teaching English
October 29, 2004 – Demo lessons
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on October 29, 2014
Today I had 3 demo lessons. A demo lesson is a free sample English lesson provided to prospective students. The lessons are half the usual length, and the idea is to show the students what a NOVA lesson would be like.
Since the demo lesson is a sales tool, the teacher has an important role in giving a fun, successful demonstration. This makes the sales staff’s job easier when they try to get the student to sign up for an expensive, long term lesson plan. Not all teachers are chosen to give demos. The fact that I got three in the same day is a bit of a compliment to my skills. In addition to the compliment, which is always appreciated, demo lessons have less preperation and paperwork which makes for an easier day for me. What’s not to like?
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.
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 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 5, 2004 – The insanity continues
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on September 9, 2014
The insane scheduling continues! At the end of the day I had to stay an extra 30 minutes to finish writing my files.
After each lesson, teachers are required to evaluate the student’s performance during the lesson. There are a few categories to rank (vocabulary, pronunciation, etc), and then a space for comments. Proper comments should include specific references to both strong and weak points during the lesson, and to provide suggestions on how to improve. Good comments help the next teacher, and also provide information to the students if they request to see their files.
Writing a proper evaluation and comments can take some time. Naturally, doing evaluations and comments for four students takes four times as long.
In the evening classes, there are 10 minutes between lessons. During busy months like September, it is likely for a teacher to have four students in every lesson. If you get out of your lesson a few minutes late, it doesn’t leave much time to squeeze into the overcrowded teachers room, write comments, give files to the next teacher or put them away, and locate your next lesson’s files and room number. That time gets smaller if you need to take a bathroom break. The easiest solution is to write up the student’s files after the last lesson of the day.
Recently with all of the full classes I have been regularly spending time after the last lesson finishing up my paperwork. It’s no fun, but it needs to get done.
July 31, 2004 – Rugby
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English, Uncategorized on August 16, 2014
More NOVA kids! Today I had a group of four x 4 year old boys. It was rough. I am not sure what educational value parents expect their 4 year olds to get out of NOVA kids classes.
After work I watched rugby on TV. Like most sports, it’s a lot more enjoyable when someone takes the time to explain what you are watching. For some reason, the rugby match reminded me of my NOVA kids class.
July 28, 2004 – Schedule changes
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on August 15, 2014
A regular shift at NOVA is eight lessons and a lunch or dinner break. Today I got to observe two training lessons, and got an empty slot to work on my Voice coordinator duties, so I only had to teach five lessons.
One of the lessons was my good Wednesday group kids class. I haven’t taught them in a while, and they were happy to see me. Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues next month, I will be working at Keikyu Kawasaki NOVA on Wednesdays and someone else will get my good kids group. It really sucks because they are the one group of kids I actually enjoy teaching, and they like me too! Hopefully I will get them back in September.
July 18, 2004 – Tired
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English, Uncategorized on August 12, 2014
Working a late shift followed by an early shift is never fun. I was so tired today. So very very tired. Nothing productive happened after work.
July 14, 2004 – How big is Uranus?
Posted by Barniferous in Kawasaki Nova, Teaching English on August 11, 2014
Every month the lesson plans for NOVA kids change. This month’s topic is outer space. The senior class (9-12 years old) is learning the names of planets and comparison words.
Today I had to teach the kids “Uranus is larger than Earth”. If I tried to get kids to say that in Canada I would have been arrested.
July 11, 2004 – Returnee student
Posted by Barniferous in Teaching English on August 10, 2014
Like most Sundays at NOVA, today was a very busy day, but I got to finish in the afternoon instead of the evening. I am now spending way too much time at the internet cafe, catching up on the internet time I missed when my family was here.
Today I had a man to man lesson with a 6 year old returnee student. Kids students who have lived in English speaking countries are usually taught separately from the rest of the NOVA Kids so they can have more challenging material.
Today’s lesson material was animals. Regular NOVA Kids would get a lesson with “It’s a bird, what is it?” to which they would respond “It’s a bird!”. They would learn about 5 or 6 other animals and then the rest of the class would be spent playing games to reinforce the new vocabulary. For this returnee student, I brought in a whole pile of different animal flashcards. She knew all of the names already, so I tried to come up with a new challenge for her. I set up the flashcards around the room, gave her a paper ball, and asked her to throw the ball at various animals; animals that ate meat, animals that could fly, animals that live in Japan, etc. The lesson turned out well and we both had fun. I feel bad for this kid if any teacher goes into the classroom and tries to stick to the lesson plan.
Drinking in Japan 
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