Top Secret: Teaching in Some of Japan`s Top Companies by Kevin Burns
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teach in some of the most sensitive areas of Japan. I teach English in
some of the top companies of the world. At one of them, part of the
interview was conducted in Japanese. They wanted to see how good my
command of the language was. It wasn`t to deal with problems that might
come up, we have a bilingual office staff at our school for that. No, I
suspect it was to insure the safety of company secrets. How much could
he comprehend if he overheard something? That was their concern.
If you teach English at a Japanese company. You enter a secretive
world. As you walk towards your company, you may notice what looks like
a moat all around it. You can be forgiven for thinking you are entering
a fort or some other military complex. In a way you are. You cannot
enter freely. The enclosure is fenced in, sometimes with barbed wire at
the top of the fence or at least with a wall and perhaps more. There
may be video cameras. There is a guard house, and the security guards
will decide if you can enter. You must report to them.
Being the company English teacher the guards get to know you and will
admit you with a wave of their hand after a while, but still they keep
track of your comings and goings. You are scrutinised by any new
guards. Company secrets are worth money, and closely guarded.
When teaching at your Japanese company you may be politely asked to
change classrooms some days. Sometimes it is simply for a lack of
space, but sometimes it is to insure that company meetings stay
secrets. Excuses are made: "This room is more comfortable," your
student will politely say.
Plans are being formed for Japan`s newest assault on the world. No more
does Nippon attack her neighbours, instead she ships her factories
abroad and produces her products more cheaply in China, Malaysia, and
Thailand. For new ideas, she sets up factories and research centres in
the United States and other nations. These plans are well guarded
though, and as an English teacher you are not privy to them. You can`t
be fully trusted no matter how long you have taught there. I understand
this. To some extent I work in a war zone. Business is war, and
Japanese companies are battling it out for survival.
Shintaro slumps into his chair. He worked another twelve hour shift
last night. Business trips to China and other locales require him to
study English once a week with me. He is a good student. In spite of
exhaustion, he comes to class with a smile. He was transferred to
Odawara a couple of years ago. Due to this, he had to leave his
pregnant wife back in Osaka, and wasn`t around when his mother passed
away. Ironically, his son was born the same day. I admire Shintaro. He
is a pleasant man. He obviously loves his wife and baby and is a nice
guy to be around. He is loyal to his company and never complains. Many
Japanese are like that. Gaman is a Japanese word that is entrenched
here. It really means grin and bear it or do your best. It is said
before a sports event and it is entrenched in business.
In a land with virtually no natural resources, the people are all it
has. Her people become the most important asset of the country. Other
nations pay lip service to this in presidential speeches, but all
Japanese know this to be true. If her people fail, Japan fails. There
is no oil money to fall back on.
It is common practice for Japanese companies to loan employees money to
buy a house - a very expensive commodity here. The company often seizes
this chance to promptly transfer the employee to a new city - perhaps
in the countryside or up north. Being obligated to pay the loan, the
employee can`t say no in most cases. She or he is usually trapped. The
brand new house is usually rented, most often to another employee of
the company. The employee then rents an apartment in the new town
she/he has been transferred to. Five years later he may return to
finally live for the first time in his house.
Often the wives and children do not accompany their husbands to the new
locale. A friend`s husband is alone in China and has been for three
years. This isn`t strange at all to Japanese. It is all too common. One
can imagine what this can lead to. Fifty percent of Japanese women have
affairs. For men the percentage is higher. The sex industry brings in
billions of yen and even offers host clubs for women.
The ageing head of one company I work for feels English is unnecessary.
I cannot understand why. Fortunately some of the general managers feel
otherwise and hired me to crack the whip and get their employees in
shape for negotiations abroad in arguably the most difficult language
in the world. It is a Fuji-like uphill climb. The classes are largely
occupied by unmotivated, unconfident English students. When I say
unconfident, I mean they don`t believe they will ever be good at
speaking English. With this belief, they can`t. I try to motivate by
being friendly, witty and caring. I try to get to know them and take an
interest in their lives. A few become pretty good students and attend
class regularly. It is slow, but they do improve year by year.
I tell myself I am making Japan a little bit more international. I am
educating the people about other nations. I am making this country a
better place, and I keep the company secrets to myself. Not that I know
any. My Japanese is still not very good.
Kevin Burns owns Kevin`s English Schools, the Canadian Schools in
Japan!
http://www.eikaiwa1.com Incidentally, Kevin hires from all English
speaking nations
eh.