In defence of English Teaching by Kevin Burns
greatp...@gmail.com
love doing. I teach English in Japan. I have always enjoyed meeting and
conversing with interesting people, only now I get paid for it.
Yet, teaching at English conversation schools ("Eikaiwa") seems to be a
much-maligned profession, especially on certain websites. One of those
is Arthur Caversham's The Truth About Shane and Nova Pages at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/6455/
Let me examine some of his claims.
1. "Eikaiwa" schools employ teachers with no teaching experience.
So what? Some of the best teachers in the world are like a diamond in
the rough. If you hire people who have an aptitude for teaching, train
them and help them along the way, they will be better teachers than
many teachers who have an advanced degree.
2. "Eikaiwa" schools employ teachers with no teaching qualifications.
Again, so what? Famous Japanese companies do the same thing. They
employ people with no specific qualifications and train them to work in
departments which have nothing to do with their university degrees.
"Eikaiwa" schools have their own in-house training programs and they
train their teachers, too.
3. "Eikaiwa" schools employ teachers with NEITHER teaching experience
NOR teaching qualifications.
So do many other businesses in every industry imaginable. Do you
believe that university training is the only thing that matters? Many
successful people have no formal education beyond college, yet they are
now company presidents. Some of the worst teachers in the world have a
PhD.
If the schools train them to teach, isn't that sometimes better than a
university education that is full of theory and sometimes a waste of
time? Isn't practical on-the-job training sometimes on a par with or
better than a university education?
4. Some "eikaiawa" schools demand that students pay a huge amount of
money before beginning their lessons. This money is not refundable.
Yes, but so do many other businesses. There are also many "eikaiwa"
schools that allow students to pay by the month. They don't pay up
front. Most schools are run by trustworthy people. How do I know this?
Because if they weren't trustworthy, they couldn't stay in business for
very long; the word would get around that they are shady operators.
5. Nova's pay and conditions for teachers are among the worst in Japan;
therefore Nova teachers are usually so bad they cannot find a job
elsewhere. This is also why Nova advertises for teachers every week in
the Japan Times.
Perhaps. Or maybe they have so many schools -- over 500 now -- that
they constantly need new teachers. If Nova is so terrible, why would
anyone choose to work there? Some Nova teachers would be hired
anywhere. They are very good teachers, they enjoy working for Nova and
they care about their students.
6. Nova uses the same boring textbooks (American Streamline, available
from most bookshops) for every lesson.
Some schools allow their teachers to choose which textbook they use,
others don't. For some teachers, choosing the textbook for them is a
good thing. For others, giving them more freedom is better. It really
depends on how independent the teacher is.
7. Teachers are not given time to prepare for any lessons.
Most schools do give their teachers time to prepare. As a professional,
you are expected to show up to work and give yourself enough time to
prepare or to prepare at home. This is similar to public school
teachers in North America.
8. Nova teachers are not allowed to prepare their own lessons for
students.
For some Nova teachers, giving them a structure to follow, I'm sure, is
a good thing. For other teachers, allowing them the freedom to plan
their own lessons is better. That is what we do at our schools.
9. Nova teachers are not allowed to fraternize with students outside
the classroom.
True. However, most schools have no problem with students and teachers
becoming friends. I have never understood Nova's non-fraternization
policy myself. I like it if our teachers become friends with students.
I feel it helps the school.
10. Some "eikaiwa" schools fire teachers who talk too much in class.
It isn't the teacher who is supposed to do the talking. The students
are supposed to talk and the teacher is supposed to listen and correct.
Some experts suggest the teacher should try for only 15% speaking time
and allow the students to speak 85% of the time. I think that is a
great goal for all teachers.
11. Some "eikaiwa" schools claim to specialize in teaching English to
children, yet most of their teachers have no qualifications or
background in teaching children.
I think you can train people to do many things. Isn't this complaint a
tad picky? The person who wrote this comment seems to think people
can't learn anything new.
12. Some "eikaiwa" schools' sales pitch persuades students they can
learn English in just one hour a week (or in some cases, half an hour).
Unless a student is also studying elsewhere, this is totally inadequate
for learning anything.
I think that it will take a very long time to learn that way. That is
what we tell students when we meet them for the first time, and on our
homepage in Japanese. We let them know that learning English is more
akin to learning classical piano than like learning how to swim.
Classical piano and English take a long time to master. Why hide that
from them? Some schools do hide that fact. I don't agree with that
personally and don't follow that business practice. We try to be honest
with students about what they are up against. I think a lot of
"eikaiwa" schools are like ours that way.
13. Shane's sales pitch persuades parents to send children as young as
two years old to its English lessons. Unsurprisingly, these poor kids
learn nothing.
I think that children this age can learn with the right teacher. Of
course, the parents have to do their bit at home though. Unfortunately,
few parents are willing to help out. Teachers also need to explain to
the mothers when they come with their children what they should do at
home to help their kids learn. The school also needs to explain this.
14. Shane recruits teachers in England with the promise of providing
them with company accommodation. In practice, Shane provides
sub-standard accommodation (e.g. apartments with neither shower nor hot
water in the kitchen) at inflated prices. Shane leases apartments from
landlords and rents them to teachers at a profit.
Are these apartments furnished? I assume they are. We also provide
furnished apartments to our teachers and the cost of upkeep is
astronomical. Shouldn't the teachers share in that cost if they are
using the facilities? If they break the TV, shouldn't they contribute
to the repair? The Shane apartments I have seen have had a bath. They
were no worse than what Japanese nextdoor were living in. They may
charge more than the rent to cover for damage to the furniture and
other utilities. The company shouldn't have to pay for damage.
The alternative to this is having to furnish your own place. Believe
me, that isn't fun either. Apartments in Japan come with nothing
usually, sometimes not even a light bulb. Our apartments are very clean
and average to above average when compared to Japanese apartments in
general.
15. Should a teacher, recruited 6,000 miles a way, realize that Shane's
methods of operation leave something to be desired, the company
requires three months notice of resignation.
Recently, it has taken well over four months to secure working visas
for our last two teachers. Staff at Panache, a recruitment office for
companies, report the same thing. Three months are not long when you
consider that it usually takes over four months to get a working visa
for the next teacher. You could only hire people with a working holiday
visa, or another proper visa but then it restricts your choice of
teachers.
In Vancouver, when I worked for Pitney Bowes in sales, I knew I
wouldn't do it forever. The job was not my cup of tea; yet I respected
the fact that my colleagues thought of it as a career. I never once
uttered, "I'm only doing this until I get a real job." I would never
have thought to make such a crass comment. It was a real job in spite
of the fact I didn't like it.
I think good English teachers make Japan a little more open if only in
a small way. I have taught well over 2,000 Japanese. They meet me on
the street with a greeting. They tell me, "thank you, for teaching my
son, my granddaughter, my husband." It is a nice feeling. I have
touched people's lives in a way I never imagined. What started out as
simply an English class has grown to mean much more over the years.
Not everyone can catch a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. Not everyone
can teach English in Japan. Good teachers are born. It is a God-given
gift. Sure, you can refine it, but either you are or you aren't a good
teacher. All the PhDs in the world can't change that fact if you are a
lousy one.
Good teachers are personable, caring, sensitive, intelligent,
well-read, curious and have a sense of adventure -- to name but a few
characteristics. They care about their students and want to help them
improve. If you have the gift, I encourage you to use it. By using it
in Japan, you are making the world a better place.
The writer, a Canadian, is the owner of Kevin's English Schools, The
Canadian Schools in Japan.
There are four schools in Kanagawa.
About the Author
Kevin Burns owns Kevin's English Schools http://www.eikaiwa1.com. He is
also the Editor of Travel Central Japan:
http://www.travel-central-japan.com. He also owns an online store that
ships in Japan: http://www.import-food-japan.com