*Salaryman (Business men/women)
There are several different kinds of business classes I taught at the companies I was sent to by ECS. Private lessons, group conversation, English certification classes, freshman classes (freshies are the new employees in their first year with the company). The common theme running though all of the different kinds of classes, however, is usually the same. The students themselves didn't choose to be there. Most of the time, these students are ordered to study English by their companies. For whatever reason, they have been chosen for lessons. Salesmen often find themselves in these lessons due to the need to converse with international customers. Most employees at shipbuilding companies find themselves studying English at one time or another, since both the customers ordering the ships and the crews of ships coming in for repair are often from foreign countries. Occasionally, I have also had the four hours a day, 12 week long slog for a group of employees being sent over seas on business trips.
Generally speaking, these classes are somewhat difficult for me, since the desire to learn the language in the classes is pretty low. The daily life of a business man or woman in Japan is pretty brutal by American standards. Technically, the work day is from 9 to 5, but you should only leave "if your work is finished." And even in the rare instance that you are finished at 5, no one wants to be the first person out of the office... encouraging people to find work for another hour or two. So you might work until 7... or 9... or even later, depending on how much you have left to finish. And this extra time? Yeah, usually not paid. While there is overtime in Japan, usually this kind of over-work is deemed "service," meaning your gift to your company. You didn't finish your work on time, so you will continue on unpaid! Yikes! Add to that there is no guarantee that when you do finally put the last touch on your work you can go home. If your boss wants to go out drinking, guess who's going with him. Or if your customer has come into town, guess who gets to take them out for dinner and drinks until THEY decide it's time to go home. With all of this, it's easy to see why the excitement level for a 90 minute English lesson might be a little low!
*O-toshiyori (Elderly)
Many classes at ECS are for groups of elderly people that want to study together. Even my current company, Solina, has many elderly students, though now I usually teach them in private, one-on-one lessons. At ECS, the classes were often of two types. The first was those people who wanted to keep themselves busy and their brains working even though they had retired. Their classmates were often friends, or would soon become friends, and they might make a day of their lessons, going out to lunch or coffee after English was over and chatting together. Often these lessons were enjoyable for me, as the students were very relaxed. More than trying to learn the language for communication purposes, they were looking for a good time, were quick to laugh and friendly. Rarely they had anything in particular they wanted to practice, and were happy to leave every detail of the class up to the teacher. Sadly, this was not always the case, and one class in particular stands out in my mind as a group of grumpy students who were quick to point out my faults and unwilling to accept a lesson that was different from their previous teacher. The class was named "Dream" but in reality, they were my nightmare!
The other type of elderly classes I have taught were for those people who were planning on spending their retirement traveling to many countries (or the same country multiple times) and wanted to be able to communicate during their travels. Unlike the previous class type, the students are there to actually learn English, but still these classes were very often equally enjoyable. My students could talk indefinitely about places they had visited and trips that they wanted to take. Often they would come to class with specific questions, or conversations they wanted to practice, and would often return from their travels with pictures (and if I was very lucky, little local snacks they had picked up along the way).
*Hoikuen/ Yochien (Nursery/ Kindergarten)
By far, my all time favorite lessons were when I was sent out to visit different kindergartens or nursery schools. These were the lessons that I could really let loose. The kids like to dance and sing and be silly, and they think their teachers (especially teachers who only come once a week, like us English teachers) are the coolest things ever. It really helps boost moral when the moment you walk in the door the kids are jumping around cheering "Eigo no Sensei! Eigo no Sensei!" (English teacher!!!) Good for the self esteem. I got a chance to visit several different pre-schools for these lessons, and I always looked forward to going. Usually the students normal teacher would stay in the classroom with us in case of trouble. Some teachers would join the lesson with their students, and others would take a little break while I over. The most important thing I learned from these lessons was TPR, or Total Physical Response. It's a technique that encourages students to physically use their bodies to remember the lesson rather than just memorizing words. For example, in teaching colors, practice the words a few times, and then have them race around the classroom looking for things of the color you call out.
*Bukatsu (English club)
Very rarely I was asked to go to a school (most often a trade school or a high school) and teach their English club. I didn't have to go often, but the schools I went to didn't really have much interest in English. Sadly, most of the students wanted to join tea ceremony, dance, or calligraphy clubs, but all the spaces were full, and the only club with space left was... English. So they would come to club, sit in the back, and chit chat with their friends, do their homework, or just put their heads down and sleep. I was a bit surprised by this reaction, but my company had prepared me a little. "It's just a club," they had said. "There arn't any tests, or grades, or anything else, so if they don't want to pay attention, don't worry about them. Just teach the students who are interested." Well, I didn't think that was a good idea, but who was I to say so? So, half of my club would check out for the 90 minutes, and the other half would have a good time.
Currently I'm again teaching at an Eikaiwa, but it's a little different than ECS. My main focus now is Elementary and Jr. High School kids. I have a small classroom, and the kids come to see me after their normal schools are over. Every day has a few small classes of pre-schoolers and a private adult or two, but the main focus is first to ninth graders. While it's nice to have my own classroom, and a little more control over what I want to do in my lessons, I do sometimes miss going out to other kindergartens. I will always have good memories from my very favorite kindergarten of all time.
Good students and good teachers. I often wish I could have become the English teacher for them, but they didn't have enough classes to keep a full time English teacher. Alas!
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