It’s February, which means that the Japanese school year is nearing an end. Last week, I had my final class with my 3 third year Advanced English students. These three boys are a really amazing bunch of kids, I was constantly impressed by their English abilities and interest in Western culture. They all wrote me farewell letters, which were funny and sweet. Here they are:
When I met you first, I just took a rest (lunch-time). Since I was poor at speaking English, probably I think you couldn’t understand it. But you managed to interpret what I said. When I knew you like horror movies, I thought you were a dangerous person. In fact, you are a good teacher. I remembered your making chocolate apples for us. We ate sashimi together in the library didn’t it? I remember well. You may forget us but I would like you to remember that we are your students. Thank you until now. That’s all.
When I first listened to you speak English, it was too fast for me to listen to your English. So it took me long time to make out what you say. But by you speaking English at natural speed, I have brought up my listening ability. This is so good for entrance examinations and my future. And I also had my essays checked by you. When I first had my essay checked, you added a lot of advice to my essay and a lot of English rules on another sheet. I have never had a teacher like you who inquired into it so closely. Thank you much, I sincerely appreciate it. Come to think of it, I regret not having my essays checked since you came here. But what I did makes for me a great deal. You like Japanese so much, and there are many Japanese cultures and many what Japanese made. I would like you to find them. The day will soon come when I learn a lot of your country’s cultures. So I have to study a lot. I hope you will succeed in everything and make your dreams come true. Thank you very much.
When you came to the school, I thought a model maybe came to it at first. When I was taken the first class, I was surprised because you learnt about Japan and Japanese things very well. Then, you showed us your home and the way you live in America. I was impressed with your stories that was different from Japanese ones in scale. The class looked like a party Halloween week was especially interesting. I enjoyed the special apple you made very much. I’m not a good student. I haven’t been what you expected to be. The only half-year has passed since we had met, you made me feel happy and motivated to improve my English. Thank you very much.
Awww, damn these kids, they make me want to cry.
Tags: JET Program, life in Japan, teaching in Japan
Miguel Angel
See it’s experiences like this that make me REALLY look forward to working in the Jet Programme. π
constantineintokyo
Thanks. Are you in the process of applying for the 2010-2011 JET Program?
倧ι
Do you have your class everyday?
Some school offering to take a test of Eiken(θ±ζ€), TOEFL or TOEIC, do you do that sort of thing?
Have you ever notice the things that need to be changed (or improved) in English education?
Are you planning to take any Japanese language test?
Kimberlee
So, I have come to the end of your blog and I just wanted to say thanks for all the help that you put up for perspective JET’s! I graduate next year and JET seemed to pop up during a time when I was petrified of life after college, though now I’m starting to become more and more afraid that I will want this so much and then not get in… Anywho, I look forward to more of your posts, I hope to hear more about your JET program experience!
Kimberlee Skye
constantineintokyo
Thanks for the comment, Kimberlee-san! I am happy to here that you found some of the JET information on this blog helpful. I experienced a very similar feeling while I was applying for the JET Program – it is very scary to want something so bad and confront the possibility that you might not get it. However, if you definitely want to teach in Japan there are many ways outside of JET to do it. Though a well-known program, JET isn’t always that best option for many people. Some people love JET and others really dislike it. There are a variety of private English teaching companies and I know several people who are freelance English teachers in Tokyo and Osaka. In any case, even if you don’t get into JET, you can still live and work in Japan. So don’t stress out about JET too much (impossible, I know. If someone had told me this when I was applying I would have said that they were crazy!), because it isn’t the only, or even the best, option out there. =)