Teaching English in Japan
A shy, young woman with good high-school English walks into the classroom, says, `harro`, and sits down quietly. Beside her sits a bubbly 30-something talking disjointedly but animatedly about her weekend. Across the table, a man in his 20`s contemplates a question, attempts the first few words, and struggles to complete it, unable to recall the appropriate word. All eyes turn to you.
Smiling, you greet the late
arrival, pronouncing the words clearly and with a little exaggeration. She relaxes visibly and repeats the
greeting, this time correctly. You think
of the incomplete question, elicit the phrase or sentence which prompted it
using language you have practiced with the group recently, and write it on the
whiteboard. As you do so, you ask all 3
for help with the word order and provide some more natural, everyday
vocabulary. Below, you write the first
word of the question and the man once again struggles beyond the next few, but
he`s trying to speak. They`re all
talking now, discussing the completion of the question, trying to fill in the
blanks you`ve marked on the board.
Success! The man asks the
question, it`s answered well, and you follow up with a few minutes practicing
the pattern using substitute words.
Everyone`s happy, talking, and communicating.
So, what have you done? Teaching English in Japan isn`t always so
easy but in essence, as in this example, it`s about coaching people to
communicate confidently. Japanese students
have often spent many years learning textbook English and your task is to help
them communicate in the real world, using that stored knowledge. Pronunciation, word order, which question to
ask and when, how to combine sentences to form a narrative, how to sound
natural, everyday English - these are all things to focus on, things the
Japanese student needs to know. When
you`re teaching English in Japan, as you`ll see below, you`ll be able to rely
on Smith`s to help you cater to those needs.
Smith`s Teacher Training and Curriculum
Your first Smith`s class may
well be your first ever venture into teaching.
Even if you are a qualified, experienced teacher you may feel
apprehensive about the prospect of working with a different system. Whatever your background, with our
experience of 7 years teaching English in Japan, we can assure you that
following your initial Smith`s English teacher training you will be operating
effectively and confidently from the outset.
While developing our
curriculum we had 2 aims in mind. The
first, which you can read more about below, was to create a flexible system
allowing for differences of personality and teaching style. The second was to ensure that we addressed
the particular needs of the Japanese student.
Our research showed in
essence that the average Japanese student is much better at written than spoken
communication, and indicated that while there is a good knowledge of English
vocabulary and its structures, in the speaking and listening senses it tends to
remain latent. Instant spoken
communication is hampered and confidence blunted by interference from the
thought processes and patterns of Japanese.
We have identified many of these areas of interference and addressed
them in the curriculum for your use. As
soon as you have completed your initial Smith`s English teacher training, you
will be able to help your students take that latent potentiality and turn it
into confident, usable actuality. You
will see for yourself, the results are outstanding.
Smith`s Curriculum Designed for English Teachers
At Smith`s we know our
curriculum works for students but that wasn`t our only aim when we developed
it. It`s certainly important to have
commonality throughout our ever-expanding network of schools and for students
to have a direction of study. It`s also
important for teachers to bring their personality and imagination into the
classroom, and to develop and utilize their own teaching style. Our extensive experience in Japan has taught
us that commercial success is based on both teacher and student
satisfaction. That in turn requires a
balance between conformity to a curriculum of study and the freedom to develop
methods of communication that allow both sides of the classroom equation to
grow their skills. We struck that
balance when we decided on a skeletal framework for our curriculum, one that
provides commonality between coaches, a direction of study for the students but
where the only limit is your imagination.
ELT Training
You will receive extensive
initial training from one of our highly experienced instructors before you
commence teaching. This teacher
training will cover all aspects of teaching at and operating a Smith`s School
of English while also providing you with many valuable EFL and EFT
techniques. The ability and desire to
communicate with students are excellent foundations to build on, and as you
gain experience so too will you naturally develop your skills as an English
teacher. These will be further enhanced
within our regular, ongoing teacher training program, a commitment we have made
to help you mature as an English teacher.
We strongly recommend that you pursue further studies to this end and
will gladly advise you of the opportunities for study available.
The Importance of Training and Resale Value of Schools for Sale
Smith`s School of English is
an excellent way to earn a living as an English teacher. As you`ve read above, our English schools
are created for teachers as well as students.
There`s no corporation bugging you to work harder or supervisor telling
you what to teach from one minute to the next.
First and foremost, our system is designed for English teachers to enjoy
teaching and for Japanese students of English to enjoy studying. But, there will come a time when you want to
move on (maybe even to open another Smith`s School of English!) and that is
when the commercial beauty of our franchise system really becomes
apparent. With franchises for sale
around Japan we want to emphasize to you how best to make your school attractive
to potential buyers.
You will not be alone when
you decide you want to cash in on your equity, our established system of
franchises for sale can help you every step of the way. Right from the outset though, even as your
first class begins, the potential value of your franchise is being determined. Think about it for a moment. What are people buying in looking for? An instant, positive cash flow and the
chance to expand their equity is the answer.
With our experience we know that if you help to provide commonality
between teachers and give your students a direction of study, coaching them to
communicate confidently by adhering to the curriculum, you will be helping to
maximize your sale price. The buyers
can have confidence that the Smith`s English teacher training they receive will
be effective from the start and that your students will not quit, detrimental
to both cash flow and equity.
Without commonality between
teachers and a direction of study for students, persona profile can play too
great a role in the student-teacher relationship. That does not sell. It is
the Smith`s English teacher training program and curriculum, combined with the
genuine, caring Smith`s English teachers that enables the maximization of sales
prices for Smith`s School of English franchises for sale.