Challenges of Teaching Japanese Students

I think teaching is very rewarding, but teaching children are even more rewarding.

I don't think there's anything more beautiful in being able to be part of a child's growth by following the development of his mind and his abilities. The fact that our students are young do n' t mean at all that the teacher should underestimate or overlook something, rather it is one more reason to give the best of yourself.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Desiree I. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

Cultural Sensitivity

If you are in a country other than your own, it' s important to make use of good local manners even with children, especially because the figure of the teacher can be seen as a figure to be imitated; and given that the education of today's children will lead to the training of men and women who will be part of the society of tomorrow, it' s therefore correct to set a good example.

Teaching Children and Adults

Keep adult attention during the lesson it 's easier than when teaching young learners because often it is the students themselves who register or have a specific goal to reach. When teaching young learners it 's important to keep the interest alive games and recreational activities that can be converted into study activities are perfect for this type of target.

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Lesson Planning

Thanks to the advent of the internet and new forms of entertainment, it isn' t hard to find videos, games or songs that can stimulate their mind. This is because these activities are pleasant, not heavy, and for this reason, they favor memorization and often socialization with the members of the class group.

By making the study environment lighter, young learners will find it more enjoyable to study and find themselves more interested in the new activities that will be offered. The important thing is that the teacher doesn' t lose sight of the objectives and manages to restore order in the classroom when the game becomes more lively and less constructive.

Teaching Pronunciation

In the Japanese language, many sounds present in the English language don' t exist, so the difficulty of pronunciation is not to be underestimated. I, therefore, consider it important to continue practicing words that contain alveolar, guttural and labiodental sounds.

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Challenges of Teaching Youngsters

Teacher difficulties I think it may be to make young learners understand how to use their skills in English in the most correct context. This is because, after the Second World War, America introduced in Japan everyday language many English terms which, however, due to phonetic problems, the pronunciation is often clearly different from the original. This means that if a person pronounced those same words correctly if his interlocutor spoke only Japanese, he would certainly not be able to understand that word.

For this reason, I believe it' s important to make our students understand that it is important to keep the two pronunciations separate according to the context in which they find themselves, even if those same words are written in the same way and have the same meaning. When young learners reach the age of nine, it' s right to follow the course of their development and not treat them like children.

Each of them will have already started to develop their personality very much and it' s right that the teacher manages to make him express it. I think it important that the students have a good relationship in the classroom, also because I think that at this age we can create good memories that will remain the whole life.

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Teaching Teenagers and Adults

Teaching "little-big" learners is certainly less tiring physically than teaching to children, but certainly very stimulating because the teacher can start a conversation or choose a central topic and be able to let do expose the ideas to young people. At this age their mind starts to blossom and even if they have "physically calmed down", is not the same thing of their minds that are beginning to get more and more hungry to know.

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The young learners begin to look around and begin to want to concretize what surrounds them; for example, I often find myself answering questions about why certain words are used or not, which term is best to use and questions regarding English culture and life. Many often think that teaching a child is "easier"; I honestly think that it is not true. Teaching young learners is very difficult because one must be present with body, head, and heart; but it is for this same reason that one loves this work.

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