Hmmm...been a long time since I last wrote anything. Perhaps with the change of scenery I'll be more inspired to write a bit more. Not likely, but we can always hope, right?
So as you might have heard through the grapevine that is modern social media (OK. So I posted an update on Facebook) that I've moved. I moved from suburban Sapporo (a town called Eniwa to be exact) to urban Sapporo. I now live in the Higashi-Sapporo area, more or less next to the Sapporo Convention Center. It will be extremely convenient for me twice a year, as the convention center is where my schools hold both their entrance ceremony and graduation. Until now, those days have meant waking up a full hour and a half earlier than usual to get the bus. But now, I'll be able to sleep in.
The convention center is built on the site of the former Higashi Sapporo train station, back before JR was a reality and the rail system was still nationalized. From here, trains used to travel down to Jozankei, Sapporo's onsen resort area, and towards Chitose. The trains to Jozankei have long since disappeared, leaving behind a bus company that has a railroad company's name. The trains towards Chitose were shifted a few kilometers to the east onto the new Chitose line. The old Chitose line has, like a fair number of old rail corridors, become a bike path. Which means I can still easily get to my bike shop. Sure, there are closer ones, but the bike path terminates in Kita-Hiroshima, which is where Okamoto Cycle is. And having bought both of my bikes there, and because Okamoto-san is such a good guy, I absolutely will keep taking bikes there for repairs.
But all of that is really beside the initial point of my writing this. Well...maybe not beside the point, but rather tangentially related.
Higashi Sapporo is about 4 kilometers from downtown Sapporo. Close enough to walk on a nice day when you have time. But it's also on one of the subway lines, meaning I can get downtown in less than half an hour, easily. The new apartment is in an area that is clearly mixed zoning, with residential and light industry side by side. The new place is on a corner, and across both streets are large warehouses of some description. Walking around the neighborhood, there are all sorts of small businesses that you might expect to find in urban neighborhoods. Small eating establishments. Second hand shops selling home furnishings of both high and dubious quality, side by side. A high end audio shop. Convenience stores.
Most of the buildings are relatively new. This is Japan, after all. It's fairly rare to find buildings that are more than 30 years old. While modern Japan has access to the building materials to make longer lasting buildings, I think that culturally, buildings with shorter life spans are just the norm. This is a country that is lacking of things like stone and clay. Historically, wood was the most common building material. And so buildings were fairly short lived. No research or proof. Just my own mostly uninformed theory.
But there are a few houses around that defy the norm. There are houses that are clearly at least 50 years old around, offering a peak at what Japan looked like in the post war era. And I love it. It makes me feel more creative and artistic. I love history. I mean, I majored in history in university. So I love these little glimpses into Sapporo's past. Two doors down from my new place is an old style Japanese house. Obviously been here since the time of Higashi Sapporo Station.
And all of this makes me feel more inspired to get out my cameras. Living in Eniwa, I was rarely inspired to get out my cameras and make art. It was, for me, a nice but boring existence. I've only been in Sapporo for about a week, but I already feel more excited about life. Certainly, some of that is the excitement of the new. But it also includes a fairly healthy dose of the hustle and bustle of the big city. Once everything gets settled in the new place, hopefully I can really get out and explore the neighborhood even more. Still a lot of snow to melt off, but eventually that'll happen.
Hopefully the next time you check in here, there will be some photos.
Until then, have a happy.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, June 1, 2012
F**king toast
It's been entirely too long since I wrote anything here. And I apologize for that.
Today, while browsing through the comments on an ALT (assistant language teacher) discussion board for foreign language teachers working as assistant teachers, primarily in junior high schools, here in Japan, I came across a comment that really, REALLY pissed me off.
The thread topic was something like, "What would you change about Japanese English language education if you had carte blanche?" And one of the regulars in the discussion board wrote this:
"just getting rid of the JTEs and getting properly trained/experienced native teachers seems like it would be enough."
JTE stands for "Japanese teacher of English." That would be the regular English teachers, whose first language is Japanese.
Now, admittedly, there are plenty of JTEs who are not very good at speaking English. But there are plenty who are good teachers. But even allowing for that to be a bit of hyperbole on the part of the commenter, the comments still is filled with so many problems.
Let's start with the issue of "properly trained/experienced" - who decides? The JTEs all have their teaching licenses here in Japan. Doesn't that make them properly trained? And many of them have been teaching for years. Doesn't that make them experienced? Despite proper training and plenty of experience, some JTEs aren't good. That's a fact. However, the original comment seems to presume that for some reason, non-Japanese teachers would be immune from this phenomenon. Somehow, all "properly trained/experienced" non-Japanese English teachers would be good. I call bullshit on that!
Another issue is that, let's be honest, there is a HUGE fucking difference between being an assistant teacher and being the main teacher. I've been both. Certainly, some ALTs are plenty capable of planning all lessons and running classes all on their own. But many are not really ready for that. It's one thing to be given a topic and asked to plan a single lesson or activity. But to plan the entire syllabus is another thing entirely. There are just some days when you can't bring your A game to the table, trying to plan a dozen lessons a week with other duties on top of that.
On top of that, if ALTs want to make the move to take charge of the entire lessons, doing away with the JTEs entire, these ALTs need to make sure that they can speak Japanese at a proficiency that is appropriate for a professional. You don't exist in a vacuum. You need to communicate with the other faculty and administration, as well as parents. Again, some ALTs are able to do this. Many are not.
Which brings us to the point of bringing in enough of these "properly trained" native English speaking teachers. There aren't enough Japanese-proficient, certified TESOL teachers in the English speaking world to staff all the Japanese schools.
And all of this doesn't even get at the real thing that bugged me. And it's the goddamn colonialism of the comment. There is an unfortunate line of thinking within parts of the TESOL community that native speakers automatically make the best teachers. Again, I have to call bullshit. In plenty of cases, a well trained non-native speaking teacher is just as good, if not a better teacher for a particular group of students. Arguments that favor non-native speakers? For starters, they understand the struggles of the students. They were/are English learners. This advantage is particularly pronounced if the students are largely culturally homogeneous. And in most Japanese classrooms, cultural homogeneity is the rule. A teacher who shares that culture? They are going to have some built in advantages that a cultural outsider will have to work to overcome. Not to say that it's impossible. But it takes an effort that the non-native teacher doesn't have to expend, meaning that the teacher who is culturally similar to the students theoretically has more time/energy to focus on teaching, with the cultural understanding being literally instinctive.
And then there is the unstated presumption that "native speaker" English is the best is also problematic, and one of the problems I have with a lot of English teachers here in Japan. The fact of the matter is that in today's world, there are a LOT more non-native speaking users of English than there are native speaking users. More and more, the chances are that if a Japanese national is going to use English, they are going to be speaking with another non-native English speaker. Maybe it's a tourist from China, or a businessman from Taiwan. The monopoly of the English speaking world on the language is long gone. It has become the de facto lingua franca. Hell, even within the so-called "native speaking" world, there is a huge variety of English. Is someone going to tell a Glaswegian that his English isn't native, despite the fact that he's been speaking it his entire life? And what about the woman in the bayous of Louisiana? Is her version of Cajun influenced English less valid?
Let's be real - what English education in Japan needs is good teachers. It doesn't matter if they are native speakers or non-native speakers of English. And that's what it really boils down to. Do the students actually learn how to use the language?
Today, while browsing through the comments on an ALT (assistant language teacher) discussion board for foreign language teachers working as assistant teachers, primarily in junior high schools, here in Japan, I came across a comment that really, REALLY pissed me off.
The thread topic was something like, "What would you change about Japanese English language education if you had carte blanche?" And one of the regulars in the discussion board wrote this:
"just getting rid of the JTEs and getting properly trained/experienced native teachers seems like it would be enough."
JTE stands for "Japanese teacher of English." That would be the regular English teachers, whose first language is Japanese.
Now, admittedly, there are plenty of JTEs who are not very good at speaking English. But there are plenty who are good teachers. But even allowing for that to be a bit of hyperbole on the part of the commenter, the comments still is filled with so many problems.
Let's start with the issue of "properly trained/experienced" - who decides? The JTEs all have their teaching licenses here in Japan. Doesn't that make them properly trained? And many of them have been teaching for years. Doesn't that make them experienced? Despite proper training and plenty of experience, some JTEs aren't good. That's a fact. However, the original comment seems to presume that for some reason, non-Japanese teachers would be immune from this phenomenon. Somehow, all "properly trained/experienced" non-Japanese English teachers would be good. I call bullshit on that!
Another issue is that, let's be honest, there is a HUGE fucking difference between being an assistant teacher and being the main teacher. I've been both. Certainly, some ALTs are plenty capable of planning all lessons and running classes all on their own. But many are not really ready for that. It's one thing to be given a topic and asked to plan a single lesson or activity. But to plan the entire syllabus is another thing entirely. There are just some days when you can't bring your A game to the table, trying to plan a dozen lessons a week with other duties on top of that.
On top of that, if ALTs want to make the move to take charge of the entire lessons, doing away with the JTEs entire, these ALTs need to make sure that they can speak Japanese at a proficiency that is appropriate for a professional. You don't exist in a vacuum. You need to communicate with the other faculty and administration, as well as parents. Again, some ALTs are able to do this. Many are not.
Which brings us to the point of bringing in enough of these "properly trained" native English speaking teachers. There aren't enough Japanese-proficient, certified TESOL teachers in the English speaking world to staff all the Japanese schools.
And all of this doesn't even get at the real thing that bugged me. And it's the goddamn colonialism of the comment. There is an unfortunate line of thinking within parts of the TESOL community that native speakers automatically make the best teachers. Again, I have to call bullshit. In plenty of cases, a well trained non-native speaking teacher is just as good, if not a better teacher for a particular group of students. Arguments that favor non-native speakers? For starters, they understand the struggles of the students. They were/are English learners. This advantage is particularly pronounced if the students are largely culturally homogeneous. And in most Japanese classrooms, cultural homogeneity is the rule. A teacher who shares that culture? They are going to have some built in advantages that a cultural outsider will have to work to overcome. Not to say that it's impossible. But it takes an effort that the non-native teacher doesn't have to expend, meaning that the teacher who is culturally similar to the students theoretically has more time/energy to focus on teaching, with the cultural understanding being literally instinctive.
And then there is the unstated presumption that "native speaker" English is the best is also problematic, and one of the problems I have with a lot of English teachers here in Japan. The fact of the matter is that in today's world, there are a LOT more non-native speaking users of English than there are native speaking users. More and more, the chances are that if a Japanese national is going to use English, they are going to be speaking with another non-native English speaker. Maybe it's a tourist from China, or a businessman from Taiwan. The monopoly of the English speaking world on the language is long gone. It has become the de facto lingua franca. Hell, even within the so-called "native speaking" world, there is a huge variety of English. Is someone going to tell a Glaswegian that his English isn't native, despite the fact that he's been speaking it his entire life? And what about the woman in the bayous of Louisiana? Is her version of Cajun influenced English less valid?
Let's be real - what English education in Japan needs is good teachers. It doesn't matter if they are native speakers or non-native speakers of English. And that's what it really boils down to. Do the students actually learn how to use the language?
Friday, March 9, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Snowshoeing
Climbed up Mt. Monbetsu with my friend today. It's a smallish mountain (865 m/2840 ft). The prominence is probably about 500 meters (1640 ft), on about a 5 km (3 mile) road. Weather wasn't great - cloudy the whole way with light snow at the top. But it was still fun. Just a few photos due to the weather conditions not cooperating.
Friday, January 6, 2012
It just keeps falling...
Woke up this morning to a lot more snow. Not sure the official totals, but it appeared to be more than a foot on top of my car. Which means that we're getting near 3 feet accumulated on the ground. Honestly, I haven't seen this much snow in at least a decade. There was one winter in university that probably came close to this, but I'm not sure if it really quite measures up to this. Perhaps I might have to go all the way back to my Minneapolis days - which is approximately 20 years. Maybe I've seen this much snow since, but nothing comes to mind quickly. At any rate, I ended up walking to work today with my camera in hand, photographing some of the scenes for all of you who are missing your snow. Enjoy. (Click on the images to view larger versions.)
Here's what I woke up to. I knew that quite a bit had fallen the previous evening, but I wasn't sure how much was going to fall overnight. It was a lot.
As this was a slightly wet snow, the trees were beautiful first thing in the morning.
This is in Nakajima Park, right across from my apartment.
The snow ended early enough for the plows to get out and get all the major and quasi-major streets plowed before most people were out and about.
Notice the woman on top of the snow mountain. We're running out of places to pile up the snow, which I suppose is a good argument for having at least a small yard.
Chuo Park was also pretty.
Chuo Park is right behind my workplace. One of the campus buildings is visible on the left in this photo.
Just dang pretty.
Hopefully this means that boarding should be good this weekend.
Here's what I woke up to. I knew that quite a bit had fallen the previous evening, but I wasn't sure how much was going to fall overnight. It was a lot.
As this was a slightly wet snow, the trees were beautiful first thing in the morning.
This is in Nakajima Park, right across from my apartment.
The snow ended early enough for the plows to get out and get all the major and quasi-major streets plowed before most people were out and about.
Notice the woman on top of the snow mountain. We're running out of places to pile up the snow, which I suppose is a good argument for having at least a small yard.
Chuo Park was also pretty.
Chuo Park is right behind my workplace. One of the campus buildings is visible on the left in this photo.
Just dang pretty.
Hopefully this means that boarding should be good this weekend.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Some recent photos...
So I've had a little more time this past week, due to winter break - both at work and in my online MA program. So I've gotten the camera out (along with my new tripod - finally) and taken a few photos. Check 'em out! We've got a lot of snow. (As always, click on a photo for a larger version)
Here's a shot at Eniwa Station. A good idea of how much snow we've got on the ground. And we're on the lower end of totals here in central Hokkaido. Some areas are pushing 6 meters (approx. 20 ft) of snowfall for December.
Another buried bike - on it's side, so it's not quite as impressive as it might otherwise seem.
Eniwa Station.
Nakajima Park at night. Another buried bike. What is it with me and bikes? Oh yeah. I'm a cyclist. I guess I'm drawn to bikes.
Trees at night. And a lot of snow.
I know light pollution isn't a good thing. But it made for a nice photo in this case.
The mountain of snow at the T intersection right by my apartment. It's only going to get bigger.
The public bathrooms in the park. It's a nicer picture when you don't know that fact.
One of the movie billboards in downtown Yubari. I've written about Yubari before. It was once a booming coal town - 116,000 people lived there in about 1960. After the mines closed, the population crashed - now it's probably less than 10,000. But in th2 1990's, an attempt to boost the town was made by starting an international film festival. And it worked, for a while. Tarantino showed up a few times - and even named a character after the town. Since the city went bankrupt (and didn't get bailed out by the national government) it's become a MUCH smaller film festival. But they're still trying.
More billboards for movies I don't know.
What I guess passes for downtown Yubari. Once upon a time, there were apparently 17 movie theaters in the town. Not sure when that was.
One more for good measure.
On the road back to Eniwa from Yubari, I always pass this place. And it's a complete mess. Not sure when it closed, or what exactly it was. I'm sure if I ask around, I can get some details - maybe even find some photos. But I think it might have been an onsen (hot spring bath).
As you can see, time has taken a bat to this place.
But it fits well with my fascination with ruins.
The nice thing about a tripod? I can take shots like this one of the moon.
And just a couple from Mt. Racey Ski Resort (in Yubari).
It was completely cloudy - to the point of not being able to see 10 meters - at the very top of the mountain for most of the day. But on my second to last run of the day, it cleared off just enough to get these photos.
Here's a shot at Eniwa Station. A good idea of how much snow we've got on the ground. And we're on the lower end of totals here in central Hokkaido. Some areas are pushing 6 meters (approx. 20 ft) of snowfall for December.
Another buried bike - on it's side, so it's not quite as impressive as it might otherwise seem.
Eniwa Station.
Nakajima Park at night. Another buried bike. What is it with me and bikes? Oh yeah. I'm a cyclist. I guess I'm drawn to bikes.
Trees at night. And a lot of snow.
I know light pollution isn't a good thing. But it made for a nice photo in this case.
The mountain of snow at the T intersection right by my apartment. It's only going to get bigger.
The public bathrooms in the park. It's a nicer picture when you don't know that fact.
One of the movie billboards in downtown Yubari. I've written about Yubari before. It was once a booming coal town - 116,000 people lived there in about 1960. After the mines closed, the population crashed - now it's probably less than 10,000. But in th2 1990's, an attempt to boost the town was made by starting an international film festival. And it worked, for a while. Tarantino showed up a few times - and even named a character after the town. Since the city went bankrupt (and didn't get bailed out by the national government) it's become a MUCH smaller film festival. But they're still trying.
More billboards for movies I don't know.
What I guess passes for downtown Yubari. Once upon a time, there were apparently 17 movie theaters in the town. Not sure when that was.
One more for good measure.
On the road back to Eniwa from Yubari, I always pass this place. And it's a complete mess. Not sure when it closed, or what exactly it was. I'm sure if I ask around, I can get some details - maybe even find some photos. But I think it might have been an onsen (hot spring bath).
As you can see, time has taken a bat to this place.
But it fits well with my fascination with ruins.
The nice thing about a tripod? I can take shots like this one of the moon.
And just a couple from Mt. Racey Ski Resort (in Yubari).
It was completely cloudy - to the point of not being able to see 10 meters - at the very top of the mountain for most of the day. But on my second to last run of the day, it cleared off just enough to get these photos.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Who should teach English?
So there's a big debate in the English teaching communities in both Japan and other parts of E. Asia, notably South Korea. And the question is whether or not having native speakers in the classrooms as assistant language teachers (ALTs) is worth the expense. From what I have seen recently on some Korean teacher's blogs, apparently the Seoul board of education will be eliminating at least some of it's ALT positions. And of course, this has more than a few people in an uproar. Japan occasionally sees the same phenomenon. And the argument on the ALT side almost always comes down to this: I'm a native speaker. I know how English is really used. Regardless of what kind of training I have (or don't have), I am a valuable asset for the school and students. Admittedly, that generalization is just that - a generalized over-simplification of the argument put forth in favor of retaining the ALT positions. The argument almost always extends to: At least some of the non-native teachers that I work with are terrible and can't speak any English at all!
And you know what? I can sympathize with all of that. There are plenty of non-native speaking English teachers who don't speak much English. But there are also plenty who do speak English reasonably well. And you know what else? All of the non-native English teachers are trained teachers. Sure, that's no guarantee that they are going to be good at it.
But any guesses what percentage of the ALTs are trained teachers? Honestly, I can't say for sure, but based on my experience as an ALT, back when I first came to Japan - the number isn't terribly high. I was one of those ALTs untrained as a teacher. Only a small handful of the ALTs around me were trained as teachers. Which would seem to me to be a strike against ALTs.
And just as there are both good and bad non-native English teachers, the same applies to ALTs. Being a native born speaker of English doesn't automatically mean that you any business being in a classroom with 30 or 40 Japanese junior high school students.
And when asking student opinions about who they prefer, the data is very mixed. Students point out some positives about both native speaking teachers and non-native teachers. So often, when a certain data set comes out that seems to show students favoring teachers who share the same first language as the students, ALTs and the like are very quick, and rightfully so, that the data always refers to highly qualified, competent teachers. All I ask is that the ALTs apply the same rules to themselves when making the arguments. If we are going to argue in favor of ALTs, we need to make sure the ALTs are also highly qualified and competent. Go out and get your TESOL certificate. Do a master's program. You can do it online and not miss any paychecks. I'm doing it, working a full time job as the main English teacher at my technical college.
And whatever you do, when you post on webforums, complaining about the use of the English language in Japan or Korea or wherever you happen to be - please take extra care not to make simple mistakes. Don't use the word respectively when you mean relatively. And while I'm not asking you to go read every book in the world, I think that it should be fairly common knowledge that the Three Musketeers is not the original title of Dumas' book. It was NOT written in English. It was written in French. It was called Les Trois Mousquetaires. If you want to say that you are qualified to teach, don't give people reason to doubt it. Thanks.
And you know what? I can sympathize with all of that. There are plenty of non-native speaking English teachers who don't speak much English. But there are also plenty who do speak English reasonably well. And you know what else? All of the non-native English teachers are trained teachers. Sure, that's no guarantee that they are going to be good at it.
But any guesses what percentage of the ALTs are trained teachers? Honestly, I can't say for sure, but based on my experience as an ALT, back when I first came to Japan - the number isn't terribly high. I was one of those ALTs untrained as a teacher. Only a small handful of the ALTs around me were trained as teachers. Which would seem to me to be a strike against ALTs.
And just as there are both good and bad non-native English teachers, the same applies to ALTs. Being a native born speaker of English doesn't automatically mean that you any business being in a classroom with 30 or 40 Japanese junior high school students.
And when asking student opinions about who they prefer, the data is very mixed. Students point out some positives about both native speaking teachers and non-native teachers. So often, when a certain data set comes out that seems to show students favoring teachers who share the same first language as the students, ALTs and the like are very quick, and rightfully so, that the data always refers to highly qualified, competent teachers. All I ask is that the ALTs apply the same rules to themselves when making the arguments. If we are going to argue in favor of ALTs, we need to make sure the ALTs are also highly qualified and competent. Go out and get your TESOL certificate. Do a master's program. You can do it online and not miss any paychecks. I'm doing it, working a full time job as the main English teacher at my technical college.
And whatever you do, when you post on webforums, complaining about the use of the English language in Japan or Korea or wherever you happen to be - please take extra care not to make simple mistakes. Don't use the word respectively when you mean relatively. And while I'm not asking you to go read every book in the world, I think that it should be fairly common knowledge that the Three Musketeers is not the original title of Dumas' book. It was NOT written in English. It was written in French. It was called Les Trois Mousquetaires. If you want to say that you are qualified to teach, don't give people reason to doubt it. Thanks.
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