Complain kings and queens

Kids really think they should be treated like kings and queens sometimes. Everything has to go their way. I'm so fed up with them today. They seem to behave well or badly all on the same day. It's like a conspiracy among them. I had problems with a few kids in all my classes today. All they know is to complain. I wouldn't mind so much if they've learnt how to complain in English. They complain when I don't allow them to play games, complain when the activity is too easy or boring, complain when it's difficult or tedious, complain when they don't want or like to do something, complain when I tell them to keep quiet, complain when I say "speak in English please!" Well, if they don't like to do all those things, neither do i like to hear them complain throughout the whole lesson!! Here i am trying my best to conduct the lesson as best as i could and all i get are such negative comments. And there's nothing you can do about them cos u'll only get more complaints when you scold them. Even worse, they'll tell their parents n next thing you know the principal invites you for a talk in his office.

There's this boy who got hurt on the foot accidentally by another boy today. And he started crying! My virgin crying incident in class. Not bawling though...thankfully. But it was at the start of the lesson n i can't begin when he's crying like a poor baby. I'm sure it's not that serious n he's just exaggerating or in one of his moods again. He's one who's always mumbling to himself softly (not soft enough to my ears).....complaining of course. And he's only 10, but so whiny. Anyway, i tried to console him and make sure that he's not really hurt. He won't stop crying and just slumped to the floor refusing to get up. I tried to get him up to his seat but he was really stuborn and no amount of heaving n pulling could get him to stand up. He's so small but weighs a ton. It wasn't until some time before i could get him to sit down. But still, he kept on crying The other kids were looking at me n i was worried they'll start misbehaving if i don't give them my attention. Boy then refused to do his work or participate in class. I tried to encourage him but he just kept on shaking his head with pouty lips n teary eyes. I gave up! What's wrong with the kids in schools nowadays?? arrgh! But after his crying fit has passed, his mood improved n did participate a little at the end. But not without first mumbling unhappily to himself.....n he declined to finish his assignment in class as homework. Yes my King.......anything you say. sigh.

The performer

When u're teaching, it can be similar to giving a performance. There's a lot of planning involved. Although, i only teach a few hours a day, a lot of time goes into planning at the end of the lessons. It doesn't have to be very structured/You can just run through the lessons and activities in your head. U also have to imagine the worst.....what if it doesn't work out? Will the students get bored? Is it too easy or difficult? What should i do next if it fails? I'm very busy thinking about all these especially when i'm on the bus home. For a polished performance, practise n preparation are important. But it's unrealistic for a teacher to rehearse every lesson that she's going to have. Besides, u'll never know what your supporting actors will spring onto you! But i do panick when i'm not prepared for a lesson....my instructions n speech becomes hazy. During these times, i've to rely on giving them lots of written work to save my butt! But i'll feel guilty of short-changing my students by putting on such a poor performance.

A performance is also emotional. It's emotional having to teach little kids. Frustration forms a big part. Affection. Irritation. Amazement?? If you can call it an emotion. Burderned with responsibility. And there are emotions that u have to fake too...when u want to influence or coerce the kids into doing what you want.

I wanted to write about my day but i ended up writing an essay. Actually, all i wanted to say is i had to pretend to be a mouse, snake, pig, Spanish dancer, popcorn, ants n a dog with the P2 today TWICE. And i'm exhausted!!! That's me being emotional.

The effects of a long weekend

This Mon was a public holiday (PH) because Vesak Day fell on the weekend. That added up to a total of 3 day break for my kids...which means 3 days away from being in contact with English. That certainly did something bad to their brains because my first class (P4) couldn't understand what i was saying for the first 5 mins. The only reponse i got was "erh? urh? wakaranai!" when i was cheerfully blabbering on. Thankfully, i was saved by this: "eigo wo wasuretano?" (Have you forgotten your English?) i asked. And i finally got my first English reponse for the day - some "Yesssssssssss!" and some "Noooooooooo!!".

Boy Y from P4 walked in as if he literally woke up from bed. His hair was tousled, his eyes bleary and half-closed, and his "morning voice" was still on switch mode. Another possible omen that the long holiday does no good to them? :p But i really wonder what happened to him cos most of the other kids walked in all sweaty n out of breath. I couldn't get a proper response out from him either in English or Japanese....which is very usual That's Boy Y. The blur sotong of the class....who always looks from left to right before looking up at me with an "eh????"when i ask him a question.

The new teacher

Does the new teacher always get so much attention? On my first day, when the students opened the door n saw me, they said, "eh!!!", closed the door, opened, n said "eh!!" again until i told them to come in. Weren't they informed that they were having a new teacher?

Anyway, news soon spread to other students that there's a new teacher. Soon i had kids who were not in my class coming in just to have a look. Some girls asked my students how i'm like in front of me. Luckily, i got some nice comments from my female students! One of my P6 boys told the other P6 boys that I speak Japanese n they came over to my class last Fri just to test if i really could speak. "Konnichiwa!", a few called out to me. There is one boy who really looks like a young version of my ex boyfriend. I feigned ignorance n asked what's konnichiwa. "U know Japanese," they said. "No, i don't," i lied cos the P6 boy that told them was standing beside them, insisting that i know Japanese. It was funny to see the expression on his face when i refused to answer the other boys in Japanese. :p There was another boy who came to peek n ran away saying, "yasashisou jyan!".

It's nice to be new on the block when u're getting such cute reactions.

Growing to like the kids

i wished that i've written this earlier as my memory has became a little stale after a bout of flu. There are so many stories to tell when u r working with kids! Every day when i come home, i bore my family during dinner with the things my kids do n say. I could hardly find anything interesting to say when i was working in the office. The kids really make or break a teacher's career....at least for me. If they are sweet n well-behaved, it'll make my day. But once i get a few students that are challenging to handle, my energy level gets depleted rapidly.

But good or bad, i still love my kids....not all, but enough to make me like teaching them. I look forward most to teaching the P4s. Maybe cos they r more enthusiastic, endearing n seem to appreciate n respect me more. It's not so tiring teaching the P5s n 6s cos they r older, but they have their own ideas n don't really like to be told what to do. The boys like to muck around, the talkative girls keep on yakking away n some girls r so quiet n shy that i have to force them to speak. The older girls r more respectful n friendlier though i have 1 or 2 "rebellious" girls who show no interest in my lesson, don't bring their books n fall asleep in class! One interesting thing is, the upper pri boys are better in English than the girls. It's usually the boys who understood my English instructions better n complete the class activities with less difficulty. i've always thought that girls are better at languages. It's not the case in my classes.

So far, the kids seem to enjoy the English games i introduced in class, especially the P4s.

"What's your name?"
The P4s immediately sprang to life when i took out the ball. They were shouting n raising their hands high up, "Passu...passu!". I had absolutely no problem getting them to form a circle for the game. This activity was to get them to practise saying and asking names. A really dull n repetitive activity was brought to life just by bringing the ball in. By throwing n catching the ball as they practise the phrase, the students participated actively n couldn't get enough of the game even after the bell rang. But i had to make sure that nobody gets violent with the ball (which some did) n that the girls had their turns cos the boys were all fighting for the ball. Boys n balls....can u ever separate them???

Getting over the dread of my first day

I wasn't going to give up just cos my first day wasn't perfect. It wasn't supposed to be perfect. How could it be when i'm really just an inexperienced teacher who up till now has not much interaction with kids? N this is the reality of EFL teaching....most students have no motivation in learning English. There's no pressure for them to learn n neither is there any assessment. To some of them, English class is having lots of fun n activities.It's so much better to face that reality here right now than later in Japan. At least i have lots of people to seek advice from when i'm here n the support of my family n friends.

After the first day nerves have passed, the classes got better with some preparation n tips from other teachers. One useful tip is to have fun......not just the students, but the teacher too. When you start enjoying your class, the weariness n nervousness will fade. I didn't have to use that much Japanese after the first day. I find that they can understand me when i minimised my English to just a few crucial words n just keep on repeating them until the words sink in. Gestures n drawing help too. N u'll realise that once 1 or 2 children understand, it'll make your job easier cos they'll translate to the other children. Or the other children who don't understand will ultimately just follow what the others are doing!...erh....except for some problem kids. That saves me the trouble of translating to Japanese for the slower kids.

The teachers don't have to stick strictly to the syllabus. We have 1 whole month to cover a unit n we can choose to do or not do any of the activities in there. We can always supplement the textbook with other materials in the English Resource Room or any other authentic materials u find on ur own. So during the classes, i don't have to worry about the time or whether i've covered enough in the textbook.

On the first day, i wasn't used to the lack of discipline of the children. But with a little time, i've learnt how to exercise some authority to make them listen to me. It's not easy though. They aren't like the local primary kids who only need to be told once (at least in my generation n i'm talking about generally well-behaved kids). I have to stop my lesson many a times just to get them to keep quiet, sit down, stop quarrelling, look here n listen. My usually soft voice has to be raised quite a few decibles in class. I wonder if that'll damage my throat.

My first day of school

I arrived @ 8 a.m. on Mon morning. My first class doesn't start until 8.40 a.m. But being the first day, I needed to be there early to calm my nerves n familiarise with the things in my classroom. I was terribly nervous....absolutely petrified. True, i did receive some training after having just completed the TESOL course. But it didn't prepare me with the knowledge of teaching young children who have no fear of their teacher. Young children who don't listen when you talk, who run about fighting with each other, who keep talking when you are talking, who don't cooperate n only stare at you, n don't understand English.

I had no choice but to speak a lot of Japanese on my first day...otherwise i would have no way of handling the children. They were surprised that i speak Japanese. Very amused when i gave them my English name in katakana....even more amused when i wrote the katakana characters on the board. They have no qualms about talking freely about me in class, even though they know i understand them. It's probably a habit that formed from being taught by English teachers who don't understand Japanese. It's incredulous to hear what they say about you. They don't only say nice things, but also complain to each other when you scold them....all in front of you! I never would have imagined students daring to say the things they said. N i have students as young as 8 correcting my Japanese!

On the first day, I had all the students telling me where they live by pointing on the huge map of Japan. I also got them up individually to draw their favourite fruit, hobby n subject. I had them spell the things they drew n that took up some time cos apparently, not many can spell. I felt a sense of doom when some of my Pri 4s couldn't even write their names in romanji. Even some Pri 6s don't know their alphabet letters well. N i'm supposed to teach them from an English textbook. I thought to myself......."what trouble have i gotten myself into?". If this is already the case here, what would teaching in Japan be like? By the end of my third class, I was physically n mentally drained n i thought i was losing my voice after raising it for 3 hours. I was doubting my career choice. Am i cut out to be an EFL teacher?

How the English Classes Work

The classes are split into the NC to A levels. NC = newcomers. I'm taking the NC n C classes. The students in these levels have very low English ability n some Japanese is required in class. There are 12 English classrooms altogether...starting from E1 to E12. The higher the number, the better you are. E1 to E6 is for the lower primary, while E7 to E12 is for the higher primary. I'm teaching phonics to the lower primary n conversational English to the higher primary. Instead of me going to my students classroom, they come to me. I have my own classroom n I can decorate n arrange it any way i like. I love that! When the bell rings, i'll hear my students struggling to open the door (cos the door is not working very well) n say "May i come in please?". Some shout, some whisper n some don't say at all. For those who don't say it, i'll send them back to the door n only allow them to come in after they give me the magic word. There are less than 10 students in each class, which is a huge relief. Even teaching just a few students tires me out, as they need A LOT of discipline. Pri 4 is my largest class with 9 students. This is my favourite class...the Pri 4. :). I see the Pri 2 only once a week n with the 4,5,6 four times a week.

Good news

I've been lucky. Didn't expect that I would have the chance to get some teaching experience here before going to Japan. The school emailed me about a one year contract part-time teaching position. I was happy but I couldn't accept as I would be going to Japan very soon. However, they understood my position n would be willing to accept me if I could work until the end of their term. I called up n we arranged for an interview. The morning that I went for the interview, the teacher that I was supposed to substitute 2 weeks later broke her leg just 2 hours before I came. Suddenly, I was promoted from a possible candidate for the position to a "can you start work tomorrow?" shortlister! I was given the chance to observe one of the Pri 1 classes and view my classroom. It was love at first sight with the students n my classroom. Even then, I didn't agree straightaway cos of the distance of the school from my home. By bus, it can take 2 hrs in the morning. But I knew it's a very good opportunity for me n i would be stupid to give it up cos of the distance. So here i am - having just survived one week @ the school.