TopHatMikey

How hard some of these kids work. Yeah, I know you see it in media all the time and the first thing you learn about Japanese high schools is that it's super-tough, but... it's super-tough. The kids have class from 8:30 to 3:15, and then they have club activities till 7, and some kids live, like, two hours away or have part-time jobs. These are just 16, 17 year olds, you understand.

On a more positive note, I was really pleasantly surprised by how NICE these students are. Even my "bad" class were pretty average compared to the rowdy classes back home. In particular, kids are extraordinarily fair: they will never complain if they lose in a game, and they will often help out their classmates so they can win prizes. I've been told that my students here seem slightly nicer and shyer than "city kids", but then I don't have a lot of comparison.

Mm, complicated one. Before I answer, you have to remember that this is after all a mountain town high school, and not a particularly academic one. My perspective is therefore pretty limited.

I would generally agree with the statement, and I think there are two main reasons. The first is attitude: Japanese people mostly seem to believe that English is something they can NEVER master. Every day, I get kids who tell me "英語わからんし。日本人だから。" or some stuff like that. I tell them I was born in Taiwan and spoke Mandarin as a first language, and that they should just try. It doesn't help that some of the teachers even seem to support this attitude.

The second is the education system, which is entirely focused on rote memorization, not communication. They think English is just something they memorize for exams. This is where I come in, but my contributions are, I think, fairly limited. I do think Japan is changing. A lot of the younger teachers are very energetic and focused on communication, which is supported by the new high school curriculum coming in the new school year. Maybe in a few decades, things will improve.

And also - there's simply exaggeration. I have a few classes where the kids are all kickass at English. Some have been overseas; others are just good because they like it. Kids like that give me hope.

I would be really interested in hearing what you think too! よかったら、ご意見も教えてください。 :)

This is my third time in Japan. First time was a high school trip (2 weeks), second time was a language study programme (1.5 months).

I would say the saddest thing is seeing the absolute ironbound rigidity of systems here, especially the school system, and seeing how broken it is and how much the kids are suffering from it. [snippy snip] I've mentioned the stress they all go through. Another thing is the sad reality that none of this high school crap will really matter once they're done with it.

One more thing that fascinates me and worries me is how low some of these kids set their ambitions. I've seen the career paths my graduates are planning to do after high school, and many (most?) of them are just going straight into jobs like banking, post offices, and train conducting without university. Maybe it's their lifelong dream, but it irks me that this is a society that doesn't really reward breaking molds and being eccentric. A good kid here is someone who fits into the model and never complains, and "strange" kids are quietly beaten down. For example? I have a great student who's a bit rowdy, but she's very sweet and she lives by herself. One day, we were having lunch together and she showed us her homemade bento, which she makes by getting up at stupid o'clock every morning. One of my teachers - and you have to understand, this is one of my very nice, motherly teachers - remarked: "You would be a good wife someday if you would just stop being so loud..."

Which bothered me.

And the really scary thing is, Japan is such an organised, isolated society that they really can go their whole lives going from one system to another without ever being individualistic or pursuing their dreams. Maybe I'm applying too much of my Western perspective here, and maybe they really are happy, so it's not my place to judge, but I can't help but wonder and worry.

tl;dr: rigid society is rigid.

I agree! I try to encourage my kids to use Youtube. Not sure about Reddit, but I suspect some of my geekier kids will find it eventually. The internet was how I honed my English skills too, back in the good old days of ICQ, MSN and IRC.

I studied Japanese in University - I've got JLPT N2, although in practice my speaking skills are actually pretty crappy now. My reading skills are a lot better though since I also speak Mandarin. It's definitely helpful for connecting with the students and making friends in the area.