Jan 27 2007
Saga, Part 1: Fired on my second lesson of teaching English.
I came to Japan 5 years ago with about $2,000 US dollars, very little experience, no Japanese ability, few marketable skills and no friends or contacts. My original goal in coming to Japan was to study martial arts for a month, but after one week living in Tokyo I made the decision to try to live here. After making this decision, reality set in. I would need to find a place to live and a job. Which should I look for first?
After one week of living in a hotel in Tokyo, my account was already down to $1,400. I didn’t want to find an apartment, and then get a job very far from my apartment. I decided to focus on finding a place to live. I found a free magazine called Tokyo Classifieds, and noticed an ad from a new company called Sakura House. I called them up, and they told me about a vacancy in a guest house near Tsukiji . I went and looked at the apartment - it was a tiny room with a shared kitchen, toilet and shower. It was very close to the station, and quite central in Tokyo. I immediately accepted, and moved in. Unfortunately, it cost a deposit of $200 and the first months rent to move in - a total of $900. I was down to $500, and I was starting to sweat.
I picked up Tokyo Classifieds and starting faxing, emailing and calling every employer I could. Most of the jobs were for English teachers, but I applied for everything and anything. I went to several interviews, but none of them worked out. There were various reasons - "no university degree", "too young", "too old", "no experience", "no qualifications", "the position was filled", "no Japanese". Continuous rejection was pretty harsh on my previously huge ego. But I steeled myself and kept trying. In a week and a half, I had contacted 25 employers, went to 10 interviews, and had nothing to show for it except an ever-shrinking bank account - now down to $147.
I was starting to get a bit worried - what would happen to me if I ran out of money? I cut back on my expenses as much as I possibly could, and begin eating 5 rice balls a day. They were cheap and pretty healthy - I owe my initial survival in Japan to salmon rice balls!
Then finally, the call came that changed everything.
"Hello, are you available to teach a class of English tomorrow at 7pm?"
She sounded middle-aged, and her voice was very sharp and to the point. I gulped. I was down to $80, and things were getting very bleak.
"Um…", I paused, as though I was considering my busy schedule. "I believe I’m available at 7pm. Where should I go?"
My heart thumped in my chest as she gave me the directions. I wrote them down and thanked her, trying to hide my excitement and happiness. A part-time job! This could change everything. This could be the start of my new life in Japan! I brightened up, and did my best to prepare for my first English lesson in my life.
I arrived at the station at 6:30pm to make sure I was on-time. I was wearing a suit kindly borrowed from another similarly sized occupant of my guest house. The neck was too tight, and I was feeling uncomfortable. I was all too aware that this could be my last opportunity in Japan. If I blow this, I could be forced back to Australia with my tail between my legs. I stood in the station toilet, looking at myself in the mirror. I broke out in a light sweat. The clock ticked around to 6:55pm, and I went to the designated meeting place.
At precisely 7pm, she turned up, and with a minimum of conversation, we began walking to the English class. She was a short stubby woman with zero tolerance for bullshit, and almost no tact.
"It is a business English class. Be as business-like as possible. You must be professional, but also friendly. You are here only because the last person suddenly left. Don’t mess it up. Do you understand?" Her voice cut through the warm Tokyo air.
"Um, yes, I understand. I’ll do my best. Um, I haven’t actually taught a class of English before, though," I said, trying to keep the tremble from my voice. She didn’t respond.
We finally arrived at the class. She opened the door, and there were 40 Japanese business people in the room. I walked in, and everyone looked at me.
"INTRODUCE YOURSELF." She instructed me, quietly and harshly.
"Ah… hello everyone…! My name is Firefly, and I’m from Australia."
A quiet murmur broke out after I mentioned Australia. "Has.. anyone ever been to Australia?" I tentatively asked.
"I went to Cairns!" a voice called out from the crowd. Interestingly, as I later discovered, almost every Japanese person has been to Cairns.
"Thats great!" I encouraged. Soon after, we were having a lively discussion about Cairns, Australia, Japan, me, what I like about Japan, Japanese language, Japanese food, kangaroos, koalas - then all of a sudden, the time was up. I blinked, as I realised that 2 hours had passed.
The woman led me in a daze outside.
She fixed me with her cool stare. "You didn’t totally mess it up. I will wire 8,000 yen to your bank account tomorrow. Come back next week. Same time, same place. For next lesson though, you MUST MAKE A LESSON PLAN. Do you understand?"
I cautiously nodded, but I decided it would be prudent to tell the truth : "Actually, I’ve never actually made a lesson plan before….", I began.
"I don’t care," she cut me off. "Just make one. OK?"
"Got it." I confirmed.
I walked away a flurry of emotions. I did it! I had my first English lesson. It was actually really fun. I got paid 4,000 yen an hour! Hmm , I have to make a lesson plan - I don’t know how to do that. But 8,000 yen will be enough to survive for a bit longer until I find a more permanent job! I could barely contain my feeling of elation as I walked back to the train station.
Sure enough, the next day arrived and 8,000 yen appeared in my bank. I bought a bentou (lunch set) instead of riceballs to celebrate. Then I set about my next task - a lesson plan. I wrote down some ideas on paper. I went to Shinjuku Kinokuniya, a huge bookstore, and read lots of literature about teaching English and lesson plans. I wrote down some more ideas. Then I asked some other English teachers living in my guest house for advice. I wrote down their ideas. I asked my Japanese friends about what kind of lesson they really enjoy. I wrote down those ideas. I called my father, and asked him "Hey, if you had to teach a lesson of English, what would you teach?", I then wrote down his ideas.
In total, I spent about 12 hours working on the best lesson plan the world had ever seen. The lesson plan was detailed down to every single minute. I was extremely proud of my creation, and many people expressed their admiration for my fantastic plan. Finally, next Wednesday came. I borrowed the suit again, folded up my lesson plan, and slid it into my ill-fitting shirt pocket. I left the guest house full of confidence and bravado. I got on the train, brimming with motivation. I arrived to the station, and went to the same building. I found my way back to the same room, I unfolded my lesson plan, walked in……………
And found 2 men sitting down in the middle of the room.
"Oh, sorry. I’m the English teacher, I must have the wrong room." I said, as I closed the door.
"Please wait! This izu English class!" One of the men called out.
I swung the door open again. The confusion must have been readable on my face.
"Tonight everyone is having project. Everyone very busy. We are only people who can come tonight." He explained in halting English.
My mouth dropped open. I felt light-headed and sick as the 12 hours I spent on my lesson plan flashed before my eyes. I robotically re-entered the room.
"Oh… so just, you two guys?" I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.
"Right." They nodded their heads and smiled at me.
"Well…." I said, and I handled my 12 hour lesson plan. "Since um, there are only two of you… is there anything that you want to learn or study?" I asked.
The silence was deafening for a very long 10 seconds, until the man on the right said :
"I want to talku… abouto my weekendo." He announced.
"Ok, great!" I said, as I listened to him talk. Then the other guy talked about his weekend. Then I started talking about my weekend.
Once again, before we knew it, we were having an interesting conversation about Japan-Australia relations, bushfires, politics, Japanese culture, Australian hospitality, and suddenly my watch started beeping. 2 hours was up again! Unbelievable.
I looked at my watch, and looked up at them with a smile on my face. It was a fascinating conversation, and they both had interesting opinions and ideas. We all had so much fun talking about every subject. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid 4,000 yen an hour for this!
They looked at me and said "Thank you very much for our lesson today Firefly-san. It was very enjoyable! We had so much fun."
I grinned at them. "I had lots of fun as well! Thanks guys, it was great. See you next week!".
I walked out of the classroom with a spring in my step. I turned back, and they were bowing and smiling at me as I left. I waved back. Teaching English is awesome! Tomorrow morning, there will be 8,000 yen waiting for me in my account as well. Now I can relax a bit and focus on trying to find a job. I already did all the work on the worlds best lesson plan, I’ll just use that next week.
I went to bed with a smile on my face, and I relaxed and slept soundly for the first time in 2 weeks.
I woke up at 9am to find a missed call on my mobile. I checked the number - it was the stern woman who organised my lesson. She must be calling to congratulate me on such a good lesson. I excitedly called her back.
"Hi! This is Firefly. Thanks very much for organising last nights lesso-", I began.
"You didn’t make a LESSON PLAN." Her words cleared my morning haze, and cut me to the bone.
"Lesson Plan? Oh right, actually I did, but-" I stammered.
"They were very upset with you. They complain to me. It was a VERY BAD LESSON." She was gaining momentum, and starting to yell at me.
"I’m.. very sorry. There were only 2 people, I thought I should-"
"I will pay you for last night’s lesson. But thats it. Don’t bother to come back again."
"But, it’s a misunderstanding, hang on a second," I tried to explain, but she immediately hung up, leaving me alone with excuses and an engaged signal.
Similar to being kicked in the nuts, the impact of the words set in about 10 seconds later. I was emotionally and financially devastated. I gulped as I realised I had $60 in my account - and no job to speak of - not even part-time.
I would later find out this is a common theme in Japanese culture. Most Japanese people choose to avoid confrontation, and prefer to complain about you when you’re not around. This is distasteful to me as a Westerner, but as a resident of Japan it’s something I have to respect and understand. Now I have a much higher tolerance and understanding of this kind of behaviour, but it was a big culture-shock for me when I first came over.
What happened after this is completely unbelievable, and led to a series of events that changed the course of my life. I’ll try to write about it soon.
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Wow, well written. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the story!
This is of course the greatest point to learnt to read body language and little signals that people give out when they are disappointed about something. I think these would be much more subtle with the japanese but still noticeable. I had similar problems while studying in China.
Hi,
I just want to say that no matter where you are, you should avoid hotels. Go to YOUTH HOSTELS instead (all caps because it deserves emphasis and reemphasis). A hostel in any major international city should be less than $30 per night and the average seems to be $20.
Alas, most people spend more because they do not have this key little fact.
Ciao…
Zack
http://Muvy.org
Always do the lesson, even if no students show up. If you ever teach your martial art, follow this advise.
Great story - I’ll be bookmarking this to hear the rest of it.
That made me angry.
Greg, Thanks for your compliment. I hope you’ll enjoy the next part as well.
©¬ystein, right - it takes a while to learn these subtle motions - these days I’m better at it, but still not perfect.
Zack, Good advice. I was originally staying in a very cheap hostel when I came to Japan. Not 5 star accommodation, but it’s cheap and workable.
sroske - Yep - I know that now…!
Evan - thanks mate. Hope you enjoy the next part too.
Very interesting story Firefly. You’re a gifted writer.
Great story and well written too. Subscribing to your feed.
This is typical of teaching English is Asia… Asian cultural norms would encourage people smile and act happy or unworried even if the s**t is going down the drain. Anyways, the real problem as you must know by now, was your BS employer, who hired and fired you in this fly-by-night manner, expecting that you would somehow pull a lesson plan out of your magic hat, knowing you had zero qualifications. As for the students who were happy to chat about their weekends, who knows: they may have never complained and it may simply have been that your first class was so disorganized that the company decided to cancel the contract with your employer, hence your employer’s BS no-lesson-plan excuse for firing you. You may never know.
I’d add to this experience my own living as an American in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican culture seems to be VERY much like Japan (from everything I’ve read). We call it, “la indirecta” “the indirect” And it’s just like the experience you describe here. Nobody will every say what they are thinking you your face. Puerto Ricans hate face to face conflict. Everything is ALWAYS okay, fine, perfect. You have to very attentive to the non-verbal or passive aggressive clues as to when you’ve screwed up, or they’ll find a way to mess you up… usually when you least expect it. No one will bring unpleasant news to your face. They will smile and politely excuse themselves. It always arrives as gossip from a third party. And if you get upset because of something else someone did, it is YOU who is the problem.
Yep, Lost in Translation and various YouTube clips show that there is no doubt about how “weird” Japanese culture can be.
At least now you know that America’s definition of normal ain’t normal to everybody.
Great story firefly! I emailed this story to my aunt and sister in law who are both ESL teachers.
sorry, but you are a goddamned idiot.
Typically stupid American. You should learn to read non-direct communication, instead of waiting for the most obvious. It’s not only Japanese, I bet half of the world doesn’t show their opinions directly. If your IQ is even a bit above 100, you should understand what is required from a teacher. That has nothing to do with the culture. They were just trying to be polite - without ashaming you.
Condoning lies and deceit as a cultural feature (”that’s just the way we Japanese are”) is an abomination that should not be tolerated. What the fuck is wrong with saying the truth? Don’t people know already that the truth is a STABLE and ADVANTAGEOUS system for everyone?
… and the comments have taken a turn for the worst.
great story though.
When you asked, “is there anything that you want to learn or study?” you were asking for their feelings. Those are considered private in Japan. Hence their embarrassment and the 10 seconds of silence.
Back in the day I experience a lot of “teachers” like you-native speakers who never prepared for the lessons, but simply expected to chat with their students and get paid. In my mind, this shows a lack of respect to your students. I’d really encourage you to get further qualification if teaching EFL is what you want to do. Getting a TESOL certificate, for example, is a lot more than a piece of paper that gets you jobs. You’d learn a lot of useful techniques and strategies invaluable in teaching language.
Yes, looking forward to the rest of your story also.
Question though: how did you work without a Visa? To me, the #1 red flag is the visa issue and how the employer handles it. That will tell you a lot about how honorable (to you, the employee) the employer will be.
So, you discovered a truth about the Japanese - they have a hard time being direct. Since you’ve been here now for 5 years I wonder how you handle this now?
Good story. In business school here in the US, the foreign students were often surprised at how direct we were with each other. I can imagine it would be a shock to see things the other way.
regarding Dex’s comment: congratulations. You’re reading comprehension is lower than the professed Aussie’s inability to read nonverbal cues.
@ Suz — thanks for your honesty. So many get caught up in the wonder of the social differences and don’t see the humor in the fact that a slacker reaped what they sowed. They sowed nothing, got nothing. Even when given a straightforward simple instruction, they lack the respect and wisdom to actually follow through. The introduction to the story indicates the same “things will just come to me” approach to life … dangerously arriving with limited funds and no plans. Only the children of the baby-boomer generation can afford to do this. Children of a middle class that had more disposable income than any other before it, who are too used to the bail-out. I don’t know if this blogger is self-sufficient and just reckless, or if they have that sort of backup.
Not everyone in the U.S. is direct and to the point, and I’ve met some very direct Japanese folks; the differences are in shades of gray rather than being black and white. This story could have happened in any country, really, and I’m afraid you’re taking the wrong lesson from it.
By not telling your students that you had a lesson plan, and then asking them if there was anything they wanted to talk about and waiting silently for a response, you were putting the onus on them to decide what to talk about, when as the teacher that was your responsibility. They felt obligated to bail you out to save you from embarrassment after 10 seconds of silence, but they resented that they had to do that. They are customers after all, and are paying good money for a business English class - if they wanted casual conversation practice they would just head down to Roppongi and start chatting with Americans in bars.
In 20-20 hindsight of course, you should have offered them the choice of following the detailed lesson plan that you had prepared, or just chatting. That surely would have saved your job.
First of all, to all the people complaining about “stupid Americans,” did you even READ the article?! As far as I can tell, he’s AUSTRALIAN. Which says a lot more about your level of intelligence than ours.
Second, @23, you obviously didn’t read the article either. How does spending 12 hours working, asking numerous people for advice, and buying a book to make sure you have everything right “lacking respect.” He certainly “sowed” a lot, I believe. What he wasn’t ready for was for exactly 5% of his first class to show up for his second. How would your react if something like that happened without warning? You would think that you’d have to improvise just a little bit, huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
To the author, propably not a good idea to try to start a life in a new country with no knowledge of the language with only $2000 dollars, but sounds like you did all you could ^_^ Can’t help it when you get stuck with bitchy employers, eh? Can’t wait to read the next!
Wow that takes guts to take the bank account down to zero in Japan.
I wonder if that senseisagasu.com site works…
Could probably pick up some private lessons through that.
That takes guts to find a job after you got there. I can’t wait to read the rest.
No, it’s not about body language and culture shock, which do matter but are not the central issue as they actually would have acted as a warning bell for something that you were doing wrong. Don’t do it wrong, and you don’t need the bell.
It’s about failing to listen and behave in a professional manner. Harsh as it may sound.
Would you had taken a 2/30ths of the paycheck because there were only 2 people instead of 30? Certainly not. So why not deliver the plan to the class even if it was of only 2?
Maybe it was because there was not enough people, and it wouldn’t work? Then you should had communicated to them that you expected them to follow the understood commitment they made when signing up for the class, and that having to follow that commitment would put undue burden on the progress of their classmates.
Obviously failing to follow the command of your employer was what caused you to get fired.
Learn your lessons, move on.. and good luck.
This is fine as a personal anecdote, but provides little information of value to anyone thinking about teaching English in Japan, and doing a little bit of homework might have both saved him a lot of frustration and had him a job lined up prior to arrival. For most people with some interest in teaching, Japan is a great place and is very easy (and safe!). Mombusho’s JET Program, plus a host of other well-known, semi-reputable English-teaching agencies (AEON, GEOS, NOVA) are good bets for people looking to teach. It’s a shame that so many people go to Japan and end up teaching English when they’re really not interested in teaching — if martial arts are the main motivation, why frustrate students and bosses and pretend to be serious about teaching? Really, if you do a half-assed job at anything, it’s not going to work out well. What if an English teacher decided to take up Martial Arts to pay the bills? Most likely, his classes would end up pretty frustrating as well, with students also complaining that he didn’t make a lesson plan. More likely, he’d have the crap beaten out of him as well. Teaching _anything_ well is a challenge, and there are lots of great students, in businesses or elsewhere, who are hoping to find genuine teachers who care about English-learning, not just hacks. Just because you speak English doesn’t mean you know the difference between a pronoun and an apostrophe, and not having a college degree is even less of a sign that someone’s spent time considering whether he’s the right person to help students learn. He may not be serious about English teaching, and perhaps this is comical to some, but the fact is that he’s probably wasting students’ time and money — students who probably are paying their own cash for a lesson; they have a right to get one.
I’m hoping the next story is about martial arts, not about English teaching. Or about how helpful and understanding Japanese people can be, especially to foreigners who are bumbling around their country expecting that everything will be just as half-assed as it is back in Australia or the US of A. Treat the classroom with respect and you’ll find it’s a wonderful place where cultures can be bridged, friendships made, and students will develop English skills that will help them forge their own friendships both in Japan and abroad.
Thats a nice story dude.
Here is a piece of advise for anyone looking to teach English in Japan though: don’t do it. Get a real skill (like programming), then come over that way. Unless you just want the opportunity to sleep around alot
Then English teaching is a great idea 
So don’t try to teach English here. You will be just another one of those weird twenty something white folks that don’t fit in here or anywhere, and that don’t really have a future.
Puerto ricans hate conflict? You should come to New York sometime. They seem to conflict just fine here.
…Put up some ads.. I was looking for something to click on to help you out… I hope all goes well
I don’t get it. You’ve prepared the plan for the second lesson, but then decided to ditch it… because of what? Because only two people were present? Why does it matter how many people are listening to your lesson? You’ve been asked to create a plan and act accordingly, and you didn’t do it. I’m not Japanese, I lve in the US, but I don’t get it.
It was pretty obvious to me why they were mad. Paying a class to listen to what you did in your weekend… dude, this is common sense. This is something you should have done at a bar or a restaurant with them, not in school.
If I go to school, the last thing I want to talk about is my weekend, your weekened, and the dude sitting behind me ’s weekend. No surprise you screwed up.
Didn’t you say it was a business class ? Please tell me, in those two classes, or 4 hours that you were a teacher, how many business words did you teach them ? The amount you will answer is about the same amount of chance you have of having people hire you again. The more they feel they are getting for their money, the more demand for your teaching you will get. If you have nothing to give, sadly, you have nothing to expect.
Now seriously, smack yourself back in shape, and restart looking for work. I suggest you give papers of yourself and put little posters on streets around tokyo, with your phone number and your description. If this doesn’t work out… man I feel for you… Back to Australia with your tail between your legs… lol funny expression. I wish you the best, but be careful, you are in a voracious society.
Ever heard “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”? About the same applies to things around you, the warmest face is probably the first to stab you in the back.
Firefly, good article. I’m looking forward to reading more too. If you are interested in learning about other places to teach English (or just about living in Asia) you can’t go past http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/reader12.htm. Lots of different stories from guys who have come to Asia looking for a new life. Some about teaching, lots about mongering, and some about lifestyles and travel.
You might also find http://www.eflelf.com helpful.
Cheers! Marc
Great story. As a matter of fact I’m going to be in Japan for business soon (for the first time, too) and this gives me an important perspective into Japanese culture. Thanks for the heads-up!
You are aware that you obviously didn’t have a legal working visa in Japan? That would require a 4-year university diploma… and any company that did hire you, would be held legally responsible for illegaly emplying a foreigner… Perhaps you should have spent some time researching how to work in Japan before spending all your money.
For those of you who haven’t actually taught a language, the way he handled the class was a very good technique. Basic conversation is one of those things that is always left out of language classes and people almost always suffer because of its exclusion until they spend a long time bumbling around like an idiot, figuring stuff out. It may have been a business class, and running by the lesson plan is important, but the employer obviously didn’t understand the importance of actually speaking the language of study in a casual setting. It certainly worked for my students, and I was told that that style was appreciated.
Just wanted to say that I love your blog. Keep writing, it’s one of the few (in fact I think only one) blog I have bookmarked.
Thanks for your writing!
cheers
Mikko
Wow, so many comments. Thanks very much everyone for commenting and letting me know your thoughts.
Antonio, thanks very much!
David, I enjoyed your blog very much. Thanks for your kind compliments.
ESL Whore (nice name dude), well no point in throwing blame around I guess. In retrospect I probably should have done the lesson, but I was just so shocked to see the 2 people down from 40. I thought it would be a good opportunity to try to teach something specific or about something they were interested in, or had problems with. Heh. Guess not.
Jaime, it’s easy to get frustrated with this kind of behaviour, but if you can’t let it slide off your back and accept it as part of the culture, you will eventually go crazy.
Felica, actually, my goal with this blog is to try to educate people about Japan. It’s different to what people think it is.
Crockpot - thanks buddy!
dan - thanks for your constructive criticism man.
Dex - yep, I wish I wasn’t a typical stupid American.
Rudd-O, Japan is not for you man. I felt exactly the same way when I first came, until I realised I would either have to change, or leave. Because sure as shit, Japan will not change for us.
Nicolas - thanks very much.
Traal - not quite. It’s clear to me now that they expected me to lead the class. The silence was them being uncomfortable that I wasn’t leading.
Suz - if I was serious about teaching English as a second language for my career, I would probably do that. However in this instance, I was after some conversation classes to get some cash for survival.
InJapan - I was on a Working Holiday visa - all complete legal and above board. Thats my story and I’m sticking to it. Good question on how I’d handle this now. Keep reading for more details.
Steve - Definitely - actually when people are very direct with me, it’s very relaxing. Even if the direct feedback is negative.
G - touche.
rredit - right, us slackers will never amount to anything. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go smoke some weed and watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewert. For the record, living dangerously with limited funds, no plans and recklessly is the only way to go. Well, the most exciting way anyway.
Conrad - Firstly, Japanese society is much, much less direct than Western Society. This is a fact, and why the anecdote was relevant. Secondly, you’re exactly right - I was unfairly putting the onus on them, however I was expecting an Australian response, like “Oh yeah, I never quite understood this bit of grammar” or something. Instead, I inadvertently gave a conversational lesson, when I should have given a structured lesson. Thirdly, a large proportion of Japanese society are not confident in their English to simply go to Roppongi and start chatting with foreigners in bars - which is why the conversational English business is so popular over here. Fourthly, yes, thats exactly what I should have done.
Rowd149 - Thanks very much for your comments - I did work hard to make that a good course, but my misread of the situation caused the problem. I was just thrown by the difference in the size of class, and thought I could offer a more personalised lesson. Whoops.
Actually, it was a pretty stupid idea, but I’d do it all over again - it was a blast. This was probably one of the less interesting things that happened to me. Hope you enjoy the next bit too.
Dictionary Brown - Uh, more stupidity than guts. But thanks anyway. Heheh.
Birth Flower - Yeah - I used to envy the JETs or people who came over with a job. Now I realise it was very… ‘character building’.
Random - Certainly valid points. With what I know now, I would have done it differently.
Sunfish - true, but I wasn’t aiming the article at telling people how to teach English in Japan. There are plenty of other sites/articles to do that. I basically wanted to survive and have some food by doing conversational English classes - if I was doing it as a profession, I would have done it differently. Thanks for your comments, it’s certainly valid for the people who come to Japan to teach English.
Aaron - Thanks man. Coming over with a job is the cushy way to do it, but it can be very hard to do this in reality. If you can however, you’re set.
Dane - thanks very much for the gesture! Fortunately, I’m not quite as desperate for cash these days.
Nick S - See above for my reply on this. Thanks for dropping by.
Carlos - Thanks for your comments. With 20/20 hindsight, I can see why they would complain as well. Don’t worry - there is a continuation to this story. I’ll write up what happened next soon.
Marc - Thanks for your compliment! Much appreciated.
Kpax - For some quick tips - read some Japanese culture/business books, and keep your eyes open. There are a few techniques Japanese businessmen use on green foreigners coming to Japan. Hope your business trip goes great. Thanks for reading.
Mikko - Thats very nice of you. I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.
Jon - I had a Working Visa. Yeah, but doing research would have made me prepared and better equipped to handle situations, rather than just flying by the seat of my pants, which is much more fun in a foreign country.
Ken - Right - I get the feeling that there might have been problems with other teachers who weren’t very good, and I copped a bit of collateral damage. In any case, although that technique would work in many classes, it didn’t work in this one!
Wow, some commenters here obviously have a grudge. I partly understand, as unprepared teachers are one of my pet peeves, but as another commenter pointed out, a conversation session, especially with a class of just two, is perfectly reasonable.
It occurs to me, though, that Firefly may have misjudged the students’ own sense of their English skill: what they lacked in speaking proficiency may have belied greater comprehension proficiency. If this was the case, they may not have been concerned with their speaking hesitancy and instead just wanted to focus on English vocabulary particular to business.
Still, it’s absurd to blame Firefly for his directness while excusing the students for their indirectness. Presumably he’s there to teach the students how to interface with Austrailians, Americans, Canadians, and Brits. Apparently, though, the students aren’t even ready to start learning.
btw, I’m not entirely convinced the students really did complain; if the woman who hired you is as she sounds, she probably just said whatever to fire you (on the other hand, it might be more in character for her then to just call you up, say “you’re fired,” and hang up).
I’m kinda surprised at your firing. When I lived in Japan in the late 60’s/early 70’s (and I am part Japanese-albeit a small part) I learned that it is almost impossible to be fired in a job there. Usually you would be given another position withing whatever organization you were in. I guess maybe in your situation, it was a lack of understanding the culture and perhaps your race.
Transliteration: go men asai= that’s too bad. I can’t remember the phrase for good luck in Japanese…only in about 6 or 7 other languages.
Japan is a very expensive place to go with only $2000. The trick is to live back away from the tourist areas with the people. The more you live with the common Japanese the more culture you will learn. Avoid Shinjiku, the Ginza, akihabra, downtown Tokyo–places like that.
Learn as much Japanese you can. The language itself will teach you the discipline of the natives. Then you will make ‘tak san okoni, neh? (lots of money, you know…)
to say how are you? is ee kaga deska. The deska is the question mark, and a prase like so,des means so it is! Des is the exclamation point…
It’s a difficult language to learn, as is English, since english itself is a polygot language, made up of parts of other langueages.
I also speak Spanish and am always learning new words when I live in Mexico…and I am always jealous of 2 or 3 year olds that have a better grasp of the language than I do. When I speak spanish i find myself thinking in spanish and even have spanish dreams. I also have trouble simetimes switching back to english at times.
I will never forget strangers (japanese nationals) walking up to me in places like the Ginza or the underground, and asking me to talk to them in english so they can practice. I always used my knowlege of the culture when I speak to them.
In spanish, I learned (it’s an easy language) a tremedous lot about the culture.
So your mission, should you accept it is to learn Japanese….this tape will self destruct in ‘x’ minutes.
Good luck. I too will be checking back in your page to see how you survive there… j
I love your story Firefly, perfectly portrays what it feels like to be in this exact situation. Your stressing your heart out but the thrill of living on the edge so far away from home… Kinda giving me a case of the travelling bug again!
Anyway I wanna say to Dan - YOU’RE the idiot. Going into a completely foreign country with different customs takes some adjusting, and a majority of the learning (as with most things in life) is through mistakes.
I studied Japanese for 6 years, hosted some exchange students and spent 1 month there myself. My friend just got back from spending 10 months over there. They have a completely different way about thing, and I’m of the opinion they barely gave you any indicators they were unhappy with the proceedings on the 2nd lesson. I feel more they would have been ‘wooed’ by for charismatic nature (as all Aussies are to Japanese people) and really enjoyed the experience, however they didn’t get what they came for hence the later complaint.
It really is hard to tell. I think the only relevant advice I can think of is with Japanese people the goal is to strive to be more humble than the person you are interacting with, then you get more of a feel of what is right. It really is a steep learning curve, but given the depth of your post and the maturity and open-mindedness of your responses to other peoples responses I think you’re gonna do great!
Good luck with everything (Ganbate!) - I really look forward to your next post!
There’s one thing I’d like to add about the notion that a little research will go a long way in Japan. You can spend a year reading a book a week about Japan and you’ll still be overwhelmed when you get off the plane. You’ll make mistakes, become frustrated, and be forced to figure things out through trial and error. All of those books were useful, but it’s just not enough to read about a culture to participate in it. It’s a complete shift in thinking, and unless you’re one of the few with a cushy job and handlers, you’re going to basically have to reassess your self-identity. And for the record, the same thing happens when a Japanese person moves to another country.
As aforementioned by the rest, thanks for sharing this well-written anecdote. It is no doubt that you’re a gifted writer. I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of your story.
Meanwhile, best of luck in your future endeavour. Given your talent and unwavering resolution, I’m sure you will see better days ahead in no time.
Cheers
Please allow me to elaborate a bit ..
First, I think going to Japan to study martial arts is admirable. However, to go with $2000 and think you`ll be able to find a place to live in Tokyo for a month and not starve .. not so much. Hence, the need for a job, so far so good. But no working visa? No Japanese ability? What exactly are you bringing to the table as a marketable skill? Why would you expect to be able to move someplace and have them welcome and take care of and pay you for doing essentially nothing? Japanese can talk about their weekend with English-speakers anywhere without having to pay for it. Sounds like you did try to come up with a lesson, but to ditch it because people were too busy to come to the class just tells them you DIDN`t have a lesson prepared, whether that was the case or not. Actually I`m surprised you were able to find someone willing to hire/pay you to begin with, what with the fact that you probably didn`t even have a gaijin-tourokusho card ..
To be sure, Japan is a pretty fucked-up place, but I get annoyed when people blame its fucked-up-ness for their own problems (who WOULDN`T want to hire someone they`ve never met, have no reason to trust and who has no experience? Crazy Nihonjin!) .. mostly I`m just sick of the non-Japanese-speaking English teachers over here who give a bad name to the few of us who actually study and prepare *before* coming over here and making an arse of themselves ..
Also, I`d never deny that I am also a goddamned idiot, just for different reasons.
I really, really enjoyed your article.
I’m looking forward to the next part of your article.
-Pat
38/41 and a few others with teaching related comments.
Yes, conversation, especially in some of the Asian countries, is a neglected aspect of EFL. However, if you think you will help students whom you see twice a week for two hours more by chatting with them, then by targetting very specific areas of langauge and making sure they get practice in these very specific areas (in written/spoken forms or preferably both, you are mistaken.
Dan I do have to agree with your point about non-japanese speaking people going over there and trying to teach english giving us a bad name, and just simply abusing their situation doing things like sleeping with students etc. I have heard of it way too much and it makes me ashamed, as traditionally japanese hold us in such high regard.
I do feel firefly is different though. In difficult circumstances he is trying his best to play by their rules and fit in, let’s give him a chance. You can see he learnt his lesson and took everything on board after his mistake, and didn’t just blame their ways.
I worked with the Japanese for the last 10 years. I did not live in Japan but been in so many business related occasions. There are two points I like to make,
1. You be formal in every business related situations. That means you be respectful, friendly to a limit and then follow the formalities. The fact that two gentlemen took their time and showed up should have been enough for you to present your plan just as there were 100 people. Treating those two just as the full class size showed would have won you respect from those who did not show up.
2. It is the individual oriented cultures who tend to take confrontation for their factuality constructiveness and problem solving. in the community oriented cultures, meaning those 90% of the world’s population live in do not take arguments in public that too easily. It is considered humiliation and some will seek revenge and may cause you bodily harm. In some cultures they will burn you thatch hut with your children in it.
On another note, it is time to replace English which as the langua franca. English is a really screwed up language anyway. Should replace with some easy one scientifically crated. There are efforts, a movement if you will. Read about it.
Jegschemesch - To be fair to the students, it was a business English class, and I think they were expecting more of a structured lesson. Having said that, I do think the woman over-reacted…. She ‘Donald Trumped’ me.
Jack, Thanks for dropping by. You’re part Japanese and lived here in the 60s/70s? I would love to hear more from you mate. If you get some free time, please sign up for a blog and tell us some stories!!
Mike, Thanks for your kind words. I hope I could give you a sense of what it was like for me. Sounds like you’ve done a bit of traveling yourself? I took on the idea of being more humble than the other person for a long time, but in the end I had limited success with this. I’ll post more about this soon, it’s a really interesting subject.
Placid - very true. People who pick up “Japanese for busy people” and ‘master Japanese’ have a freight train waiting for them at Narita airport.
Jaryl - Thats a really nice compliment, thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Although, the story isn’t quite over yet..!
dan - You’ve never jumped into a cold pool? It’s cold, but also invigorating. Moving to Japan was one of the most exciting, enjoyable things I’ve ever done. Also, to confirm, I had a working holiday visa. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment!
Pata - Thanks very much, I hope you enjoy the next part as well.
Dan - I wouldn’t write me on just yet, I may just turn out to be a prick.
des_pes - Thanks for sharing your experience with Japanese. You’re exactly right. Fortunately, no Japanese person has yet attempted to burn my thatch hut. But I’m sure at least a few have fantasised about it.
You might want to try this… it will help for your course planning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?search=&mode=related&v=7mv-lep67uI
great , ! web , I like this but I must use much time for reading them … thanks … by tk …
Unfortunately, those students seem unable to appreciate a good teacher like you. I would gladly take a teacher like you than one who sticks to the lesson plans. Anyway, I’ve yet to read the rest of your adventures in Japan but I’ll get to them soon!
you guy’s are STUPID
Yeah, “This guy are sick.”
firefly just commented that he had a working holiday visa, which means he was NOT American, (At least not full-blooded; perhaps he had dual nationality.) because Americans cannot get a WHV. So, you America-bashers, get off your high horses.
Firefly,
You were admittedly unprepared for teaching. That woman was a scam artist at best, too, hiring you without a contract and decent interview. You should have realized that from the get go. As for you, you spent 12 hours putting together a “lesson plan” with the help of experienced teachers, yet NONE of them told you that simple chatting for BUSINESS ENGLISH is a no-no? Common sense (which is often not as common as it should be) would tell you that businessmen don’t want to just chat with you. They set aside 2 hours of their day after working for at least 8 hours. Didn’t that ring a bell in your head? Warm them up with chat, present the damned lesson plan, and cool them down with more chat. Perhaps even give them a break in the middle of those 120 minutes with more chatting (5 minutes), but for God’s sake! TWO HOURS of chatting!!! You must have been coached by some real losers to figure that TEACHING BUSINESS ENGLISH is simple chatting.
You deserved to get fired after the first “lesson”.
Random - I’ll use that next time. Cheers bud.
tk - thanks !
Keon - Right - they didn’t know how good they had it. Oh well. Heheh. Hope you enjoyed the rest of the stories.
yessenia - totally. thanks for dropping by.
yapyap - ……thanks
GrandPoobah - Correct - not American. Red blooded aussie. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I guess I missed that part. I’m fully prepared for my next business English lesson, however.
Well, here are a few pieces of my gained wisdom. Bye the way, if I get around to it, I can post a few stories on this forum that no one would believe but they really did happen to me here in Japan. I constantly go over ¡Èmi loca vida¡É here in Japan and wonder if it is the culture or the individual (me). But, after much investigation of what happened eventually put enough to piece together of what seems like a fractal geometric puzzle where when you look closer and closer it just gets more and more complex. There is indeed a culture of deceit and duplicity here in Japan on the Japanese side meanwhile there are a huge proportion of guijin who are running away from their native land because they have shat too many time where they eat and found a culture where everyone turns a blind eye to some of the most vile behavior out of concern for the ¡Èwa.¡É Trust me, I have some stories! There is an ugly nexus where western and eastern culture meets. Each culture has it¡Çs admirable and moral strong points but there is a dark area that if explored could turn your stomach inside out.
About the English teaching racket, your experience is quite typical. Understand this: An ekikaiwa school typically charges around 9,000 yen per student for an hour while the teacher sees about 2,500 of that. I cite Nova in particular. They routinely ship over fresh guijin meat to tell them that they are worthless employees who are not fulfilling their end of the bargain and how unhappy the friendly Japanese students are with them. Nova and the like promises the students that they will walk out being able to speak English fluently after a one hour lesson and meanwhile gives the teacher no advanced notice or any tools to teach with. The fact is that learning a language takes hours and hours of studying. If you are half way fluent then a conversational school can help you build fluency but if you don¡Çt have it to start with, you are not going to learn it through an ekikaiwa. Here in Japan there is a world of grey between ethical business practices and the Yakusa. There is something even more strange going on here however. The belief that foreigners are play monkeys who can entertain and amuse at the same time being around them makes you more open and worldly minded as opposed to the closed minded racist fellow Japanese who you may disagree with. Several hundred years ago, the Shogun would have the Dutch doctors who were imprisoned in a gilded cage on a small island come once a year and visit so that the Shogun behind a screen and dance like a monkey. History repeats it¡Çs self over and over. God bless the Japanese for their continual curiosity and tireless commitment to improving their skills but there is something quite arrogant in them at the same time. Even the most liberal minded can smack of arrogance. Then again, how would that be different than those in our western culture? It¡Çs kind of like chicken.. tastes the same anywhere in the world.. just a few subtle nuances of flavor from the local spices. None the less, when you are stuck in that locality it can make all the difference in the world. No pun intended.
Your category link is just going to part 5. It is still difficult to find older parts. Your story is GREAT!
Oh, I see the link shows the articles in reverse order. Strange. But your storytelling is very good. I see this will become a book!
interesting story… good narrative style… looking forward to see the next part.. good luck and god bless..
you white people should stay the hell out of japan and stay in your own country.
You’re obviously an idiot.
Why was the lady so harsh with you? She obviously had no problem with being direct. Maybe that’s how the students wanted to be treated. Whip’em good