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A Slice of Life From Japan: The Japanese English Teacher (JTE) I Will Never Forget

A Slice of Life From Japan: The Japanese English Teacher (JTE) I Will Never Forget

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Today, I found a memoir-like post hidden away in the depths of my hard drive.  I thought this little piece perfectly conveyed what it was like to teach on the JET Program, as well as introduced some  unforgettable characters all JETs are bound to meet on the journey.  It’s a long post, but if you can slog through it, it perfectly summarizes my unforgettable experience working with my Japanese English Teacher (JTE).

The Japanese Countryside

“You have to meet Uchida-sensei,” all of the staff at the school told me repeatedly.  “He’s going to be one of the English teachers you work with.  Plus, I think he’s about the same age as you.” read more

Teaching Christmas in the Japanese Countryside

Teaching Christmas in the Japanese Countryside

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winterinniigata
Winter at one of my schools.

Many people often ask me what the most difficult part of teaching in Japan was.  The JET Program had a mandatory, two day orientation to teach us about the long, English teaching road ahead. They rattled on and on about isolation, language barriers, and cultural clashes.

Yet they forgot the most important thing of all:

Actually instructing us on how to teach English.

winterniigatame
Never showed this face to my students, but man did I feel like this many-a-time (especially during blizzards)

The most difficult part of JET for me was standing in front of 40 middle school students and entertaining educating them for one hour.  I was a journalism and Japanese major–I knew absolutely nothing about education. read more