Teaching English in Rural Japan (4 months in)

---

There are only two more weeks left of teaching until the Summer vacation begins, and my students can hardly contain their excitement.

In truth, I certainly share their enthusiasm.

The past month has been nothing short of exhausting, which hasn't been much helped by the heat.

We are well and truly entering the Japanese summertime; after a pitiful 'rainy season', most mornings begin at 30ºC, and the air feels sticky, heavy, and moist. The hardest part about waking up in this climate is having to dress myself in business attire without looking like I've been drenched in a bucket of my own sweat.

Thankfully, most of my classrooms have air conditioning or a fan of sorts, but even walking out into the corridor feels like stepping into a sauna, especially after an hour of jumping up and down to 'The Rainbow Song'.

Since my last update, I feel much more grounded and sure of myself at school, and in Japan in general.

The homesickness comes in waves, but I've found a truly lovely group of fellow ALTs here in Japan, which has really helped me settle in.

Now onto a quick review of my teaching journey so far, as I'm sure you've eagerly awaited...

The Deep End

As a student, I can remember that feeling of pure and utter dread at the very mention of having to present something to the class.

Just the thought of standing up in front of a handful of supportive peers made me woozy (and that’s when the stakes were a lot lower).

Now I have classes of twenty or so eager students hanging on my every word, and the stage is entirely mine.

I don’t know how I managed to get myself here.

For the first few weeks of teaching, I felt like a massive impostor.

It was difficult being thrown into the deep end and having to learn to swim on my own, especially in such a rural area where the teachers, let alone the wider community, speak very little English.

It took a while to find my feet, and it was certainly tough mentally and physically, but I persevered.

At this point, I rarely feel that drop in my stomach at the thought of teaching anymore.

If I could have seen myself now as the anxious student I was a year ago, I know I would be so proud.

Connecting with Students

It has been difficult to form a bond with my students with the language barrier towering over us. Without Google Translate in the classroom or me having an ounce of Japanese speaking ability, it has been a slow process trying to gain my students’ trust.

I definitely found it easier connecting with my smallest students.

At five, six, and seven years old, understanding my every word isn’t so important since they’re happy enough parading me around the playground or challenging me to a game of Janken.

(I’m always amazed by how much energy these students have, even in the 30+ºC heat).

My older year groups have been harder to win over.

Since ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) typically don’t stay at the same school for longer than a year, these students have seen countless new faces over their time at school. I can only imagine how hard it must be to trust somebody new for the fifth time during such a turbulent period in their own development.

I challenged myself to brave the upper-grade classrooms recently during lunch, which took a lot more courage than you'd think.

I half-expected to be greeted with a lot of confusion or even ignored, but when I stepped through the doorway, I was welcomed in with open arms.

Through lots of broken English and embarrassingly exaggerated arm gestures, I really got to bond with the students.

Since that first small step, I've noticed that the older students are much more engaged in my English classes since we have that bond outside of class.

With the details I've managed to learn about these students during lunch, I've tried to incorporate their interests into my lessons. This has primarily resulted in a lot of Minecraft and Pokémon-themed PowerPoint presentations, but if it keeps them engaged for the whole lesson, then it works for me!

It certainly wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of internal encouragement, but by practically forcing myself into the roots of the school community, it has helped not only my teaching but my whole experience coming into school every morning.

Let’s Hear it for Our Teachers

I owe a mammoth “Thank you” to all of my teachers from nursery to university for all the hard work they put into each lesson.

It is hard and it is tiring.

Here in Japan, the teachers never stop working; they arrive at school before I do, and they don’t leave until it's dark outside. Most of my colleagues have papers stacked on their desks that I can hardly see over, and the phones in the staff room ring off the hook at all times of the day.

I often feel guilty that I’m not able to step in and help when needed, but then again, I have my own work to focus on.

Although I only teach English, I oversee seventeen classes across eight age groups.

Within these groups, each class is studying at a different pace or reading from a different textbook, and they each require varying levels of support.

The amount of preparation, marking, and planning that goes into a single lesson is intense; whether it's selecting a level-appropriate library book to read to my Kindergarteners or creating exciting Kahoots to keep my sixth graders from falling asleep, I always have something I need to be doing.

But that's part of why I love this job so much.

Whenever a student volunteers in class, waves at me in the corridor, or hands me a piece of handmade artwork, my heart absolutely melts, and I know I made the right decision coming here.