Teaching English in Japan within the Smith’s School of English franchise system is a great way to develop long lasting friendships, learn about Japanese culture and at the same time develop the confidence of your students to speak English without having katakana hatsuon endings.The Smith’s curriculum has been designed to do this and coupled with reading exercises and the Smith’s pronunciation program we are certainly improving the standard of English communication within Japan.
I use reading exercises, that dove tail with the Smith’s School of English curriculum, to find and zero in on the areas that need concerted effort, on the part of the students, and then use the appropriate Smith’s School of English curriculum to achieve their goals. Now isn’t that so much better than having to develop your own lesson plans.
In passing can you please explain to me how Japanese teachers can teach English in English when their own English pronunciation is katakana based. There is no doubt in my mind that the majority of Japanese non-native English speaking English teachers, within the education system in Japan, need to enrol in and complete the Smith’s School of English Hatsuon Course before they embark on teaching English in English in order that they improve their confidence and subsequently the English communication ability of their Japanese pupils.
Smith’s School of English – Koenji would, like all other Smith branches in Japan, welcome the opportunity to assist Japanese teachers of English in this regard.
Edward says
Ken,
I agree with you 100%. We have a few public school English teachers at SSE Ohtsu, we even help them with their curriculums sometimes when they are stuck. Most of the time it’s a pronunciation issue. Words can be looked up, grammar can be studied alone, but pronunciation needs guidance from a native level speaker. I’ve even heard stories from high school students who attend eikaiwa lessons and then end up helping the [public school] teacher in class, especially with reading. Thanks for highlighting the importance of having our students read aloud in class so we can help them with the pronunciation skill.
Edward, SSE Ohtsu