I want to thank ALL of the students at my school, Smith’s School of English Otsu. That’s right. A big thank you to all of you. You are all wonderful, and you make me feel proud to be an English teacher. Proud to be YOUR English teacher. As an English teacher I am happy every time a student walks into my school and starts speaking English right away. I am further impressed by their efforts when they speak 100% in English for an entire lesson. What’s even more impressive is when we meet by chance in the street, at the station, in the supermarket, and I am greeted warmly in English.
Recently I have been noticing how much effort my students have been putting into speaking in English 100% of the time when they are in my classroom, and everywhere else where they have the chance. Without exception, every single one of my students greets me in English upon entering my class, asks me how I am, inquires about my weekend, and so on. I am proud of them for this for so many reasons. First, they have learned the English skills needed to conduct such a conversation. Second, they have overcome the hurdle of starting a conversation, taking control of the flow from the beginning. Third, they have broken the habit of speaking Japanese. I am so proud that upon entering my school, they can switch their brains so quickly from Japanese to English.
I am so proud of you all, and I am so proud to be your teacher. You are a wonderful group of students! THANK YOU.
Edward, SSE Ohtsu Teacher & Owner
Al Bartle says
Here Here! I second that opinion. When I am passing out flyers in front of the station and a current student or previous student stops to say “Good morning” or “hi” or just to tell me about their life recently I realize that I have been blessed with the chance to , I hope, positively affect their lives. We are so lucky. But I think they too are lucky too. Their lives will never be the same after experiencing the study of English. If we can give them more confidence to speak, they will meet more people in their lives and maybe go more places. So it is such a reward to see them open the door into the world of English. Nothing can beat it!