Whether it be at our head office training center or on site at your school, Smith’s School of English guarantees your training needs will always be met.
Our practical hands-on classroom training is divided into teaching and administrative needs. It does not presuppose teaching, business, or Japanese language experience.
Our training program provides a solid base for those who have never taught before. It also enables veteran teachers to easily apply their experience to our proven system.
Initial Training
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| At a recent free morning training session this modest gathering of franchisees got together to hear and try the secrets to successful local promotion; apart from learning better ways to promote their schools, it is just great to get together with other like-minded and positively motivated peers! |
Click here to view the training course outline…
Smith’s system doesn’t just stop there…
The Training Continues…
Rather then just train you and leave you as many franchise opportunities do, Smith’s School of English stays with you and provides you the training you need, when you need it most!
- Follow-up training.
- It is held on a need-to-do basis and is generally at the request of the franchisee.
- Senior teachers can also come to your school to handle any teaching or administrative questions as they crop up.
- Regular seminars at Corporate Head Office.
- Specialty optional courses.
- Effective use of aids and equipment.
- Proficiency in level appropriate learning techniques.
- Advanced teaching styles for the advanced student profile.
- Mastering the skill of providing balanced benefit to the mixed level class.
- Optimize participation of the quiet student.
- Specialized language study.
- Affiliation with prestigious interactive ELT Training Institutions – such as Global English TEFL courses by distance learning.
Teaching English in Japan The need for Teacher training.
What’s it all about.
A shy, young woman with good high school English walks into the classroom, says, “harro,” and sits down quietly. Beside her sits a bubbly 30-something talking disjointedly but animatedly about her weekend. Across the table, a man in his 20s contemplates a question, attempts the first few words, and struggles to complete it, unable to recall the appropriate word. All eyes turn to you.
Smiling, you greet the late arrival, pronouncing the words clearly and with a little exaggeration. She relaxes visibly and repeats the greeting, this time correctly. You think of the incomplete question, elicit the phrase or sentence which prompted it using language you have practiced with the group recently, and write it on the whiteboard. As you do so, you ask all three for help with the word order and provide some more natural, everyday vocabulary. Below, you write the first word of the question and the man once again struggles beyond the next few, but he’s trying to speak. They’re all talking now, discussing the completion of the question, trying to fill in the blanks you’ve marked on the board. Success! The man asks the question, it’s answered well, and you follow up with a few minutes practicing the pattern using substitute words. Everyone’s happy, talking, and communicating.
So, what have you done? Teaching English in Japan isn’t always so easy but in essence, as in this example, it’s about coaching people to communicate confidently. Japanese students have often spent many years learning textbook English and your task is to help them communicate in the real world, using that stored knowledge. Pronunciation, word order, which question to ask and when, how to combine sentences to form a narrative, how to sound natural, everyday English – these are all things to focus on, things the Japanese student needs to know. When you’re teaching English in Japan, as you’ll see below, you’ll be able to rely on Smith’s to help you cater to those needs.
Smith’s Teacher Training and Curriculum
Your first Smith’s class may well be your first ever venture into teaching. Even if you are a qualified, experienced teacher, you may feel apprehensive about the prospect of working with a different system. Whatever your background, with our extensive experience in teaching English in Japan, we can assure you that following your initial Smith’s English teacher training you will be operating effectively and confidently from the outset.
While developing our curriculum we had two aims in mind. The first, which you can read more about below, was to create a flexible system allowing for differences of personality and teaching style. The second was to ensure that we addressed the particular needs of the Japanese student.
Our research showed in essence that the average Japanese student is much better at written than spoken communication, and indicated that while there is a good knowledge of English vocabulary and its structures, in the speaking and listening senses it tends to remain latent. Instant spoken communication is hampered and confidence blunted by interference from the thought processes and patterns of Japanese. We have identified many of these areas of interference and addressed them in the curriculum for your use. As soon as you have completed your initial Smith’s English teacher training, you will be able to help your students take that latent potentiality and turn it into confident, usable actuality. You will see for yourself that the results are outstanding.
Smith’s Curriculum Designed for English Teachers
At Smith’s we know our curriculum works for students but that wasn’t our only aim when we developed it. It’s certainly important to have commonality throughout our ever-expanding network of schools and for students to have a direction of study. It’s also important for teachers to bring their personality and imagination into the classroom, and to develop and utilize their own teaching style. Our extensive experience in Japan has taught us that commercial success is based on both teacher and student satisfaction. That in turn requires a balance between conformity to a curriculum of study and the freedom to develop methods of communication that allow both sides of the classroom equation to grow their skills. We struck that balance when we decided on a skeletal framework for our curriculum, one that provides commonality between coaches, a direction of study for the students, but where the only limit is your imagination.
ELT Training
You will receive extensive initial training from one of our highly experienced instructors before you commence teaching. This teacher training will cover all aspects of teaching at and operating a Smith’s School of English while also providing you with many valuable EFL and EFT techniques. The ability and desire to communicate with students are excellent foundations to build on, and as you gain experience so too will you naturally develop your skills as an English teacher. These will be further enhanced within our regular, ongoing teacher training program, a commitment we have made to help you mature as an English teacher. We strongly recommend that you pursue further studies to this end and will gladly advise you of the opportunities for study available.
The Importance of Training and
Resale Value of Schools for Sale
Smith’s School of English is an excellent way to earn a living as an English teacher. As you’ve read above, our English schools are created for teachers as well as students. There’s no corporation bugging you to work harder or supervisor telling you what to teach from one minute to the next. First and foremost, our system is designed for English teachers to enjoy teaching and for Japanese students of English to enjoy studying. But, there will come a time when you want to move on (maybe even to open another Smith’s School of English!) and that is when the commercial beauty of our franchise system really becomes apparent. With franchises for sale around Japan we want to emphasize to you how best to make your school attractive to potential buyers.
You will not be alone when you decide you want to cash in on your equity; our established system of franchises for sale can help you every step of the way. Right from the outset though, even as your first class begins, the potential value of your franchise is being determined. Think about it for a moment. What are people buying in looking for? An instant, positive cash flow and the chance to expand their equity is the answer. With our experience we know that if you help to provide commonality between teachers and give your students a direction of study, coaching them to communicate confidently by adhering to the curriculum, you will be helping to maximize your sale price. The buyers can have confidence that the Smith’s English teacher training they receive will be effective from the start and that your students will not quit, detrimental to both cash flow and equity.
Without commonality between teachers and a direction of study for students, a personal profile can play too great a role in the student-teacher relationship. That does not sell. It is the Smith’s English teacher training program and curriculum, combined with the genuine, caring Smith’s English teachers that enables the maximization of sales prices for Smith’s School of English franchises for sale.
“Franchise schools teaching English in Japan. Smith’s English school franchises are all teacher-owned. Let Smith’s help you establish and operate your own English school in Japan now!”
