Thursday, September 25--An Observation Leads to a Job

Today, I went with a friend to sit in on her conversational English lessons at JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self Defense Force). She teaches mostly officers who will, at some point, either work with the UN or go to America to study. They get intensive English training from Japanese instructors, and as a result, read and write English very well. The school hires spouses from the US Navy base to assist the students in building their speaking confidence. Each week, a new topic is assigned, and the teacher facilitates discussions accordingly. It could be a question and answer session, a role-playing scenario, or a discussion of traditions. Regardless of the format or the topic, the students are active participants and ask tons of questions.

By the end of her two fifty-minute classes, I was filling out a form to be included on the school’s substitute teacher list. Before we walked out the door, I was booked for two days of classes of my own! Of course, I got role-playing topics—my least favorite form of instruction—for both days…at a housing agency and at a rental car company. I’ll have to make a good effort to be really enthusiastic so they will ask me to work again in the future!