Getting to Know Miyazaki: The First Weeks at School

Selfie on the bus to work studying some Japanese.
Check out the pull-down curtains: "Oh noooo, Vitamin D!"

When new JETs arrive in August it is during the short, school summer vacation in between the 1st and 2nd terms. (The Japanese school year starts in April, in the spring, because this is the time of fresh starts and new beginnings). Arriving in summer vacation, there are no classes being taught and usually a JET finds him or herself in an open teacher's office with a computer and a lot of free time. I met teachers and staff, studied Japanese, organized my desk space, created lesson plans, wrote emails to friends and family back home, and helped a few students who came to me to practice for their upcoming English speech contest. But I still had a lot of free time.

The first Japanese student I ever met, and who still has made one of the greatest impressions on me, came to me for help with his speech in my first few weeks of arrival. Before I continue with this story, I must tell you a few things about Japanese schools, and mine in particular:

Student bike parking

Japanese high schools are three years of study; the equivalent of grades 10 - 12 in Canada. Before this there are three years of study at junior high school, and then six years at elementary school. Japanese high schools are specialized and divided into academic, technical, agricultural, marine, or special needs schools.

My high school, Omiya, is an academic school, and happens to be one of the top schools in the prefecture for English studies. I was well placed here because of my teacher training and also my low level of Japanese - I could still communicate well with my teachers because of their high level of English. This isn't always the case in elementary schools here, and so often JETs with higher Japanese language skills are sent to the elementary school level.

Typical hallway in my school minus the students.

Anyway, so back to my first amazing impression of and connection with a Japanese student. The first thing that struck me about this student was the way he carried himself. He stood tall, with good posture and eye contact, but was so incredibly respectful, bowing low to his superiors and waiting patiently at the door to be invited inside. He had the biggest smile and bright, attentive eyes. I could tell immediately that this student never gave up nor let anything get him down. And when he spoke to me in English I was in for another surprise - he had a British accent! This was very unusual as students in Japan are exposed to and taught American English, and no, he had not traveled abroad. As it turned out, he loved Formula 1 and often watched this as well as the BBC news. In my opinion he was doing a brilliant job of emulating the accent and my heart melted there. Already I liked this kid! However, the best was yet to come. His speech was what really touched me.

A path outside with class gardens and
some vending machines in the background

It was just after the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games and the speech began by asking the listener if they had seen the judo winners celebrating by "raising their fists in triumph"? His speech then went on to explain that in traditional Japanese martial arts this is disgraceful and your triumph is taken back. He said that some people in Japan feel that judo is no longer a martial art, but merely a sport, the major difference being that sports focus solely on winning. In contrast, martial arts focus on many things, including respect, courtesy, and having a strong and stable mind, the last of which is particularly difficult to judge.

His speech then went on to explain that his club activity was kendo, another traditional Japanese martial art, and that it was being debated whether kendo should be made into an Olympic sport. After giving a brief history of kendo, he then explained more about the traditional spirit of the sport and then defended his position that it should not become and Olympic sport because then it would "lose its spirit as a martial art". I was floored in my respect and amazement of this student and entranced by my love of the rich, traditional history of the country I was now living in. This student definitely intensified my honeymoon phase!

Inside my school gym

Over the next few weeks, this student and two others came in to get my help with their speeches. We re-wrote them until they were perfected and went through them word by word practicing pronunciation and memorization. One of the other students had studied abroad in America for a year and really did not need much of my help, which was fine. But that first student came in absolutely every day. He was incredibly diligent. I even went to see one of his kendo practices to see this amazing martial art for myself.

This was my teaching dream! I was making connections and doing useful work. I felt proud and accomplished. And while I did still have a lot of free time, this was useful while I was still getting my bearings.

My three speech contest stars!
The student whom I spoke of is in the middle :)

Later, I went to watch my three students at the English Speech Contest and they all placed! I couldn't have been more proud. However, knowing the amount of work that my first student had put in, I wish that he could have won. Understandably, the one with the experience abroad and native-sounding accent took the win.

I am one of the many teachers and ALTs here who believe that there should be a separate division for those students with experience abroad. Especially because speaking is the skill least focused on in the Japanese English education system, it's important to reward the students that volunteer for these competitions and put in huge amounts of effort and are still at such a disadvantage. It must be incredibly intimidating for them to compete alongside near-native sounding students and this probably discourages many students to try. Of course, the student to whom this story applies was nothing short of humble and gracious, as expected. <3

In my next post;
My Miyazaki Neighbourhood and Community