New English

The new school year started last week, with the big change being that 5th and 6th grade now have mandatory English class. That means the kids have textbooks and workbooks and a curriculum that I am suppose to follow. Actually, I think Japan is going to make it mandatory in a few years, and select areas (that include Ogimi) are acting as trial schools for the textbooks and curriculum right now. Before this, I believe it was up to each school board to decide whether or not they want to send an English teacher to an elementary school or not.

Ogimi already had me teaching 5th and 6th graders every week, so it's not much of a change. Most of the stuff in the new textbooks is stuff the kids already know, so I am pretty much keeping my own curriculum this year with only a few changes. Another difference this year is that the Japanese homeroom teacher is suppose to act as the teacher with me, the ALT, acting as an assistant. Again, the teachers have pretty much told me I can do what I want, but since the kids now have a workbook to complete with activities, the homeroom teacher will be useful in explaining the directions.

I don't mind the new textbook material that much. Most of the English in it is standard, with a few odd phrases here and there that I'm not going to teach ('Do you have an orange cap?').

What is going to be a challenge at first, I think, is getting the kids to do the activities in their new workbooks. They're not bad, they're just too easy and they take up my class time when I can be teaching other stuff. Also, I can't assign it as homework as you need a CD to do the activities. But I guess that's why we're a test school, to tell them what doesn't work.

Also this year, I'm starting an English Club at Ogimi Elementary. It'll be offered to grades 4 and up and they will have homework (Anki reps). So it's only for the kids who want to study English more. At the end of the school year, they'll take Eiken Level 5, which is the English test for Japanese people. If the club goes well at this school, I'll give it a try at the other schools next year. I would say each school has about 2-3 kids who would be into doing the club, and that's all I need.