JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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saborichan
I stayed at a Toyoko Inn , I think it was in Kokura. The attendants were unfriendly and abrupt, and barely wanted to have me.
Posted in: Hotel's safety policy under fire after woman employee molested
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saborichan
Fascinating questions yokomoc... If kawaii dies in Japan, what on earth could they find to replace it? Japanese people speak with such a limited vocabulary in everyday life; how would the next phase come? A disgruntled emo rejection of all that came before seems like a logical phase.
Posted in: Seibu Railways to introduce 'maid trains'
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saborichan
Zenny, stuff like Naruto and Bleach are great - they're the easily digestible anime that anyone can get into. It's a staple that the industry needs. There needs to be a certain penetration of the child market in order to foster that enthusiasm as the kids grow up. Otherwise they'll give it all away as the world bears down on them.
Has anyone seen Arakawa Under The Bridge? Speaking of piracy, I've just seen a few episodes on youtube, but it cracked me up. Very ironic, self-referential sort of anime that pokes fun at Japanese stereotypes. Would it sell? Barely. But I enjoyed it...
Posted in: The freefall of Japan’s anime industry
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saborichan
It's true that Japan should consider teaching Chinese. But honestly, the country is sooo slow to change. And if they wanted to teach Chinese, there would be a MASSSSSSIVE shortage of staff. So that right there is one reason why they are reluctant. Would it be the smart thing to do? Yes. But it won't happen without a seismic shift in thinking.
As for Lovejapan sending kids out - you realise you're actually breaking the education laws by doing so? Don't misunderstand, I did it once or twice myself, but you actually aren't allowed to send kids out of the classroom, by law. By J-law, All kids have a right to an education - even if that means destroying the education for the other kids. Sadly, not enough J-teachers have the balls to remove disruptive kids from their classes, and with no form of detention and long days at club, there's no real consequences for bad behaviour in Japan. Once they realise that, it's open slather for misbehavin'
Posted in: Grounding the JETs
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saborichan
As much as I think the JET programme has merit, it does occur to me to think: What if the money was used to send one teacher from every school abroad for a year, each year? That would bring in heaps of prospective teachers who would come back skilled! They might quit teaching after, but at the very least they'd have the passion for language.
The only problem would be if they hole up together abroad instead of seeing the world.
Posted in: Grounding the JETs
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saborichan
Another anachronistic assessment by someone who went on the program and therefore knows everything. What a pity your future visions of China and India have blinkered you from recognising the developments of the past 15 years - give the program the credit it deserves for helping internationalise rural Japan and suburban Japan! I'm so tired of articles that gloss over the difference between Japan Now and Japan Then. This is, of course, an endemic problem in historial perspective, but it's still critical.
I do agree that the system is very broken, though. But it isn't just broken for English. Even Japanese classes involve hours of kanji writing practice and compound memorisation drudgery; if a country's own language skills are focused on aesthetics rather than meaning, teaching another language is always going to suffer. Until Japan removes its rote learning aspects in favour of a more discerning, analytical pedagogy, it's going to continue to have the problems that plague it now, not just in JET.
It's unfortunate because Japan has risen on the back of a few things: 1) unfair obligations to work ceaselessly, 2) excellent results in 'right' answer subjects like math and science, and 3) the willingness to emulate and reinvent itself more than any other culture.
But these hardships still haven't doused the curiosity of students who love to learn and to use language. I agree with noriyosan73 - the program is of enormous benefit to adults. I taught a volunteer English class for five years, and even during the program, I knew very clearly that those classes were what kept me going when school was bad. Every single week for 5 years was a joy, and I never once regretted spending my evening with those fine people. If JET has to be axed, at least save some of the money for adult classes.
Posted in: Grounding the JETs
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saborichan
Kiddo, better check all your garments there and find out which of those are China-made... You might get an awkward surprise.
Posted in: Anti-China protest
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saborichan
STOP THE PRESS
Posted in: Hello Kitty blanket
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saborichan
Good point about making him into Batman. The latter is the tortured, human character who chooses to fight evil. Superman is, literally, that ubermensch removed from the agonies of mundane life. This seems more like CPR than reinvention.
Posted in: Lanky, brooding Superman for contemporary world
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saborichan
Awful that the study is implying it's these young people's fault that they aren't inspired by a system that uses its workers like drone bees. If some efforts had been made to worker rights that aren't superseded by social expectations, people might be expected to strive harder. Oh, and an education system where what you learn actually matters for your job - that would help too.
Posted in: Japan's young generation pursues stability over promotion
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saborichan
Haha, tkoind2, just once I'd like to see some talento take a delicious dish to her mouth then shrug and say 'meh, had better'.
Posted in: Are evening newscasts headed for shift?
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saborichan
Poor Imperial family members. It's like being a zoo exhibit for your whole life, without a cage.
Posted in: Happy birthday
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saborichan
It's true that it has been, so to speak, the facebook that launched a thousand ships... There are so many applications and sales that occur based on facebook. Mobile phone sellers use keeping up to date on your facebook as one of their selling points for smart phones. And there are a host of mostly-free games on facebook that offer bonuses for people willing to pay in cash. Facebook has, almost accidentally, become a huge testing ground for virtual currencies, which people treat very differently to 'real money', even if they paid cash to get some of it. It's kickstarted a whole bunch of ideas and projects.
But would I want to see the movie? Not so much...
Posted in: Facebook founder's story no longer his alone
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saborichan
From the sound of it, you didn't pay for it, lovejapan. Maybe you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Posted in: Stallone keeps on hammering away
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saborichan
More or less these things apply equally to women. Nobody wants to hear someone prattle on about themselves or be crude.
Posted in: What makes Japanese women say, 'I never want to see that jerk again!'
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saborichan
This doesn't seem to be a problem with Katakana itself, but Katakana English. I mean, in other countries, we continue to refer to foreign words in their native tongue. Some slip into English usage, some do not. I don't think it's necessary to make a translated equivalent of every word you want to refer to, and it can dilute the meaning if you try.
I don't think the problem is with katakana. It's with a people who don't converse in the same way we do in English, and so they can't grasp English well, eventually leading to a mystique around 'impossible' English which is in fact just another thing you can master to sufficient degree. But the mystique has meant katakana English has a separate function to meaning as listed above, and that does contribute to thinness of native language skill.
Posted in: Too much katakana contributing to Japan's malaise
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saborichan
Disillusioned, come on.... Part of the attraction of going up there is that It Is Forbiddddddennnnnn... So of course they are interested. Japanese kids are told plenty of the time that this and that are abunai ... These kids just disregarded it because they haven't experienced a terrible injury, perhaps, so they don't appreciate how big the risks can be...
Posted in: 11-year-old boy playing on roof falls to death
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saborichan
Ridiculous premise for the whole article. I mean, if it was 20%, it might as well be titled 'One in Five Japanese wants to get out!' And that would sound unpatriotic.
I think 16% is a healthy amount. What's more of a problem is what they think they can get out of a foreign period ; it could be much more or less.
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saborichan
Mist: You really didn't get the point of what I was saying at all, did you?
Posted in: Dragging child abuse out into the open
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saborichan
Her fans? What fans?
What does this person even -do- ?
Posted in: Paris Hilton leaves for U.S. after being denied entry into Japan