Featured

teaching

Foreign English teacher in Japan calls student’s ability garbage, says it was an “American joke”

Teacher reprimanded for inappropriate remarks towards junior high school student.

Read More

The anime girl English teacher textbook character that stole Japan’s heart has gotten a promotion

Ellen-sensei is in charge of more than just the English class now.

Read More

Japanese student writes to Arnold Schwarzenegger for English class, gets awesome reply in return

As an Austrian-born American, Arnie knows what it’s like to step out of your comfort zone when learning English as a second-language. 

Read More

Teacher disciplined for drinking alcohol during class in Japan

Students driving you to drink is no excuse to open a cold one in the classroom.

Read More

Teacher’s heartwarming message helps student pursue art dream

It all started with an apple in a Japanese class journal. 

Read More

Japan’s Ministry of Education hosts Twitter campaign to recruit teachers, it backfires right away

When the Ministry of Education said “pass the baton,” some folks threw it in the trash instead.

Read More

Japanese elementary teacher busted for hiding students’ shoes, writing “die” on their belongings

His motive is probably not what you think.

Read More

Japanese student’s “drug dealer” English gaffe confuses foreign ALT

Assistant Language Teacher quickly learns that Japanese doesn’t always translate properly into English.

Read More

Japanese government promises reduced teacher responsibilities, right to refuse club supervision

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology says that in three years teachers might get their holidays to themselves.

Read More

Japanese teacher shares surprising reason why the kanji for crow has one less line than bird

Learn how to never mistake the two kanji ever again.

Read More

Japanese teacher’s advice for opinion essay writing stays with one student to this day

Sometimes it just takes the right kind of push to get the words flowing across the paper.
Read More

American English teacher fired from Japanese high school after exposing genitals

ALT acted inappropriately with students on at least three different occasions.

Read More

Foreign English teacher in Japan caught hitting 2-year-old child at daycare facility 【Video】

Reports say the Canadian teacher regularly spanked children and shoved books into their mouths.

Read More

“5 + 9” is okay but “9 + 5” is wrong? Is this being logical or overly picky?

Students who add and multiply with the numbers in the ‘wrong’ order are getting their answers marked as incorrect? Japanese net users weigh in.

Read More

Japanese high school teacher’s scathing, two-foot-long note to students is nothing short of epic

Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding yet difficult jobs one can do; on the one hand, you’re helping to shape the next generation, and you get to help kids learn and grow. On the other hand, though, kids will be kids, and you’ll always have those one or two students who really know how to get under your skin.

Even the most patient teacher has their limit—they’re still human after all. Like this Japanese high school teacher, who apparently had it “up to here” with students spitting their gum out on the floor. So what did he do? Wrote a scathing note of epic proportions and pinned it to the wall for all to see.

Read More

Japanese university English teacher fights student misbehaviour with eccentric new rulebook

“All students must play with their cellphones constantly for 90 minutes” and “Any student bringing the appropriate textbook will be removed from the classroom” were among the new rules announced in a Japanese university English class last week as one lecturer attempted to tackle lazy, inattentive students who text in class and forget homework. The beleaguered teacher distributed her new anti-manifesto for classroom behaviour along with a gloriously bizarre expletive-laden worksheet, both of which were posted by a student on Twitter with the caption “Sensei finally cracked”.

I did say expletive-laden. So if you’re reading this in class, make sure your teacher doesn’t catch you reading the swear words.

Read More

What’s wrong with English education in Japan? Pull up a chair…

When you speak to foreign English educators in Japan, one thing becomes crystal clear: English education in Japan isn’t working. It’s just awful. While English classes are mandatory in Japanese schools, the percentage of students who emerge with actual English abilities are surprisingly low. Students in China, Korea and Japan are in an arms race to see who can produce students with the best English, and Japan seems to be trailing far behind in third place.

With the Olympic Games coming up in 2020, the Japanese government has proposed changes to increase the level of English ability in their students. Changes like starting introductory English classes in 3rd grade elementary school and making the subject compulsory from the 5th grade. Are these changes really going to help? We’ve gathered opinions from both foreign teachers and Japanese citizens about issues with the system and what might improve it.

Read More

Entry-level ninja needed to teach kids in Japan

Have you spent years mastering the arts of ninjutsu and poring over ancient scrolls, learning secret techniques and studying under august masters, and practicing stealth tactics over and over and over again…. only to find out, to your horror and despair, that there just aren’t any jobs out there for a ninja? Well, don’t worry! The Japanese government has a job for you.

You could teach elementary school kids!

Read More

Is Japan overworking its teachers? One exhausted educator says, “YES!”

Japan has a reputation for overworking its employees, though it’s hardly the only country! But when it comes to education, you’d expect Japanese teachers, whose students often score among the top in the world on standardized tests, to be solely focused on their classroom materials. But you might be wrong!

One public middle school teacher has recently gotten a ton of attention online for a blog post about her impossible-to-manage duties as a “club leader” and her desire to actually change occupations due to the intense schedule. Read about her experience and the intense reactions below.

Read More

 

Earlier this week, we ran an article featuring the most hated insects in Japan.  This article revealed that 40.4% of those surveyed dislike all bugs, no matter what kind.

In addition, an article from Karapaia discloses that an overwhelming amount of teachers in Tokyo admit they are afraid of insects.  In order to encourage these teachers to successfully incorporate nature observation and science experiments in the classroom, the Tokyo Municipal Board of Education will begin offering lectures featuring simple science experiments and animal care classes next spring, including a lecture on how to touch insects.  These classes will be held at universities and zoos and are aimed at elementary school teachers who have limited knowledge in the field of science.

Read More