Come Away with Me

英会話

For an hour every wednesday evening for most part of the year here, I conducted an English conversation class (英会話) at the kouminkan (公民館) or commnunity center in Narao. Although not written inside my official teaching contract, it seems like a tradition for the ALTs in this town, both past and present, to give free lessons to the locals as part of community involvement.

Not that I minded it at all. The truth was I had way too much time on hand anyway. Conducting eikaiwa had been a fantastic way for me to meet and mingle with the folks in this town. My 'students' are all older than me and come from all walks of life. One is a grandfather of 3 and owner of the largest supermarket in Narao. Two are teachers and fellow colleagues at the junior high schools that I taught at. Others included a semi-retired post office worker, a middle-aged civil servant and a couple of full time housewives. Whatever it is, the one thing in common is the interest to learn English and curiousity about foreign cultures, people and the world outside Japan.

In the beginning I was a little nervous at the thought of having to teach a group of elderly students with varying levels of English proficiency and without a definite syllabus and textbooks to follow. I soon learnt though that there isn't much expectation and the main purpose of an eikaiwa is really to HAVE FUN while learning a foreign language.

While the initial lessons were more ad-hoc and of a trial-and-error nature, the later ones were more structured as I managed to tailor the classes accordingly to suit most ability and preference. A typical lesson consisted of singing a song at the start for warming up followed by listening comprehension and rounded up with some simple day-to-day English conversation practice. On other occasions, we organised cooking and cultural show-and-tell sessions. Whatever it was, I am glad to be part of the eikaiwa and be able to contribute a little,no matter how insignificant it may be, to the town of Narao, a place which had given me much more than I can ever return.

posted by テレサ @ 3:24 PM