LivingLarge comments

kibousha

I really wish I could give you 10,000 thumbs up!

Is that the Moscow bed, Trump used for like, well, you know. ;)

After 20+ years teaching in the states, Canada, and the last 14 in Japan. Yeah, I got a pretty good grip on it. I run my own school now and am contracted (PT, thanks JET program) at 2 high schools, a kindy (PT), and a local hospital where I teach nurses and coach doctors for speeches.

And yes, it may sound a little self-serving, but JET teachers take away opportunities for me, and others, to make a decent living.

I also concur with the posters who believe it should be an elective and cut back on the ridiculous testing.

Required foreign language before Uni: YES

Required English before Uni: No

Start by hiring qualified foreign teachers as ALT's. Just because you have a 4-year degree does not qualify someone to be a teacher. I happen to be a credentialed teacher.

Kill the JET program.

Revise the law so that BOE can hire and retain competent foreign teachers for more than 3 years, giving them all the benefits of a Japanese teacher.

Shift the focus to reading, writing and speaking. Quit focusing on grammar.

That might be a good start. But the dinosaurs have to just go away.