Commentary / Japan Jan 21, 2020
Japan going the wrong way in English-education reform
by Takamitsu Sawa
English-language education in Japanese schools should focus on reading and writing rather than conversation to build a strong foundation.
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Aug 4, 2019
What makes a good teacher? It depends on who you ask
by Heidi Wiltamuth
When considering your role as a teacher it is best to think about what your students and employer want, and don't forget to take cultural differences into account.
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Jan 23, 2019
Waxing philosophical in English class with 'Thinking Experiments'
by Farrah Hasnain
If you've ever taught English at a Japanese school, you'll likely be familiar with a certain kind of silence — pervasive and tinged with teenage ennui. Authors Alexander Dutson and James Hill want to recommend breaking the ice with philosophy. Their book, "Thinking Experiments," presents ...
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Jan 23, 2019
Trying out a lesson on traditional notions of gender
by Farrah Hasnain
I teach a class of 38 at Hamamatsu Higashi Senior High School in Shizuoka Prefecture, and earlier this month I tried out a gender-themed lesson from Alexander Dutson and James Hill's "Thinking Experiments." The class I teach emphasizes essay writing and comprises students who aim ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Oct 28, 2018
Indian women in Japan struggle to find their niche
by Megha Wadhwa
After following their husbands to Japan, educated Indian women face obstacles tracking down work that matches their qualifications.
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Jul 4, 2018
Fukuoka's 'guest teachers' of English outstay their welcome
by James McCrostie
Job insecurity, excessive secrecy and legal curbs on dispatch teachers come under the spotlight as 120 teachers lose their classes.
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Apr 4, 2018
Some readers' responses to recent stories on the Community pages.
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Mar 21, 2018
Springtime in Japan brings the sadness of the eikaiwa exodus
by Charles Lewis
Budding English skills built up over years at conversation school can wither as junior high school clubs take over students' lives.
Issues | LEARNING CURVE Jan 25, 2017
Education in Japan in 2016: new solutions and age-old problems, from teaching English to bullying
by James McCrostie
With schools well into their final term and the university academic year already winding down it's time to reflect on the most significant events in Japanese education this past year.
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Dec 31, 2015
The issues that grabbed you or got your goat in the Year of the Sheep
Readers praise and pan Community articles from the past 12 months.
Our Lives | BLACK EYE Sep 20, 2015
'Don't sell your soul for a Japanese man'
by Baye McNeil
Having overcome isolation and a loss of self-confidence in Japan, one American mother now finds herself doling out advice to women seeking Asian men.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 9, 2015
'MacDonald's,' the first English school in Japan, was its teacher's prison
by Patrick Parr
The first unofficial English school in Japan was "founded" in the late fall of 1848 in a prison cell in Nagasaki.