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I have been teaching English to kids in Japan for more than 20 years: public elementary schools in Tokyo for 11 years, and Hello Kids Komazawa for the last 9. For 3 years I have been teaching weekly lessons to students at Tsutsujigaoka Kindergarten. As I tend to stay at the same workplace for a long time, I've been able to see the long-term results of my work. Being able to really see children's English communication ability grow has been very rewarding. I mainly use APRICOT materials in my classroom. They best suit my goal of having students use as much English as possible while developing confidence and self-esteem. I enjoy teaching development, and I love discussing English education with other teachers!
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    • 37.　End of the School Year...

    Well well well! The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and another school year has come to an end!
    How was everybody’s year? I hope your year was fruitful!
    In truth my year this year was a bit frustrating because I needed to split my energy and attention to a range of issues not related to teaching, and so my blog entries became few and far between…

    To my surprise I learned recently at the LEARNING WORLD Workshops that my blog actually has a fairly substantial readership (- for a long time I truly believed that absolutely nobody was reading it!) so to you out there reading this, I apologize for my slackness.
    In iCloud I have a folder full of ideas I wanted to share with you on this blog, but haven’t yet gotten round to doing so… But there’s good news!
    From April, my work situation will be such that time for my blog can be made! There are some big changes and new challenges waiting for me this year starting from next week – and there should be time to write about my experiences! I’ll share the details of my work situation in my first entry of the new school year, which I’m planning to post early next week.

    In the meantime I’d like to thank everybody at APRICOT for their continued hard work and commitment to supporting Japan’s English teachers. I’m looking forward to working with you again from April! Let’s make some big plans and big changes in Japanese English education!

    I’d also like to thank all those teachers who attended the LEARNING WORLD Workshops in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. I hope you were able to take home some ideas and inspiration. And a BIG thank you to Manta-sensei for sharing the presentation responsibilities in the Spring series!

    As always, I’d like to thank Kawahara-sensei for having all the insight and knowhow that she has, and for her tremendous encouragement and support for not just me but for so many of us! I sincerely hope there’s recognition for all of her effort. So many of us rely heavily on her! (Where would we be without you, Hiromi? I hope your future brings you what you deserve and more!)
    And lastly, thank you to you, this blog’s readers. If you’re reading this, it means we share a passion for our work in the classroom. I hope the school year was a good school year for you, and may even more success await you from April!

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