Experience of asian teachers - the good & the bad
Hi peeps. I'm heading to Nagoya (or somewhere around there) next year to teach in an Eikawa. I am a Chinese-Australian, so I can pretty much blend into Japanese society (visually). I can't speak Japanese, still struggling to learn Hiragana and Katakana, ignoring Kanji until I'm desperate...
I've joined this helpful community in hopes that someone will tell me what to expect for an asian-looking girl teaching in Japan. And how to deal will situations in general since I can't pull the 'stupid gaijin' card whenever I don't understand something. The only good thing I can think of in my situation is that I won't get stared at.
- Do students really expect a western-looking teacher to teach them english? Will I get less respect and credibility in the eyes of students and Japanese staff?
- Will people just come up, assume I am Japanese and start gibbering in Japanese? Will they completely stop talking to you once they realise you are essentially a gaijin? How do you deal with that??
- Are there a lot of teachers like me in Japan? There should be some, right? Right? RIGHT?
Please help me put away some of my nervous jitters by replying. Thanks in advance.
I've joined this helpful community in hopes that someone will tell me what to expect for an asian-looking girl teaching in Japan. And how to deal will situations in general since I can't pull the 'stupid gaijin' card whenever I don't understand something. The only good thing I can think of in my situation is that I won't get stared at.
- Do students really expect a western-looking teacher to teach them english? Will I get less respect and credibility in the eyes of students and Japanese staff?
- Will people just come up, assume I am Japanese and start gibbering in Japanese? Will they completely stop talking to you once they realise you are essentially a gaijin? How do you deal with that??
- Are there a lot of teachers like me in Japan? There should be some, right? Right? RIGHT?
Please help me put away some of my nervous jitters by replying. Thanks in advance.