The Beginning of the End

Today is last day of the freest free-conversation lessons in our online school. Tomorrow, all lessons will be recorded. That means, every lessons will be uptight.

Actually, today, I asked some students on their reactions regarding the recording of the lessons. Ninety-eight percent of my students today don't really care about the having their lessons, except one. He said that it somehow discloses his privacy. I want to persuade him on to agreeing with the new regulation but I did not push through any farther 'cause I, myself, is against with having the lessons recorded. Sad to say, I cannot do anything.

Like what I have posted in my blog a few weeks back, I have already installed and tried the system. Actually, on this computer only. I am using a different computer on Sundays sometimes. I have already installed the software there already but haven't tried it yet. I guess it will run smoothly, I hope.

So, tomorrow is the BIG day. Am I nervous? Yes!

Enka-Singing Student

I'm feeling tired recently. Maybe because with the new SOP that is about to launch at the end of the week or maybe because with the full load that I got today. I don't know.

I forgot that it is a national holiday today in Japan. It's their Labor Day but there's nothing really special about it, except that most Japanese don't have work and school today. So with that, I got two students who are in elementary and I am going to share about one of them.

The other elementary English learner that I had today is a girl in the fourth grade. She is still a beginner but very bubbly and curious about learning English. It's very easy to relate to her since she initiates the conversation and is not shy when relating with a foreigner, like me. ^_^

She even shared to me one of her hobbies: singing. And not only singing normal Jpop or Kpop songs but ENKA! As what I have learned, Enka is a traditional Japanese way of singing. It can be very tricky since involves mostly the nasal muscles and the muscles in the throat. I have only watched Enka music videos and only a few of them to be really a good critic but my! The student is very good in singing Enka. And I can feel that it is something very special and you do not mess with. I want to hear her sing again!

You can read more about Enka here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka

Thinking About The New SOP

Sometime, around this week, the new SOP will push through. This new SOP is along with the new system to record all lessons that we have. I don't know when exactly because the memo said it will start on the 21st but my mentor said it will be on the 26th. Either way, I am not so excited now after much thought.

I just noticed that sometimes, my students and I talk about some personal things. Though it is not really in a very open way, we do somehow talk about it. I ask general questions but sometimes the student cannot help to relate some personal things. Sometimes, there are students who initiate personal topics. Even though, I try to segue the topic into a more general one, the student will still steer back and go on with the topic. It cannot be helped sometimes.

Thinking about those cases, maybe some of the lessons will not be so interesting enough. As far as I have known, Japanese people tend to be really private about their lives. I guess, this goes with their English lessons online. I don't know how the students will react to this new SOP.I know some will understand and not mind that. But maybe some of them will continue to be on their guards and reign much of their enthusiasm. It will be an interesting result to keep an eye on.

Teachers, on the other hand, have no choice but to adhere to the rules. Sometimes, I don't really follow rules strictly in my lessons, especially with my avid students. We just talk about anything and sometimes forget the time. This policy will be a challenge for me but again, I hope I will not screw up.

It will be my off tomorrow, so anticipation and anxieties are also off until Tuesday. After giving much thought to this, I hope the new system will not push through.

Japanese Animal Noises

I realized I learned many Japanese words and slangs from various students. It's always fun to learn new Japanese words . It brings you closer to the Japanese culture, unlike from only listening to Japanese songs and watching Japanese anime and movies.

The learning experience is direct since you hear it from the student. You can get clear explanations and opinions from them. It's like having your own 3-minute Japanese teacher.

I've already blogged about two Japanese expressions not so long ago. This time, I want to share to you how certain animal sounds sound like in Japanese.

1. Chicken= ko ko ko ke ko
2. Dog= wan-wan
3. Cat= nyaa~~ nyaa~~

I learned those from different students who have heard those animal sounds from my background. The chicken is on top of the list since our chicken goes off like a broken alarm clock. Second on the list is the dog because the neighbor's dog barks like there's no tomorrow. Third is the cat because there was one time when one of our felines had a litter and she left one kitten to starve. It meowed, or "nyaaed" for three days or so. Students who have heard those animals have immediately asked me "What's that ko ko ko ke ko?" or "Do you have a dog?" or "I can hear nyaa~~ nyaa~~". I always apologetically answer for the disturbance. But they always say they don't mind and would further discuss about the animal that they heard.

Technically, HBOETs need to have a quiet environment. But there are days that some noises that cannot be shunned away. So, HBOETs only need to apologize for that. It's good though that most students are not so huffy about such noises. Again, as much as possible, it's good to have a very quiet environment conducive for teaching.

As for animal noises, I'm crossing my fingers on what counter part the sound of the gecko has in Japanese. (^O^)Y

Installed and Tried

So, after ranting yesterday... I received the software needed for recording our lessons and my mentor also discussed the renovations with me. It was still the same except for some little add-ons that might shift HBOETs leniency over the SOP.

I've already installed and tried the new system. It's easy and the "recorder" will not disrupt the Internet connection. It's just that, HBOETs should pay attention because we have to make it a point to record all lessons, whether or not it's just one minute. So teachers should always be vigilant. Just little changes, but like what I said, it might trouble us teachers for a time before we actually love it.

I'm actually a little excited on this one. I hope I will not screw up.

Recent Information

Recently, our office informed us about a new SOP and a new recording system. As they said, this is to enhance our services and to ensure high quality. And they also mentioned this:

...starting November 21, 2011 all essons shall be recorded. We sincerely hope that the explanation above merits your understanding and full cooperation.

As I have ranted about my discomfort with class monitoring, I have started to like the system. But they handed us with that "improvement". Another adjustment, just when I started getting the hang of the old one.

I haven't received the detailed email yet about these "renovations". So, I'm crossing my fingers on this one.

I Called the Wrong Student II

I can't believe it! This is the second time that has ever happened to me!

Like what I said in my Plurk account: The best way to end your work week is with an IR!

Making this mistake the second time around is BAD. I have to submit an IR or an incident report to the manager. I can't believe that I neglected my duties once again.

But to tell you the truth though, I kinda lingered away because I was editing a photo and disregarded the message in the teacher's chat room.What more bad is that, the student whom I thought was my student, answered my call and took a long time to tell me that he already cancelled the lesson. OMG. Halloween is already finished but it still did not forget to scare me.

Fortunately, the right student did not mind. She just laughed at the mistake and accepted the offer of extending her lesson. She did not mind since she only has one lesson for today.

The exact, same situation happened. Oh boy....

I should work more on my multi-tasking skills. T_T