英会話プライベートレッスン

Hi there! Well I am finally starting to feel settled at my work now that my big move is over. But my job is more than I expected! As you know, I am the main teacher at Awesome English. However, I don’t just teach English. So far I have translated documents, gone to our English cafe, done franchise research and I have even worked at parties! So I really am turning into a multi-talented man! I love keeping my mind busy, so it’s pretty fun (and tiring). Recently, I have been working at our company’s international preschool, Sunrise Kids, right in Nishi Ward in Yokohama. Check out the site here.

The kids are incredibly cute! And while I can’t discuss politics or philosophy with them, I can watch them learn and grow in front of my eyes. And they learn FAST. Sometimes I wonder why that is. Why do kids learn so fast? I guess there are a few reasons. I read somewhere long ago that our brains have a critical stage when they develop where we can learn a language very quickly. If we start learning after that stage, new languages become much more difficult. I think that is the case for most Japanese people and English, and it was definitely the case for me and Japanese. So that’s why I always struggle…

I also think that because children are learning their native language at the same time, they don’t worry about translating. For instance, if I learn the word りんご, I translate the work to “apple” in English and then I understand. But children just imagine the fruit itself. It’s a huge difference, and it allows kids to use what they learn more freely. I also think they are less inhibited and less afraid of making mistakes. Kids are more worried about bed monsters and thunderstorms. And of course, kids have much less on their mind than adults. I have to worry about finishing all of my work, paying my bills and things like that. And when I am not worrying, I am thinking about cute girls and getting in shape. So Japanese is often the last thing on my mind!

Anyway, maybe an international preschool is the best place to start learning English. It catches kids at just the right time. But most of us aren’t so lucky. But that’s when you sign up for Awesome English or the Riverside Cafe! Then we can work together! Hope to see you soon!

Until next time,

Anand