A story about how satisfying it can be to earn your living by teaching children a language.
Darshana, you are a Japanese language teacher in India, how did that come?
I like to read and watch Anime when I was younger, maybe around 15 years old. I always had to read subtitles or the translated versions and this annoyed me, because I always wanted to see the latest episodes right after it came out in Japanese. So I thought it would be a good idea to learn the original language. *laughs* Unfortunately there was no possibility for me to go to a Japanese class in school or elsewhere, because people always told me I was too young to be a part of the classes.
In India it’s hard to get the education you want to have. So, for me it was obvious that someone had to do something about that.
It’s always easier to learn new languages while you’re younger, although with the right amount of motivation it’s never too late to start. I finally did my bachelors in Japanese when I was old enough but by that time I could have learned much more if they would have let me start earlier. That’s why I created an Instagram account for Japanese language teaching and started to teach children. Recently a friend of mine who joined me on this journey and I started collaborating with a Japanese School where we can bring our students and their students together on a zoom call. It’s wonderful to see how these kids of these very different cultures get to know each other and even become friends through zoom calls. That shows me that I’m doing the right thing and it motivated me to quit my job as a Japanese language translator not too long ago. Now I can concentrate on what I really love to do, teaching young people how to speak Japanese.
Are you only teaching children or are your classes for older people as well?
Of course anyone can take part in the classes, even though I focus on teaching children. It’s totally different from teaching adults, as they have a very different view of things.
Adults will question things like grammar and ask “but in English it’s that way, why is it like this in Japanese?” Children just accept it.
But of course working with children has its own challenges. They are children, so you must not overwhelm them with too much information or theoretical stuff. I’m thinking all the time of how I can make my classes interesting and motivating for my young students. For example when I’m making a sandwich my brain does subconsciously think “oh, I could teach my students about vegetables while making a sandwich” or things like that. Teaching children is difficult and you need to take many breaks, be very patient and creative to keep them motivated.
This seems pretty hard! My son is four and I can only imagine how hard it would be to teach him something that complicated. What challenges you the most while working with children?
Yes, Japanese is a very hard language to learn because everything is different. The language itself obviously but also the writing. My students come mostly from upper class families because they can afford the classes, even though my classes are not too expensive — one hour class is about $40. Some of the parents I’m working with are very ambitious with their kids. They have a fully packed schedule for every day and can’t even take a minute to relax and be kids. Once I had a five year old kid who was about to graduate in the lowest level of the official Japanese test for non-native speakers. This is crazy. I mean it’s even hard for adults to take the test. Well, this kid was very intelligent and also wanted to learn the language at the beginning but after a while the pressure of his mother got too big and the kid didn’t want to do the classes anymore. I had to talk to his mom and tell her that we need to take a break for a few months. You know I literally said I don’t want your money for this price.
My goal is to make children confident and have fun while learning a new language, not to bully them.
I guess that’s what’s challenging me the most, working with parents who are too ambitious and not giving their children time to play and be just children.
Is it always the parents that send their kids to your classes or is it also what the children want?
Sending them the first time is almost always the parents’ idea. After a class or two the children want to come back, as they like what they are learning.
They are proud of themselves when they’ve learned a new word or can sing a new song and are excited to tell their parents.
I’m trying to make my classes as fun as possible, so the children don’t have the feeling of sitting in school and must do it. I should mention that most of my classes are online through zoom. The children are in their normal surroundings and feel comfortable, so it’s easier for them to concentrate on me and on what we’re doing.
What do you like most about teaching?
To observe my students’ growth. It’s amazing to see a child painting Japanese characters or listen to them singing a Japanese song. That’s heart warming for me and gives me so much motivation to go on, even though it’s sometimes hard to work with children.
What does a language teacher need to bring when they want to work with children?
First of all, lots of patience! I’m never angry at my students but sometimes they get on my nerves.
Then I need to switch off the camera for a moment, take a deep breath, remember they are children and come back to them.
*laughs* Another thing you need to bring is empathy. Children are very different. One can be super motivated and work with you for 15 min, another one other might be very playful and need a very different learning motivation. You have to find a way to come through to all different characters and make it fun for each of them. That’s very challenging but once they’ve opened their minds to you, it’s just wonderful to work with them. You also need to be very creative, as I mentioned before. Everywhere I go I think of my students and how to find new ways to teach them in a fun and effective way. Singing, cooking, dancing, painting, everything you can imagine can be used to teach children, being creative about it makes a big part of the teacher’s job. I can assure you that you will never get bored while teaching children and you will always be challenged! If you like that, this is the perfect job for you.
