Category Archives: Teaching English in Japan

Stop speaking Japanese (etc)

Posted on 04/11/2014 by alexcase

… or How to React to Random English in Your Everyday Life Abroad. This was supposed to be in Tokyo’s freebie listings magazine Metropolis, but it was so badly mangled by the editor that I decided to publish the original version for free … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Japan | 3 Comments

TOEFL to improve high school English?

Posted on 29/07/2014 by alexcase

The British government has finally learnt its lesson about dealing with ETS after many cock ups including the recent big fraud which means that TOEFL can no longer be used for immigration purposes, but that’s not stopping schools in Japan: … Continue reading →

Posted in ETS, Teaching English in Japan, TOEFL, TOEIC | Leave a comment

ECC may have bought data stolen from owner of Berlitz

Posted on 19/07/2014 by alexcase

According to the newspaper Japan Times, the data on 75,000 high school students that large Japanese language school chain ECC bought might have been among that stolen by someone working at Benesse, owner of the Berlitz and ELS chains, plus the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlitz, Eikaiwa | Tagged | Leave a comment

Why do the Japanese add extra vowel sounds to English?

Posted on 03/05/2014 by alexcase

Three answers, including one that had never occurred to me before, on my JapanExplained blog (recently more active than this one, maybe for the first time ever): Why do the Japanese pronounce English like katakana? Much more on Janglish and … Continue reading →

Posted in Janglish | Leave a comment

A very mixed story of unionisation in TEFL

Posted on 24/02/2014 by alexcase

An interesting bit of TEFL history from the Japan Times: Lado’s histoy and demise weren’t without their lessons Anyone know any stories with clearer conclusions on this most controversial of possible changes in TEFL?

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Janglish which we should all start using

Posted on 15/01/2014 by alexcase

What I prefer to call Janglish is better known as Japlish, Japanese English or wasei eigo. The direct translation of the last term is “English made in Japan”, but a more correct explanation would be Japanese words and expressions made … Continue reading →

Posted in English as an International Language/ Lingua Franca, Janglish | Leave a comment

New teaching Japanese learners page

Posted on 12/01/2014 by alexcase

Given how I’ve spent eight of the last ten years and four of the six years of this blog teaching in Japan, you can be fairly sure that all my worksheets and teaching advice are suitable for that situation. I’ve also … Continue reading →

Posted in Janglish, Teaching English in Japan | Leave a comment

Janglish in Taiwan

Posted on 23/08/2013 by alexcase

Have been desperately searching for more evidence of the influence of Janglish (expressions made in Japan from English and other European sources) to make all that work on my big list of Janglish seem at least partly worthwhile, so was … Continue reading →

Posted in Janglish | Leave a comment

New germ free classrooms scrapped after scandal

Posted on 17/01/2013 by alexcase

Earlier this winter, one of the big two Japanese Eikaiwa (English conversation school) chains launched bacteria- and pollen-free teaching and learning booths with a loud speaker and pane of glass between the student and teacher, apparently inspired by prison interview … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English in Japan | Tagged | 2 Comments

University of Tokyo recruits first students able to graduate just through English

Posted on 11/10/2012 by alexcase

Just 27 so far, but is part of a trend that is almost balancing out the Japanese decline in housewife classes and interest in studying abroad (the other counterbalances being the recent start of compulsory lessons in primary schools and … Continue reading →

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