Your Man in Japan

Questions I answered:
Adjustment Process of English Language Teachers in Japan
Your home cultures
1. What is home for you? How would you describe your feelings towards home?
2. How culturally diverse would you describe your experiences at home?
Your teaching experience
3. Before arriving, how well prepared did you feel to teach English in Japan? How accurate was this assumption?
4. In general, how relevant do you think teaching experience in your home country is to teaching in Japan? Could you explain why?
Intercultural communication training
5. Did you have any formal training about Japanese language or culture before arriving here?
Length of stay in Japan
6. 7. 8. 9.
Prior to 10.
11. 12.
How long do you expect to continue teaching English in Japan? Why?
Under what conditions would you extend your time teaching English in Japan?
Under what conditions would you reduce your expected time teaching English in Japan?
Have you considered another line of work (other than English teaching) to stay in Japan? Why or why not?
departure
When did you come to the decision to go to Japan? How much time passed between your decision making and getting to Japan? What kind of support did you have for this decision? Besides teaching English, what plans did you have for your experience in Japan?
Can you describe your emotions on the days (or months) leading up to your departure to Japan?
Upon arrival
13. Can you describe your emotions on the first few days upon your arrival to Japan?
14. What were your first impressions of the country? Of your accommodations? Of your city,
region, or community? Of your school? Of your colleagues? Of your students?
15. How do you feel about your first impressions now?
During the first few months
16. How would you describe your first months in terms of emotional impact? For example or conversely, was it stable or constantly changing? How so?
17. What contributed to these emotional changes (if any) the most?
18. How would you describe your social life during the few months?
19. Besides teaching English, how did you spend your time?
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Interview Questions Jeremy Slagoski Adjustment Process of English Language Teachers in Japan jeremy.slagoski@uiowa.edu
20. On an average work day, how much time did you spend teaching and preparing lessons? This includes thinking about teaching and preparing lessons.
21. How often did you contact your friends and family back home? In what ways did this help you?
Now
22. Comparing your first month(s) to now, how do you spend your free time? Why has (not) this changed?
23. Comparing your first month(s) to now, how often do you contact your family and friends back home? Why has (not) this changed?
24. How important is it for you to keep up to date with current events in your home city, state, or country? Why?
Your classes
25. How have your feelings about teaching English changed since you arrived to Japan?
26. As a teacher, how would you define a successful day of class?
27. How often do you have these successful kinds of days? Why?
28. What difficulties have you encountered in the classroom that may have prevented a day from
being successful?
29. Can you recall any struggle or difficulty you had in the classroom that you were eventually able
to overcome? If so, describe that to me.
Japanese students
30. What are your thoughts on Japanese students in general?
31. What have you learned about Japanese students that you didn’t know before you arrived? 32. How are you able to relate to your students? Or how are your students able to relate to you? 33. In what ways do you or your students overcome stereotypes of each other?
Professional organizations
34. Are you familiar with any professional organizations of English teachers in Japan? Can you tell me about them?
35. What are your feelings about joining one of these professional organizations? Do you find any value in membership?
36. If you are a member, why did you decide to join? Do you feel that you made the right decision to join? Why or why not? How have they helped you develop professionally?
37. How about international organizations like TESOL or IATEFL?
38. Are there certain English language programs in Japan that you would like to work in? Why or
why not?
39. Are there certain English language programs in Japan that you would never want to work in?
Why or why not?
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Interview Questions Jeremy Slagoski Adjustment Process of English Language Teachers in Japan jeremy.slagoski@uiowa.edu
40. What are your thoughts and feelings about the status of English and English language education in Japan?
Japanese language, culture and people
41. How has your understanding of Japanese culture changed since you arrived here?
42. What aspects of the culture surprised you the most? Are you most curious about?
43. Have you noticed any influence of the culture on English language education in Japan? If so,
what are your thoughts?
44. How would you evaluate your social life with Japanese people? Have you found it easier or
more difficult to form relationships with Japanese? How so?
45. What cultural barriers, if any, do you believe make it difficult to form friendships with some
Japanese?
Reflection
46. If you could draw a line representing your emotional state from when you arrived to now, how would you draw it? Trending upwards, downwards, like a roller coaster with many peaks and valleys?
47. If trending upwards, what factors do you think helped you feel better about living and working in Japan?
48. If trending downwards, what factors do you think contributed to you feeling worse about living and working in Japan?
49. If wavering, what do you believe contributed to certain peaks throughout your time in Japan?
50. If wavering, what do you believe contributed to certain valleys throughout your time in Japan?
51. At this point, how well adjusted do you believe you are to living and working in Japan?