Dominic

Dominic Tutor Interview

Q. Hi, Dominic! First of all, I heard that you lived in Japan, then you returned to the United Kingdom. What did you do in Japan? Do you find any difference between Japan and the UK? Please tell us about your life in those countries!

A. I moved to Japan in 2003 to teach English for an Eikaiwa. I lived in Hida Takayama for 3 years before moving to Kansai. Recently, I taught English part-time at a university in Kyoto before returning this year to the UK to complete an MA in TESOL. There are some big differences between Japan and the UK. You can eat a lot of different types of food in the UK, but I miss Japanese food. The Japanese are a lot more polite. I had also forgotten how bad English people are at speaking proper English!

Q. According to your profile, you were a teacher of English and Chemistry. Which particular fields do you specialize in Chemistry?

A. When I was a Chemistry student at university, I specialized in polymers. Somewhere there is an inkjet printer ink that I helped create with my supervisor and his team. However, at that time, I used to volunteer as a teaching assistant and I soon realized that I enjoyed teaching more.

Q. When you were a teacher, to whom did you teach? How was your life as a teacher?

A. I was a Chemistry teacher at a Secondary school (a combined Junior & Senior High school) in London before coming to Japan. However, due to a shortage of teachers in London, I found myself teaching English as well as Maths, Biology and Physics. I even taught a few French lessons. Life as a teacher at that school was very difficult, because it was in a tough area of inner London. The students did not always behave and it was difficult to get them to study. I came to Japan for one year to try and improve my resume, so that I could move to a better school in the UK. One year became 8 years and I decided to give up on teaching Chemistry. Now, I only teach English to speakers of other languages.

Q. I know your hobby is hiking and you climbed the 100 famous mountains of Japan, didn’t you? What is the most favorite mountain, which you have climbed? Do you have any interesting episode of hiking?

A. Unfortunately, I haven’t finished climbing all the 100 famous mountains yet, but I hope to do so in the future. I have two favorite mountains. One is Tryfan in Wales, which really got me interested in hiking and climbing. The other is Okuhodaka near Kamikochi, which is the first mountain that I climbed in Japan. I have climbed Okuhodaka so often that I have forgotten the exact number of times. The most interesting story is about when I proposed to my wife on the top of Yarigadake. It seemed like a very romantic idea, but by the time we got to the summit on a beautiful sunny day in August, there was so many people at the top, it was difficult to avoid falling off. At least she didn’t say “no” when I did manage to ask.

Q. You have a lesson for children, too. Do you have any limit such as age or skill for taking this lesson? Could you tell me about the lesson?

A. Teaching young learners is difficult, because they have shorter attention spans. For some young children a 50 minute lesson may be far, far too much, so I try to keep the lessons short and fun with a lot of activities and changes. Most people in the world speak more than one language and it is quite common for children to grow up speaking more than one language. So there is nothing wrong with children learning a second language at a young age. However, parents should not expect too much. Children only speak when they want to and when they feel comfortable and relaxed. Forcing a child to take lessons that are not fun and interesting for the specific child will not help them learn. So, when I teach a child on Cafetalk for the first time, I assess whether the child will gain something from the experience. If I think that I cannot help, then I recommend one of the other tutors on Cafetalk.

Q. What do you think the most important thing to learn English (or other languages)?

A. There are lots of things that are important in learning a second language. The first is meaningful exposure. If you take lessons that do not have any real meaning for you as a student, then the lessons will not help you. That is why I typically offer a “Free Talk” style lesson, because I like to negotiate with the student about what their individual goals are. I am quite happy to change the focus of the lesson completely, as long as the student tells me in advance. The second important thing is the amount of exposure to the new language. It takes about 3000 hours of practice to become fluent in a new language, so everyone should get as much practice as possible. That is another reason why the flexibility of Cafetalk is good, because students can get more practice to supplement their other study or just to maintain their level. The third important thing is to remain positive. Learning a new language is difficult and only practice will make it easier. There will be days when you don’t understand, but if you keep trying, then you will be able to communicate.

Q. Could you leave a message for our students?

A. Learn the language that you want to speak and that is the most meaningful for you. Study with a teacher that makes you feel comfortable and listens to you. Take all opportunities to practice. Don’t panic. You can do it, but it will take time.

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Dominic

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