A Day in My Life as a TEFL Teacher

I was hoping to have done a video but my schools are being a bit funny about me bringing a camera so ive gone for the written format
Please enjoy: - Please forgive the length

Friday - I wish I had a car!
 
6am, the alarm goes off. I wake up.
I roll out of bed. I lay there.
615am, I get up.
I take a shower. I'm not awake.
I get dressed
I dry my hair.
I make coffee. 
I make toast.
I eat. I drink. I'm still not awake.
I go to the toilet.
I brush my teeth.
I put my shoes on and leave the house.
I forget my keys.
I go back in.
I have my keys.
I leave.
 
7am, I walk beside the train track.
I arrive at the station.
I get my ticket.
The machine speaks English.
I wait for my train.
720am, my train arrives.
I travel.
We stop.
We move some more.
We reach my stop.
I leave the train. 
 
745am, I cross the train track.
I walk along the roadside until i reach the crossing.
Red man.
I wait.
Green man.
I go.
Another crossing. 
Red man. 
I'm going to be late
Green man.
I go.
I cross the blue bridge over the river.
Another crossing.
This time a zebra crossing.
Cars don't stop. "How rude!"
I make a dash.
I'm across.
I walk down pass some fields
I walk pass some houses.
I turn left to walk down the beaten track.
I'm surrounded by fields, mountains and mists from the low clouds.
I arrive at my school.
 
8am, I take my shoes off.
I put my indoor shoes on.
I greet everyone i see with an "ohaiyo gozaimas"
I arrive at the teachers room.
I sit.
I have nothing to do.
820am the morning meeting starts.
I sit.
I listen. 
I don't understand anything.
I smile.
I nod.
830am, the meeting ends.
Teachers leave.
I'm left waiting
 
905am my first lesson starts.
I begin with questions.
The children sit.
I write on the board.
The children copy.
I write a question.
I elicit the answer.
They got it write.
I hand out worksheets.
They write their names.
"English only", I say.
They rub out their names.
They write their names in English.
Activity one - "Let's Listen!"
I talk
They listen
They have to chose the correct answers
I check
They're correct
Activity two - "Let's talk"
They talk.
I listen.
It gets noisy.
It OK.
Activity three - "Let's write"
They start.
I walk round.
Some are stuck.
I help.
Bell goes.
Times up.
Papers are handed in.
I say "Thank you"
They say "Thank you"
I say "Good job"
They say "Good job"
I wave
They say "See you"
I leave.
 
956am, I'm back at my desk.
I mark the papers.
Smiley face.
A.
No answers. C
Smiley face
Smiley face
B. Check spelling.
Interesting drawing.
A.
A.
I continue marking.
Time flies.
1105am, my next lesson.
Same as before.
I teach.
Class not as noisy.
We finish on time with papers handed in before the bell.
Bell sounds.
I leave.
 
1155am, lunch time.
The smell of food all around.
Rice.
Fish.
Chicken.
Nato…ewww.
I take out my ham and cheese sandwiches.
I hear "Did you make them yourself?"
I nod.
The look of surprise.
I eat.
I take out a small carton on juice.
I sip.
The straw sticks to my upper lip.
I remove the straw.
It makes a noise.
I look around.
No-one cares.
I do some soduko.
I drink some more.
I get stuck on soduko.
I check email on my phone.
I go back to soduko.
I give up.
Lunch time is over.
 
1240pm, nothing much to do.
Suppose to prepare lessons but still waiting for my schedule
I call my company.
They're still waiting to receive them from the school.
I mark some papers.
They're all ok.
I'm bored.
I go back to soduko.
YES! Finally i completed it.
I start the next one.
 
140pm, my first afternoon lesson.
I start with questions.
They sit down.
Grammar check.
I'm happy.
Children are not.
I hand out worksheets.
"Fill in the gaps. Number one to seven. Use 'am', 'is', and 'are'."
I walk round and help.
most are ok.
"Please tell me answers" I ask.
They mark the papers themselves as I put the answers on the board.
Next Grammar - do, don't, does, doesnt
"Choose the correct word from within the brackets"
I'm loving this.
They're hating this.
I'm evil. [Evil laugh form within]
Next grammar check.
Past, Present and Future.
They have pictures.
They have to fill in the gaps.
Should be easy.
WRONG!
Most are fine with present but most struggle with past and future.
I explain on the board.
They're ok now.
Memory relapse i guess.
Final grammar task.
Fill in the gaps using the following words.
Who, what, why, when, how, how much, how many, how old, how far.
I love my job.
Bell goes.
Papers handed in.
Leaving greetings said and done.
 
230pm, back at my desk.
"You can leave now. You have no more classes." I am told.
"The next train is not until 406pm." I say.
"Oh!" The teacher smiles.
I grade the last papers.
I complete another soduko.
I check my messages. 
No messages.
I call my company.
No schedule.
I check my emails.
No emails.
I'm so very bored.
I wish i had a car.
 
330pm, finally!
I say "Osakini shitsureishimasu" to all the teachers and staff i pass
They respond with "Otsukare sama deshite"
I take my indoor shoes off
I put my outdoor shoes on.
I walk down the beaten track with fields, mountains and an amazing blue sky surrounding me.
I pass the houses, the fields, cross the zebra crossing, go over the bridge, go down the road and wait for my train.
I'm early.
An old lady starts talking to me.
I wave my hand frantically in front of my facing saying "Nihon-jin"
She smiles.
She laughs.
She continues talking.
I understand the odd word and realise she wants to know the train time.
I get out my pocket size schedule.
We both look.
Wow! She's smaller then me…thats a first.
She thanks me. - Now that I understood.
She continues to talk to me in japanese.
Where is that train? - I wonder
I understand some more words.
She wants to know where i live.
Is she a stalker?
I laugh.
I talk in broken Japanese using mostly English.
She talks back in broken English using mostly Japanese.
The train.
Finally
We board the train and sit separately.
"Sensei" I hear.
Its some students from my other school.
One of them speaks in English to me.
I respond.
They all giggle.
They're girls.
They get off at my stop.
We part in different directions.
 
445pm, I'm home.
I'm hungry.
I'm tired.
I'm thirsty.
I need the loo.
I change first.
I put the kettle on.
I put some donuts in the toaster.
I go to the loo.
Kettles boiled
I make a lovely cupper with some PGtips from home.
Donuts are ready.
I eat. I drink.
I think of home.
No internet.
No TV.
So bored.
Phone goes.
Its my mum.
We talk.
We talk a lot.
She moans.
"That's another £10 on Skype."
We say good bye.
I put a film on.
Another phone call.
Its my company. 
They have my schedule.
They tell me what I'm teaching on Monday. 
I go back to the film.
Phone goes again.
Friends invite me out.
I check the train times.
I go to the loo.
I get the train.
 
630pm, we go get food.
I have steak.
Not beef.
Its pork.
Beef is too expensive here.
No chips.
Just veg. 
Free water though.
We talk.
We laugh.
We go to a karaoke bar.
We drink.
We look at songs.
We drink some more.
We're drunk enough so we sing.
We sing.
and sing some more
We leave.
I get the train.
I wish I had a car.
 
1145pm.
(shh!!! I'm sleeping)

• TEFL
• teach abroad
• teach in Japan
• Teach English in Japan
• Japan