Eikaiwa through history quote of the day
“…but you would have to remember always that your work was to teach a small boy English. There is a great deal of drudgery in that. Do you think you have the patience for it?”
from “Windows for the Crown Prince“ by Elizabeth Gray Vining (thank you Book Off, for your strange name, random selection and low prices!) So that’s another thing that hasn’t changed about English teaching then…
And here’s another from the same book:
“…not an “old Japan hand,” but one who came fresh to the country, without even a knowledge of the Japanese language, since she was to teach by the direct method entirely in English”
-A desire for enthusiastic amateurs from abroad that also hasn’t changed a jot either. I’m not sure if the fact that my ability to read a Japanese newspaper is slowly disappearing means I am returning to the ignorant state in which I arrived here and so will find myself as welcome as a newbie…
And on the topic of teaching English to “great men”, the Independant has an article on Mao’s English teacher.
Got yourself a taste for Eikaiwa and other Japanese quotes? Then get thee to QuoteJapan!
