The Usage of 'Otsukare' among Japanese Students

Greetings are one of the keys to strike a conversation. The relationship between the speakers could be measured through the greetings used. Therefore understanding greeting usage is necessary for maintaining an interpersonal relationship. Nevertheless, there seems to be a difference between greetings thought within Japanese textbooks and greetings in daily usage. Thus, this study will discuss the usage of ‘otsukare’ in Japan, especially amongst Japanese university students. The textbook "Minna no Nihongo" will be used to comprehend how aisatsu is taught to Japanese language learners. In this research, Japanese university students will answer a questioner regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’. A questionnaire was designed based on sociolinguistics concepts to discover how Japanese university students use ‘otsukare’, such as when to whom, and in what manner. 40 university students of native Japanese participated and as the result, four points were discovered regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’ First, ‘otsukare’ is used to greet seniors, juniors, and friends. Second, native Japanese speakers prefer to use ‘otsukare’ on departing. Third, nevertheless, some people also use ‘otsukare’ to greet people as an opening greeting. Native Japanese speakers consider the usage of ‘otsukare’ in the morning as opening greetings is not against the rule of greetings. Finally, the gap between Japanese teaching abroad is that ‘otsukare’ is not proper to be used as an opening greeting.

A STORY OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN TESOL WHY TEACH ABROAD: ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

This study aimed to investigate a story from a South-East Asian TESOL teacher. The purpose of this study is to inspire and guide in-service and pre-service English teachers to teach EFL/ESL overseas either to native English-speaking or non-native English-speaking countries. The participant of the study is a BA TESOL Teacher from the Philippines teaching English in the Kingdom Saudi of Arabia. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed through Braun & Clarke’s thematic analysis. The data then will be coded, read multiple times, and themes were assigned and generated. The findings describe that teaching abroad provides better prosperity and additive and transformative development for the teachers. However, teachers that aim to teach abroad should be globally accepted and possess proper identity and agency to overcome culture shock, language differences, homesickness as the common challenges of teaching abroad. Overall, teaching abroad should be considered greatly by teachers who are interested to receive a higher salary and involved various teachers’ development experience.

Understanding Teacher Identity as an International Teacher: An Autoethnographic Approach to (Developing) Reflective Practice

The teaching profession in England and Wales has been experiencing a steady decline in its workforce, with a significant number of teachers making the decision to move abroad and teach in international schools. Teachers cite working conditions, institutional pressures and pay and conditions at home as reasons to seek employment elsewhere. Meanwhile, exploring teachers’ experiences of teaching abroad is a relatively new area of research. The growth of international schools from 1964, when there were only around 50 such schools, to 2017, with over 8,000 international schools and some 420,000 teachers, indicates a need to understand teachers’ personal and professional experiences as they navigate these different contexts. This research presents a small case study of how autoethnography can be used as a methodological tool to support international teachers in revealing changes in their teacher identity, as well as promoting the development of their sense of self-efficacy within different sociocultural school contexts. Through Julia Sahling’s autoethnographic study, this paper explores how teachers may be able to actively engage in critical reflective practice in order better to understand these dynamic transitions, as well as the implications of teaching in multiple international contexts.

International school teachers: precarity during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis article explores the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international school teachers, using the findings to theorise agency and elective precarity amongst self-initiated, middling expatriates.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis of online posts on a teaching abroad discussion forum is used to critically examine the thesis that international school educators form part of a global precariat (Bunnell, 2016; Poole, 2019a, 2019b). Thematic analysis charts participants' discussion of aspects of precarity as consequences of the pandemic.FindingsThe data suggest that whilst dimensions of precarity have been exacerbated by the pandemic some dimensions of privilege remain. The term elective precarity is employed to describe the position of international school teachers, and it is noted that the pandemic has eroded the sense of agency within precarity. Posts suggest that teachers are reluctant to be globally mobile when lacking this sense of agency.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed to establish whether agency and elective precarity are useful concepts for exploring the experiences of other self-initiated expatriates during the pandemic. There is a need for further research into the supply of international school educators as key enablers of other forms of global mobility.Originality/valueThe paper proposes two new concepts, elective precarity and agency within precarity, to capture the discourse of self-initiated expatriates. It contributes to the emerging literature charting the impact of the pandemic on self-initiated expatriation.

Transnational Academic Mobility: A Case Study of Fifteen Academics

Academics around the world face many pressures to engage in transnational mobility (TNM) as a part of their scholarly work. This includes travelling abroad for conferences and symposia, teaching abroad, supervising graduate students abroad and participating in international research partnerships/collaborations. This is a case study of 15 academics at different stages of their academic careers, located in 12 different countries and representing a wide range of academic disciplines. The findings confirm the widespread and regular international travel that higher education academics participate in; and that while largely valuing their experiences abroad, most feel pressured to engage in TNM and those pressures are exacerbated for faculty in precarious and early-career positions.

Discipline of Teaching English as an International Language – D-TEIL: perspectives for language teacher education

The role international practicum placements have in the professional development of language educators is a contentious issue, with not all researchers in agreement that international practica are necessarily natural, neutral, or beneficial, to borrow from Pennycook’s (2007, 2012, 2017) stance on English language teaching internationally. Scholars like Santoro (2007, 2009), for instance, have expressed concern that international practica constitute a little more than a form of educational tourism that is potentially exploitative of the host communities. However, some program developers and researchers acknowledge and prioritize the value-laden and sociopolitical nature of practice teaching abroad and strive to facilitate ethical and critical practices (MORGAN; MARTIN, 2014; MARTIN; MORGAN, 2015, 2019). For that reason, this paper critically analyzes crossing borders with reference to the D-TEIL certificate program. The outcomes of an international practicum experience suggest changes towards considering the multiplicity of knowledge and aim at developing strategies for language teacher education programs towards ethical practices.

Reflections on Teaching Abroad

Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, fliers appeared on our university’s campus that uncannily resembled Nazi propaganda posters of the early 1940s. Custodians cleaning the campus facilities found the majority of the fliers and removed them before the general student population saw them. Still, a handful were photographed by students and quickly made their rounds via social media inciting a heated debate about free speech versus hate speech, racism, and white supremacy. Shortly thereafter, several student groups organized a Not My President rally near a campus work of art by the Mexican-American sculptor Luis Jiménez entitled “Border Crossing.” Protesters chanted affirmations for minoritized students on campus, such as “you are welcome here,” and “not my president,” in an attempt to disassociate from mainstream political rhetoric and the newly elected President Trump’s campaign slogans that centered on deportation and building a border wall.