Japanese culture | The English Farm

This part is mostly about the stealth expectations students might have of teachers so teachers can be prepared to either meet them or at least know the possible consequences of not meeting them. Of course, some students are more culturally aware and open-minded than others, so not everyone is going to expect (or subconsciously expect) these qualities. Some of these might even be edge cases, but it's best to err on the side of caution.

"Sensei"
In Japan, we address teachers as "[last name] Sensei" (doctors are addressed in this way, too). As such, some students may call you or another teacher "[name] Sensei" or "Teacher [name]". It is a sign of respect, but obviously, people don't do this in English. Usually people are just doing it because they're not sure how to address a teacher in English, so it would be good to educate them and get them used to calling someone by their first name.
"-san"
When you have not met a student yet and need to write a message to him/her via Skype or email, we recommend addressing them as "[last name]-san" as a form of respect. It also means you don't have to worry about their gender titles.
You can ask them if it is okay to call them by their first name at the beginning of your first lesson with them or ask their preference.

Side note: In the Japanese business world, a lot of people never go by their first names. They are only addressed by their last names with "-san". Most students will understand that in English, many people go by their first names, so you can help them get more comfortable using their first names if they are open to it (and most of them will be).

Side note 2: In Japanese, when someone only says one name, they usually mean their last name. Some students will think the same applies in English, so please correct them if this happens.

Anecdote: I once worked with a very well-respected Japanese boss who kept calling himself "Mr. Tanaka" when he introduced himself in English over the phone because when he just introduced himself as "Tanaka", people wouldn't put a "Mr." or "-san" to his name since they thought it was his first name.
Humility
Humility in Japan is like confidence in many Western cultures. It is a must-have, and if you do not show it, at best, you seem overly confident, and at worst, you seem stupid. Part of the cultural humility is that you put yourself in a lower position to bring the other person up (again, not everybody is like this, but many people will have at least a tiny bit of this going on). This is also why humility is important because it shows that you realize you are not actually higher than anybody
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Clearly, you do not have to overdo it (because acting overly humble in English can make you seem like you are not confident), but here are some things to keep in mind:
- apologize for any mistakes you make instead of trying to cover it up
- don't talk too much about your accomplishments, or better yet, perfect the art of humble bragging
- if someone compliments you, gracefully accept, but don't keep going further about your accomplishment or whatever they complimented you on (unless you are actually asked)
- if you feel it's necessary, you might want to teach your student to show a little more confidence when speaking in English so they are not looked down on when they do business internationally.

A glimpse of Japanese humility (again, not everyone is like this, but many people are taught to talk like this):
Example 1
A: Meet Ms. Tanaka. She is an amazing tennis player.
B (Ms. Tanaka): No, no. I'm terrible./Oh, no. I'm still not quite there yet. (←Ms. Tanaka has won several national tennis tournaments.)

Sometimes the person who was complimented is just saying it to be humble, while other times, the person will be thinking, "Oh, they're just giving me lip service."
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In Japanese culture, there is 本音 (honne - what you're really thinking) and 建前 (tatemae - what you say to the other person/in public) because people don't want to make other people feel bad by telling the truth too directly, so some people are extremely careful about believing every nice thing someone says about them. This is why many of our students like a lot of correction and notes—they can trust them.

Example 2
A: I don't have much confidence in this, but let me show you what I did... (<-- has done every single thing s/he could do to make it as close to perfect as possible).
Example 3
There are actually words like お目汚し* (ome-yogoshi) and お耳汚し* (omimi-yogoshi) in keigo (formal, polite Japanese language) that literally mean "dirty your eyes/ears". So you would use it to make yourself sound humble (and in the "lower" position) by saying something like, "I am sure this will dirty your eyes to look at this painting I made, but if you'd like, please do..." (literal translation) which really is a Japanese person saying "Would you like to see the painting I made?"

*Note: I don't think people actually use this anymore (or if they do, it is very, very formal), but the fact that it exists shows something about the culture.
Talking too much
A lot of people think it is rude to talk too much about yourself, so instead of offering information, they will wait to be asked questions. Sometimes, you will have to train students to give more detail without being asked to keep a conversation going (a.k.a. use conversational hooks).
The subtle "no"
Some students will be uncomfortable giving a direct no. Hesitation in a conversation could be a "no" or a sign that they want more encouragement. If you aren't sure, you can check with the student by saying something like, "It felt like you hesitated a bit there. Is there something that wasn't clear or that you don't quite agree with? If so, please let me know. I'm interested to know what you think, and it's perfectly fine to tell me if you have a different opinion."
Students who have trouble being more straightforward about their thoughts will need to feel lots of psychological safety.
Age and respect
People are taught from an early age to respect their elders. This means if you are even one grade above me in school, I’m supposed to talk to you using polite language called “keigo”. That is why in Japanese culture, many people care about knowing another person's age (to see if they are older or younger). You may have to teach a student not to ask someone their age when they first meet them. This can also explain why some students introduce themselves by telling people how old they are.
Topics to be careful with
Some people can be private, so use your best judgment and remember that personal questions might best be avoided until you have really good rapport with someone and know them well enough.
Tread careful around:
- marital status;
- whether or not they have children;
- how much money they make;
- history (especially topics like WWII); and
- politics

This doesn't mean you should never talk about it, just keep in mind that some people can be sensitive about it or not want to talk about it. In these cases, you should teach them how to:

- talk about something they're not comfortable talking about;
- say no politely; or
- naturally move to a different topic.

If your student is willing to talk, make sure you give them a lot of psychological safety by putting any judgments aside. Remember that this is to educate your students on how to deal with topics like this.
Customer service
Teaching English to Japanese students will have a customer service element to it. Many students will see themselves as the customer (since going to an English school isn't mandatory, and they/their companies are paying for the service).
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This means that we should always:
- look professional
- make sure our surroundings are professional-looking (no laundry hanging or anything like that)
- handle any cancellations we do on our side with the same level of courtesy and professionalism we'd show an important business client (tell your student as soon as possible, try to find a replacement if you can, and apologize for cancelling whether you find a replacement or not).
That said, you are their teacher, and you're looking out for your students' best interests. If it's in their best interest to push them a bit to do more homework or something, that's important too.
Anshin (安心) - safe; relief/anzen (安全) - safe
A lot of words you see on ads in Japan include the words above, so it's clearly something important for a lot of Japanese people. It is a pretty risk-averse country, when you compare it to a lot of English-speaking countries:

Students may have a hard time using a new language or technique because they aren't sure it's "safe" (they need to feel comfortable using it, know when it's used, how common it's used, etc.).