Please click here to view this documentary from the homepage of Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland.

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Carolyn Biggs worked in Japan for three years, firstly as an Assistant Language Teacher of English (ALT) at a primary school and two junior high schools, and secondly at a company dispatching ALTs to schools. She talks about challenges of teaching English in Japan. For example, she observes that a Japanese letter has two sounds, with a consonant sound always followed by a vowel sound. How did she teach English sounds?

She also talks about challenges of being in a class as an ALT, together with a Japanese teacher of English. How dis she handle a situation when a Japanese teacher makes mistakes? She also talks about her life outside the classroom, and lots of happy memories. 

As a sequel to this documentary, ‘Japanese isn’t English‘ was made.

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Camera: Fumi Nakabachi
Directed and edited by: Yushin Toda
Produced by Fumi Nakabachi and Yushin Toda, Japan Desk Scotland
22 minutes
In English
©2015 Japan Desk Scotland

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This is part of documentary films production. This has been shown on:

(1) Wednesday 11 October 2015 at University of Strathclyde Chaplaincy Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japan@Strathclyde 2015/16;

(2) Monday 2 November 2015 at the Japanese Class, Daiwa Sports, Wishaw, Scotland;

(3) Wednesday 6 July 2016 at Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan, as part of comparative culture series; and

(4) Wednesday 12 October 2016 at University of Strathclyde Chaplaincy Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japan@Strathclyde 2016/17.