New Cheese Please

New Cheese Please

Jason Andrew White

Miyazaki International College

This pre-recorded video presentation will be the presenter’s second Teacher Journeys Conference presentation, following his 2017 “Where’s My Cheese” presentation, which was based in-part on the ideals of Johnson (1998) in his seminal work Who Moved My Cheese? In that presentation the presenter discussed his personal journey from a high school language arts teacher in America to an ALT-type position teaching high school in Hyogo, to a full-time lecturer at a university in Osaka. At that time the presenter was nearing the end of a limited-term contract, and the discussion focused on the struggles that some educators have in finding continued employment in the limited-term Japanese university EFL environment. There was also a discussion of professional development and networking strategies.

This presentation will focus on three current challenges (changes) that the presenter is facing at this time. The first change is a new position with a highly-coordinated, globally-minded language program. The second change is a move from Hyogo prefecture, where the presenter lived for the first decade of his journey in Japan, to the rural area of Miyazaki prefecture, where life moves at a much slower pace. The final change is the rapid transition to remote teaching, which includes teleworking and various aspects of online language instruction. The presenter will offer some strategies that have helped him to reach the current position he is in now, as well as some suggestions for those who do not come from traditional TESOL/TEFL or EFL backgrounds on how they can advance their careers in the field. Finally, the presenter will offer some strategies for successful Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), and how to deal with the stresses of living and teaching abroad during the pandemic.

References

Johnson, S. (1998). Who moved my cheese? G.P. Putnam’s Sons.