English is A Lot of Fun to Teach in a Foreign Country Past Review
By Irina Monk (Curry College) - abroad from 06/16/2019 to 08/14/2019 with
CISabroad (Center for International Studies): Summer TEFL in Tokyo
I learned how to set up a lesson plan, and how to further teach to the individual student's needs. I also learned how to work with a diverse and very different opinionated group of people to achieve a common goal. I would say this program was definitely worthwhile, but not something that every person would enjoy.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
This program required that I finish 120 hours of a Premier TEFL online course, as well as spending a month shadowing at elementary, middle, and high schools. We also got to host conversational "classes" at 2 universities. At the end of the program we were able to put all our training into practice, and held an English Camp for students from Kyoto who came up to Tokyo for the program. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Both our site director and program coordinator in Japan were super helpful, and usually at least one of them was available for questions or assistance whenever we needed it. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The first housing we stayed in was an OakHouse hostel, which was wonderful. Having access to a fully stocked kitchen (in regards to pots, pans, and cooking utensils) and being within 5 minutes of 3 different grocery stores and several convenience stores was excellent. Not to mention the fellow residents at my accommodation were very fun to talk to and we even went out to Karaoke together. |
| * Food: |
The food I got to eat in Japan was truly amazing, of course the first two months I spent making my own meals. However buying food in Japan is quite expensive so do take note of that when planing a budget, or you'll overspend quite easily. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I actually had numerous conversations with Japanese locals who wanted to know what I was doing in Japan and how my courses were going (when I mentioned I was studying Japanese on my own). Also I spent a lot of time with my students during the English camp at the end of the program. I also went and looked up numerous summer festivals and ended up going to most of them. I even got to go to Kyoto for a weekend on my own which was excellent (but not included in the program so I paid out of pocket for that). |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I'm giving it 5 stars, because I didn't experience any health issues while I was there, however numerous group members got sick on their own, and were assisted pretty much instantly by our site director and program coordinator. |
| * Safety: |
I have never felt safer being a woman out in a city at night. You just have to be aware of the areas of the city where local gangs hang out, and avoid those. We were pretty informed by our site director on the locations to be wary of. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would love to get another chance to teach a summer camp for Japanese students, however since I've already been certified I wouldn't really want to do the courses again. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
It was quite expensive, and I ended up spending A LOT of money on food and transportation. I strongly recommend setting up a budget based on estimated costs of living for Tokyo, and doing your best to predict personal expenses. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 per week for small meals plus eating out so probably about $200 in total. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you can make your own meals, and buy food from the grocery stores after 6:30pm, they have HUGE sales on a lot of goods. If you can't cook, then try to buy bento boxes from convenience stores, or grocers after 6:30pm as well. Avoid eating out every day, you will burn through your cash that way. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Just how expensive food and transportation in Tokyo can get. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
