Alien Nation
I know the rules but the rules are broken so frequently, they need to be amended. I amend on the fly sometimes.
Convo with a coworker yesterday following a class during which I used quite a bit of Japanese.
CW: I’d prefer you didn’t use Japanese in the school. You are the English teacher so I think the students should only communicate with you in English.
Me: Sou dakedo...
CW: English, please.
Me:....
CW: You are the English teacher, and for many of these children, this will be their only chance to use English. I just...
Me: You’re an English teacher, too, but I don’t see you refraining from using Japanese. You use it whenever you feel you need to.
CW: I know, but I’m Japanese!
Me:.... (thinking, “no shit!” But I get the subtext, of course: "You are foreign, and I would like you to stay foreign. I want foreign things and foreign people in foreign boxes and Japanese things and Japanese people in Japanese boxes. by speaking Japanese to the children, you make them see you just like everyone else instead of foreign. This troubles me.")
CW: ...and you’re not Japanese. So you shouldn’t be using our language so much.
(I stood there a moment thinking, “You’re serious with this shit, aren’t you???” before I spoke.)
Me: Your liberal use of Japanese has the kids just staring at my mouth, waiting for me to finish so you can translate it. They aren’t using English; they’re enduring English.
CW: …
Me: See, here’s the thing: in an ideal environment, your idea would work out well for everyone. But in the real world, in my experience, it just doesn’t. The kids simply can’t speak English and connect English with alien shit. And if I’m looked at as only being able to communicate in English then I will be as alien as English to them. As inevitable as that may seem to be to you, in my experience, speaking Japanese alleviates alienation quite a bit. So, I’m sorry if...
CW: I’m sorry if that’s how it’s played out, but I’d really appreciate it if you refrain as much as possible from...
Me: I do already. I’ve been living here for 20 years—longer than any of these students, by the way —and I use Japanese every day. Not for fun but to survive. My wife is Japanese and speaks only limited English. So, it’s a natural part of me now. And I respond to many things in Japanese as naturally as anyone else here. So, if you expect me to use less Japanese than I do now, you may be disappointed.
CW: I see. That makes sense, actually. I forgot you have been here so long.
Me: Yes. A VERY long time.
This reminds me of a Japanese teacher responsible for running the remedial Japanese room where the foreign kids would go at my school. The teacher thought she needed to learn Spanish to teach the kids, so she learned quite a bit in a few years. The problem was the kids’ primary language was Japanese and that was what they needed to improve. Instead, the class became Spanish lessons for the teacher. This not only let her avoid developing any actual lessons for the kids, it also kept the kids in the pitiful foreign box.