The bright spots in teaching

So this job is tough for me. I have too much free time and I often feel a little useless even in the classroom. But as with everything that is difficult there are always bright spots that give me all the motivation and energy I need to keep going and things to which I can look forward. There is a girl named Yuka at Koga Second. She has come to say hello to me every week since I began teaching in September. She doesn't usually say more than that, because she isn't terribly confident in her English.

I sit next to her favorite teacher, Mori-sensei. One day he started telling me that Yuka has to take a test to reach a certain level of English proficiency. He told me that she has taken this test three times before and her written scores are always almost perfect, but that she has failed the oral section every time. She has one more chance to take and pass the test, but if she doesn't she cannot study on a certain college prep track in school.

Last week, when Yuka came to talk to me after school, I asked her to sit down and practice speaking more with me. Mori-sensei saw and he came over and gave me some of the practice materials so I could study with her a bit more constructively. We had 9 practice tests to choose from and we ended up doing about 5 of them. When we began she was so nervous. When I would ask her a question, she would search, frenzied for Mori-sensei to translate everything I was saying. I was so thankful that he left the room because I could work with Yuka more productively without her relying upon everything being translated.

At one point, I just had to get her attention and repeat my question again word by word and have her translate what I was saying all by herself. In the end she got it and she was able to concentrate on what I was saying instead of splitting her thoughts between her nerves and then the English. She can speak very well, and her vocabulary is actually quite strong. I look forward to working with her in the future. That day, after we practiced some, I had to run to another English club meeting. When I returned to my desk around 5pm, I found a post-it note on my desk that said,

"Annelyse Teacher, Thank you very much. I'm very excited about my lesson. I try to do my best! Sincerely, Yuka"

I left so happy, and now I keep that post-it in my planner and read it when my classes are discouraging. I am here for students like Yuka. I am so happy to have met her.