Moments like these...

I've been teaching for...three months now. A long time? Hardly any time at all? I keep flipping back and forth.

I teach one adult student...and since I started working, I got the sense that he wasn't particularly invested in his lessons. My predecessor would spend 15 minutes playing games that involved speaking English and then go right into working through the Textbook. When I came in, I simply continued to the tradition.

But a few weeks ago, I decided to ask him what it was he was looking for in his English lessons. His answer should have been obvious...as a business man, he was looking to learn English that could be used in "situations" as he said. At the bank, at the post office, at the airport. Our current textbook dealt with none of those things...

So, I started to do a little research and I found a book that was all about situations you will encounter when you're travelling in English speaking countries. The first chapter starts on an Airplane, then the next is at immigration, next is exchanging money, making hotel reservations etc...

So today, I pulled the book out and announced we were going to try something different. I was nervous - what if he thought it was too easy? What if he already knew these things? Would he think the role-playing exercises were stupid? I'm 23, he's...late...40-something, does he really want me standing up at the white board, telling him what to do?

We made it through the lesson, but I was a bit relieved when class was over.
As he walked out the door, he stopped and turned to me and said (in Japanese)
"Thank you. I really enjoyed the lesson today."

Honestly, you would have thought I discovered world peace, the way I felt after hearing that.

My last class of the day is a group of four teenagers. After we finished the lesson, I apologized for keeping them over a few minutes and hurried to open the door. But instead of rushing out, they just sat...and talked to me for several minutes.
Sometimes my little kids will stay and play in my room after class, but the teens and pre-teens always watch the clock and then bolt for the door. Having them stay behind of their own volition...was...well...it was another one of those world peace moments.

It's not that I'm a great teacher, by any stretch of the imagination. Yesterday, I was so tired I ended up playing games with one my classes because I was too exhausted to teach a lesson. But...every once in a while, when I get it right....it's...it's indescribable.