Why did you choose to work for OCE?

I wanted to work for OCE because the school welcomes teachers from all over the world, regardless of what country they are from. For me, that is a life-changing opportunity because I have dream of becoming an English teacher since I was young. I have been in Japan for 9 months and have been looking for English teaching jobs before I found out about OCE. But I found that most English schools would only accept native speakers, which I am not. But I’ve always believed that not only native speakers can be good English teachers. So when, I found out about OCE and eventually got accepted as a teacher, it made me so happy because I’m finally living my dream.

What do you think is special about OCE?

Aside from the low-cost classes and the monthly special events, I think students who come to OCE does not see it as a “strict school”, but a school where they get to learn and have fun at the same time. We teachers don’t see students just as customers, but we do our best to build a friendly relationship with them. We get to know each other as we learn, so we build friendships that are genuine and long lasting.

Why did you choose to become a teacher?

It has always been a dream for me to teach English in Japan since I was young. I loved reading English novels and I also loved watching anime and reading about Japanese culture. So I had this idea of combining both things that I love for my dream job, and so that’s what I did. I enjoy teaching my students because I love hearing people’s stories and I love sharing some of my stories too. I find it moving and inspiring to see students do their best in learning as well, and I like being a part of their improvements too. I like seeing their faces light up when they get to say something in English correctly.

When did you make a difference in a student’s life?

One of our private students once told me that she has been going to different English schools before, but she only started speaking English when she started going to OCE. It may not be a drastic change, but I was happy that I was able to help in removing her fear of speaking English. I know a lot of Japanese are scared to speak because they think it’s not okay to make mistakes. I think that being able to tell students that mistakes are part of learning is very important in changing the old perspectives in English teaching.