Saori Yamada

STAFF INTERVIEW: Saori Yamada (Teacher - SILAC program)

This interview was done by Mun Jong-Gap a work study student from Korea who has been working in the International Office translating the English homepage to Korean for 9 months. Yamada Sensei lives near Yamasa with her parents, grandfather, and younger brother.

Saori Yamada: Is this interview your last work for the International Office?
Mun Jong-Gap: Well, sort of. I'll be finishing next month. I am sorry to take up your valuable time with this interview. Last year you were my main teacher in the SILAC program and I was in your class for a month. At that time I liked the lessons so much I didn't want to go up a class. Even now I am missing my old classmates. Anyway, lets start the interview - what made you decide to become a teacher?
Y: When I was a high school student, I learned English. I think that however hard you learn a foreign language, it is always difficult to understand it in detail. At that time, I asked myself how much I knew about my mother tongue, Japanese, and thought that I didn't know it as well as I should.

M: I see. Is the job you do here your first? When did you start working at Yamasa?
Y: I started about 5 years ago, but stopped to go to Germany for a year, so 4 years in total. Before starting teaching here, I hadn't taught anywhere else, but had a number of part-time jobs. When I first came to Yamasa, there was no SILAC program, and I begun teaching a class where there were only Brazilians. I have been teaching in SILAC ever since it began.

M: Teaching someone is not easy, is it? I taught students English in a private institute in Korea for 6 months and I sometimes had a hard time during the classes. How about you? What's been the hardest time for you up until now?
Y: A good thing is that I have not had any trouble with students. However one of the hardest things is when students don't understand something I have just explained, even though I did my best to make it easy for them. That is the hardest thing and it can be difficult to help them in that kind of situation.

M: So when are you most happy in class?
Y: In the class, I am really happy when I know the students have taken in everything that I have taught them and they give me positive feedback about my class. One moment that I remember was on my birthday a couple of years ago. None of my students had come to class, they were all late, and I was beginning to worry about them - I was thinking what happened to them? Then my students came in carrying a birthday cake for me. I was really touched and it has remained one of my best memories of teaching here so far.

M: Who do you feel has been your best student so far? I am sure that it's me, but apart for me.

M: All the teachers do their utmost to help the students and you also work until late every day. Isn't it tiring?
Y: Well, if I think that what I'm doing is benefitting the students, it isn't tiring at all!

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M: Enough about the job, let me ask you about your life outside of school. What do you usually do after school? Do you have any hobbies?
Y: I practice archery. I started it in high school but stopped for 10 years because I was too busy. Then, about 2 years ago, I decided to start it again and I'm now practicing at the Okazaki Archery Association. It's good because teaching needs a lot of mental and physical energy so the archery practice enables me to concentrate on something else and refresh my mind. I think that archery reflects the condition of your brain. For example, if you are thinking about others, you won't hit the target - it means that your feeling is unstable, so archery is good for practicing to focus your mind. I have also been making stained glass for the last 3 years - I make lamps, panels, and so on. Sayumi Kuroda (a teacher in AIJP) introduced it to me and Saori Suzuki (AIJP) is doing it too. Students in SILAC don't have many chances to get to do these kinds of things, so it would be nice if they came along some time.

M: I'm also interested in archery but I hardly have time for it. I love sports too so I arrange soccer practice at the park behind the Yamasa II building every Friday. Anyway, a philosophical question, do you have any code, or rules, that you try to live you life by?
Y: Well.......I try to make every single moment meaningful and try to always do my best. The 'moments' will pile up and help to make a more meaningful life for me I think. I can't express it words, but it is always in my mind. Maybe this way of thinking started after working at Yamasa. When I started here, most of the students were older than me (I was young at that time!) and I learned many things from them.

M: You have studied German in Germany, haven't you? What was your reason for doing that?
Y: German? I studied it for about 1 year and took a trip around Europe as well. The main reason was to become a student again and I also wanted to find out how to teach students better by being a student myself and learning from my German teachers. By doing that, I was able to get a good idea of what the students are feeling when they begin to study Japanese. I love travelling. My last holiday was to Bali, an Indonesian island. I can speak German and I guess my German is better than my English, though I can speak a few Korean words. GAMSAHAPNIDA! (thank you)?

M: You can read Korean, can't you? Are you interested in Korea?
Y: Some of the characters, the easy one, I can read but I don't know the meaning of them. I sometimes know the meaning of Korean words whose pronunciations are the same as Japanese words. The interesting thing is that the Japanese and Korean grammar is very similar.

M: Finally, what are your future plans? Marriage, job, dream etc?
Y: I am still interested in learning foreign languages. So my next language will be Spanish. I want to learn it in South America and I will think about marriage later. As for my job, I want to keep working for Yamasa for the time being. Going to South America will depend on my financial situation and circumstances so I will make my decision when the time is right. If the opportunity comes along I will take it. I might go there within the next few years because the older I get, the harder it will be.

M: I wish you all the best. Anyway, Korea and Japan will jointly hold 2002 Soccer World Cup soon. I can't wait, less than one week to go!
Y: That's right. There is a lot of history between Korea and Japan so co-hosting is a big thing for both countries. I will cheer for the Korean and Japanese teams and I hope that they both do well.

M: Okay, thank you very much for the interview.
Y: Your welcome!

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