Dear education minister Ryu Shionoya,

I came to Japan six months ago a qualified and experienced primary school teacher full of excitement, and a little concern. Would I be able to connect with the junior high school students I would be teaching in only a few days? Was I experienced enough to create exciting and relevant lessons for my new students?

I worked hard at my new position. I immediately set out to create lessons in which students had the opportunity to communicate in English as much as possible. I created fun games and activities to teach and reinforce the focus language. My new teaching partner fully supported the changes I wanted to make, and even expressed to me how much more interested the students seemed. This filled me with joy; teaching is my life, and the reason I teach is to make a difference, so to have someone comment on how my students had changed was the greatest encouragement I could receive.