Getting Started & FAQs
This page contains loads of advice in articles, hints and tips sections and lots of the “deeper stuff” behind Genki English. It’s not just fun and games, everything has to be there for a reason!
If there’s anything you can’t find here, then let me know and I’ll see if I can include it!
The Basics
- NEW:
“The Basics” Workshop. Free Online Video. - Where to start with Genki English
- About the Site
- 45 Minute Lesson Plan
- The Secret Warm Ups
Latest Blog Posts (updated weekly)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Best of the blog
- Study vs. Learn & Why Textbooks Are Wrong?
- Why you have to light the blue touch paper
- Thinking Bigger and Why We Need YOU To Do It
- Say you don’t understand. Or do.
- Please don’t let the children learn anything.
- 10 Full Time Years of Genki English
- How to make an ESL curriculum
- Curriculum: You or me?
- One on One Individual ESL / EFL Lessons
- How to plan a 90 minute esl / efl lesson?
- How to encourage shy students?
- When is the critical period?
- Discipline & Power Teaching
- Discipline 2: Fred Jones
- Kyoto Pro Rules!
- Smartboard for $40!
- Games for Grannies
- I hate my students
- How to run a Genki Teacher Training Programme
- The Perfect English Classroom + How to add Extras
- What happens when you do GE everyday?
- Academic Research: Genki English really, really works
- Forget the gym, lose weight with Genki English!
- Genki Personal Development
- 1 Billion Students Use Genki English
- Man with no feet
- What does “Genki mean?
- How to get Richard to your town ? it’s easy!
- Make money with Genki English Part 1: If you have a website or blog
- Why is Sweden so good at English?
- But my Kids can’t do that especially the Slum Kids
- Beijing British Council & Solving World Poverty(!)
- The Beautiful Tree ? How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves
- Do flowers fly?
- 130m people on less than $1 a day, this is how we’re helping
- How to get Government School Teachers on your Side + more on Textbooks
- What does work in super big groups?
- Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!
- The American Idol Classroom
There are also lots more on the VIP Members’ Forum.
Starting your own school?
- Start your own School Tip 0: Where to get initial funds & investment?
- Start your own School Tip 1: Where to hold class?
- Start your own School Tip 2: Be unavailable!
- Start your own School Tip 3: How to price your lessons
- Start your own School Tip 4: Demo Lesson Endings
- Start your own School Tip 5: Stress Buster Bank Transfers
- Start your own School Tip 6: Get a contract!
- Start your own School Tip 7: How to get more students then you’ll ever need
- Start your own School Tip 8: Best small class size
- Start your own School Tip 9: Don’t make a website!
- Start your own School Tip 10: Block out your holidays first
- Start Your Own School Tip 11: How To Teach English To Adults
- Start Your Own School Tip 12: Getting Permission To Photograph Students & Why Parents Refuse
- Start Your Own School Tip 13: Teaching Babies and 2&3 year olds
- Start Your Own School Tip 14: How to name your school (check out the gold in the comments!)
- Start Your Own School Tip 15: How to get free advertising
- Start Your Own school Tip 16: Should I hire a teacher for my school?
- Start Your Own School Tip 17: How to hire *great* teachers
- How to advertise your school & get your first students?
- How to sell your lessons & get more students
- You’re not charging enough
- The No.1 Reason to Start your own school
- How to (nearly) double your amount of classes
- Is It OK For Parents To Watch The Class?
- Demo Lesson Ideas Learnt From My First Helicopter Pilot Lesson
For Teachers in Japan
- What are we supposed to be teaching in Japanese elementary schools?
- New: 2011 Japan English Notebook
- Classroom Japanese Page
- Your first day at elementary school
- English translation of my “Everything about Elementary School” article
- Primary English FAQ videos
Other Advice
- Songs -> Games -> Projects
- Key Skills: Reviewing
- Joel Bacha’s paper on “Play and Affect in Language Learning“
- 6th Graders and what to do with them!
- How to use the Genki English Computer Games in Class
- Pro Rules: Be the BEST teacher in the World.
- Curing the “I don’t understand English” attitude.
- Help & Advice for Special Needs Classes.
- Teaching Teenagers – the Harry Potter Effect.
- Teachers’ Questions Page
- “Don’t do this at school!” – list of things that JTEs shouldn’t be doing (very useful, in Japanese!)
Other Lesson Ideas
- Elementary School Curriculum
- How to plan a fun 40 minute lesson
- How to teach numbers: Counting!
- School Lunch Exchange Project Lesson Plans
- Pet Project – Cool international understanding lesson
- Senior High School Lesson Plans & Worksheets
- Hints and tips for teaching English to kids
- Ideas for using email and the internet in class (from “kids com” magazine)
- Weather using LIVE webcams from Niagara, Paris, London and Mt Fuji.
- What’s cool in Japan! – this is a cool site set up by the Foreign Ministry. Updated often.
Kids Com Magazine articles.
My monthly column is in ALC Publishing’s “Kodomo Eigo” magazine, but in the year 2001 I also had a column published in the magazine “kids com”. They were for Japanese teachers who wanted to know more about team teaching with ALTs or Assistant Language Teachers. They were written with the Japanese version in mind so sometimes seem a little strange, but I think you might find them useful!
- Why I do what I do (English) – ( Japanese) (December 2001) The reasons behind Genki English!
- Even when you’re not in the classroom! (English) – (Japanese) (November 2001)
- Teaching holidays (English) – (Japanese) (October 2001)
- If everything in life was easy …(English) – (Japanese) (September 2001)
- Food is Fun! – (In Japanese) (August 2001)
- It’s Summer Time! – ( In Japanese) (July 2001)
- Working with the ALT– (In Japanese) (June 2001)
- Bite Size part two – Using “How are you?” to teach culture! – (In Japanese) (May 2001)
- “Bite Size” International Understanding (In English) – ( In Japanese) (Apr 2001)
- With a little help from ALTs (In English) – In Japanese (Mar 2001)
- Things Japanese teachers should know (In English) – (In Japanese) (Feb 2001)
- Why do ALTs come to Japan? (In English)– (In Japanese) (Jan 2001)
Things for JETs (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Teachers)
- Notes from the 2006 Kobe & Tokyo Recontracting Conferences
- Notes from the 2005 Kobe & Tokyo Recontracting Conferences
- The hints and tips I used to learn Japanese. (from GenkiJapan.net)
- Getting the most out of JET
- Flinging Fish – successful people all around the world are genki, and here’s why!
- Report on Elementary School ALTs in Gunmaby Christy Hamlett Cook
- 101 Cool things to do as a JET
- The official word on what we’re supposed to be teaching
- Joel Bacha’s presentation from Kobe 2001 – an amazing article about why we’re at syougakkou!
- From the Ministry of Education’s Website – Developing a strategic plan to cultivate “Japanese With English Abilities”
- From the Ministry of Education’s Website – Course of study for Foreign Languages (JHS, High School)
Page from the CLAIR website that shows ALTs’ money comes from Tokyo, not from your city or town!Update: They’ve taken the page down!
About Genki English
- What is “Genki English”?
- History of the Genki English Methodology
- NHK Documentary about Genki English
- Richard’s Self Introduction
- Or see how it all started with the 2000 Genki Tour Diary