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School / Work Affiliation: Toyo Gakuen University (Nagareyama Campus)

Blog: http://talandisfamilyinjapan.com

Skype Account: talandis

About Me: I've been teaching English in Japan for nearly 14 years. My background is in Psychology, and after working as a mental health counselor for several years in the late 80's/early 90's, I decided to change careers and become a teacher. I had a strong interest in Japan at that time and joined the "Jet Program" in 1993, a Japanese governmental program that imports native English speakers to help teach English in the primary school system. I was placed in Toyama City, a small city (350,000) on the west coast, directly across from Tokyo. During my three year tenure, I got married and started a family. I've been here ever since, working at the Toyama College of Foreign Languages, a small two-year vocational school featuring language education (mostly English) from 1997 to 2009. In 2006 I finished a master's degree via distance learning with Aston University (UK), and would like to continue my research with them at the PhD level someday. The focus of my research is online community building (hence my interest in joining this one!). In the spring of 2009 I began working at the Nagareyama Campus of Toyo Gakuen University.

Jerry Talandis Jr.'s Photos

Jerry Talandis Jr.'s Blog

This is a test!

Posted on January 30, 2008 at 9:20pm 1 Comment 0 Likes

I haven't created a blog entry yet, so I'm giving this a try.

Hello from a new member!

Posted on May 16, 2007 at 6:23pm 0 Comments 0 Likes

Hi everyone,

As I wrote in my member profile, I'm an English teacher living and working in western Japan (Toyama City). I'm extremely interested in Web 2.0, and am currently involved in researching its applications for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). At our school, the Toyama College of Foreign Languages, I am in charge of our video production lab, a task that puts me in a room filled with some excellent toys (HD digital camera, recording equipment, iMacs, and all the… Continue

Comment Wall (8 comments)

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At 2:10am on April 10, 2009, Dr.Tamishra Swain said…: Hi Jerry,
would you like to share your teaching experience through a book chapter.Please visit my blog or my dicussion page to get further information. A response is solicited.
tamishra

At 1:18pm on January 31, 2008, Karl O'Leary said…: Jerry, good to hear from you. No worries with starting out, it will all come to fruition. If you want, check out a new site for collaboration and I will help you out if you want: http://creativeteachernetwork.ning.com/.

Karl

At 6:15pm on June 10, 2007, Jerry Talandis Jr. said…: Hey Christopher,

I've just posted some photos from Ithaca that give you a bit of an idea of what that catch phrase means.

http://classroom20.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor

At 3:24pm on June 10, 2007, Christopher Potter said…: I have never understood that whole "Ithaca is Gorges!" saying. I am thinking it has some sort of dirty connotation to it.

I am from the eastern suburbs of Rochester.

At 3:29am on June 9, 2007, Jerry Talandis Jr. said…: Hey Christopher,

Nice to hear from you again. You mentioned that you live in upstate NY. Whereabouts exactly? I'm originally from Ithaca, home of the Cornell Big Red. I also think this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's gorges! :-)

Good luck on keeping your students motivated. If you have a strong passion for the subject, then I'm sure your teaching will work itself out. A lot of what we do is "planting seeds"; we can't always expect to see an immediate result. If we water those seeds with our passion, then they will eventually grow into something beautiful. For sure.

Jerry

At 6:43pm on June 7, 2007, Christopher Potter said…: Sorry it took so long, Life & school as always.

I have not lived half as exciting a life,k so forgive me if this is short and boring. I have lived in upstate NY all my life. I think it is one of the undiscovered treasures of the US. I love history and I love communicating with people.
The greatest challenge I have faced is trying to convince American teenagers that ancient Egypt, for example, has some relevance on their lives. Other than the next unit test and final. I think that is why I am a teacher. Plus the pay is out of this world. :) Honestly, the kids keep you young.

At 11:11pm on May 21, 2007, Jerry Talandis Jr. said…: Hi Christopher,

Thanks for contacting me! Your the first to do so.

Right. How did I end up in Japan? I'll give you the short version:

I graduated with a BA in psychology from the American University in 1986. After a couple of years walking around the country on peace marches (my activist phase), I settled down in Amherst, Mass for 6 years, working as a counselor in a community-based mental health program. I got tired of that job and since I didn't see a future for myself that field, I decided to switch careers. I had an interest in Japan at the time (having traveled there with friends in 1991), so I joined the "JET Program", a Japanese governmental organization that imports native English speakers to help teach English in the primary school system here. That's what brought me here- a three year contract, all expenses paid, with a very nice salary to boot. I considered that job as a kind of "apprenticeship", and have since settled down into this career. I really like teaching, and being in Japan gives my day to day life a kind of "adventurous" feeling. There is always something new to learn. Sometimes it's very hard (language and cultural barriers, being so far from my parents and sibs), but overall I'm very glad I came. Now my focus is on developing my teaching credentials and skills. I completed a distance learning masters with Aston University (UK) last year, and am currently gearing up for a PhD with them. My goal is to find a job as a university prof here (or in another country). Web 2.0 is a big part of my work these days, hence my presence in this group.

Tell me about yourself- what do you do, what are you into?