Since first arriving in Japan in 1989, Jim has been teaching English almost non-stop.
Working in Tokyo didn’t appeal – “too dirty, too many people, no trees & no fun”. A short stay in Nagano city didn’t work out either – “I got ‘gaijined’ all the time living in Suzaka.” After that, Jim settled a bit & worked in Matsumoto “I loved the place, the people were really friendly & I made a lot of friends. But I was still travelling, and hadn’t really unpacked”.

Following graduation from Lancaster University in 1986, Jim left the UK for “a bit of hitch-hiking”, but he did not return to the UK until1993 for his brother Mike’s wedding. “That bit of hitch-hiking turned into a world tour, and I’m still thinking that I haven’t finished yet. But nowadays my responsibilities lie with Luna International, and to be honest I have settled down. I’d find it very hard now to leave all that I have built out of nothing more than hard work & stubbornness!”

In 1993 Jim got a Certificate in CELTA from International House in Hastings (“bloody hard work, taught me loads, money & a month well spent”), before returning to Matsumoto. “So many friends here, and I wanted to start teaching again somewhere familiar. I didn’t think I’d teach again after I left Japan, because I hadn’t enjoyed it due to a crap boss, and no materials. I hadn’t really known what I was doing either. For sure personality is important, but if you’re not a qualified teacher, sooner or later you get found out.”

“I got a job in Thailand, completely by accident, teaching English in a refugee camp. It was the best work experience of my life, and an eye opener. My students had nothing, but wanted to learn so much. I really had to learn how to teach, and teach well, because it meant everything to my students that they had a chance to escape the nightmares of their pasts, and the squalor they were living in with all the horrors that included such as prostitution & the despair of having no future.”

Since returning to Matsumoto in Japan in 1993, Jim has taught English ever since. Originally working at other schools in the city, Jim discovered that his ideals were not matched by those of his employers. “One day a school manager told me off for re-teaching a grammar point – I’d seen their ‘senior teacher’ give a dire class the week before & it was clear none of the students understood a thing. So I thought I’d fix the problem. The manager shouted that ‘they’re only supposed to understand 50%, so they’ll come back again’. Time to find something new!” Jim gained a distance-learning Diploma in EFL from International Learning Centres in 1997.

In 1998, Jim bought Luna International. The school was based in Nagano, and a new office found in Asahi, Matsumoto. Within 3 years the school in Matsumoto had outgrown it’s original location above a ballet school, and moved a few hundred yards down the street to it’s current location in Motomachi. Jim realised that dividing resources & energy between 2 cities was taking a heavy toll, and with regret sold the school in Nagano. “The students & staff there deserved more of my time than I was able to give them. Standards there were not as high as I wanted, and the strain was showing all-round. I think the new school there (Noah) will flourish – Theron is a very nice guy, serious about teaching & deserves every success.”

Jim had long wanted to do something with Cambridge Exams, since he’d met Yuki in 1993. As a school owner, Jim wanted to offer the exams here in Matsumoto; up until then candidates had to travel to Tokyo or Nagoya. Jim trained to become an Oral Examiner (OE) for KET & PET in 1999, and has since trained to become an OE forYLE, FCE, and BULATS. This insight has helped Jim focus learning at Luna International for successful communication with an international outlook.

As Luna International has grown to become an Authorised Centre for Cambridge ESOL exams, so have Jim’s responsibilities grown. Yuki replaced Jim as Local Secretary in 2006, when Jim became Team Leader, essentially responsible for the eastern half of Japan. Jim had also become Oral Examiner Trainer & Co-ordinator, running sessions for OEs locally & in Aichi.

Jim has forged close personal links with the EFL community in Japan. He has attended the Tokyo English Language book fair almost every year since 1994, as well as a number of JALT conferences, presentations & workshops from Tokyo to Nagoya. Jim insists a teacher can never learn enough about their profession.

Jim has taught all over the prefecture, including at companies such as Gold Pak, Hitachi, Consul Japan, Nisso Brain, Epson, and Shinko Shoji. He has taught medical professionals at Shinshu University from various departments such as Applied Medicine as well as surgeons of various specialities, as well as surgeons and nurses at the prefectural Childrens’ Hospital. “I also gained a lot of experience within the Japanese school system, working as a part-time assistant language teacher in the city’s best known Junior High School, before teaching at the local university. I’m much happier not to be teaching at either institution nowadays, though I did indeed ‘learn’ a lot.” Jim tries hard to keep up with all the classes at Luna, and especially likes to visit our friends at the North Korean Academy – “always such lovely kids at that school – really sweet.”

Jim teaches children of all ages, adults young and old, from beginner to advanced levels. He teaches a lot of Business English classes, as well as volunteering at the prefectural Children’s Hospital in Toyoshina (“it really feels good to be able to give something back”). Jim is an experienced proofreader, and has a helped a number of Shinshu University surgeons get published in professional journals. Jim has also considerable experience with presentation preparation & delivery, and teaching English to students with special needs.

“On Fridays I finish my teaching schedule at A-chan’s house. I’ve been teaching her for a couple of years now, and in 2005 she passed the Starters level of YLE. Pretty astounding because she’s totally deaf! She makes the worries & stresses of my week fade away. I have learnt so much teaching her. She’s a really intelligent girl, and we fight all the time. She has taught me to be clearer, more consistent & careful with my pronunciation – she lip reads – and to be very well tuned-in to her pronunciation. She watches my face (poor child!) as she speaks & reacts quickly. Sometimes it takes a while for her to drop lazy JHS English, but we get there. As long as Luna has students like A-chan, I’ll keep teaching.”

And we’re very lucky, because Luna International is packed with very special people!
Come and see for yourself?