[Pernickety]

englipatrick,
yes all worksheets are good, but i do worry about doing too much 'written' work and not so much oral. Most of the materials to encourage oral work seem to be in the form of games, and that's my problem.

dearscotty,
yes i'm working for the national education but only 3 hours per week. I was lucky in that I had already moved here and my local school needed a teacher. i do speak french and use it far too much in class but the pupils are complete beginners so i think it's necessary (or easier in any case!)

you are in fukuoka, have you been there long? I taught in kyoto for a year but i thought it was tough getting the kids motivated, or brave enough to speak!

the french do have a system where they employ foreign assistants in lycees/colleges and possibly primaires? i did this back in 1992 and had a good year but i'm not sure where you would get info on it as i applied at the time through my uni. maybe someone here will have info on that. it's not as well organised as the jet programme - they don't pay your travel bill and not all schools help with accommodation.

thanks for the replies all, love this forum!