eikaiwa: answering students in japanese

[Dobuchu]

Apparently my boss told his students that I will be able to answer questions in Japanese on his website. I am going to be working at a small eikaiwa. But, I never said I knew a lot of Japanese. Actually, I told him specifically that I don't know a lot and he had assured me it was alright. I took two years of it in college, but only the first year really stuck with me. The second year was sort of a haze. I suppose the second year was the more important year too, ha ha. Now I'm frantically reviewing my past textbooks before I start work in a couple of weeks. Apparently he has a welcoming party planned for me as well. I haven't met any of the students yet. Some are adults and some are children. I hope the students don't expect too much out of me when it comes to speaking Japanese. Either way, what I really want to know is... what sort of things should I know to be able to answer any questions the students have? I know the basics of Japanese, putting together simple sentences, and about 300 nouns. I don't know nearly as many verbs though. I know enough to get around. I'm a bit low in the grammar department as well. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I absolutely should know? I'm really nervous about starting work now. I hope this year isn't filled with mental scars. If anyone could spare some tips or suggestions, I would be immensely grateful!

[KansaiBen]

. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I absolutely should know? I'm really nervous about starting work now. I hope this year isn't filled with mental scars. If anyone could spare some tips or suggestions, I would be immensely grateful!

There is no absolutely "has to know" questions. Anything from nothing to your life story. If they want to find out about you they can ask the owner. Probably the following will suffice:

Your name, where you are from/nationality. How long you have been in Japan. Why you came to Japan. Any hobbies and interests you have. Married or single (older students usually ask this)

Anything else borders on private information.

[Japan Australia]

Yeah, I agree. They probably just want to find out a little about you. Questions like where are you from, what are your hobbies, favourite food, why did you come to Japan, why you like Japan. It might be a good idea to have a basic Jiko Shokai (self introduction) prepared just in case.

[Dobuchu]

There is no absolutely "has to know" questions. Anything from nothing to your life story. If they want to find out about you they can ask the owner. Probably the following will suffice:

Your name, where you are from/nationality. How long you have been in Japan. Why you came to Japan. Any hobbies and interests you have. Married or single (older students usually ask this)

Anything else borders on private information.

Yeah, I agree. They probably just want to find out a little about you. Questions like where are you from, what are your hobbies, favourite food, why did you come to Japan, why you like Japan. It might be a good idea to have a basic Jiko Shokai (self introduction) prepared just in case.

Thank you for the responses! I hope that's all I need to know. But, I'm thinking that what my boss meant by answering questions in Japanese is that I will be able to answer questions about the English language in Japanese. I really, really hope that's not the case. If it's like what you guys say, then I should be alright. I'll prepare a self introduction.
His website already has an introduction for me though, for some reason.

[Chromedome]

It's easy... when they ask a question just say... 'wakaran'.

[KansaiBen]

Thank you for the responses! I hope that's all I need to know. But, I'm thinking that what my boss meant by answering questions in Japanese is that I will be able to answer questions about the English language in Japanese. I really, really hope that's not the case. If it's like what you guys say, then I should be alright. I'll prepare a self introduction.
His website already has an introduction for me though, for some reason.

If you are teaching kids they wont have the vocabulary or grammar skills or linguistic knowledge to process complete sentences in English. I would avoid lengthy explanations if your Japanese is not up to it. You are being paid to teach English after all.

[Dobuchu]

If you are teaching kids they wont have the vocabulary or grammar skills or linguistic knowledge to process complete sentences in English. I would avoid lengthy explanations if your Japanese is not up to it. You are being paid to teach English after all.

Alright, yeah, I think so too. Thanks for the insight!