A：「やはり、あの英会話学校で教えます。ワーキング・ビザがもらえますから」
B：「やめた方がいいですよ。それでは経営者の思うつぼですよ」
Omoutsubo
A: Yahari, ano eikaiwa gakko de oshiemasu. Wdfeinguｻbiza ga moraemasu feara.
B: Yameta hogaifdesuyo. Sorede wa keieisha no omoutsubo desu yo.
A: I guess I'll work at that English conversation school. I'll be able to get a working visa then.
B: I don't think that's such a good idea. You'll be playing right into the owner's hands.
Omoutsubo or omoutsubo ni hamaru refers to something, often a scheme of some sort, turning out just as desired or expected; according to plan. It also means playing into a person's hands or falling into their snare.
Paul - from Great Britain and staying at our home - recently went to a certain English conversation school to attend their teacher training program. Paul's planning to spend about a year in Japan, primarily in order to study Japanese.
What were the results of the training? Here's what Paul said: "What a ghastly place! They expect the teacher to be a robot. Thjft first thing you do is memorize by rote English expressions you can use in the classroom. The teaching method is all decided ahead of time so once you're in the classroom you can't be creative at all. You're supposed to make the Japanese students memorize everything," Me: "I can't imagine anyone wanting to teach at such a school." Paul: "According to the school, the teachers expend the least amount of effort and are still able to get a working visa and salary." This made me angry. "So those who want a working visa will all just end up playing into the hands of management" ("minna keieisha no omoutsubo ni hamatte shimaimasu"). It seems that since these schools have high tuition costs and give out working visas they are able to get English teachers to work for low wages. Paul: "Aite noomoutsubo ni naranai tame ni wa do shitara ii desho" ("What should I do so that I don't end up playing into the other person's hands?")
Please note Paul had already undergone EFL training in England and even had two previous years of experience teaching in Japan. I'm sure there are many schools which don't require their teachers to be 'robots.' The problem is with those foreigners who come to Japan without any qualifications and, simply because they speak English, become English conversation teachers. The people who run eikaiwa schools want to get as many of these people as possible so that their schools can get bigger and bigger. The school Paul went to, had branches in Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ginza, Akasaka and in the Kansai area. I'm sure the owners are having a big laugh, "Nihonjin mo gaikoku- jin mo minna watashi no omoutsubo" ("Japanese and foreigners, they've all fallen into the trap we've set").
I'd written this much when Paul then went on to tell me, "The owners are all middle-aged women." Ah, ha. Women, is it? I'd heard the number of Japanese women in. management had been increasing, but didn't realize they were in this line of business too.
Perhaps, the foreigners hired by such companies are having the last laugh, however, "Waakingu biza mo moraetashi watashi no omoutsubo desu" ("I've got my working visa so everything has turned out just as I'd hoped). Without expending much effort I'm able to make money!?"