Job Discussion Forums

[TokyoLiz]

Yurii,

About those American teachers https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43623216

It’s not always a question of teacher competence, but economic and political conditions that result in teachers leaving. Oklahoma has the lowest teacher salary in the U.S.

[taikibansei]

I agree with Kzjohn and Tokyoliz. I've met plenty of Japanese with excellent English ability, including a number of my students each year. Furthermore, the children of most kokusai kekkon families I've met seem bilingual to me--perhaps I just am hanging out in the wrong (right) place(s)?

Regarding eikaiwa and ALT positions, neither of these were originally intended to be teaching positions in the strictest sense. Eikaiwa schools were supposed to supply "駅前留学" opportunities. I.e., one could go down to the school next to the train station and for one hour talk in "English" to a fresh foreigner--pretending the while that one was living and studying overseas. And after that hour, you would go outside back to home...in Japan. ALT positions were similarly intended to "increase mutual understanding between the people of Japan and the people of other nations, to promote internationalisation in Japan's local communities by helping to improve foreign language education, and to develop international exchange at the community level." I.e., a lot about creating international understanding--whatever that means in this context--but not much about teaching.

That many foreigners do teach--often wonderfully--in these positions is undeniable. And that many of the best foreign teachers feel wasted in these positions is also too often true. The educational system here has never been about giving foreigners fair opportunities to teach, which is frankly both frustrating and sad. That said, a large number of students do learn English to a high level of mastery, which suggests that the system does work to an extent--sufficient at least to meet Japan's current level of demand. (Yeah, government/businesses still periodically complain about poor English skills, and yet many of my best English-speaking graduates can't find jobs related to English...too many applicants.)

[fluffytwo]

What's that, teaching (or if you prefer, classroom-based learning), you say? Eikaiwa may have been originally intended (and indeed may still be) for knee-deep dips of "immersion", but the clientele hasn't on average been doing a very good job of teaching itself, has it. For most it seems to be Natsuki-level (of Abroad in Japan fame) hobby~escape fantasy at best. I'll tell you though if and when Hiroyuki Sanada-level walks in for some reason (took a wrong turn, I'd expect). Same thing with JET etc (at JHS level upwards, at least), except that really was or is doomed from the start due to the age range and limited motivation of the students, and too many cooks.

That is quite different from other contexts (reasonably progressive private high schools, unis etc), and nobody is saying there aren't any reasonably fluent Japanese speakers of English, or indeed halfway-decent foreign English teachers here (i.e. those who can suggest if not actually implement at least modest improvements), but I'd wager that the majority of each don't really meet that much, if only because the more fluent speakers may be self-starters and thus immersed enough (in individual study, socializing etc). Any stats on the relative sizes of the various sectors (too busy to check right now)? That alone might help settle things.

[TokyoLiz]

Coming back to the topic, non-Japanese working in educational institutions.

I have been researching the number of non-Japanese working in education in Japan.

Hiroshima University reports about 8000 non-Japanese faculty in Japan's universities and colleges in 2015.
http://rihe.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/statistics/synthesis/

The JET Program stats - 4536 participants in 2016.http://jetprogramme.org/wp-content/themes/biz-vektor/pdf/countries/2016_jet_stats_e.pdf

This Japan Times article from last year says that MEXT records 18,484 ALTs in schools, 25% of which are JET. It doesn't break down how many are direct hire, or private high school teachers. I'm not identified as an ALT at the institution where I teach, and I suspect there are many others like me rolled into that MEXT statistic.

You're welcome.

[fluffytwo]

I was thinking more in terms of total number of students per foreigner employed. (Public school) AETs must be spread thinner (as well as being more constrained and underutilized) than the average uni lecturer for example, which could affect perceptions if not outcomes too.

[taikibansei]

[TokyoLiz]

Taikibansei wrote

[rxk22]

[taikibansei]

[TokyoLiz]

[fluffytwo]

[TokyoLiz]

Fluffytwo wrote

[rxk22]

[kzjohn]

[rxk22]