Okay I know that there are a variety of businesses that hire ALT's to place in Japanese secondary schools. What I'd like to know from those hired and in classrooms is what should people who want to do what you do as an ALT expect when they get the job, move over to Japan, and start working. Specific to the classroom would be what are you're duties? What does the company that hired you for this position expect of you? Does the company that hired you move you from time to time or are you stationed in a set location? What is the average term of employment or can you stay with the company indefinitely? What resources are available to you if you have a problem?
The reason for all these questions is for my college class project to compile all of this and more into a small handbook that will be placed here for professional review regarding accuracy, informativeness, and presentation style. The compilation will be at the start of a new thread. I look forward to reading what everyone has to say. Former Japanese ALT's are encouraged to put down what they know as well. Thank you.
Attention Japanese ALT's
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fluffyhamster
- Posts: 3031
- Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 6:57 pm
- Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
Hi Familiars. You'd probably do better applying to join the Job Discussion part of the eslcafe (which will require a separate registration and vetting) and posting this on the Japan forum. That being said, I think I know what the responses will be like though: "Use the search function, and ESID ('Every situation is different') anyhow!". Besides which, others could just as well bypass you and head straight to the source, right?
Still, I'll try to answer your questions here (albeit briefly)!
"I know that there are a variety of businesses that hire ALT's to place in Japanese secondary schools" > The majority of AET work now seems (as you may be aware) to be through 'dispatch' companies. There are numerous problems with such "intermediate exploitation" (such as wages being reduced well below what they would be when directly hired, due to the dispatcher taking an unhealthily large cut; lack of pay during school holidays; lack of co-payments into NHI; lower or zero pay during school holidays; related lack of paid or indeed unpaid holidays; deductions for infractions of dubious and trivial rules; and on and on it goes!) that your potential readers will definitely need to be made aware of, if only so they will be ready and prepared cope with the conditions they may face in e.g. essentially subsidizing a pretty low income once its all averaged out.* It is pretty standard to need to have saved enough money to pay for an open return flight, apartment deposits and rent in advance, furnishings and everyday utensils, and living expenses for at least a few months.** (Then, the legal requirements that will be coming into effect soon - that in order to renew work visas/''Period of Stay', foreign workers will have to prove that they have paid for NHI and their local taxes - will doubtless be whittling down the number of foreign workers at a time when Japan's labour shortage/aging population problems are getting worse). Regarding (just) 'secondary schools' (which should really be called high schools***, this being Japan, which is modelled on the US school system), it is not unusual for an AET to be asked to occassionally or even exclusively**** visit elementary schools (where they may well become the main provider of English instruction, thus subverting the A in AET!), which can be taxing for those unused to or not keen on kids and/or without the necessary teaching expertise and experience.
"get the job, move over to Japan, and start working" > I suspect that increasing competition for fewer jobs means that it is more convenient (quicker and cheaper) for employers to hire from the pool of existing labour already in Japan and with permission to work (i.e. with a work visa already). Hiring from abroad adds complications and costs. The net result is that to stand a better chance of being hired, more and more people are having to consider entering and staying in Japan as mere tourists until such time as they can perhaps (and only perhaps) find a sponsor and apply for permission to work (which can nowadays apparently be done without needing to leave Japan and go to overseas embassies and consulates - but getting a COE prior to entering Japan is obviously the safest and most ideal way to get into legally working still!).
"Specific to the classroom would be what are you're duties? What does the company that hired you for this position expect of you?" > Millions of words have been written about the state of English/foreign language education in Japan, and whether the average AET should or even could improve it much, and if so how etc etc etc. It is a very complex set of issues, and everybody has an opinion about it all, including (unfortunately) the people who are making money from the AET's labour yet would probably be best simply leaving the AET (especially any halfway-decent, competent one) to it! (Unless of course the AET is completely incompetent, or unprofessional - but often it is the JTEs who are moreso, by complaining and casting aspersions simply to distract from and evade their own inadequacies, and/or express their resentment at the foreign intrusion and apparent challenge to their ability, however high or low, and obviously their autonomy. I don't mean to sound at all bitter or too judgemental - I've worked with a fair number of excellent JTEs - just stating that quite a few JTEs do have obvious problems and insecurities! And the people they should be blaming for the problem, if that is how they would prefer to view a native speaker's more or less "required" presence, are the Board of Education and MoE bigwigs if not the parents, rather than the literally poor (if dispatch/non-JET), at any moment in time actually quite underpaid AETs themselves).
"Does the company that hired you move you from time to time or are you stationed in a set location? What is the average term of employment or can you stay with the company indefinitely?" > Unless you are very unfortunate (or have done something quite bad that would warrant such treatment), it is unusual to have your school changed, though those who visit more than one school can expect to have their rota which is formed around a "main/base" school to alter somewhat from term to term. Contracts are usually for one year (see also ** below).
"What resources are available to you if you have a problem?" > Very few. Although you are supposed to communicate everything through the dispatcher (who is your ostensible employer), day-to-day pedagogical concerns are your (and your JTE's/JTEs') "problem" really. Some dispatchers do attempt however to provide some sort of orientation or training at least initially if not monthly or so (though these monthly meetings are generally a waste of time - 'Teacher X, what have you prepared as your handout for eveyone else? Oh, a wordsearch, how useful!'), and may have newsletters and/or activity resource packs (often unoriginal and/or in infringement of copyrights, however!). Generally resourceful teachers can come up with far better stuff (that will actually work for them at least) themselves. When it comes to financial aid, most companies will of course offer some sort of advance system (how could they not with the delayed pay!), but often the teacher is reduced to having to beg almost, and may be patronized and even chided in reply, none of which is of course at all right. And as mentioned in * below, most the Japanese just don't want to know about any problems, however genuine, you may be having. For more specific school-related problems, see ESID above; the general advice is 'Don't rock the boat', and certainly 'Don't get involved!' (Japanese parents can be very upset that teachers, especially foreign ones, have dared to step in to e.g. fights and prevented serious injuries etc - it isn't unusual to hear of at least one AET colleague being dismissed for some imagined insult or whatever. "When in Rome..."; '"Discretion" is the better part of valour' etc etc).
"The reason for all these questions is for my college class project to compile all of this and more into a small handbook that will be placed here for professional review regarding accuracy, informativeness, and presentation style." > I hope you won't mind me pointing out your "greengrocers' apostrophes" (ALT's x2) and typo(s) ('you're duties'), then!:o
Lastly, this wasn't a bad thread:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=64852
*The Japanese themselves however seem to be much more concerned about the contradictions in the "chain of command" that the middle-man dispatcher introduces into the system generally than the impact the siphoning off of pay and benefits has on the foreign labour thus "hired".
**Dispatch pay (pro-rated and processed behind whatever direct pay) can take up to two months to start being paid i.e. one could work for two months and receive only the first month's pay at the end of the second month. One could view it though as saving of a sort - one should get two months' pay at the end of the final month worked - but that is assuming that a) one can last a whole year on effectively 50% of what one should rightfully be receiving (especially in order to pay rent, food, commuting costs, NHI and local taxes!) and that b) one won't be cheated out of any of that final (literally - could one stand another year of the same?!) pay!
***Most AETs are at the junior high school level, which is funded at a more local (e.g. city) level; hires at the senior high school level are comparatively rare and/or more direct i.e. at the prefectural level and e.g. through the auspices of things like the JET Program(me).
****This is one example of how the nature of the work and conditions offered by dispatchers can change like the wind depending on the number and type of contracts that they win/are awarded (on the basis of the "cheapest bidder/most expoitative to turn a profit dispatcher wins" system in place LOL). Some prospective and/or renewing AETs who were assured work end up with nothing, no contract offered, which as you can imagine would be a very stressful situation to be in.
Still, I'll try to answer your questions here (albeit briefly)!
"I know that there are a variety of businesses that hire ALT's to place in Japanese secondary schools" > The majority of AET work now seems (as you may be aware) to be through 'dispatch' companies. There are numerous problems with such "intermediate exploitation" (such as wages being reduced well below what they would be when directly hired, due to the dispatcher taking an unhealthily large cut; lack of pay during school holidays; lack of co-payments into NHI; lower or zero pay during school holidays; related lack of paid or indeed unpaid holidays; deductions for infractions of dubious and trivial rules; and on and on it goes!) that your potential readers will definitely need to be made aware of, if only so they will be ready and prepared cope with the conditions they may face in e.g. essentially subsidizing a pretty low income once its all averaged out.* It is pretty standard to need to have saved enough money to pay for an open return flight, apartment deposits and rent in advance, furnishings and everyday utensils, and living expenses for at least a few months.** (Then, the legal requirements that will be coming into effect soon - that in order to renew work visas/''Period of Stay', foreign workers will have to prove that they have paid for NHI and their local taxes - will doubtless be whittling down the number of foreign workers at a time when Japan's labour shortage/aging population problems are getting worse). Regarding (just) 'secondary schools' (which should really be called high schools***, this being Japan, which is modelled on the US school system), it is not unusual for an AET to be asked to occassionally or even exclusively**** visit elementary schools (where they may well become the main provider of English instruction, thus subverting the A in AET!), which can be taxing for those unused to or not keen on kids and/or without the necessary teaching expertise and experience.
"get the job, move over to Japan, and start working" > I suspect that increasing competition for fewer jobs means that it is more convenient (quicker and cheaper) for employers to hire from the pool of existing labour already in Japan and with permission to work (i.e. with a work visa already). Hiring from abroad adds complications and costs. The net result is that to stand a better chance of being hired, more and more people are having to consider entering and staying in Japan as mere tourists until such time as they can perhaps (and only perhaps) find a sponsor and apply for permission to work (which can nowadays apparently be done without needing to leave Japan and go to overseas embassies and consulates - but getting a COE prior to entering Japan is obviously the safest and most ideal way to get into legally working still!).
"Specific to the classroom would be what are you're duties? What does the company that hired you for this position expect of you?" > Millions of words have been written about the state of English/foreign language education in Japan, and whether the average AET should or even could improve it much, and if so how etc etc etc. It is a very complex set of issues, and everybody has an opinion about it all, including (unfortunately) the people who are making money from the AET's labour yet would probably be best simply leaving the AET (especially any halfway-decent, competent one) to it! (Unless of course the AET is completely incompetent, or unprofessional - but often it is the JTEs who are moreso, by complaining and casting aspersions simply to distract from and evade their own inadequacies, and/or express their resentment at the foreign intrusion and apparent challenge to their ability, however high or low, and obviously their autonomy. I don't mean to sound at all bitter or too judgemental - I've worked with a fair number of excellent JTEs - just stating that quite a few JTEs do have obvious problems and insecurities! And the people they should be blaming for the problem, if that is how they would prefer to view a native speaker's more or less "required" presence, are the Board of Education and MoE bigwigs if not the parents, rather than the literally poor (if dispatch/non-JET), at any moment in time actually quite underpaid AETs themselves).
"Does the company that hired you move you from time to time or are you stationed in a set location? What is the average term of employment or can you stay with the company indefinitely?" > Unless you are very unfortunate (or have done something quite bad that would warrant such treatment), it is unusual to have your school changed, though those who visit more than one school can expect to have their rota which is formed around a "main/base" school to alter somewhat from term to term. Contracts are usually for one year (see also ** below).
"What resources are available to you if you have a problem?" > Very few. Although you are supposed to communicate everything through the dispatcher (who is your ostensible employer), day-to-day pedagogical concerns are your (and your JTE's/JTEs') "problem" really. Some dispatchers do attempt however to provide some sort of orientation or training at least initially if not monthly or so (though these monthly meetings are generally a waste of time - 'Teacher X, what have you prepared as your handout for eveyone else? Oh, a wordsearch, how useful!'), and may have newsletters and/or activity resource packs (often unoriginal and/or in infringement of copyrights, however!). Generally resourceful teachers can come up with far better stuff (that will actually work for them at least) themselves. When it comes to financial aid, most companies will of course offer some sort of advance system (how could they not with the delayed pay!), but often the teacher is reduced to having to beg almost, and may be patronized and even chided in reply, none of which is of course at all right. And as mentioned in * below, most the Japanese just don't want to know about any problems, however genuine, you may be having. For more specific school-related problems, see ESID above; the general advice is 'Don't rock the boat', and certainly 'Don't get involved!' (Japanese parents can be very upset that teachers, especially foreign ones, have dared to step in to e.g. fights and prevented serious injuries etc - it isn't unusual to hear of at least one AET colleague being dismissed for some imagined insult or whatever. "When in Rome..."; '"Discretion" is the better part of valour' etc etc).
"The reason for all these questions is for my college class project to compile all of this and more into a small handbook that will be placed here for professional review regarding accuracy, informativeness, and presentation style." > I hope you won't mind me pointing out your "greengrocers' apostrophes" (ALT's x2) and typo(s) ('you're duties'), then!:o
Lastly, this wasn't a bad thread:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=64852
*The Japanese themselves however seem to be much more concerned about the contradictions in the "chain of command" that the middle-man dispatcher introduces into the system generally than the impact the siphoning off of pay and benefits has on the foreign labour thus "hired".
**Dispatch pay (pro-rated and processed behind whatever direct pay) can take up to two months to start being paid i.e. one could work for two months and receive only the first month's pay at the end of the second month. One could view it though as saving of a sort - one should get two months' pay at the end of the final month worked - but that is assuming that a) one can last a whole year on effectively 50% of what one should rightfully be receiving (especially in order to pay rent, food, commuting costs, NHI and local taxes!) and that b) one won't be cheated out of any of that final (literally - could one stand another year of the same?!) pay!
***Most AETs are at the junior high school level, which is funded at a more local (e.g. city) level; hires at the senior high school level are comparatively rare and/or more direct i.e. at the prefectural level and e.g. through the auspices of things like the JET Program(me).
****This is one example of how the nature of the work and conditions offered by dispatchers can change like the wind depending on the number and type of contracts that they win/are awarded (on the basis of the "cheapest bidder/most expoitative to turn a profit dispatcher wins" system in place LOL). Some prospective and/or renewing AETs who were assured work end up with nothing, no contract offered, which as you can imagine would be a very stressful situation to be in.