Job Discussion Forums

[ohiome]

Hi~
I've read a few of the posts regarding the ideal qualifications of a JET applicant, and it seems like the bottom line is there is no across-the-board standard for what each consulate wants in an ALT. But....I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion about how helpful a TEFL or CELTA certificate would be as a resume booster. Obviously, it couldn't hurt - but would it be worth enough to balance out the time and expense?
I have substitute teaching experience and I am fairly well-travelled, so I'm just looking for ways to increase my chances of acceptance.
Thanks to anyone who cares to respond~

[Glenski]

You are going to find as many answers to that question as there are JET officials. Someone reported that they (a foreigner on the decision making board) would not have hired someone because of so many factors, yet the person with the clout (a Japanese official on the same board) hired the person just because he / she "looked nice".

From the JET web site:
Is experience as a teacher necessary for the ALT position ?
No; however, an interest in teaching is necessary. Teaching experience is but one skill among many that is considered when you apply for the JET Programme.

Do applicants have to be qualified language teachers with TESL/TEFL ?
No. Although this is not a prerequisite, it is favorable. However, most JET participants do not have such qualifications.

You decide what is needed. Personally, I would have to say you should think what you want out of the job and what your future goals are. Most JET ALTs don't plan lessons with their Japanese co-workers and are relegated to being human tape recorders. With those odds, is getting a TEFL certificate worth it to you? If you have long term aspirations to teach, I'd say get it.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

OH I forgot to say,

Whether or not to TEFL specifically for the JET programme depends on a couple of things.

1. Have you looked at what constitutes a TEFL certificate in the application? There are minimum course times required. Is one that satisfies it available within the time frame left?

2. Can you afford it in terms of time (that could be spent working or developing another aspect of the application- Japanese cultural type things, ESPECIALLY learning to speak Japanese!) and money?

3. Do you plan on staying at least two years in JET or, better, three? You should look into the cost you need to put out to get this certificate compared with the amount you stand to gain from having it (especially since your initial post gave me the idea that you don't really plan on teaching ESL for a career, sorry if that's not the case).

[Celeste]

I and my husband both have TEFL certificates (he has a CELTA, I a lesser known and less expensive 100 hour cert.) and for us they have been useful in Japan. I do teacher training here, and it is helpful for the teachers to know how it is done in other countries. As well as a TEFL certificate, both my husband and I also have several years' experience to back up the theoretical knowledge. It can't hurt you; it will probably improve your chances of getting accepted on the programme. A lot of districts are demanding more from their JET ALTs than they used to. If you can show that you have the background knowledge and aren't a total flake, you will have a better chance of being more than a human tape recorder on the JET programme.

[G Cthulhu]

[stillnosheep]

Dear GC

In your exalted position as Lord High Training Workshop Conductor has it ever occurred to you that some JETs may have all kinds of motives, including fatigue or apathy, to be ever so slightly economical with the truth to you now and again.

Quite a few JETs post on here; we all listen to (ie read) them. By all means defend the JET scheme; try not to resort to unsubstantiated personal attacks.

There's a good little boy.

________

Dear OP

A Celta will be extremely useful if you have to teach and/or plan lessons.
Not sure if it'll help as resume booster for JET but will be extremely useful if you wish to continue with your nascent career in English Language Teaching.

Whether it is worth the cost only you can decide. How important is being able to teach English well to you? How much money do you have? That kind of thing.

sns

[Glenski]

[stillnosheep]

Stand down Glenski, we have the beep surrounded.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[stillnosheep]

[G Cthulhu]

[G Cthulhu]

[PAULH]

Just to add to the discussion, this is what i found out about JETs and JTEs this article is dated 2002.

Team-teaching is sometimes criticized because �many believe there is no justification for having two teachers in the classroom at the same time� (Shimaoka and Yashiro 1990:29). Despite claims that team-teaching has many benefits, Tajino and Tajino (2000) believe there is a legitimate debate as to which of the two parties is more valuable to the teaching team in respect to qualifications. Tajino and Walker (1998) argue that a common ground to reaching a harmonious duet can be reached, because the traditional roles of team-teaching may be changing in the near future. This may be a direct result of the increasing numbers of ALTs in Japan every year. In spite of these increasing numbers, it is argued (Lung 2000, Lee 2000, Medgyes 1999 and Machado 1997) that JTEs maintain many more advantages over their ALTs in the teaching of EFL. These advantages make them irreplaceable as English instructors in their homeland because they provide the following: 1) High cultural awareness of Japanese students. 2) Understanding of the Japanese educational system. 3) Knowledge of classroom management parameters. 4) Professional accountability as certified teachers. Cultural awareness is an area of interest for all teachers, especially for teachers who have endured the same rigors as their students in learning a new language.

Lung (2000) argues that local teachers have a greater understanding of the cultural background and linguistic needs of their students, than do their ALT/NETs. Takada (2000) points out that this level of understanding cannot be accomplished by simply importing native English speakers into the classroom. To an extent, many ALT/NETs may be able to sympathize with the difficulties of learning a second language, but this may be irrelevant because JTEs share the L1 (Japanese) and have learned the same L2 (English) as their students. This relationship supports the argument that JTEs may have a greater capacity to understand the difficulty students are having with learning a new language. Medgyes (1999) supports this with JTEs having more sensitivity to the problems and needs of their learners, as well as providing a better learning model for students to imitate. Medgyes (ibid.:57) adds that, �Even though local teachers may fail in being perfect language models, non-native speakers are found to be more insightful than native speakers.� This insightfulness is a vital component in providing ideal situations for L2 learners to develop their language skills.


Another argument in favor of JTEs is their background and understanding of the Japanese education system. Horwich (1999) found in his survey, that only 79 out of 141 JTEs (56%) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, were satisfied in their team-teaching situations. Kobayashi (2001) agrees with this argument by providing similar results from a CLAIR survey. This survey supports the theory that the majority of JTEs wished their ALTs (1) were less assertive about their individual rights and (2) had more knowledge about Japanese society and the educational system. In any team-teaching situation, there should be at least one party who is familiar with the educational system. In most cases, this would be the JTE because it is unrealistic to expect an ALT to understand completely the entire school system within a short period of time. Machado (1997) adds that although some NETs solo-teach or are hired full-time, very rarely do they assume complete accountability for students, as do JTEs. Classroom management is an area in which JTEs have both strengths and weaknesses. JTEs can better understand what is acceptable both culturally and legally in terms of discipline.


According to the ALT handbook (CLAIR 1998:2, �Corporal punishment in Japan is illegal, and under no circumstance should a JTE or ALT ever hit a student.� Although there are cases where such extreme situations occur, the average JTE and ALT will have to deal with less severe problems ranging from students playing with portable phones to sleeping during class. Here is where the JTE as the senior member of the teaching team, has the sole responsibility of establishing and enforcing the rules and guidelines of classroom behavior. Although ALTs play an important role in creating a positive presence alongside their JTEs, they are not responsible for discipline. However, a negative drawback to this occurs if the JTE hesitates to discipline students with the ALT present. This tends to occur when JTEs and ALTs differ in opinion about what is culturally acceptable or tolerable classroom behavior.

A final point concerning JTE advantages is professional accountability. Of the over 6,000 ALTs hired for the JET program in 2000, �Only about half renewed their contracts to work another year, fewer still elected to stay the full three years permissible� (Yomiuri 2001:. The JET program recently announced it would extend the contracts of ALTs who fulfilled certain criteria, to a maximum of 5 years. Furthermore, unlike most ALTs, JTEs are more familiar with specific educational goals, curriculum and entrance exam requirements. For this reason, Medgyes (1999) believes that the JTEs have a clear advantage over their less experienced, more temporary ALTs.

Because many school syllabi are focused on having students pass entrance examinations, the JTE is somewhat bound to teach a curriculum that is appropriate for achieving this objective. As a result, JTEs and ALTs may differ greatly in opinion about teaching English for the purpose of exam preparation, versus the teaching of English for effective communication. For this reason, a modification may be needed in either aims of exam requirements or the JET program. Childs (2001: adds, �With respect to exams, change can be seen as the nationwide Center English test for college screening now contains almost no direct questions about grammar.� Still, many JTEs may be unwilling to alter their teaching styles, until changes in these policies include more oral communication.

[PAULH]

There are many styles of team-teaching being practiced currently in Japan. Shimaoka and Yashiro (1990:23) state, �Depending on the policy of the boards of education and individual schools...procedures and emphases in the classroom differ greatly.� This is not problematic for the teaching of EFL, as it promotes the experimentation of various styles of team-teaching. The fact that team-teaching is relatively new in the field of TESOL encourages teachers to take their own initiative and experiment, without relying too heavily on just one style. Presently, there are many JTEs carrying out new techniques to further enhance the development of team-teaching (see Yorozudo 1988, Nagae 1988 and Namimatsu 1989).


This section examines the four most common team-teaching patterns used in Japan. With this background of current strategies, a comparison and analysis will be made between the styles and patterns found in the research of this report. Shimaoka and Yashiro (1990) describe reverse team-teaching (RTT) as the ALT/NET being the leader, and the JTE being the assistant. RTT is used primarily when NETs are employed full-time, ALTs visit classrooms on a one-shot basis or JTEs place little emphasis on the curriculum/material being taught. This pattern may be beneficial in the first situation when the NET is at a base school where he/she has the same duties/responsibilities as a JTE. The latter two may present more difficulties because the JTE may have an unconcerned or overtly passive attitude.


However, many teachers welcome this pattern because it gives the ALT/NET maximum opportunity to use the target language while having �the freedom to incorporate more communicative ideas, without relying exclusively on a textbook� (CLAIR 1998:23). While the advantages of this pattern include more creativity, authenticity and depth, the drawbacks are very evident. An NET is likely to have qualifications and 17 professional experience, whereas ALTs are assistants for shorter periods of time and may not have the ability to handle the same responsibilities within their three-year contract limitations. Other disadvantages included ALT classroom management skills or JTEs who abdicate their roles as teachers and become translators (Brumby and Wada 1990). Traditionally speaking, the next pattern used most often in Japan is when the JTE is the leader and the ALT, as the JET program intended, assists the JTE. Many ALTs complain about this pattern because they often feel as if they are treated �only as an assistant or an alternative to a tape-recorder� (Kobayashi 2001:.


If JTEs fail to take the necessary steps to plan lessons with the ALT, this complaint is most likely to surface. Fortunately, the majority of ALTs, regardless of their lack of credentials or experience, are more motivated than simply having students do choral pronunciation. However, one of the primary aims of the JET Program is, not only expose students to a variety of cultures, but to �develop the JTEs communicative level as well as the students� (CLAIR 1998:20). This can be facilitated better by having an open-minded JTE, who is cooperative and interested in team-teaching. Perhaps the most satisfying team-teaching pattern is one in which JTE and ALT share responsibility and complement each other in the classroom. In this arrangement, the JTE handles most of the reading and writing instruction, and the ALT focuses on the speaking and listening training. While this arrangement may seem the most ideal and symbiotic, some still find difficulty justifying having two teachers in the same classroom. In this pattern, it may seem more reasonable to have the teachers teach separately in different classrooms and address the needs and levels of the students accordingly. Yashiro (1987) mentions that there are many private schools, which hire full-time NETs to teach in this particular manner.


Examples of these include International Christian University High School and Doshisha International High School. However, even though this particular pattern might utilize the strengths of each teacher, it may be impractical in public schools for the following reasons:

a) Private schools have an independent budget to hire their own NETs. b) It is difficult to attract and hire a sufficient number of NETs to Japan.

Although JET places the majority of ALTs in public schools, �private schools often employ ALTs�(CLAIR 1998:3). Also, many NETs are hired to teach in various ways. They include: full-time, part-time, sub-contract, solo and RTT. Because private schools maintain more flexibility in hiring teachers, there is a greater difference in expectations and accountability. Probably the greatest difference is curricula. While public schools are required to use Monbusho approved textbooks, private schools may not be. Therefore, public and private sector schools vary greatly in the areas of employment, teaching arrangements and curricula.