Job Discussion Forums

[abyssiniangrl]

Hi,
thinking about moving to Japan and came across your site...but what is this ALT thing you keep referring to??

[6810]

Search button, search button, search button... (with apologies to Canuck)...

More helpfully, Assistant Language Teacher.

[JonnyB61]

I've just tried running 'ALT' through the search function. It brought up lots of instances of when the term was used but I couldn't find an explanation of what it means.

Please don't explain to me what it means, I already know. I'm just suggesting that the search function doesn't always hit the spot.

[bluefrog]

What is an "EIKAIWA"?

[Chris21]

What is "Japan"?

[Quibby84]

geez...it is like a three sentence answer...I will do it.

It means Assistant Language Teacher you basically go to public schools and teach like 3 to 6 45 min classes a day. It is nice because you dont have to make very many lessons and the kids are super sweet. I did ALT for a few days this past week because we need a new ALT teacher (but one that speaks japanese). I loved it, it was very tiring because I had 6 classes and each class was about 70 to 80 kids but they were really well behaved and excited about learning English. You may have to travel to different schools and you may just have one school. You go to work pretty early (like 8ish) but you are done before 5....I would be an ALT, it seems fun.
So there...that wasnt so hard was it?
I have used the search engine and it is not as efficient as everyone makes it out to be. You get like 5 million hits and only about 5 are on what you want....but those 5 are useful....anyways, enjoy, you can also search ALT on Google...
good luck!

[jademonkey]

ALT is Japanese for "human tape recorder".

[southofreality]

Here's good pic of me in action when I was an ALT

2005 ALT picture with JTEsClick Here

[sethness]

Quibby's experiences as an ALT are one flavor of Assistant Language Teacher. The same job title may carry very different expectations in another school, though... human tape recorder assisting a Japanese teacher in one school, full-on lesson-planning teacher in another school.

Class size can also vary tremendously from location to location.

As for the enthusiasm of the students, I find that the under-12-year-olds are wildly enthusiastic and fun; the middle- and high-schoolers are too afraid of making mistakes in public, and tend to be as fun as being locked in a dusty attic.

[cornishmuppet]

There are way too many sceptics on this forum. Its starting to get tiring. Being an ALT is great. I love it, and everyone else I know who does it loves it too, and that's quite a few people.

You get out what you put in, and I suspect a lot of people who drown this forum in bitterness aren't putting in very much. If you don't want to be used as a human tape recorder try using your brains and coming up with something interesting that the JTE might want to use. I'm at my fourth school now and while I've done plenty of listen/repeats I've also done four folders worth of fun activities. Its not rocket science, you know.

Before all you complainers start chirping I'd like to point out that I'm talking about the job itself, not what comes with working through a dispatch company. That can be a whole different matter.

[Glenski]

cornishmuppet,
As you know, ALTs are not exclusively hired by dispatch agencies. JET has a huge share in the market, too, and I think a cursory glance at the bigdaikon.com discussion forum will give people more than a smidgeon of negativity on what it is like to be that sort of ALT.

[cornishmuppet]

Glenski, while I take your point about Big Daikon, I think it also gives you a certain insight into the level of intelligence of a lot of JET teachers.