Job Discussion Forums

[Florizalll]

I found this link to the article published on February 9 in the Daily Yomiuri via an ETJ message board. I have to admit the author composed a compelling argument. What are your thoughts on this?

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20070209TDY14003.htm

[Asgardfox]

Okay so here is my opinion on this. I was an ALT for 2 years in Japan, one year on the JET program and one year with a dispatch firm. It seemed like this article, well I could have missed something, but it seems that this paper is based on one persons opinion or experience being an ALT, and to be quite honest it does have some truth to it, in the sense that some ALT's do not really do what one would think a teacher would do. But you are an Assistant, not a regular teacher, you are assisting the Japanese teacher, so whether they learn something or whether they don't it is not your complete responsiblity. You are there to help the JTE with ideas for lessons, pronunciation, and also you are there to get the kids excited about learning English and not so bored out of their minds as they usually are in their other classes. All of this can be accomplished and is accomplished by alot of ALT's.

PS..I am also a certified teacher in the states. And actually made an effort to learn the language before coming to Japan. Not everyone fits the stereotype that some people want them to. Some Alt's actually do know what they are doing, and do make a difference. Kids have actually learned things in the classroom from me.

Asgard

[Willy_In_Japan]

Despite composing 'compelling' arguments, I find them 'knee jerk' and reactionary.

If there has been no 'benefit' of the ALT's in the classroom, that is the fault of a system that discourages and marginalizes their use to 'human tape recorders'. If an ALT is allowed to simply 'have fun', and goof off the entire school year, well, that is the JTE's fault for not using a resource of a native speaker.

I am an ALT, and I tell you, today was a very proud day for me. Two 3rd year girls at my Junior High, passed the test to get into a High School specializing in English. They are best friends, and one of them was talented and interested in speaking English. The other, was not very good at English, but decided about six months ago that she wanted to be an English teacher. She made a dramatic improvement in her English, and I patiently answered her questions, and encouraged her when she was discouraged. They came to the staff room today and thanked me specifically.

I have an EXCELLENT JTE, who lets and expects me to contribute to the class. She supports my campaign against Katakana English. We both stop it as it happens. The result is that their listening and pronunciation have improved. I fail to see how kicking the ALT's out of the classroom is going to improve those things.

[southofreality]

It seems that the ALT's role in Japan's schools has been discussed quite enough recently. It has been pointed out many times that the mission of the JET ALT is to assist in international exchange as well as language education. While I wouldn't argue that ALTs have had a big impact on the development of the English skills of Japanese school kids, I'm sure they have helped to "promote grassroots internationalization at the local level."

For those who think this grassroots internationalization is unnecessary and that money spent on ALTs is wasted money, I guess there's not much to argue about.

There's more than one reason why Japanese kids, in general, don't do well with English. One of the biggest problems is a lack of motivation. Many of them just dislike English.

Would spending ALT money on JTEs to ensure that they are better trained, and better at English in general, cause the English skills of most Japanese school kids to get better? Who knows? Maybe. But if the main problem is a lack of motivation, I doubt that better trained JTEs will be able to do much if they can't generate enthusiasm for learning English.

Does anyone really believe that better trained JTEs can generate more of an interest in English than most ALTs can? I may be naive, but I don't think so. At best, it would be a wash, it seems.

[G Cthulhu]

[JimDunlop2]

I really don't want to get too deeply into it, because there is absolutely nothing new under the sun. It's just that in recent weeks the DY has been making a stink with this, and it's still being perpetuated on a daily basis through its letters to the editor. But rest assured, this controversy is years old and nothing has changed.

My personal opinion on this is as follows: Most "ALTs" whether they are of the JET variety or otherwise, often find themselves in roles that: (at best) don't help advance the level of English, or (at worst) hinder their progress. Why? Two reasons. First, many ALTs are insufficiently trained as teachers to have an impact on the way things are being taught. Second, the JTEs have absolutely NO idea how to utilize an ALT, let alone how to team-teach.

The first problem isn't actually that serious. I've met many, many inexperienced people (not even in the field of teaching) who, with enough work experience have become VERY competent professionals in their chosen field -- be it computers, teaching or welding. This is something that can be learned and developed, and even if an ALT is "green" it's often just a matter of time before they can be molded and shaped into a good teacher.

The second problem, IMO, is by far the most serious problem. This is THE number one reason why this "let's get rid of ALTs" movement even exists.

Team teaching is NOT a fallacy, nor is it an impossibility... But truth be told, I think that in my time in Japan, I've only ever met ONE JTE who made effective use of an ALT. Otherwise, providing an ALT to a JTE is like providing a calculator to a chimpanzee. Until such time as this problem can be resolved, those who propose getting rid of ALTs have a point.

As far as all the JETs who have stepped up to the plate and admitted their own uselessness (just read some of the letters in the DY) I have absolutely zero sympathy for them. Human tape recorder? Sorry. I have little compassion for sob stories and pity parties. Every person, ALT or not, has the choice to make their presence known and to make their presence significant. When I was working at the Jr. High level, I made it VERY clear to the JTEs that I was NOT their personal tape recorder, and many times I told them to bring a CD player to class, and if they couldn't figure out a better use for my time in class, I would stay in the office to plan for other classes with other teachers that DID have constructive ways to utilize a native-speaker. Yeah, I made one enemy that way -- but that was his own stubbornness and pride causing the problem. In the end it wasn't even much of a problem, because he just told me (75% of the time) not to come to his classes, and that was that. None of the other staff (head English teacher, vice-principal, principal) had a problem with that. I mean -- if the guy doesn't want (or can't handle) working with a foreign teacher, why force him? It quickly became a non-issue. All the other teachers were able to sit down with me and figure out efficient use of my time in class so that the students would benefit from my presence.

Anyway, the entire English-teaching system in Japan is flawed on many levels which I cannot even begin to get into... But for the time being, the stupidity that's been going on in the DY lately will amount to nothing. Until radical changes are made to the education system, I propose a status quo. We should not get rid of ALTs. But at the same time, the onus is on the ALTs to MAKE themselves useful.... Stop whining about being human tape recorders and take necessary steps to change that! The ball is in the ALTs' courts to do that -- the Japanese teachers cannot and will not change it for them. They neither have the time or patience, nor do they have the knowledge HOW to do it.

[c-way]

I just finished my contract as an ALT yesterday. This writer has me pegged to a T. I saw little to no progress in my students at my low level high school and it was all my fault.

the 30 - 40 student class sizes were very conducive to getting students speaking.

The lack of a quality textbook did not hinder the class at all. After all, if you can teach, you can obviously write curriculum.

Not separating students based on level or ability made it easy to teach to the middle and not discourage some students while boring others.

The lack of a strict policy against cell phones, MP3 players, manga, make-up, mirrors, video games, cards, blankets, talking, sleeping, doing other homework, and coming late facilitated maintaining students attention.

The lack of a clear and quality grading policy that tied students' effort and improvement with actual marks and the near impossibility of failure motivatied students to try harder with each lesson.

The 22 classes being spread out over 10 months with 3 - 6 week intervals between some classes enhanced the continuity of the lessons and retention rates of students. It also gave me ample time to build a rapport and a solid routine that students could count on. Back home I would have taught these lessons in only 5 weeks, what a disaster that would be.

The lack of disclosure about what students were doing in their other English classes allowed for efficient coordination among these classes that presented English as a coherent whole and not JTE's English and ALT's English classes.

The common grammar and pronunciation errors of JTEs and use of outdated or Japanese English showed students what things NOT to say and how to NOT say them.

The lack of input or feedback by JTEs regarding my lesson plans made it easier to determine how difficult or interesting students found the lesson and whether future lessons would work well. It was very ideal for a young teacher trying to improve their teaching ability.

The insistence of some JTEs to translate things I said the very second I said them, before students could even attempt to process it, made it so that students were never left to guess, or think, about what I might have said.

The lack of a listening or speaking section for most university entrance examinations helps give an incentive to students to focus on spoken English more than the rigorous and boring grammatical side of language. That is why most students find English to be fun and easy.

The part time basis and therefore part time income of my ALT job encouraged me to leave school the minute the last bell rang to teach private lessons. This made it so much easier to form and foster personal relationships with teachers and students outside the classroom.

The school cultures' perceptions that English is hard for THESE students, that English is unnecessary for THESE students, and that THESE students are not very good students in general really helped the students to focus on and want to learn the language, given that it was so unimportant to them and that they sucked at it.

Nope, the only weak link, the only faulty cog in this pristine educational clockwork was me. And I think that that is the case at most high schools. A finely tuned machine churning out scholastic overachievers with one achilles heel. That stupid, lazy, useless, f.ucking ALT.

Yes, Yes, the voices are gathering to finally, once and for all, cure the ill of the Japanese education system. And having served as the scourge that is an ALT I have finally seen the light. All we have to do is fire ALL the ALTs and use the money saved to train our JTEs. They will then learn to stop making the same mistakes regarding the use of the "to be" verb that my students make and will magically be able to distinguish the pronunciation of "very / berry" , "lobby / robby" , "rarely / really" , "see / she" and "doa / door".

What would be a bad and very wrong headed idea is if we fired ALL the Japanese English Teachers who can't teach or speak English and use the money saved to train ALTs to speak Japanese so that they don't need to use JTEs as a Japanese tape recorder. An idea like this completely ignores the multiple and various constraints put on the JTEs by the school system and fails to address the real problem with the English instruction methodology in Japanese schools today; the ALT.

[womblingfree]

While I can sympathise with teachers not wanting to lose their jobs there's a very good argument against the current system.

ALT's are often untrained and lack the knowledge and skills necessary for classroom management and instruction. Not that this is news to the schools as the classes ALT's teach often have nothing to do with the school syllabus, and ALT's are usually kept far away from any actual responsibility.

What could be done to improve things? Well ideally you'd want bi-lingual teachers, fully qualified and with the option to do the Japanese teaching licence as well, who can join the Japanese teachers union.

Failing that keep JET, as it's on the whole a well run cultural exchange with decent remunerations.

Scrap all the dispatch companies and have a centralised data base where teachers can register, who would then be employed according to Japanese law with the correct insurance.

All teachers on the data base should have basic Japanese skills and a minimum recognised practical ELT certificate or diploma. Not only would this improve the situation in schools but would mean that probably more foreigners in Japan would have an incentive to learn the language and actually get a bit of teacher training, rather than just moving on up the ladder regardless.

Oh yes, there should also be a criminal databases to check for child abusers. This applies to Japanese teachers as well. The current lack of one is a disgrace.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[sushi]

Why the hell don't you just teach swear words or something to show the futility of the programe. What the hell are they going to do? Fire you. At least you guys own your work visa. Shouldn't be hard to find another job or something, or is it.

If the JTE disapproves just do it anyway. Of course if you have a JTE you can work with then you carry on just the way you have been doing.

[kendoman1]

I guess that I have to bite on this thread after reading what WOMBLINGFREE wrote:
I wonder if he or she has ever stepped inside a Japanese classroom or has any kind of educational training. IMHO I don't think he or she has after reading there post.

You should quit worrying about unions and creditials and think about your students. If you have ever stepped inside a japanese classroom. You would know that there is NO WAY that the students could learn any kind of real or formal English education.
Their education system is not set-up for that. The whole system is root learning. If you take away their textbooks. They are totally lost!!

It would be nice, but it would take many years for this to take hold and the students would be totally lost.

[Glenski]

[kendoman1]

I disagree with the above post. The visa for JET participates is no different than the visa any other teacher or instructor gets that is not working for JET.

Most people fail to realise that JET Alts are no different from dispatch Alts.The only difference is the salary and I have noticed some dispatch coys for private JHS/SHS are starting to match JET wages.

JET participates work for Clair which is sponsered by the government.Clair bids or makes proposals every year on contracts just like the dispatch coys.JETs are dispatch workers too. They do not work for the Japanese government.

[shuize]

I'm not surprised ALTs in Japan are able to come up with some sort of justification for their continued employment. Self-preservation is what most entrenched interests are very best at doing. In my view, however, the author of the article is correct: There are better uses for the 50 billion (50,000,000,000) yen Japanese taxpayers spend on ALTs every year.

[Mark]

I also agree with the article. The author is not blaming everything on ALTs, he's just saying that ALTs have not made much of an impact on students' English abilities. And, while JET may be a cultural exchange program, private dispatch companies are not. I think it's probably time to make a choice. If JET (and ALTs in general) are for cultural exchange, then there's no need for so many of them to come from English-speaking countries. Mix things up! If the purpose is to teach language, then the system needs to be reconsidered, as the author suggests. If they're trying to get the best of both worlds, I don't think it's working.

I also think Wonmblingfree had a good point with the teaching license idea. Why not create a special ALT (or NET) licence? Or a license with different levels allowing different amounts of responsibility in the classroom. My suspicion, though, is that BOEs would not want to pay extra money for more qualified ALTs. But, still, it's something to think about.