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Welcome to the world of teaching in Japan

You are, by definition, an ASSISTANT teacher, but your membership to the title SENSEI brings with it challenges, responsibilities and rewards. If one maxim holds true as an ALT English teacher, it is this:

You will get out what you put in

Your initiative, readiness to roll up your sleeves and pitch in, drive, creativeness and sense of humour when faced with awkward situations will contribute greatly to your experience in Japan.

To give you a taste of school life in Japan, here are some experiences from current JET’s working at Junior High School, Elementary School and Senior High School.

Elementary School

I visit 2 Elementary Schools in my Town every week. I teach 10 classes a week. The children range from 6 (super cute) to 12. All of my kids have a lesson every two weeks which is above average. Some ALTs only visit their elementary school every 6 months.

During the lesson, one homeroom teacher usually stays in the room with me. Some teachers do work at their desks and keep an ear out for rowdy kids (of which I have very few) and other teachers get involved with the lesson and play the games or do activities along with us.

I make all my lesson plans for the Elementary school. I try to keep everything very song and game oriented although sometimes we use worksheets to practice writing letters or our names.

The kids don’t have to learn English and they have no testing or real curriculum. You are there to expose them to foreigners and foreign language/culture and break down barriers. The kids have short attention spans and so expect to do a lot of songs and games. Energy is a MUST. In theory, this makes English more fun and accessible and easier to tech at Junior High School.

-Fred De Condappa

Junior High School

Teachers arrive at school by around 8:00-8:15am. Teachers’ meetings are held in the morning. These may be every day or a couple of times a week.

Most schools hold daily homerooms. You will not attend these unless specifically asked to by a homeroom teacher.

There are generally 6 classes a day. Each class is 50 minutes with a 10-minute break. First class usually begins at 8:55am. Periods 1-4 generally precede lunch, with periods 5 and 6 making up the afternoon teaching section.

Cleaning - Most schools require the students to clean a specified area of the school every day or two. You may be assigned an area to oversee the cleaning of.

Clubs / bukatsu - Participation in club activities is usually compulsory for junior high school students. The club activities offered will vary. Sport dominates; although music other clubs catering to various aspects of Japanese culture may also be offered.

You will do a self introduction lesson. Think VISUAL, bring pictures, a calendar of the big cities in your country, an old yearbook, a teen magazine from your home country, a poster of your favorite sports team, your old Mc Donald’s uniform. Play your favorite song (be careful of the content here). Warning about pictures, don’t bring something unless the students can touch it. Try to enlarge your pictures on a color printer (there will probably be one at your school). Remember to keep things light and fun!

- Fred & Darby

Senior High School

I work at one school with about 1000 students aged 15-18.

I have 15 lessons a week, which is about average. I do most of the planning for these lessons, except for the first year students. Some of the higher stream classes are grammar based and I just correct students’ sentences on the blackboard. I have enough free periods to get the planning done in school, so I rarely bring work home with me.

I teach with five different JTE’s, and each has their individual teaching style, which I adapt to. In every case the lessons are team teaching, so I am never expected to handle the class on my own. In some lessons I lead more and they back me up with the Japanese explanation, but in most instances we share the teaching equally.

The students are incredibly lively and curious. So be prepared to answer lots of questions about where you come from, and if possible, bring some paraphernalia from your home country that you can use to liven up the lessons and help them to understand your culture a bit more.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any teaching experience because you really learn on the job. There is also support form other JET’s, so you can share lesson plan ideas and help each other along the way.

- Adam Reynold