Types of ALTs
Here in Iwate, there are two main types of ALTs: Prefectural and Municipal.
​
Prefectural ALTs work for the Prefectural Board of Education and are generally assigned to a single high school where they perform their work duties. Other Prefectural ALTs may work in other government run educational institutions, such as the Education Center.
​
Municipal ALTs work for each municipality's (town or city) Board of Education and are assigned to multiple schools. These schools are usually elementary and middle schools within the district, and the number of schools assigned varies between municipality.
​
Private School ALTs are ALTs who have been directly hired by a school. This means that their CO is the school itself, in comparison to the Prefectural and Municipal ALTs, whose COs are their respective Boards of Education.
Japanese School Environment
Japan is very strict about having different shoes for different levels of cleanliness. Before your first day, be sure to purchase a new pair of indoor shoes for everyday use throughout the school. Style doesn’t matter as long as they are only used inside. Although you may not be required to dress exactly the same as your Japanese co-workers, taking your job seriously is important, and therefore wearing appropriate clothing is as well. A good guideline is to start formal and ask your supervisor or coworkers specifically what you can dress in after you get settled in.
​
General everyday wear for men:
Summer (Cool Biz Season)
-
Short sleeved dress shirt/ or regular dress shirt with sleeves rolled up (wearing an undershirt may also be ideal if you sweat a lot)
-
No tie or blazer required
-
Regular suit pants
All other seasons
-
Long sleeved dress shirt
-
Tie and blazer
-
Regular suit pants
General everyday wear for women:
All seasons
-
Dresses/shirt + skirts (knee length or longer)
-
Business casual shirt and pants
-
Women’s work attire is generally quite flexible as long as it fully covers your chest. Wearing shorter sleeved clothing in the summer is also an option if you need to cool down, but don't come to work in something like shorts.
-
School Life
Classes/Teachers/Students
On your first day (or soon after), ask for a copy of the student overview book (生徒一覧(seitoichiran)) and teacher seating chart. Use them to remember people’s names and get familiar with the staff.
It’s hard to remember every student’s name, but going over the list before class regularly should help you commit them to memory.
Lunches
If you make your own lunch, every school should have a refrigerator to store staff members' lunches.
If you would rather buy lunch, most schools will have a system where you can order lunch in the morning and/or lunch ladies who come around to sell lunch to the staff. You can also buy lunches beforehand from a nearby grocery or convenience store.
English Club
Many schools have English clubs. While Japanese English teachers are expected to volunteer to lead or support club activities, ALTs don’t have the same social obligation. That being said, the school will likely want you to participate in the English club. It is not a part of your contract so they can’t force you to, but think beforehand about if you would like to volunteer your time. You may also volunteer for other non-English clubs if there isn’t one at your school.
Your Supervisors at School
An English teacher will be your direct supervisor. You can ask them about anything including things outside of work. They are likely to be busy, but if you give them time to help you with bigger outside-of-work things (at least one week's notice), they will likely be happy to do so. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Chances are they are happy to have the opportunity to use the English they have studied for so long.
Your Vice-Principal is technically in charge of you, and so sometimes you will be told to go to them for guidance instead.
Regular Work Day
Use the staff entrance to enter the school. After you enter, change your shoes for the day. You will usually be assigned a locker to put your personal belongings in.
Start time varies depending on the season but is generally 8:30 AM. Every day when you enter the teachers' room, you must stamp in with your hanko (seal) that will have been provided for you.
At the start of the day, you will have two teacher meetings. The second one is sectional so you can work on lesson prep during that time.
There are staff only washrooms in the school, with both Japanese and western style toilets. In Japan, everyone brings their own hand towels, so no paper towels are stocked.
You will have a designated desk as well as a work computer. Schools should have all the office supplies you will need already in stock, so look around or ask someone if you can’t find something.
After School Cleaning and Other Small Tasks
Students clean the school after classes in Japan. If you aren’t put in charge of a cleaning room, stay at your desk and keep working until your time is up. If you are put in charge of a cleaning room, you will oversee a small group of students as they clean the classroom. You don’t have to participate yourself, though you can assign them roles and check to see if they have done a good job. After the students finish, you can collect everyone and confirm they finished. Everyone then usually claps and leaves for the day.
Various other small tasks may also come up, like PTA meetings, cultural/music events, etc.
Job Responsibilities
Lesson planning is a large part of your job as an ALT, and the basics are covered during orientation. A tip for team taught lessons with your JTE is to be proactive about scheduling and planning, so you have a chance to talk with them at least a week before the actual lesson.
Test making support is another one of your core responsibilities. This may include proofreading, creating content for term tests, recording audio for listening sections, and marking student essays.
​
You may also be asked to assist in the following:
-
Proofreading and translation: assisting the community in proofreading and translating documents depending on your language ability
-
Public speaking: giving speeches to foster cultural exchange with the community
-
Speech contests: judging local English speech contests
-
Training seminars: attending national training conferences run by CLAIR
-
Teaching foreign language to adults: teaching evening or weekend classes to a broader audience of working adults
-
Prefectural Advisor (PA): assisting JET participants in their day-to-day life in Iwate from the perspective of an ALT