Different Types of ALT
Here in Iwate, there are two main types of ALT: Prefectural and Municipal.
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Prefectural ALTs work for the Prefectural Board of Education and are assigned to a single school (a high school) where they perform their work duties. Other Prefectural ALTs may work in other government run educational institutions, such as the Education Center.
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Municipal ALTs work for each municipal (town or city) Board of Education and are assigned to multiple schools which they attend on a scheduled basis. These schools are usually elementary and middle schools within the district that they have been assigned to. The amount of schools one can be assigned varies between municipal.
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Private School ALTs are ALTs who have been directly hired by a school, usually private. This means that their CO is the school itself, in comparison to the Prefectural and Municipal ALTs, who have their Board of Educations as their COs instead.
Japanese School Environment
Japan is very strict about having different shoes for different levels of cleanliness. One thing you will really want to buy before your first day is a new pair of dedicated 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 so is wearing appropriate clothing. A good guideline is to start formal and ask specifically what you can dress in after you get settled in.
General everyday wear for men:
Summer (Cool Biz Season)
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Short sleeved dress shirt/ or regular dress shirt with sleeves rolled up (wearing an undershirt may also be ideal if you sweat a lot)
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No tie or blazer required
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Regular suit pants
All other seasons
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Long sleeved dress shirt
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Tie and blazer
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Regular suit pants
General everyday wear for women:
All seasons
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Dresses/shirt + skirts (knee length or longer)
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Business casual shirt and pants
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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 coming to work in shorts is not a good idea.
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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 should help you remember them at least just for the class.
Lunches
Every school should have a refrigerator to store the lunches of staff who have made their own.
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 will 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 hope you can participate in the English club. It is not a part of your contract so they can’t force you to do so, so think beforehand about if/how 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 weeks’ notice), they will likely be happy to do so. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Chances are they are happy to use 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 him/her 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 given a locker to put your personal things.
Start time varies depending on the season but generally starts at 8:30AM. Every day when you enter in the teacher 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 Japanese culture everyone brings their own hand towels to dry their hands, so no paper towels are stocked.
You will have a designated desk that probably comes with a 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 anything.
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 but in charge of a cleaning room, the small group of students will be assigned to you, as you oversee them clean the classroom. You don’t have to participate yourself. Instead, you can assign them roles and check to see if they have done a good job. After the students finish, you can have gather up 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 hopefully you have learned the basics already during orientation. A tip for team taught lessons with your JTE being proactive about scheduling and planning, so you talk with them at least a week before the actual lesson.
Test making support is another one of you core responsibilities. This may include proof reading, creating content for term tests, recording audio for listening sections, and marking student essays.
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You may also be asked to assist in the following:
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Proofreading and translation: assisting the community in proofreading and translating documents depending on your language ability
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Public speaking: giving speeches as a part of cultural exchange with the community
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Speech contests: judging local speech contests
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Training seminars: attending national training conferences as per the JET Programme
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Teaching foreign language to adults: teaching evening or weekend classes to a broader audience
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Prefectural Advisor (PA): assisting JET participants in their day to day life in Iwate from an ALT perspective