D: Danielle (interviewee)
K: Karyn (interviewer)
Before getting into the normal interview questions, I was interested to hear more about her French language ability and her experience with speaking French in Japan:
K: Have you ever used French in Japan?
D: Not really. There was a Belgian classical guitar player who played a concert in town, but he was more comfortable in Dutch. I do use French sometimes when teaching in elementary school. Their textbook uses other languages apart from English, so sometimes French creeps in there. I also often add French as extra content, but more for trivia and to impress the kids. Haha.
K: Okay, now on to the real questions about JET…How did you first learn about JET?
D: Well, my high school had a Japanese programme. I was able to take a few basic Japanese classes, and in my senior year, there was a trip to Japan just to go see all the touristy sights during spring break. One of the teachers supervising the trip was a former JET. She was one of the ESL teachers at my high school, as we had several exchange students who were NNS (non-native speakers), so I had never had a class with her before, however, while on the school trip, she told me a bit about her experience in Japan on the programme. It sounded really great! So that’s how I first heard about it.
K: When you first learned about it, how long was it until you were actually able to apply for the programme?
D: Okay, let me do the math. Let's see… I heard about JET in grade 12, and then applied in the fall of my fourth year at uni. So, 3.5 or 4 years or so?
K: Why were you so interested in JET, and what attracted you most to the programme?
D: Well, the applicability of a linguistics/B of A degree is pretty limited, and it's difficult to find a job in the field of linguistics without returning to school for a master's degree. My orginal plan was to continue after graduating and get a Masters in speech pathology, however, another 2 year degree on top of just finishing a 4 year bachelor's was a little daunting. I felt I needed to get some perspective and experience in the real world before jumping back in to the academic world. I knew I didn't want to get a boring office job somewhere locally, so I was looking at working abroad, or at least elsewhere. I looked at and applied for several programmes, in addition to JET. There's a programme called the Oddessey programme that you may have heard of. It's similar to JET, but run by the Canadian government. It sends English-speaking teachers to Quebec and New Brunswick, and French-speakers from Quebec and New Brunswick to English speaking Canada. There's also a French programme called L'assisstant du langue where you teach English in France. The latter one my sister actually participated in. However, it was very part-time and only for 7 months, so, JET seemed like the way to go. JET was also a good opportunity to keep up the Japanese I had already learned. If you don't use it, you lose it.
Anyway, I was actually accepted for the Oddessey programme too, but JET was always my first choice. Oddessey was a back-up because I wasn't sure what the future of the JET programme was going to be after the earthquake and tsunami. Well, I had already started the application process for both, but I kept going longer and longer with Oddessey, even though I preferred JET, because of the earthquake.
K: So, other than JET being a cool abroad experience, it was a practical application for your skills and building your resume before going back to school?
D: Yes, it was. JET is a great entry-level position. You only need a bachelor degree to get this full-time job, but it was also just to get a chance to explore a country I've held an interest in for years. I had visited Japan twice before JET, actually. Once in high school, as previously mentioned, then again in my second year of uni as an exchange student. I spent one month in Kyoto learning Japanese at Ritsumeikan University. Having lived in Japan for that short month really changed my perspective from tourist to local, and I really wanted more of that. One month was far too short, and now here I am, having lived in Japan for 9 months already, and looking at another 15 months at least :)
K: Did you know any Japanese before applying?
D: Well I learned some Japanese in high school. I took 3 semesters, but the first 2 as evening classes, and the last as self-study. I learned hiragana, katakana, as well as some basic grammar and vocab. This was pretty much what you'd learn in one semester at university. I then took classes for 4 years at university. I also took the summer course abroad, in addition to some Japanese linguistics courses that complemented my major, which taught me some finer points to Japanese grammar, phonetics, etc. I had taken and passed the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) level 3 before hand, and this July I'm taking JLPT N2. So, I guess you would say I had a very strong foundation.
K: Describe the application process and the interview process.
D: First I went to an info session about the programme that was being held at the U of A. I already knew that I was probably going to apply, but this session answered a lot of questions, and just increased my interest in the programme. I then went to the website and took a look at all the forms. It was all fairly easy to do, except for the reference letters. I was lucky enough to get one from a volunteer position I had for the previous two years teaching ESL at a local school. Then I asked one of my Japanese professors for another one. She was incredibly supportive and I had had her as a teacher for several Japanese classes, including a Japanese applied linguistics course which was all about learning Japanese as a second language, and Japanese people learning English as a second language. I was really fortunate to get two great references that were ideal for application.
Next, I just waited and waited after I submitted this application in December. Finally I got a letter in February, I think, saying I had proceeded to the interview stage. Now, because the interviews are done at Japanese consulates, I had to make my way down to Calgary for the interview. I drove down with a friend of mine who was also going for an interview. We were able to find some example questions for the JET interview online, so we drilled each other in the car on the way down. As for the interview, there were three interviewers: one from the consulate, one was a Japanese teacher at the University of Calgary, and the 3rd was another Japanese man, but I don't remember what his position was.
They all took turns asking me questions for about 15-20 min. The most difficult question was the one where I had to do a mock lesson. I was told that the three interviewers were elementary students and I had to teach them about three Canadian animals. I then had about one minute to think before presenting. Talk about nerve-wracking! But it worked out. The other thing was about speaking in Japanese. Although Japanese is not required for the JET Progamme, if you have some knowledge, it's a real leg up. So, because I put it on my application, they tested it out. One of them asked me “日本の料理の中で、何が一番好きですか?" (Nihon no ryouri no naka de, nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?) (“Of Japanese cuisine, what is your favourite?”), and I answered, confidently, “うなぎ！”(Unagi) (“Eel!”), to which one of the other interviewers replied, “めずらしい！” (Mezurashii) (“How rare!”). After that, the interview was much more relaxed. Haha. Yeah, I guess a lot of people pick sushi or something, but I genuinely love unagi. I then followed up with a short anecdote about eating unagi in Kyoto and how whenever my friend asked me what I wanted to eat, I would always say, “unagi”. Because I followed up my answer, they didn't ask me another question. It's really just to gauge your comfort level in Japanese, I guess.
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| Unagi on rice |
K: Do you have any advice for aspiring JETs who are looking to apply (regarding the application process, interview, getting accepted, etc.)?
D: Do your research! There's tons of info online, as well as forums, so there's no excuse for not preparing! Know what you're getting into and what the deadlines are, and ask questions if you're unsure! They are really strict about the forms so if you don't tick the correct boxes or put "NA" instead of "N/A" they will send it back to you. So read the instructions carefully! And prepare early! You need to give at least 3-4 weeks for a referee to write a reference letter; don't leave it until last minute! Also, go to the info sessions too!
K: Where did you request to be placed for your contract? Why did you choose this location? Did you get this location?
D: You're allowed three requests. I put number 1 as Kyoto, because I had already lived there for a month and loved it. Also, I knew the local dialect a little. For number 2 I put Hokkaido, because I love skiing and there's some world class ski resorts up there. Also the climate is very similar to Canada's and I don't like long hot summers. And for number 3, I put Hiroshima. I had visited there twice and it's a beautiful modern city. But of course, they rarely place people where they request except in certain cases, such as spouses or family members already living there, or if your hometown has a sister city relationship somewhere. I didn't get any of my choices, but it worked out great anyway!
K: So, where did you end up?
D: Fukushima. I'm in a small rural town in the Aizu region, which is to the far west of the prefecture. You do get to prioritize your placement in terms of rural, semi-urban or urban, and they generally respect your wishes. You usually get one of your top two. I specifically asked for a rural location so I would be forced to use my Japanese on a daily basis and so that I’d get the small town community experience. If you already know some Japanese, I'd recommend a rural setting. If you know none, it can be a little isolating. For example, the closest foreigner to me is 20 minutes drive in the next town over. But if you don't have much Japanese, ask for urban and you'll probably be placed with other JETs nearby and people tend to know more English in larger cities, especially tourist areas.
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| Air shot of the town from atop the mountains |
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| Street shot, inside the town |
K: So, on the JET application, do they give you a list of all the places you can choose from?
D: Yeah, they give you a map of Japan with all the prefectures marked, but of course many are unknown outside Japan. I mean, have you heard of Yamagata, Kagoshima, Akita? Not many applying JETs ask for those and not many JETs actually go to Tokyo. There's maybe 3 placements on tiny islands off the coast that are technically part of Tokyo, but that's it. You have to remember that the purpose of JET is to get native English teachers to areas that traditionally have trouble attracting foreigners, so if you pick something more off the beaten track, and actually get into the progamme, you're more likely to get your placement.
K: Describe the events of the days leading up to your departure. Do you have any advice for those about to pack up and leave home for a year?
D: Ok well as my departure flight was from Calagary, I had to make my way down there. The night before I left town, I had one last going away party with my closest friends and family. It was just a casual BBQ at my parents' place. Of course leading up to my departure I had been trying to visit as many friends as possible. I packed and repacked a million times, trying to keep the weight down. The morning I left was a little rushed though. Luckily, my dad had to be in Calgary for a competition, so he drove me down. In Calgary, there was an orientation where we met all the JETs leaving from the area and we got last minute info about what to expect when we arrived. We also got our passports and shiny new visas too, and there was also a reception at the Japanese consular's house.
The morning of departure, my dad had to be at a competition early, and we were running late, so when he dropped me off at the airport, it was a bit like ripping off a band-aid. No long lingering good-byes. "GOODLUCK ILOVEYOU SEEYOU HAVEFUN" zoooom! Then I hung around the airport for a few hours until others came around. I should say my family and I have a very loving relationship and it was only cause we were running late that it was that abrupt. Haha. Also some other JETs had their parents hang out with them right up until we had to board, so it's a mixed bag.
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| Calgary International Airport |
K: Do you have any advice for those about to pack up and leave home for a year?
D: Hmm…remember that Japan is a very modern country and many of the things you're packing are avaiable in Japan too, so if you forget anything, you will be able to buy it, or order it online, or get a family member or friend to mail it to you. So don't stress out about it. Also, pay attention to weigh limits on baggage as per the airline. One of the other JETs leaving from my airport decided to pay for an extra third checked bag (+220$) but packed with vacuum sealed bags, meaning she could pack a ridiculous amount of stuff. However, this put her bags way over the weight limit, so she had to run out and buy two more bags and repack on the spot, sending her total checked bags to five (+220$ per extra bag) plus additional overweight fees. You don't need that much stuff, seriously. Whatever it is, you can buy it in Japan. The only things I treated myself to was a French press to make coffee properly, and some tea leaves from home. The rest was mostly clothing and shoes because Japanese sizes tend to run small.
Also, make sure to pack clothes for several days in your carry-on luggage (including suit) in case your bags are lost. You wouldn't want to show up at orientation with nothing but your travel clothes, haha. Yeah that's about it for the practical side. Emotionally, just remember that thanks to the internet all your friends and family back home are closer than you think. I'm on Facebook very often with photos and updates, and calls back home are free on Skype, so it's not like you get dinged with long distance fees anymore. Since I talk with my family every weekend, it really doesn't feel like I'm living an ocean away.
K: What were the orientation sessions and training like?
D: Well there was a short one in Calgary before we left, then there's the three day Tokyo orientation. Then later in the month there's a prefectural orientation which is usually two days but in my case it was cancelled because Fukushima didn't have the funding after the earthquake. Some of the other JETs just organized our own on a Saturday. Oh, but if you're an alternate and come in group C, I think the Tokyo orientation is only two days. The sessions at Tokyo orientation are a bit of a mixed bag: some are teaching seminars, other Japanese learning stuff, others daily life things (e.g. cooking, driving, etc.). The lecturers are all JETs or JTEss (Japanese teachers of English), so some are excellent while others maybe need more polish. But I think the best thing about orientation is the chance to network and make friends with other JETs in other prefectures, as well as get to know the new JETs in your own prefecture coming at the same time as you. What I did was collaborate with others and we split up to try to get into as many lectures as possible, then shared the key points afterwards. So that's about it really.
K: When did you learn what school you would be teaching at? Were you able to look up information about this school?
D: When i got my placement notification, I was told that I’d be teaching in this town I'd never heard of. I looked it up online, and all the info I could find was its location in Fukushima, and that it had a population of about 2000 people, so there wasn't any info at all. A little while later, I was sent a copy of the contract I'd be signing and included in that package was a little introduction to the area. At that point I was told I'd be teaching at the junior high, elementary and nursery school. There wasn't any info online that I could find. In fact, one of my future projects (hopefully this summer) will be to translate the town's website into English to make it more accessible to foreign visitors, but at the moment, there isn't much info online in English. I also knew that the area was famous for pawlonia wood, whatever that was. Now I know, because I've been living here, but at the time, I was like, ok even in English I don't know what that is. I found out it's a type of tree and its wood is very expensive. There're a few shops in town that sell pawlonia products, such as furniture but also art and carvings. Every town around here has got it's own traditional crafts, so it's kinda neat.
K: How was accommodation taken care of? Did you have any say in where you lived? Furnishings? How was shopping for furniture, etc? Modern toilet?
D: I took over the apartment of my predecessor. My situation was a little different in that my predecessor was still living in the apartment when I arrived. She was moving to another town and her new apartment wasn't ready yet because of some flooding we had in the area, so we actually lived together for two weeks before she moved out, which was great because she showed me the ropes. My apartment is quite spacious; I've got a large kitchen, and three tatami rooms. The bathroom is Japanese style, the bathtub and bathroom floor is a bit difficult to clean, and the shower and other water is run on gas. The toilet is western style, but there's no central heating. Although, I do have an air conditioner, a kerosene heater and a kotatsu. In the wintertime it gets very cold inside because there's not much insulation and any heat is lost quite quickly. I have to sleep with an electric blanket and in the morning, the temperature inside was usually about 2 degrees. However, this is typical in Japan, except up in Hokkaido where the winters are harsher and the buildings are newer so they tend to have western style insulation and heating. But the rent is really very cheap because I live in the countryside. I do know of some JETs who moved accommodations because they were unhappy with their location or their apartment in general, but you generally have to pay for the move. I'm very happy with mine. I live less than ten minutes walk from all of my schools. Some JETs don' t have to pay any rent at all or very cheap rent, while others pay quite a lot. It all depends on your location.
K: Do you know which locations tend to have the rent paid for by the contract school?
D: Bigger cities tend to. For example, in Fukushima city, there's an apartment building owned by the board of education only to house JETs, so they pay nothing. But this isn't a hard and fast rule. There are still JETs in Fukushima city who have their own places.
K: What were the first few days in Japan like?
D: Well my supervisor and my predecessor met me at Koriyama station when all of the Fukushima JETs came up on the shinkansen from Tokyo. My predecessor actually taught in three small towns in the area, but my town split off from the other two this year in order to focus on English. So I was in a unique situation in that my predecessor was still here. But she's fantastic and really helped me adjust. Now, because school was out for summer vacation, there were no classes, so the first day was spent doing errands, such as getting a cell phone, and filling in forms for things (such as my alien registration card and to get my own stamp/hanko). Then I was asked to help out with an elementary school summer camp, which was being run by the board of education (BOE). My BOE is very small and there's only six employees, plus me, and so I was able to get to know my coworkers quite well at the camp, as well as at the drinking party after. But apart from that, my time was spent at my BOE reading up on things, such as lesson plans from the previous few JETs, reading the textbooks, and re-reading the notes/sildes I had from Tokyo. I had a lot of free time. I also got tours of the schools and even though classes weren't in session, I was able to meet some of the teachers, and a students speech contest practice was in full swing, so I got to know the four students participating quite well. But that was about it until school started.
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| Koriyama Station, Japan |
K: How were the first days on the job? What were the other staff members like? How different was it walking into a Japanese classroom for the first time?
D: Okay, I'll go one by one. The first few days (after orientation) were oddly relaxing. All the Fukushima JETs were sent up from Tokyo on the shinkasen to Koriyama. I was then picked up there by my supervisor and the other JET from the area. It was a two-hour drive back to my new town, but we stopped along the way to do some errands (setting up my cell phone, etc). Then I got a quick tour of the town and was dropped off at my apartment. Of course this is in the summer time, so there are no classes. For the first three weeks of being in Japan, I was actually asked to help out with a summer camp for the elementary kids, so I helped set up tents, run activities/crafts, make campfires, etc. It was a bit odd, but after that camp was over, I was at my desk at the board of education, signing tons of paperwork, reading the textbooks and notes left by my predecessors, and other miscellaneous things. I was also asked to help out with the junior high's speech contest, so I would occasionally leave the board of education, and make my way there to coach the students on pronunciation, intonation, etc. So that's what the beginning was like for me. Of course, I was expecting to be much busier, so being asked to just sit and do paperwork was kind of relaxing in a weird way. But it was a fun start to my job, helping out with the camp and then the speech contest. I really just used the down time before classes started to get my bearings, catch up on my predecessors notes, and get to know the town a little.
Anyway, about my coworkers. My town is very small, so my board of education only has six people plus me, none of whom could speak any English at all, including my supervisor, apart from greetings (Hello, my name is), so that was a bit difficult, especially as my predecessor had great Japanese, and mine wasn't quite up to snuff. Of course, as time went by, I was able to understand more and more, so now I have really gotten to know my coworkers. But at least at first, it was a little isolating being the only non-native speaker in the office, but some of my coworkers really made the effort to try to include me in some of the conversations. You know, explaining in more detail a particular word/phrase, asking me questions to make sure I understood, etc., so I'm really grateful to them. But the most important thing was to be cheerful and greet everyone properly, so when I come in in the morning, calling out (loudly) おはようございます！, (Ohayou gozaimasu) ("Good morning!") and saying おさきにしつれいします (Osakini shitsureishimasu), when I leave before others in the evening. It just means, “sorry for being rude by leaving earlier”, to which everyone replies, おつかれさまでした (otsukaresamadeshita), which just means, “you look tired”. The idea behind saying "you're tired" is that you look like you worked hard, so it's okay for you to leave. It's a very useful phrase and it's a compliment in Japanese. Greetings are very important because if you don't say them it seems like you don't really care. It's the token gesture that counts :). Anyway, once I got to know my coworkers, and they got to know me, it's been a very positive environment at my board of education. But if your coworkers seem to be ignoring you or seem standoffish, it's probably because they don't want to embarrass you by speaking in Japanese when you don't understand, or that they're embarrassed that their English isn't good enough. It's not usually because they're not friendly, it's the language barrier.
K: Okay, and how about the classroom experience?
D: Okay, well I did get to know some of the students who were in the speech contest beforehand. I also knew the Japanese teacher of English (JTE) from working on the speech contest too. I did have some experience teaching ESL in Canada, but it was as a volunteer in an adult classroom, so there was a big difference in teaching kids versus adults as well. My classes here are very small; the smallest class has only five students, and the largest has twelve, so it's not really that overwhelming. Also, I'm not the lead teacher in the classroom. 95% of the time I'm team teaching, which means that the JTE will choose the lesson and will ask for my input on activities, worksheets, or maybe to give examples or explain a grammar point. I don't usually make up the lessons from scratch, so there's a certain lack of responsibility on my part, and if something goes wrong, there's another teacher there to jump in and help me out, so it's not that stressful. I try to keep a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom and now that I've really gotten to know my students, it's common for me to joke around and laugh inside the classroom and out. Of course, being in a smaller school with fewer students, I'm able to get to know my students like this, which is just not possible for JETs in large schools or multiple schools, so I'm in a really great situation.
K: So how did you find the first few weeks on the job?
D: The first few weeks were a little hard, as I didn't really know the students yet or what the extents of my responsibilities were. Also my JTE didn't know how much she could ask me to do. For example, after about a month, she asked me to brainstorm with her about extra projects to improve the English of our students, so I came up with two ideas off the bat, and a third we just started last month. The first two being a weekly diary project and vocabulary list (making a list of new words with the Japanese translation and using the new word in an example sentence). I've really seen a big improvement in the English writing of the students who've consistently done the writing projects. More recently we started an epal email writing exchange with a school in Saskatchewan. So even though it's been a lot of extra work, I've been able to take that on because I'm the only JET at that school and my JTE just keeps asking for more and more from me, which is great!
In my first few weeks, I was sitting around a lot with not much to do but a couple of suggestions from both myself and my JTE(Japanese teacher of English) have had great results! So if a new JET is not doing that much with their JTE, I guess just remember that you and your JTE are a team, so work together and collaborate as much as you can!!
K: What were the culture shocks you experienced?
D: Hmm okay, let me think. Of course, I had been to Japan twice before coming on the JET programme so I sort of knew what to expect, but there have been some things that were a bit shocking. Oh! I know. Japanese attitudes about catching colds and illnesses. You may know that the Japanese tend to wear masks around cold season, ostensibly to both prevent catching and spreading of colds. These masks have been shown to have no effect either way, but at the first sign of illness, you will be asked why on earth you aren't wearing a mask! Anyway, the cold meds here are also not as strong as back home. When you have multiple symptoms (e.g. a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat), you usually get one pill or powder for each symptom. So when I had a cold, I went to the pharmacy after seeing the doctor and came away with three different packs, each with different instructions on how often to take them, which was a little confusing to say the least. Also, even though I’ve always been taught that the most important way to prevent the spread of illness is to wash your hands thoroughly, most Japanese do not wash their hands often, or if they do, its very brief. And there’s often no soap so I have to carry around a little bottle of hand soap wherever I go because often bathrooms will not have any soap at all. That was very shocking for me. If a school has several students sick with the flu, they will often send the whole class home to prevent the spread of illness, or even shut down the whole school for a week. I just want to say, “MAKE SURE YOU ALL WASH YOUR HANDS!! Then you don't have to do this!!” Also, that anti bacterial stuff doesn't work! Flu is a virus, not a bacteria!! Anyway, it was a bit of a culture shock to find out that while the Japanese are very strict about cleanliness in certain areas, they are shockingly lax when it comes to hand washing. That's probably the two biggest shocks: the hand washing, and the different method of "preventing" colds and the flu.
K: Were there any cultural differences (customs, etc) that you wish you had been aware of before?
D: I wish I had learned the proper greetings and phrases in my Japanese classes. There are some stock phrases I use so often that I never learned in class. For example, お世話になります (O sewa ni narimasu), which means "thank you for taking care of me" when someone does you a favour or parents will often say that to teachers, implying, “thank you for taking care of my child”. Also ごくろうさまでした (gokurou sama deshita), which I had never heard and I still don't get the nuance as there's no direct English translation, but you often say it after an event or class to say “thank you for your time/ hard work”. So I think learning more stock phrases would have been useful as they're very common and I use them every day.
K: Any other customs you can think of?
D: Umm, enkai, drinking parties. Around the beginning and end of the school semesters are enkai season. A couple times a week I'm invited to these enkais by my coworkers, which are very expensive and have unlimited drinking. You can decline to go, but they're a great opportunity to network and get to know your coworkers outside of work. But they can also be very exhausting when you have had several in a row. It's a good thing that I have a strong liver, and it was a little shocking how drunk some of my coworkers can get, but it's totally acceptable to do so if it's at an enkai. I mean, you can go and not drink alcohol. I've done that several times, but you always get a little bit of flack, i.e. “Why aren't you drinking?!”. Usually if you explain you have to drive, they back off a little, but someone will often offer you a ride so you can drink. You don't have to bow to peer pressure though. Haha.
K: Would you recommend that students try to immerse themselves in the culture before departing for Japan? Or at least have some experience with the culture?
D: Yes and yes. If you do some research beforehand you will know at least a little of what to expect so the culture shock is not so severe. I recommend looking up stuff about other foreigner's culture shock. If you hear first-hand accounts about it, then you can definitely be more prepared when you're in the same situation. If you know nothing about Japan, and just jump in feet first, eyes open, well good luck, I guess. :)
K: Were you made to feel welcome in Japan when you were settling down? Was there an English-speaking community made available for you, or did you have to start to make your own friends yourself?
D: Well I'm the only English-speaking foreigner in my town but I made good friends with another JET who lives about 45 minutes away in another small town and she was always happy and willing to answer any and all questions I had. I was also given access to the Fukushima JET forums (now mostly defunct) and the Fukushima JET Facebook group. Facebook has been a great resource. There are so many JETs on Facebook and there are many events around the prefecture that are posted publically, so it's easy to find out about local events, festivals, meetups, parties, etc. Also if you post any questions on there, you can crowd source the answers, which is really great. If I hadn't know about that group though, it would have been probably very difficult for me to connect with other English-speakers.
K: Describe a typical day in the classroom.
D: Well I've got three schools the junior high, elementary and the nursery school, so depending on which school I'm in, it's a totally different ballgame.
K:Well, you don’t have to describe them all, so maybe just pick one?
D: I always come into the staffroom at all the schools and greet everyone and then check my class schedule for the day. I don't always know beforehand which grades I'll be teaching. At the junior high, my desk is next to my JTE's, so when she has a spare moment, we talk about the lessons for the day and any plans or activities she wants to do. Usually at the end of the previous day that I'd been at the school, we would have discussed what the plans for the next lessons would be, so usually I have activities/worksheets already prepared, but sometimes there are last minute changes. I usually have 2-3 classes per day at the junior high school, but more at the elementary school. At lunchtime, I sit in one of the classrooms to have lunch with the students. Depending on the class, sometimes we will make lunch "English question time" where the students will each ask me one question in English, or I will ask each of the students one question in English, just to get some conversation practice. There are four periods in the morning, then lunch, then two periods in the afternoon. After all the classes, there is cleaning time, which is usually about 20 minutes. All the students have their assigned tasks, and I usually help out by moving desks around and sweeping the floor, etc. After cleaning time, the students usually have club time and at this time, I either go help out with club activities, or if I have extra preparation to do for the next time I'm at the school, I do that instead. Since my school is vey small, we only have one club: volleyball. I'm not that athletic, but I do sometimes help out by collecting stray balls, or cheering on the students. I usually leave at about 5pm (I arrive at 8:30am in the morning). That's a typical day at junior high. Elementary is very similar, except I have a lot of short meetings throughout the day with the different home room teachers and have a lot more last minute preparation to do as I usually don't get a chance to meet with the teachers before the day of the class. And the students at elementary also don't have club activities, but apart from that, they're fairly similar.
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| A typical Japanese classroom |
K: Describe a special, or eventful day in the classroom (example, a festival day).
D: Hmmm, recently I got the opportunity to go along with the students at the junior high to their track and field event. We left the school on the bus at 6:30 in the morning and drove a couple of towns over to their sports ground. It was raining pretty constantly all day but we set up a large tent to take shelter under between the events. I became the semi-official camera woman for the event because all the other teachers were taking turns to officiate different events and I didn't have that responsibility. Also, the camera that I brought along was better at taking action shots than the old school camera, so I spent the day rotating between different events, cheering my students on and taking tons of pictures. I'm used to Canadian-style loud cheering at hockey games, so I really know how to throw my voice. I was probably the loudest person there. Haha.
K: What is the most significant thing you have learned so far in your experience as an ALT regarding teaching students? Any advice for future ALTs?
D: English is not just about grammar, vocab, and tests, it's about communication. If the students see English as a chore, as just boring grammar, then they will not be motivated to learn. As an ALT, our job is to bring enthusiasm into the classroom through extra content such as games, activities, etc. If you make the students enthusiastic about learning English, then you've won half the battle. That's not to say that grammar, etc, isn't important, but the JTE can handle that as well. What an ALT can do perhaps better than the JTE is bring that component of motivation to the students.
As for advice for future ALTs, you are not in this alone. You have your JTEs, your coworkers, you predecessor, your fellow JETs, as well as the vast resources of the internet to fall back on for advice. I can’t count the number of problems that have been solved by just explaining the situation to someone else to get advice or another perspective. Also, there are many ESL resources online, so if you’re having trouble coming up with a lesson or activity idea, there are plenty of websites to brainstorm with. So, don’t try to solve everything yourself, especially at first, and don’t be afraid to ask questions!!
K: Did you find yourself bogged down with work, or relatively free to explore Japan outside the classroom? During your holidays, where did you go, or what did you do?
D: I'm not that bogged down and I don't usually bring work home with me. I am busy during work hours of course, but I usually finish everything at school or at the board of education. There are days where I'm not so busy at work, at which point I usually study Japanese through the JET progamme language course through correspondence. Outside work hours, I do get lots of opportunities to explore Japan. I do have a car provided by my board of education (luckily) but due to the insurance, I am only allowed to drive it within the prefecture. That being said, Japan has an extensive public transit system. Japanese trains are very famous, but there are also cheap alternatives in highway buses, and I've used several cheap domestic airlines to crisscross the country. I've even taken an overnight ferry up to Hokkaido! During winter vacation (Christmas and New Years) I flew down to Kagoshima with a friend of mine. Kagoshima is on the southernmost big island near Nagasaki. Then we flew from Kagoshima to Soeul for a week. Flights to Korea from Japan are plentiful, and if you keep an eye on different websites, you can get really great deals! Recently, a new airline opened for business, and I was able to score a couple really cheap flights so I'm going to fly down to Fukuoka in September and a bunch of Fukushima ALTs are planning another ski trip up to Hokkaido in the winter. I'm looking forward to both. Also, during the spring, a friend and I rented a car and did a road trip around Tohoku and visited 4 different prefectures: Yamagata, Iwate, Akita, and Miyagi. It was during the off-season, so it was fairly cheap too! ALTs usually get twenty vacation days and I plan to use every single one! But you have to be aware that depending on your supervisor, it may be difficult to take these vacation days. The trick is to ask really early, months in advance if need be, and during times when there are no classes scheduled, for example, during new years, spring break, summer break, etc. Then it's more likely to be approved. I haven't been declined yet, but I've had two great supervisors. But that's the trick: ask early, be flexible on your dates, and go during school breaks, and then there shouldn't be any problems. Of course, you can still get time off when classes are on, but only a day or two, no long trips. Remember you are here to work, it's not a paid vacation.
[To view a short video clip of Danielle and her nursery school students advertising for the local winter fire festival, click here. They say, "Please come to the festival!"]
K: So, you mentioned you are planning to stay longer, is this under JET still?
D: Yes. You can re-contract on a year-by-year basis, up to three years, and then if your work is exceptional, you can renew for a fourth and/or fifth year. It's not automatic though. Your supervisor will meet with your teachers and coworkers and if you've been doing a good job, they will offer to re-contract you. They usually offer in late Jan early Feb, and you have to decide by mid-Feb, if I remember correctly. But even if you accept, you can still change your mind until you sign your new contract in August, though it's a bit rude to change your mind.
K: would you be staying at the same schools then?
D: I will, yes, but every JET's situation is different. You may be switched around schools, be given more elementary or nursery school visits, but it will all be within the same board of education. You usually don't switch towns, except in extraordinary cases, i.e. the earthquake and tsunami last year. There are a lot of coastal JETs who are now working elsewhere in Fukushima.
K: So why did you decide to renew your contract?
D: Well I was tentatively planning on staying longer than a year before I even arrived in Japan, but I really think to get the full experience, you need to stay for longer than one year. I only really started getting into the swing of things the third school term and now I've got all the day-to-day stuff both at work and at home down pat. There were also festivals and events that I missed the first time round that I will try to catch next year. I think the first couple months on JET are really trying to find your feet. Now that I know what I'm doing, and I've got a good network of friends, it's a whole different experience. In my second year of JET, I'm really going to hit the ground running!
One reason that some JETs stay is a lack of job/school opportunities back home. While that is a valid concern, I don't think it's a good reason to stay on with JET. I had another job offer (with the Oddessey programme teaching in English in Quebec that I mentioned earlier), and an offer for a scholarship to grad school. While both would have been great opportunities, I really wanted to spend more time on JET. If JET is your only option, it may change your attitude, and you may become resentful, so even if you think you'd like to stay in Japan longer than a year, always, ALWAYS keep your options open. Apply for other things you're interested in so you always have a choice. That's just my opinion, though.
K: What are your plans after JET?
D: I was thinking of going back to grad school eventually, perhaps to do a degree in speech pathology; however, I don't really think that career path is for me anymore. I'm really working on my Japanese, and I'm applying for a correspondence course in Japanese-English translation. I hope to eventually get certification in French-English-Japanese, but that's only a tentative plan for now. I'd love to keep travelling and working abroad, perhaps in a French-speaking country next. We'll see what the future holds!
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