What is an ALT?

Hello again friends!

This will probably be my last post until after Tokyo orientation in the first week of August. Today I will be addressing what exactly an assistant language teacher (ALT) is and what this job entails in terms of the JET Program.

What is an ALT?

ALTs are assistant language teachers that engage in language instruction and make up over 90% of all JET Program participants. They are assigned to local boards of education (BOEs) or elementary, junior high, or senior high schools. As ALTs, we act under the guidance of language teachers or Japanese teachers of English (JTEs) as specified by the supervisors and/or principal of the board of education or school.

ALT duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting Japanese teachers in foreign language classes taught in elementary, junior and/or senior high schools.
• Supervising foreign language activities, during or after school in elementary schools, junior and/or senior high schools.
• Preparation of class materials for teaching a foreign language
• Providing information on language and other related subjects for people such as teachers’ consultants and foreign language teachers (i.e. word usage, pronunciation, etc.)
• Helping out in extracurricular activities and club activities (i.e. class activities, homeroom activities, student council activities, club activities, school events.)
• Assistance in foreign language speech contests (i.e. speech practice, judging, grading.)
• Engagement in local international exchange activities.
• Other duties as specified by the contracting organization.

Where do ALTs work?

As mentioned above, ALTs work in BOEs, elementary, junior, or high schools. Now how this works may differ from each BOE/city/prefecture so I will be using my city (Hirosaki) as an example. Please do not take all of this as fact for all placements but this is what has been outlined to me in my contract and from my BOE.

Base Junior high ALTs

Base JHS ALTs work at a local junior high school. ALTs report to their base school every day and are expected to adhere to their school's rules and events. Depending on the school, JHS ALTs may also visit up to 3 elementary schools within the same school district. Otherwise, they work exclusively at their base JHS. At the JHS level and above, the JTEs will handle most lessons and speak English at a fluent level.

**This is my placement so I will be working exclusively at one JHS and will not be required to visit elementary schools. My experience on JET will reflect this throughout this blog so please be aware that I will be unable to give a perspective on having to visit more than one school.

Base Elementary School ALTs

Base ES ALTs work at a local elementary school and will also visit other elementary schools in the same school district. ES ALTs teach classes with the homeroom teachers (HRTs) and are very busy due to the age and energy level of their children. ALTs tend to have more of an active role in the classroom due to this and the staff at an elementary school don't typically speak English, so you may require a higher level of Japanese when working with them.

Visiting Elementary School ALT

Visiting ES ALTs are based at the local Board of Education office. They visit rural schools that do not have a base ALT. This typically requires a higher level of Japanese as well, as most of the staff will not speak English at a fluent level. 

How many ALTs are there in each prefecture?

The number of ALTs will differ between each placement. My BOE in Hirosaki will have 20 ALTs this year. This is an increase from the 16 there were for the 2018-2019 year. 

A couple of cities in the Aomori prefecture (such as Fujisaki, Hirakawa, Owani, and Hiranai among others) will only have 1 ALT while other cities, such as Aomori city, will have 31 ALTs. The Aomori prefecture is divided into 6 regions with 36 cities in total for us to be spread over and there will be 161 of us in total within this one prefecture, with ALT placement density varying anywhere between 1 and 31 ALTs per city/town.

Again, this information just reflects the Aomori prefecture but gives you a decent idea. 

I hope this information was useful and gave you all an idea of what an ALT's job entails. I am very excited to be embarking on this journey and please feel free to comment or email with any further questions!

Hirosaki, Aomori Japan

For those of you reading this (be it now or in the future) that have been accepted to the JET Program and still have not heard about your placement, please be patient! Your local consulate has to wait for the consulate in Japan to find an available placement and for that BOE (Board of Education) to accept you before they can deliver the information back to your country/consulate. I did not receive my placement until June, about one full month after the others selected from my consulate, because I had been an upgrade. I finally received the email and took a look at where I would be spending the next 1+ years of my life. Hirosaki-shi (city), Aomori-ken (prefecture). I was, for a brief moment, very surprised that I'd been placed so high up on Honshu!

Now, unless you've studied Japan, have a heavy interest in the country, or have lived there, you more than likely have not realized that the islands that collectively make up the country of Japan all have their own names. The island of Honshu that I've mentioned is the largest/longest island of Japan. You can identify this island by remembering that the well-known cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima are all on this island.

More about my placement

As mentioned above, I have been placed in the beautiful city of Hirosaki, which is located in the Aomori prefecture. This prefecture is located in the Tohoku region of the main island known as Honshu.

So Hirosaki is located in the South Central Tsugaru region of  the Aomori prefecture, in the Tohoku region of Honshu. If that isn't a mouthful, I don't know what is! I don't expect anybody to remember these things but I thought I would take the opportunity to pass along a bit of information!

It was surprisingly difficult to find much information about Hirosaki past the fact that they have a castle and that it is a wonderful place for hanami (flower viewing) each year. That is part of the reason I have started this blog. I was lucky enough to run across one (http://mystudyabroadjapan.blogspot.com/2014/11/hirosaki.html) and reach out to the author about her time spent there. I want to make information more readily available and while ESID (every situation is different), I think any information or experience will be helpful! Even after my initial search brought up limited information, I immediately fell in love with Hirosaki. It is beautiful and has many interesting things to learn about it.

For example, did you know that there are over 2600 cherry trees (of over 50 different types) around Hirosaki castle that make it one of Japan's top hanami sites?

Above you will see Hirosaki castle during cherry blossom season (April-May). This castle was built in 1611 by the Tsugaru clan. It is a three-story castle tower with fortified moats, castle gates, and corner turrets (Yagura) that have survived the times or were gently reconstructed. It sits on a park of .6 square kilometers (almost half a mile). Originally,the castle was a five-story keep but it was struck by lightning in 1627 and burnt to the ground. These three-stories were rebuilt in 1810 and in the only one in the Tohoku region of Aomori that was not rebuilt in the modern era.


Above you will see one of Hirosaki's fortified moats covered in cherry blossoms. Hirosaki park is one of Japan's best cherry blossom spots, as previously stated. There are numerous picnic spots and you can rent a row bot to travel the moats. It is illuminated at night and there is an annual festival held from April 23rd to May 5th, when the trees are in full bloom. The Hirosaki Botanical Garden is on the park's South East corner and the Aomori branch of the Yasukuni Shrine is to the North.

I've not received full confirmation but my predecessor has mentioned that our apartment is about a 5 minute bike ride from the park!

Did you also know that Hirosaki produces almost 22% of ALL of Japan's apple crops each year? And that Aomori prefecture produces almost 56% as a whole?

Hirosaki Park itself is home to over 1300 apple trees of 65 varieties. At the production experience garden, visitors can have a hands-on experience in sorting and bagging apples, pruning the leaves, and exploring the garden. The りんご の いえ (Apple House) has over 1250 apple products from sweets to crafts and the cafe's menu includes apple curry, pork tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), and apple soft serve! (They also have apple cider whiskey for those of us that enjoy a glass every now and then!)

The Aomori Prefecture is snowy!

Each year, Hirosaki receives an average of anywhere between 100 to 150 centimeters (approx. 39 to 59 inches) of snow! Thankfully, I come from Northern Michigan in the US so I am no stranger to this terrible white sky-hellion. With all of this snow, Hirosaki has held an annual Yuki-Doro (Snow Lantern) festival since 1977. There is a main exhibit where large snow structures, based on historical architecture, entertain visitors. At night, the park is illuminated and visitors can enjoy mini-kamakuras (igloos) that are lit with candles. The snow lanterns are all hand crafted by locals and are all lit at night as well!

All-in-all, I am very excited to be moving to such a beautiful and unique city! I hope you all enjoy following me through my time here and I hope to be able to post pictures like this of my own soon!

Introduction!

Hello everybody!

My name is Courtney and welcome to my blog! Please be patient with me, as I've never blogged before. However, starting August 4th, I will be living and teaching in Japan and wanted to chronicle my journey so that others could follow it. I hope that this blog will help others that will participate in the JET program in the future, especially those placed in Hirosaki or the Aomori prefecture. Here is where my story begins:

In October of 2018, I applied for the JET Program. I completed the multi-page application, wrote the two-page essay, chose my two references, and gathered all of my documents. The almost 3 month wait after applying seemed to be the most excruciatingly slow time period but I finally received an email in late January telling me that I had passed the application process and had been selected for the interview stage. やった! I had applied in 2017 previously and had not even made it that far, so things were already looking up!

In late January, I drove the two hours to my nearest consulate and waited with other hopefuls until my name was called. The interview lasted no longer than 15 minutes before I was off and driving the two hours home again. It's so hard to believe your chances ride solely on paper and within 15-20 minutes. Then it was on to another 2 months of waiting. In late March, I was alerted that I had been selected as an alternate. I wasn't upset, as I'd already made it further than the last year. Much further really, as I hadn't been outright rejected at either the application review or interview steps. I pushed it to the back of my mind and continued with my life as a Study Abroad Coordinator, working for Youth for Understanding (a wonderful non-profit educational exchange program!). 

Suddenly, the second week of April rolled around and I received a call and email from my consulate's coordinator. I'd been selected to be moved from the alternate to the short list! Crying excitedly in the bathroom at work, texting my family and friends, all seemed like a dream or a fog. It still didn't really hit me that I was actually going to Japan, something I've wanted since I was a child, with JET until July hit and it all became more real. I jumped into gear and was making lists, selling things, planning goodbyes with family and friends. That is where I am currently. I leave two weeks from Friday, July 19th, to uproot the life I've always known and begin a new adventure in the beautiful city of Hirosaki. 

I am inviting you all to follow me on this journey! I cannot guarantee how often I will update but I will try to make myself do it as regularly as possible. Please read my next post to learn more about the city and prefecture I will be living in for at least the next year!