Japan isn’t necessarily the easiest country to begin a new life in. While being conversational in Japanese (or even having the same linguistic aptitude as a 2 year old, for that matter) will make the beginning stages of your move significantly less daunting, most of us didn’t hit the books as diligently as we should’ve before crossing the pond. How can one expect to uproot and start a new life in a country where you can barely communicate with the majority? How can you connect with people in a land that doesn’t speak your tongue, and where the overall English proficiency ranked 92nd best in the world? How can you manage simple acts of mundanity when you are immersed in an ocean of symbols from which you gleam only doubt and mental disarray? Having some helping hands to assist you sure sounds nice, doesn’t it. The English language is a hot commodity internationally, and fortunately for all of us weebs out there, the Japanese government wants to climb those proficiency rankings ASAP. And so, for everybody who holds a Japanese livelihood as one of their central ideals in life, the role of an ALT (assistant language teacher) might be your ticket in.
What is an ALT?
I feel like I’m beating a broken drum even by saying this, because if you’re interested in living in Japan, you’ve almost certsainly done som research on an ALT. If you haven’t, bless you for allowing my work to hold value. Simply put, an ALT is a native English speaker that is brought over from their country, and abruptly thrusted into a role for which they had been very poorly trained. They act as a living embodiment of what the kids should be aspiring to learn, but in reality, the kids hardly see you as that. The name of the game is dynamicism and adaptability, because no two schools or situations will be remotely similar. You’re brought into Japan and put to work in their public education system, but fortunately are not held to the same rigorous constraints as Japanese head teachers. Estimated at approximately 20,000 across the country, new ALTs are constantly in need, as thousands of people outgrow that position every year and move on to other pastures.
My Experience with Interac
Even though I can only offer my own perspective and experience as an ALT, I hope it may be of some help to some aspiring expats. So, I was brought over with a company called Interac, which is a recruiting company that finds native English speakers and works with the various Boards of Education (BOEs) across to Japan, and places them with the schools. They’re a company doing the effort of finding you and supporting you through the priocess of movign to Japan, so they take a significant portion of your pay. You really don’t get paid much with them, and if you’re like me, they’ll: put you in an oversized apartment that you don’t need to and can’t afford; place you in a rural driving position where you fork over 25% of your salary for a rental car; make you spend almost 2 months in hotels until moving you in to your apartment. That being said, I am so grateful for everything they did and acknowledge that it is exactly what needed to happen. I’m the type of guy who tries to appreciate every seeming setback as a nudge of destiny, and so they were all just necessary constituents of the life I was meant to lead. However, do your research and know what you’re getting into. I knew the cons of working for Interac, and so everything that’s happened doesn’t surprise me. If you know what you’re getting into, and maybe already start thinking about an ALT exit strategy, you’ll be golden and appreciate the ride.
Interac North Training
As an ALT for Interac North, you’ll have training in Sapporo. For me and my cohort, it consisted of 5 days of tedious monotony, often composed of draining drudgery that had your eyes peeled to the clock. However, some of it was really helpful information! And if you’re like me, you’ll try to soak it in and be fueled by the excitement of initiating such an exhilarating new stage of your life. Furthermore, the days of lecture and workshop are accompanied by afternoons and nights spent in a Japanese city, with new colleagues as unique and wild as you are. Savor your first experiences in izakayas, drink that last drop of draft Sapporo Classic in your pint, and remember to pour your sake for your friends. Oh, and the free buffet breakfast at the hotel every day was by far my highlight of the week, so definitely try to load up as much as you can.
The SCHOOOLSSSSS
By far, the most wholesome and heart warming aspect of this job–and what will stay with me–are the kids and daily life in the schools. I have prior experience working with kids and in elementary schools, and it’s truly a passion of mine in life. This being the case, I was still routinely surprised by the simple luminescence and vibrancy that these kids showed, day in and day out. Ok, they’re kids, so maybe I’m exaggerating and glazing over the memories of their irritating and immature antics, but I DON”T CARE! They were so genuine, playful, inspiring, and overall shining stars. They helped bring me back to Earth during days of debilitating mental scrutiny, and reminded me of the playfulness which I strive to embody.
I was placed in 2 public elementary schools, albeit in a town for which I had to drive 55 minutes each way (friggin gaijin, jacking up the real estate and messing with the rental housing market). In one school, I was mostly the assistant teacher, but was usually expected to have an activity planned each day. There was a head English teacher who worked with me, but she didn’t cover all the classes. In the other school, it varied class to class, depending on the homeroom teacher, their confidence to teach English, and my overall relationship with them. This was a very fluid arrangement, as some classes placed more responsibility on my shoulders, especially teachers who weren’t too confident teaching English. Like all relationships in life, each class is going to ask something different of you, and call you to be somebody new. So, my best advice is to just be prepared to adapt and learn from each day with as much resilient enthusiasm as you can. HINT: There are countless ALT databases that provide you activities and materials to use. My favorite was ALTOPEDIA, as they had games and activities for my textbooks. Although it felt like cheating the system at times, it made my job so much easier and created such lively and positive environments for learning in the classrooms.