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ALT Survey Results
In September, 2002,
we distributed a survey to ALT's in Gifu Prefecture in order to
ascertain what new types of information they would find most useful. We have been very thankful for the many helpful
responses we received, and we kept those responses in mind while compiling
this website.
Here we are posting
results from that survey so that you can see what other ALTs felt were
pressing issues about teaching in Gifu Prefecture.
I. Statistical Analysis
1. For the first
question: "Do you feel you have adequate resources to team-teach
English?";
64.7% responded
"Yes",
35.3% responded
"No".
2. For the second
question: "Do you feel you have been adequately prepared to
team-teach English by your host institution?";
41.2% responded
"Yes",
58.8% responded
"No".
We asked ALT's to
rank which type of resources not currently available to them in order of
which would be most useful. Here are the
results of that ranking:
1. Communicative
Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 77.5 %
2. Games Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 54.9 %
3. Basic Teaching
Methodology Overview . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 52.0 %
4. Workshop
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.5 %
5. Quick-Reference
Grammar Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.5 %
6. Website Access .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.5 %
We were also
curious about the internet-access available to ALTs in Gifu Prefecture. 94.1% of those surveyed have unlimited internet
access at work and the other 5.9% have access for an hour or more per day. HOWEVER, as this survey was distributed exclusively
online, these statistics are essentially meaningless.
II. Feedback and Commentary
This brings us to
the commentary section of the questionnaire. We've included ALT feedback for two main reasons. The first being that we want to show you what
thoughts we had in mind while compiling this document. The second reason is so we, as ALT's in Gifu Prefecture, can begin to
share our opinions, concerns, and ideas regarding our roles here.
Following are some
observations and conceptual questions about our roles as ALTs in Gifu Prefecture:
·I don't know
exactly what is expected of me. I also don't know
where to begin. What am I supposed
to be teaching? English, I know,
but what exactly [?] Vocabulary,
grammar, speaking ability, etc. [?]
·I have no idea
what to do or what I am doing, since this is my first time teaching. There has to be more than pronouncing words, reading
sentences, and playing games with the students. But I understand that this, like any other job, has
OTJT (on the job training), learning as you go.
·[Do you feel you
have been adequately prepared . . . at your host institution/school?] Not by JET or my school NO! Not at all. But, this is my
second year as an AET and my 7the as a teacher, so I am not really sure how
much because my case is very different from most AET's with no experience. I think new AET's are not given the training that
they should have in basic teaching methodology right away, if ever . . .
I do feel that the
things I have learned later in the year at meetings like Norikura and Tokyo
Second Year JET Conference have helped me. Gave me some new ideas and inspired me and helped
tailor my teaching experience to my role as an ALT. I have learned a lot from the energy, ideas, and
experiences of other AET's. But, I think that
AET's with NO teaching experience often really struggle. (I watched some of my friends do this!) They need some basic guidance or all those ideas just
go to waste if they don't know how to apply them.
[I] didn't feel
prepared when I [first] came [here], who does, but you learn . . . how to
use what's around you. Teaching takes
practice, and lots of it!
·Perhaps since I've
been here for a year, I am adequately prepared now. But when I got here, I
learned by the crash and burn method, and it was rough. I think some sort of pedagogue course would be really
useful especially with regard to the themes of
discipline in the class, getting students to not speak Japanese in English
class, and classroom motivation.
·I have never
taught before so I don't know how to teach anyway. But many of my teachers don't seem to know how to
operate using team-teaching so how am I supposed to know what to do?
Here are some
observations of team-teaching, JTE's, and schools in general:
·Since every school
has different concepts of what team-teaching is, it is difficult to be prepared
by the conferences. The phrase
"every situation is different" basically sums it up. It is up to the AETs and JTEs to decide how to
team-teach effectively.
·I feel I have been
prepared well by the JET Programme and have plenty of resources. It is just trying to get the teachers to explain to
me exactly what they expect and need that is the most difficult part.
·The text books
used are lacking in much information and the teachers aren't much more help
in regards to what they want from 'our' classes
·I think that JTE's
also need to learn how to teach in a team-teaching environment. It shouldn't all be left up to the AET's.
·Everyone's
situation is so different, I am not sure if this is possible. I have teacher's who can't hear, can't speak English,
or just don't understand half the time. And then, I have a couple teachers whose classes are
great!
·I am a certified
teacher in Canada and although I
don't have a lot of experience, I slid into my job fairly easily because I
can write lesson plans and I know how things should work in the classroom. The ALT at my school is supposed to create and teach
OCA lessons, write and mark exams of OCA. I am only adequately prepared
because of my teacher training. I would feel very
unprepared if I walked into this job with no formal teaching experience. I will recommend that my successor makes sure she
does not take on the responsibilities I have if she doesn't feel
comfortable. I would like to think that my school
would spend more time preparing future ALTs with less experience, but I'm
not sure. I think there should be workshops for
JTEs on team-teaching and leadership. Many JTEs are
uncomfortable with their English abilities and they are also uncomfortable
mentoring ALTs. A JTE with 5 35 years of teaching experience has a lot to offer
any ALT, especially when it comes to learning in a Japanese classroom. I think there also should be more workshops on lesson
planning and the purpose of the lesson for both ALTs and JTEs.
·It would be so
useful to have more resources but as an ALT it's hard to know what funds
are available and whether it's ok to ask for items for teaching. Especially because they may be things we use in one
lesson chapter but it may not be needed again for another year (with ALTs
changing it feels like a waste to ask, but it could be so helpful for
future ALTs too how do you deal
with that I wonder?)
Next, here are some
more specific suggestions for finding teaching resources and ideas about
team teaching:
·There really [are]
loads [of team-teaching resources] available if you look for it, resources
doesn't necessarily equal textbook as you know, and you don't have to have state of the art to be a good teacher!! Creativity, personality, a good teaching relationship
and a bit of cooperation go much further than for example, a half-hearted
game copied out of a book five minutes before the lesson, or a video on
Blackpool.
·I am really lucky
to have unlimited internet access at my school. I don't know what I would do without it. I don't think I could do my job without it.
·I have all of
these resources [referenced in the 4th survey question], but the
ones I could not live without are website access and ALT Communicative
Activities books. Most of my ideas
come from the internet.
·There used to be
yearly activity books produced by the prefecture with games and activities
galore, a lesson plan from every JET in Gifu every year for ten
years, it's great!!! Don't know why they
stopped, I use them loads!
·More game ideas is
great cos then you can adapt to diff topics u teach in class not overusing games that worked for one topic but
might not for another! - I get these off
friends luckily, but wish I could get more people's ideas pooled.
·Games like
'karuta' should be avoided. Language learning
shouldn't be related to motor skill. Also, most Japanese
kids end up cheating or being devious about the means they use to win.
· I feel that there
should be more to team teaching or teaching English than games.
·To make
team-teaching more exciting I often use
suggestions for simple games from friend and add my own bits. Often the ideas at meetings are too detailed and
inadaptable. We should pool ideas more. Also I find it hard to make up games with lots of
opportunities for speaking my games seem to be mostly reading or listening
(and a little writing). I want to encourage
more speaking but in [a] fun way with less pressure to speak in front of
others.
·[In terms of how
much English teaching I do unassisted by a JTE,] I feel like I really am
team teaching! So 50/50.I write
most my lessons myself and bounce my ideas off my JTE's. Also, we brainstorm together if I am stuck on
developing a unit and basically share their ideas as well. They let me know
if they think there will be a problem with the lesson before we do it. And we always chat before and after the lesson and go
over my written lesson plan for the class and my outline for that unit.
Following here are
requests for things that ALTs would find particularly useful:
·[I would like]
advice on where to find simple things that are hard for us to buy in Japan (world music,
anthems, pictures, etc.). [These types of
things are] available on the net but not always easy to download and I
don't feel I can order stuff for school without lots of advance planning.
·[I would like]
updates on the NEWEST TEACHING METHODS!!!!!
·I would suggest
[to the JET Program administrators] keeping any more written paperwork to a
minimum. Between Tokyo Orientation, Gifu
Orientation, handbooks and other materials, I think we have been inundated
with a lot of reading! (see "note on the JET Program").
·[I would like] to
see some Jr & Elem classes being taught in person or on video tape, so
I can get a feel of what to do/not to do.
·[I would like]
some teaching plans for the elementary school level.
Elementary school
ALTs experience a situation quite different from their junior and senior
high school counterparts. Some of their
requests are particular to their situation. Here are some of the comments and requests from
elementary school ALT's:
·In my JHS,
resources are good, however in the elementary school, I'm starting from
scratch, and with no experience. It's kind of tough
making things up that will interest 6-year-olds
·[With regards to
team-teaching,] at my elementary school there is no such word as
"team", as I am the main teacher, and the homeroom teacher just
watches in amusement.
·I personally think
more focus should be spent on pronunciation at elem. school level. This is the most important time for getting used to
the sounds of English. It is an
established fact that the Japaneses' pronunciation of English is poor. Grammar and vocabulary can wait.
·When I'm at [my]
elementary school, I sometimes feel very incapable. I am expected to teach a whole class of youngsters
who can't speak a word of English. It would have been
nice to be more informed of activities/games/lessons that would help me
keep the students interested.
·More prep work and
material for the elementary school would be greatly appreciated, perhaps
even worth another JET retreat???
III. Future Editions and Feedback
We hope these
candid and honest comments by ALT's have been as enlightening for our
readers as it has been for us!
It would have been
ideal if we could have provided an open discussion forum in this website in
order to maintain a constant growing dialogue of teaching issues to focus
on. However, including such a forum is
simply not possible for this edition of "Communicative English". In the meantime, such online forums can be found at Dave's ESL Cafe and the Yahoo! GifuJETs Group.
This website will
be revised every year. Therefore, feedback
from our readers is ALWAYS appreciated! We rely on this feedback to determine which issues
are most pressing in the realms of Team-Teaching and Communicative
English in Gifu Prefecture.
If you have ANY
suggestions, requests, or comments regarding this new "Communicative
English" PLEASE drop us a line! Send an email to
the Education Center at:
p26727@gifu-net.ed.jp,p88999@gifu-net.ed.jp
Lastly, we'd like
to make a plea to ANY PERSON in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, who is NOT a
member of the JET Program to send us feedback concerning our site. This includes: Private ALTs, JTEs, and even students
or parents of students. We want to make
this site to be equally applicable to everyone concerned with the teaching
of English in public schools in the prefecture. Please let us know how you
feel about the information provided in this site. Does it address your concerns? Do you find our information biased in any way? Is it
lacking anything that you would find useful? Please let us know!
Thank you.
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