Assistant Language Teacher

The role of an ALT has two main duties: Providing fun and effective English lessons and Internationalizing Japanese youth. It’s true that Japanese youth are exposed to many Western influences through TV, movies, music, and fashion, but the population in Japan is approximately 98.5 percent Japanese and only 1.5 percent foreigners. Therefore, Japanese youth have very few opportunities to interact with foreigners, let alone practice English communication. Having direct experience and interactions with foreign people and their culture often has a more visceral and lasting influence. Therefore it is important for ALTs to help bridge this gap by giving students first-hand knowledge and experience of different cultures, as well as providing fun and effective English lessons. However, the nature and responsibilities of an ALT are slightly different in terms of teaching in elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools (*Positions are mostly available for elementary and junior high schools. There aren’t many positions in high schools).