I'm not dead, though some days I wish I was

It's been 5 months since my last post.
A lot has happened, and don't even know where to begin really.

I guess I could begin that I have begun looking for another job. Things happened earlier this year that made me realize that the years I have worked there don't mean much in the face of the number of business trips and a pattern of fuck ups that has forced me to reconsider whether I want to continue with the company, let alone until the end of my contract next year. Rather than looking for another contract job with lack of security, I have instead started applying to Japanese companies for permanent full-time roles (aka the 正社員/seishain) where I get some better perks, including better pay, not having to worry every year if I have another job, plus access to paternity leave (we're not expecting a kid just yet, but this perk will be helpful when the time does come).

Discussions with my wife and a recruiting agent left me at a crossroads on whether I should pursue a job similar to what I have now, especially with a few years of experience under my belt, or go or a role that best fit my interests. I tried looking at the latter, but found that many of the roles are very competitive, require taking an aptitude test, and/or require experience or skills that I do not have. In the end, we decided to focus on jobs that better match my current skills and experience. 

So far, I haven't had much luck. Some companies have reached out just to ask about my the kind of salary I'm looking for or if I have experience with certain software/applications. 

In the meantime, I'm getting back into studying JLPT again. I've applied for N1, but with the limited time I have these days, I've resorted to using apps to help with my studies, and it is rather useful to be able to spend some time doing studying commuting to/from work. 

On the other hand, I'm on another business trip in a rural part of the Chugoku region. I won't name the city, but compared to some other rural towns/cities I've been sent out to, this particular place isn't too bad. The hotel my employer has put me in has breakfast included, which is surprisingly rare in my experience, but it is welcome, and there seems to be a bit to see and do that's not too far from the hotel. Plus having the company car doesn't hurt in getting around. 

Given how much time it takes to get back to Saitama, going back home every weekend isn't feasible. Fortunately, I won't be here for too long, with the forecast being another 2-3 weeks here before I'm finished. All I can do in the meantime is continue my job hunt and preparing N1 JLPT.

Toji's Guide/Thoughts on Being an ALT

Ms. Baker (left) is best ALT waifu

In a rare change of pace, I'll be posting a kind of guide here today. I had actually written this up a few months earlier, but decided to hold off on uploading it until it was much closer to the end of my current ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) contract. I figured that since I'll be moving on to a new job at the beginning of next month, I should probably summarize what it's been like for me to be an ALT out in the woop woop parts (a.k.a rural) of Ibaraki  and things to be aware of, for anybody who is thinking of wanting to come to Japan to work. While some might think that ALT work is incredibly easy work, that's not always the case.

Note that these are purely from my own experiences only, and while some of these experiences and pointers may vary from place to place, other pointers are generally applicable to all schools.

1) ALT work does not pay much these days*. 

When I first started working as an ALT in Kamisu city back in mid-2016, I was earning about 13,000 yen a day - approximately 260,000 yen a month. However, after having to move to a different city, my pay was reduced to about 12,500 yen a day - around 250,000. In my current city now? I'm not even earning that. Due to some number manipulating on my employer's part, I'm earning about 12,000 yen a day - 240,000 yen a month. However, this includes the expenses to cover commuting to school. In my previous two cities, the commuting pay was separate from my regular pay.

Regardless of the company, anyone who has been an ALT will generally agree that these days, it's a race to the bottom for companies to pay as little as legally possible to ALTs. While it would seem at first glance that dispatch companies are being tight with money, it's more to do with the Board of Education being tight with the money - but not necessarily by choice. The problem is that the budgets assigned to them by their local/prefectural governments are getting smaller. Despite this, Boards of Education still want good quality ALTs, even if they can't/won't pay accordingly for said ALTs. Dispatch companies want to pay their ALTs more so they'll stay on, but they also want to win more contracts and build up their reputation throughout the country. So it's a snowball effect, starting with governments being stingy on children's education.

While I won't say avoid ALT work like the plague, I would advise that you carefully check how much you will get paid per day - or at the very least, per month. Some job advertisements will show the annual pay, but it seems to be an attempt to hide how little you will be paid. If you can, only take the jobs that pay at least 250,000 yen a month. Also, with the current situation of the CCP virus, dispatch companies are desperate for ALTs right now, and I would dare say that you might have a bit of room to negotiate. Just don't be too greedy if you do try negotiating.

This won't be a problem if you're only thinking of doing a year or two in Japan as an ALT, or using ALT work as a means to get a better job as soon as possible in Japan, but this is not the kind of work you would want to do long term. Some people can make this their living, but I've found those sorts of people tend to be few and far between.

*... However, this is from my experience working for a ALT dispatch company. Companies like Interac and Altia Central are examples of such dispatch companies. If you get lucky and work directly for a city's Board of Education, you will get paid significantly more (I spotted a job-ad not too long ago that was offering 290,000 yen a month), as there is no middle-man taking a cut out of your pay. However, from my own observations, it's rare to see a city's Board of Education advertise for an ALT. In my 5 years in Japan, I've probably seen only 2 - 3 positions advertised, and heard of a co-worker successfully get a direct-hire position. Also, you will most likely need a Japanese driver's license to be eligible for a direct-hire position.

2) Your role will vary depending on your schools. 

Officially, ALTs are there to assist the teacher in teaching English to students. In Junior High School and High School, this will generally ring true. At those schools, there will already be dedicated Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) to teach English. Your role there will usually be reading from the textbook, checking the students' work, and preparing any extra material that you think may be useful, such as English boards, worksheets and so on. Basically, you get the easy work, and it's no surprise that many ALTs would prefer to work at a JHS or HS. 

Elementary Schools on the other hand... well, that's a different story. Unlike JHS and HS, there's not always going to be a dedicated JTE at an elementary school. There will more often than not be at least one teacher there that can speak English, and therefore, your only point of contact if you have questions or concerns regarding day to day operations at the school (unless you've got some Japanese ability under your belt), but will either not be confident enough to run an English class, or may have other responsibilities running classes for their assigned grade. This means that you will more than likely be preparing the lessons, preparing the materials (assuming the previous ALT didn't leave any materials for you to use) and running the classes, with the homeroom teacher usually playing the assistant role. You may get lucky and have some teachers that will get involved in the lessons and planning process, but I have found that to be the exception, rather than the rule. If you're lucky to have a head teacher who has experience teaching English, and takes charge of lesson planning and running classes for some of the grades - enjoy it while you can. In my five years, I've only encountered two or three teachers who took the lead for the class; two of those teachers were involved in the planning process, while one planned the entire lesson, and kept me in the loop on what they would be doing for what lesson, occasionally asking for my input or ideas.

3) Not all students are created equal.

Presumably, if you're wanting to be an ALT, you should at least have a little bit of experience working with children, or at the very least have the patience to work with children. I mean, you are going to be working at a school after all. A school. Full of children.

While I have been very fortunate to have had pretty good students overall, that streak came to an end this year, with my 6th graders at my elementary school. One class is usually ok, but the other... fucking hell. I hate the class, and I have found that the source of why the class is so bad is down to most of the boys in that class being absolute pieces of shit - disruptive, won't listen, then complain they don't understand because they're disruptive and won't listen. You need to have patience with children, and if you don't have patience for children, or willing to learn patience, do not bother becoming an ALT. 
Generally 6th graders can be arrogant, because they are essentially the kings of Elementary school - of course this comes to a crashing halt the second they go in to Junior high school. But basically, you need to learn to keep your cool in front of the kids, regardless of what happens in the classroom.

In my experience, 4th graders can also be a handful. Oddly enough, despite my earlier comment about 6th graders being arrogant, my experiences have been generally positive aside from this year. The 6th graders I have worked with have mostly been shy, but rarely have they been disruptive. Though the 6th graders that I have worked with for more than 1 year I have found to be a bit more lively, but again, rarely are they disruptive, and I have found those kinds of students to be fun. 
This does carry on a little bit in to junior high school. The 1st graders are usually still full of energy and enthusiasm, though by the time they reach 3rd grade, it's pretty much non-existent - the weight of trying to pass their entrance exams to get in to their desired high school is on their shoulders, and I do not envy the kind of pressure that has been put on them. All I can do for them is help where I can. If they ask for my help, great. If they don't it, that's fine too.

More importantly, what you need to realize is that because you'll be working in a public school, not every student is going to be enthusiastic about learning another language, let alone English. Yes, you'll have a few that genuinely want to learn and improve their English, and in my experience - not just schools in Japan, but language learning in general - girls tend to take English (and language learning) more seriously than boys. That's not to say that there aren't boys who want to learn and improve their English, but you'll find it more likely that girls will be studying harder for English. So, if you aren't getting a good reaction from your students, it could simply be that they're not really in to English, and not necessarily a problem with you personally.
Of course, if you decide to work in an Eikaiwa, most of your students are there because they want to improve their English (or at least, their parents want them to).

4) Welcome to the rice fields, motherfucker. 

While you might get assigned to a major city, and be able to get by with zero or very little Japanese (more on that in the next section), chances are, you're going to be assigned to work in a rural city. Depending on your personal preference, this could be seen as a paradise of peace and quiet, or it could be absolute torture and boredom. If you're in the latter category, I'd suggest finding an apartment near a train station that can take you somewhere more lively for the weekend.

On the other hand, while it is possible to get to your school by bike or walking, having a driver's license from your home country will make you more appealing to ALT dispatch companies, as it means they can assign you to cities and schools where you might need a car. Most companies will provide a car  (for a certain monthly fee) to get to school and to allow you to go about your day to day business. If you do decide to go for a company car, the company will reimburse you for the daily cost of commutes to school, and will pay for the regular car inspections (the shaken/車検). In addition, they will cover any repairs to the car, provided it wasn't your fault. If you have a valid license from your home country, it means you have the opportunity to transfer it in to a Japanese driver's license. 

Also, being in a small rural town means news travels around fast. This also means that as an ALT, you could potentially face greater scrutiny if you're caught doing something you're not supposed to or, just as bad, be accused of something you didn't do (especially if you're a man). Potential punishment can vary between having to leave the city (and your employer having to assign you somewhere else quickly), to being outright fired by the company. I have known this to happen to some friends who are no longer ALTs, but have fortunately bounced back and are still living and working in Japan.

5) If you want better work in Japan, git gud at Japanese, gaijin.

While ALT dispatch companies will advertise that Japanese ability isn't required, it's partly true. While you might not need Japanese to teach English at your schools, you will definitely need Japanese ability to get by outside of school. If you happen to be assigned to a rural city as discussed above, Japanese ability is a must. Need to go to the doctor? You're going to need Japanese to adequately tell them what's wrong. Need to set up an account for your apartment's utilities or phone? You're going to need Japanese. Need to go to city hall for anything? You will need Japanese, but some city halls will have a booth dedicated to assisting foreigners, though I am not sure if this is standard across the country or not. Fortunately, some cities have night schools for learning Japanese, and it might be an idea to take it up if you're thinking of living in Japan long term.

Alternatively, you could work at an Eikaiwa school, which pays more than typical ALT work. However if you want a job in Japan beyond being an ALT or Eikaiwa instructor, you will need Japanese proficiency, along with physical proof of that proficiency. By that, I mean you need to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test - more commonly known as the JLPT (or 能力試験). Most non-ALT jobs these days will require that you at least have JLPT N2 certification, which is roughly the equivalent of advanced/business level Japanese, with N1 being considered the equivalent of native level Japanese. If you can at least get N2 certification, it will open up a lot more job opportunities for you within the country.

If you're intending to take the JLPT, there are plenty of textbooks available to purchase to cover vocabulary, grammar, kanji, reading and listening. The JLPT is held twice a year in Japan (first Sunday of July and December), whereas most other countries only hold it once a year in December. Registering for the test isn't cheap, but the benefit of having that certification is worth it.

6) The Summer Vacation - the good and the bad.

There are two things you need to be aware of concerning working as an ALT in public schools: Your schedule follows that of the school year, and you're paid based on the number of days you work each month. But the thing is, you will receive your pay the following month. For example, your pay for January will arrive in February. Since you won't be working in August because of the summer vacation, come September... see where I'm getting at here?

Some companies will pay between 50-75% of your regular monthly pay to help you get by until you receive your September pay in October. I believe Interac is one of the dispatch companies that does this. Unfortunately, my employer is not so gracious, though they do offer a little extra work during the summer break so I got a little bit of pay to get me through the following month, which was why I loved only having two weeks of summer vacation last year. In any case, it's recommended that before the summer break, you save up some money to help you get through September.

Also, be especially aware if you're starting in August (or even April), this is even more important, as your first pay won't arrive until two months later. Fortunately, my employer was upfront about this part before I moved to Japan to start work. At the very least, you should ask your employer what their policy is regarding pay for the summer break when factoring in the initial cost of moving to Japan.

In Conclusion

Those are my pointers for the moment, though I will be sure to update this post if there are any other key points that I think would be important for anybody who is wanting to become an ALT in Japan. However, due to the coronavirus, it's more difficult to enter the country at the moment, so you'll need to factor the cost of quarantine on top of everything else if you are able to get in to Japan

Lastly, while this post could be seen as hating on ALT work (and there are plenty of former ALTs out there who do hate the job with a passion), ALT work is not all bad. There is some joy in teaching students English, and see them improve over time. But as I mentioned earlier, this is not a long term job. At the very least, it's a good experience, and also a good way to move on to better jobs in Japan - provided you're willing to put that extra work in to be eligible for a better job. On top of that, though, you need to be prepared to accept that Japan is not exactly like what you see in anime and pop-culture. It's quite different from western culture in some ways, but in others it borrows a lot from it too, creating this weird fusion between old and modern. In any case, the first few weeks will be a little bumpy as you acclimate to your new environment, but if you're able to stick it out, you'll come out of it for the better.

At some point, I will probably shift this guide over to my main site, as this will probably get buried by future posts.

Taking JLPT Post CCP Virus

 So yesterday, I took the JLPT for N1. With the test that was supposed to happen in July earlier this year being cancelled, the organisers seemed to have been able to prepare for another JLPT in a post CCP Virus period. Like the last few years, I decided to stay overnight at a hotel in Mito near the station. With the government's "Go To Travel" campaign still valid at this time, I was able to book at a reasonable hotel for incredibly cheap - less than 3000 yen for a night in a semi-double room. Though I did receive discount coupons to use for the "Go To Eat" campaign, I didn't use it.

Unlike the previous years where the test was held at a university, the test this year (at least for those in Ibaraki prefecture) was held in a high school - at least for those taking N1 and N2. I'm not entirely sure where N3 - N5 exams were held, as the high school didn't look like it could accommodate for all levels (unlike a University). In any case, the organisers tried to enforce social distancing and ventilation as much as possible. Every second classroom was being used for the tests, and inside the classrooms themselves, only every second desk was being used. In other words, a classroom that can normally accommodate for 35+ students was only being used by half that number. I definitely liked this approach, as I couldn't stand the crowded rooms of past years. I hope this is the way tests will continue from here on out. 

While there were no convenience stores nearby, there was a Kasumi supermarket within walking distance. As I got to the test site early, I decided to head over to Kasumi and get something to eat, as the test began at 12:30, and I wouldn't have a break for another 2 hours. I ended up settling on a chocolate cream sandwich and some coffee.|
During the break, the high school had ample vending machines around the place. I ended up going to the seemingly main gathering area of the high school, and happened to find a coffee vending machine. Unlike the usual vending machines you find around Japan, this one pours coffee in to a paper cup and dispenses it for you. It was also pretty cheap - around 100 yen for a cup. I settled for a hot chocolate for 90 yen. While the hot choc wasn't anything spectacular, for 90 yen, it got the job done of warming me up. 

As for getting there and back. Fortunately, it was only 1 stop away from the station by bus. As I decided to go early, the bus going to the test site wasn't as crowded. However, as it is the only bus that goes to the test site, getting back was another story. Just about everyone was lining up to get on the bus. Anticipating that the bus was going to be packed as always, and with this whole mess of the CCP virus, and the flu running around, I chose to walk back to the station. Even though it was about a 40 minute walk to get back, it was doable.  

So how did I think I went? I know I didn't even come close to passing this time. While I had a year to prepare, I didn't do as much prep as I would have liked - and I know that's my own fault. Despite being busy at my schools and having little time to study there, it's my own fault for not making time to study. Hopefully I will much better prepared for JLPT N1 next year in July - unless some other global disaster were to occur.

On another note, I noticed a lot of women at the test site taking selfies in front of the school. Why? Why would you even do that? It's just a high school after all. Eh, whatever.

マジか！？

Having realised that it's already February, and the JLPT results for December should be coming out soon, I checked online for my results. I really wasn't expecting to pass, considering I only did 2 months of studying between N3 in July (only getting the results back in September) and N2 in December.

...I passed? What. The. Fuck.

Granted, I barely passed. As in, just above 50% barely pass. As I expected, my reading section was pretty bad, and considering I did very little reading preparation in those 2 months, I wasn't all that surprised. To be honest, I'm not really satisfied with that result, despite it technically being a pass. If anything, I'm going to continue studying through my N2 materials (especially reading) before I think of taking N1.

This also means that I technically meet the minimum threshold of applying for jobs outside of ALT work. For the moment, I'm going to be staying on with my current employer, though I'm looking to move to another city. After 3 years in Chikusei, I really want a fresh start elsewhere.

Is JLPT an effective measurement of Japanese ability?

Surprisingly I passed JLPT N3 back in July. I honestly thought it was going to be very close, but it was a rather comfortable passing grade. However, my reading is still my weakest aspect. I did study for that pretty thoroughly, though I think I didn't manage my time, and mistook the amount of time allocated as being shorter than it really was, leading me to rush through that portion. Next time, I'll be sure to bring a watch with me to help manage my time.

Currently, I'm studying for N2 to take in December, and I've started thinking about the number of opinions I've read online with regards to JLPT qualifications, with many saying it is not an effective measurement of one's Japanese proficiency. I am inclined to agree with that and, obviously, I will explain why I think it's not effective.
Admittedly, I think saying it's not an effective measurement is not entirely true. It does test one's knowledge of vocab, reading, and listening skills. However, I think it needs one more section which I think is probably the most important and more relevant to people wanting to live and work in Japan: Speaking. I have read many people saying that they have passed N2 or N1, but their Japanese speaking ability is not up to that same level. I believe that if Japan was serious about having foreigners getting qualifications for Japanese language proficiency, I believe they need to make a separate section for speaking.

Back when I was doing Italian many years ago in High school, there was a proficiency test called the Dante Alighieri. It was in a way the Italian equivalent of the JLPT. What would happen is that one date was set aside for students to take the written part of the test (usually at your own school), but a separate date was set for the speaking portion. When I took it at that time, it was held at a university campus so you could have everyone gathered at one place. You would be assigned in advance a time and a room for where you needed to go, and then do your speaking test. It was usually in two portions - First was relating to a specific topic or theme, and the second portion was general conversation. I remember when I did this test, and took my final exams for high school, I had the same examiner for both of my speaking tests. She was pretty chill, and didn't put any pressure on me for a response, showing she really understood the stress that students were under during exam time, especially something like speaking in a foreign language. I don't think I did that well overall, but I remember I was at ease during both instances, probably more so for my high school finals for the fact it was a familiar face.

In addition, the Japanese reading/writing and speaking systems are two totally different things. When it comes to reading/writing, the way a kanji is read can vary depending on what kanji it is paired with. You can get an idea of the meaning of a kanji, and still not know how to read it. Furthermore, two different kanji can sometimes have the same pronunciation. However, with speaking, you don't have to worry about that kind of difficulty. From the context of the conversation, you can get a good idea of what they're talking about. On the other hand, speaking does come with it's own difficulties - specifically keigo. While the concept of it is easy to understand, the fact that it has no English equivalent to relate to does make it difficult. I admit, I cannot use keigo all that well. I can use a few of the terms, but that's about it.

Considering that many jobs outside of ALT work require Japanese proficiency anyway, it would have been obvious that there should be some sort of test that would measure one's speaking proficiency. It's probably one of the most important skills to have on hand in order to get around Japan.
Of course, I could be completely out of the loop, and there turns out to be an actual Japanese speaking proficiency test that employers/companies recognize. If that's the case, can you let me know? I would certainly like to give it a try and add it to my resume.

Playing teacher for a day at JHS

（分かった、分かった、五ヶ月ぶりだ。）

Due to the English teacher being absent for the past two days, and one of the first grade classes hasn't had an important English lesson this week, unlike the other first grade classes, I was asked together with another assistant teacher to run an English class today. 
What's different in this case, is that unlike normal circumstances where I will just hang back, and check students' work in class while they're doing worksheets and such, I was going to be running the class jointly with the other assistant teacher. Her English is pretty good, and she has had experience teaching English at other Junior High Schools in the past, but has never taught at this particular school. On top of that, she's only at this school for two days a week, so she's not too familiar with how certain things go in a typical English class at this school. So with my knowledge of how the class is run, and an idea of what they were supposed to be doing today, combined with her ability to properly convey and explain key grammar points in greater detail in Japanese, we managed to make it work.
Fortunately, today's class was fairly easy, as it was revision for their upcoming end of semester test. The worksheet was already prepared by the English teacher previously, and I had already helped go through the material with the other first grade classes. The teacher and I covered each section with the whole class and checking answers, along with explaining the grammar points, and pointing out where to be careful, such as spelling. On top of that, I think this class is better than the other classes, and they generally behaved themselves, so it worked out in the end.

While I'm ok with hanging in the background and helping where needed for demonstrations, it was a nice change to help run the class directly. Especially when you get to use Japanese to help explain why they should be careful on certain points (such as taking pictures vs. talking pictures). However news came that the English teacher is doing better and likely to return in the next few days. The assistant teacher talked to me about the possibility of coming in next week on the day that I'm usually at elementary school to help her out with running the class if the English teacher is not back by then. She also talked to the vice principal about it, and he said he'd talk to my elementary school about it if the situation required it. While I wouldn't mind doing it again for this particular class, some of the other first grader classes can be a handful. However, between the two of us, I think we could  make it work again.

Unrelated news, I passed my JLPT N4, and am currently preparing for N3

The Gym and School Festivals

You may remember a little while back, that I had decided to go to a community center gym. Well, not too long after I started, I ended up stopping due to the ridiculous distance just to get there. Fortunately, my friend and neighbour told me of a gym that is closer - in fact, it is about 5 minutes away from one of the schools I work at, and decided to go there and work out. I will say that compared to the one near Kamisu City Hall, this particular gym is so much better. The gym itself is bigger, and the equipment itself seems to be newer, if not well maintained at the least. The one difference I noticed is that you have to set up your own weights for the dumbbells, which is a minor inconvenience, but it's still better than the previous gym I went to. Also, my friend has been helping me with developing a workout routine - as I am only going two days a week, each of those days is dedicated to working certain parts of the body (either upper or lower parts). Since my goal has always been about toning my body, rather than building muscle, most of the workouts are centered on control, rather than blasting my way through. I must say, it is certainly effective.
I can definitely see myself coming to this gym on a regular basis for a variety of reasons:
1) It's cheap
2) It's fairly close to the school I work at
3) It's less than a 10 minute drive to get there from my apartment
4) It's close to the supermarket
5) There is a FamilyMart nearby, where I can go study for an hour or two.

Yes, I've been studying at FamilyMarts these days. While going to the library is nice, the nearest library is a bit of a drive, and there are times when the library will be closed for whatever reason. Fortunately, most of the time, very few people turn up to the convenience store at any one time, so I can usually study with low level background noise, and not be bothered. Sometimes, some of my students will see me there and want to say hi, but it's not a big deal. The other thing I like is that unlike the library, I can eat/drink while studying.

Another thing I have done yesterday was go to one my schools' festival. To be honest it was less of a festival, and more of a concert. In any case, it was for the morning, so I did not mind. In fact I was very interested in seeing each of the year groups' performances. I had noticed during my time at this school that they had been practicing regularly for their songs/dance routines, so it was good to finally see the fruits of their labour. Unfortunately, during the few times where there was talking, the parents behind me were talking also, so it was hard to get an idea of what exactly the children/teachers were talking about.
After their performances, rice cakes (mochi) were made. I went back to the teachers' room, and there was mochi ready for me to eat. There were two types - one which was covered in seaweed, and coated in soy sauce (I think); the other was covered in kinako mugi - soy bean flour, and my favourite between the two. In the past, my girlfriend and I made kinako mochi, either for Christmas, or the New Year. Turns out there was plenty left, so the teachers gave me two take away containers full of mochi to eat. I still have them in my fridge right now, but I ate all the kinako mochi from one of the containers, and I'll probably eat more with my next meal.

That is about it for this month. I am still studying for my JLPT, despite the exam being on the 4th of next month. I am struggling with the grammar, but I'm powering through the vocabulary, especially with the textbook I bought in Kyoto before starting my job.