English Motherfucker! Do you speak/read it!

My work has taken me to another part of Japan that I have never been to before - the Chugoku region. This is the first time that I've been here, but due to my work, I haven't had much time to go sightseeing. I had a bit of scare yesterday with a slight fever, but it looks it's gone today, so it's probably more than a slight cold due to the recent cold weather. Glad that it's not the CCP virus again, especially being so far away from my apartment.

In any case, I thought I would talk about some things relating concerning applying for ALT work. Being on the other end of things this time, I see a lot of mistakes that can be easily avoided, and I thought I'd share some pointers. While these pointers are not a guarantee that you will get a job as an ALT with any dispatch company, it would definitely help improve your chances.

1) Any email sent to you by dispatch companies should be read in its entirety.

There's going to plenty of important information sent in emails from employers, so it is important you read it in its entirety. This can range from how orientations or interviews will be run, asking about your availability based on certain dates or times, to what to do in the event that you are not able to make it to an interview or orientation in time. Considering you're applying for a job that requires teaching English to children, not being able to follow basic English instructions isn't a good start in making an impression with your future employers.

Simply replying "I will be there" shows that you did not fully read the email

2a) If you have tattoos - say so

Anyone who has lived in Japan or has learned about Japanese society will know that tattoos are still a taboo thing. This is because tattoos are still associated with the Yakuza - the Japanese mafia. Obviously working in school with children, visible tattoos aren't exactly projecting a kid friendly image. 
If you try hiding this fact, it will come out at some point - in which case the school will tell the city's Board of Education, who will give your employer hell for it, which in turn will lead to your employer giving you hell for it. There will be a good chance that the Board of Education will want you kicked out of their city, and if you're lucky, your employer may assign you to a different city but you're more likely to be fired. So basically, don't lie about your tattoos.

And another thing, don't get tattoos after you've been hired - companies still reserve the right to change their minds, and when they find out, they can and will withdraw their offer. I say this because there are people out there that have been dumb enough to do this. 

2b) Don't lie about your Japanese ability.

This is more for your sake rather than the employer's sake. While Japanese ability is not necessary to run the classes, you are going to need some Japanese ability to communicate with teachers, especially at elementary schools, where there's not always going to be a dedicated Japanese English teacher, unlike Junior and Senior High schools. Some teachers at Elementary schools may be able to speak English, but to what extent will obviously vary from school to school. If you have over exaggerated your Japanese ability, it's going to unravel very quickly when you begin at your school, which is going to piss off your teachers, and piss off your employer for lying. 

I've seen this happen, leading to ALTs resigning, and citing that their Japanese ability is not sufficient enough for their assigned schools. Dispatch companies will assign ALTs to schools after factoring in everything - including Japanese ability. 
It's better that you be more modest when it comes to assessing your own Japanese ability - at some point, you will have to demonstrate your Japanese skills to your employers.

3) If you don't pass, don't be a dick about it. 

Even though you feel that you did well in an orientation/interview, sometimes things don't turn out the way you want it to. That's just life. But that doesn't give you a free pass to act like a piece of shit about it. You think employers are going to consider you in the future if you send childish or dickish emails that show you for who you really are? If anything, it would confirm the employer made the right choice in not hiring you. If you want to reply, simply leave it at thank you for your time, and would look forward to another opportunity in the future. This will leave a much more pleasant impression of you. 

That's all I have for the moment for advice about applying for Japanese ALT dispatch companies. Most of these tips would seem pretty obvious and self-explanatory, but with what I've seen in my job since joining in April this year - there are some pretty dumb people out there.

Online classes for the first time

Since late August, Ibaraki prefecture (among many other prefectures) had been under a State of Emergency (here on out referred to as SOE). What this entails is that people are required to work from home (where possible), restaurants have their hours shortened to only open until 8pm - and no alcohol to be served during that time - and schools, although technically open for classes from the beginning of this month, are to have online lessons.

In my city, this is the first time for all teachers to run their classes online. Of course, for students to be able to attend online classes, they need laptops and access to the internet. For the former, Ibaraki prefecture has had some sort of special funding by the central government where all schools are being supplied with Chromebooks for each and every student to use, and all schools have had their internet infrastructure given upgrades to allow all students to access the internet via their chromebooks when they're at school. However, for those who do not have internet access at home (and there are a few students here and there that do not), and for those who do not have any parents at home to supervise them (due to work), the school is open for them, and they can still do online lessons using the school's internet.
However, because the classes are online, it's possible to run a lesson with all classes from each grade attending at the same time - so for example, if there are four classes worth of second graders, you can run the class for all to attend at once - basically leaving teachers with more time freed up after class. For the last three weeks, I've run a few online lessons for my elementary school. I was a bit nervous with my first lesson for a couple of reasons. For one, as I'm looking at a camera, rather than students, it was hard to gauge reactions of students to see if they're paying attention, understand, or have no idea what I'm talking about. The other reason, is that because most of the activities I do in class require some sort of direct interaction with teachers or with other students, I've had to adjust my activities accordingly. One activity I normally do, is "small talk" where the home room teacher and I will split the class in half, and the teacher and I will go to each student asking one question for them to answer (which we explain/demonstrate before the start of the activity) - this ensures that the students have to speak English, while it also gets the home room teacher involved, and by setting an example, it gets the students to also try (in theory anyway...). Instead, what I have had to do, is pick students at random to do small talk (of course, with a demonstration first with the teacher), as there's not enough time to go through two classes worth of students for this exercise.
Another change I have made, is using powerpoint slides. Normally, I use the blackboard, but in this case, to make it easier for students to see and understand, I've been preparing powerpoint slides instead to explain certain grammar points, or as flashcards for students to practice pronouncing the vocab. For my first class, it seemed to go well with them. On the other hand, with more time freed up, as a result of doing both classes at once, I have more time to prepare lessons and powerpoint slides. 

The SOE will actually be wrapping up on Thursday, with Friday meaning the return of regular classes. Honestly, I'm looking forward to it, as I really don't like sitting at my desk at the teachers' office for long periods of time. That, and being able to interact with the students will be nice too.

Company Meeting: The Other ALTs

On Thursday, there was a meeting for all the other company ALTs working in Kamisu. I have been told that this is a monthly thing, but more importantly, it was an opportunity to meet the other Kamisu ALTs that work for the company. Before this, I had only met two that lived next to me, and one other I met at the ALT barbeque that was held just before the semester began.

While it was mostly an introduction session for the new ALTs (specifically me, and one other person), it was also gave an insight as to what everyone did during the summer break. Some went back to their home countries to visit family and friends, some traveled to other parts of Japan, while others just stayed in Kamisu for whatever reason. In addition, I was able to speak to some of the ALTs as to their thoughts on the company and working as an ALT in Kamisu. Most were critical of the company as a whole, but had no problem with the current coordinators for Kamisu - I agreed with them regarding the coordinators, as they come across as being particularly friendly people, and easy to approach for any questions that I had. 

I also had a chance to speak with ALTs who used to work at the schools that I am working at now. One of the schools I work at 3 days a week, one ALT said was a pretty good school, and very few troublemakers. However, the other school where I work 2 days a week didn't get such praise, something I started to take notice of when I was teaching there earlier that day. I found that the home room teachers were either busy doing their own thing, or were just not in the classroom. In any case, I was left to run the entire class on my own, with little assistance - and this did become a little problematic when trying to demonstrate a game to the students, and despite being able to speak Japanese, I am not allowed under any circumstances to speak it while running the class - that responsibility is left to the teacher that is supposed to be there. Fortunately, I was able to make do with what I had.  In any case, I suspect it's not because they don't like me personally (I've only been there for a total of 3 days so far), but it seems it's more of a case of being cautious of ALTs in general. I have heard both from Japanese teachers and fellow ALTs that earlier this year, there was a high turnover of ALTs, which has led some schools to be bit wary of incoming ALTs. I have noted that at the 2 day a week school, I do not feel welcome. Of course, there is the typical Japanese polite to your face act that I'm familiar with, but I feel that behind that, the teachers just do not want me around. This is completely the opposite to the 3 day a week school, where some of the teachers will come up and talk to me and ask how things are going, and generally just want to get to know me, and usually stay in the classroom, follow the lesson, help me out when I ask, and translate my instructions in Japanese for the students so they understand. After these 6 months, I would gladly stay on at the 3-day a week school if given the offer. However, for the 2-day a week school, I have no problems going to a different school if given the opportunity. 

After the meeting, I decided to go hang out with some of the ALTs for food at Gusto, and just chatted about general things. However, they did give me some advice about the shower in my apartment, which has proven to be problematic with hot water. Turns out I need to completely max out the hot water before slowly introducing cold water. Yesterday, I had the first comfortable shower since arriving in Kamisu 3 weeks ago.

Being able to meet the other ALTs proved to be a good experience. On top of meeting new people, I also got a better understanding of life in Kamisu, and some useful tips on work and living matters.

Before Work: Visiting the Schools

Today I went with my coordinators to visit the schools that I will be working at starting from tomorrow. For confidentiality purposes, I won't name the schools I will be working at, but I will describe my experiences from today's visit.

The first school we went to wasn't all that far from where I live. Maybe 10 minutes or so by car. We were greeted by one of the teachers who explained how things run at school, including my lesson plans, and the weekly schedule, and where and who I would be working with on Friday. We also had a tour of the school, which I noticed was a very wide school. Along the way I was introduced to the various teachers. I found them to be rather friendly people, and they all seemed to be surprised when I spoke to them in Japanese. I also had to introduce myself to everyone in the teacher's room in Japanese. One thing I noticed was that they're mostly young people (though the teacher who had been giving us a tour of the school and giving me the explanation really wanted to know my age, and told everyone my age *laughs*). My coordinator commented after that I probably be able to get along with them more easily because they're closer to my age.

The second school we went to is a bit further away compared to the first school - possibly 20 minutes. The visit was fairly brief, with an introduction to one of the teachers, along with the vice principal, and again, another self introduction in Japanese to everyone in the teacher's room. They also explained that while I will have no classes tomorrow, there will be a ceremony for the new semester, where I will have to introduce myself to all the children at school. Since it's the entire school, I can't really use flash cards to reinforce what I say. However, I plan to print out the Australian flag at least.

After school tomorrow, I plan to do my lesson plan for the first school on Friday. Fortunately, there were notes left from the previous ALT, so I do have something to work from. I also do not have class until 2 period, so I will have a bit more time to prepare.

Considering I have to wake up early tomorrow for an 8am start, I should probably go to sleep now. I will be sure to post about my first day experiences tomorrow.