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Elementary Schools and the ALT
Why do ALTs go
to Elementary Schools?
From about 10 years
ago, the Monbukagakusho (Monbusho) has conducted pilot programs throughout Japan to assess the
possibility of establishing English education programs in elementary
schools. Two such pilot programs are those at Nakagawa Elementary School in Ogaki city and Namazu Elementary School in Hozumi Town. There is a book
(only in Japanese) about the Namazu Elementary experience, but there is
also an overview of the Nakagawa Elementary experience entitled, "On
with the Sho!" distributed by ALTs.
If you can access
either of these materials, they make for interesting reading, although the
circumstances these teachers taught under are likely to be very different
from those that most ALTs and JTEs will currently face. Suffice to say that
the pilot programs were viewed as a big success since they exposed Japanese
children to English before the junior high school curriculum was to begin,
and Boards of Education across the nation wanted to duplicate this success
in their localities, often at the request of parents.
Currently, within Gifu, the teaching of
English at Elementary level has been reviewed and curricula have been/are
being formulated by teachers together with ALTs at these schools. Indeed,
this year has seen a surge in government backing for ES Japanese teachers
to take on the responsibility of overseeing the planning of the English
curriculum for their respective schools.
 How are ALTs sent to Elementary
Schools?
Most ALTs working
for local Boards of Education (BOEs) are sent to elementary schools in
addition to their junior/senior high school postings. These visits may be
once a week, once a month or once a term- depending on teacher demands,
school schedules and the number of ALTs in a given locality. Some ALTs are
hired exclusively to teach at elementary schools, in which case they are
often sent to several schools in a locality. A few ALTs, such as those who
worked at Nakagawa Elementary in Ogaki, are hired especially to work at one
particular school.
 What do ALTs do in
Elementary Schools?
Obviously, ALTs are
hired to teach English, but they are very often expected to do other things
at elementary school. ALTs come from all over the world and many of them speak other languages as well as
English. Japanese teachers may request the occasional "cultural
lesson", which may focus on the geography, clothing, cuisine etc. of
an ALTs home country. In this situation, it is very helpful to have at
least a spoken command of Japanese or someone available to interpret.
In addition, ALTs
are often requested to join the children in eating their school lunch,
which is quite a "unique" experience. You may be surprised to see
young students serving each other and their teachers
hot lunches in the classroom! Serving lunch is effectively part of the
curriculum. Vegetarians or others with dietary needs should notify the head
Teacher, in order to avoid confusion on the part
of children who WILL ask you why you do not wish to eat or drink something.
ALTs may also be asked
to play with the children at recess, or even help clean the school after
class! In this instance, comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended.
 Planning the ALT visit
It is often up to
the school to arrange a time for the ALT to come and visit. As previously
mentioned, school schedules often preclude regular English lessons, so it's
wise for ALTs to plan a one-off style of lesson which can be completed
within 45 minutes (the length of the class ). This is mainly because an ALT
may only teach the same class several times. This is based on the
"40-40-4 equation i.e. 40 students, 40 minutes, 4 times over any given
period (e.g. a month/term/year). Given this situation and the inevitable
variation among students and teachers, you could say that ALTs merely
"gently" expose children to the language rather than
comprehensively teach them as is the case in junior and senior high
schools.
With this in mind,
ALTs should look at the 1st year junior high English student
guide (currently New Horizon and New Crown in Gifu) for invaluable
ideas on appropriate vocabulary and expressions to teach. However, there
are also many resources available now.
As for the schedule
itself, it is useful for the ALT to contact head teacher at the school.
This person is usually a "veteran" who no longer teaches regular
classes. Contact this person (always in Japanese) and arrange for an
"uchiawase" (a short meeting) at least a week prior to the lesson
day. Very often, schedules will comprise of "back to back"
classes with little time to prepare for lessons- especially with the other
activities mentioned above.
ALTs who are at
elementary schools daily, should enlist the help of school staff to make
materials according to the lesson plan discussed in the meeting. Since
there is currently no set curriculum or textbook at most schools, the ALT
has a certain freedom to teach what he/she wants to do within limits.
The limits are
those mentioned above (40-40-4) as well as budgetary. And of course, the
children's attention span. The ALT should ask the head teacher if there is
a budget.
As a general rule,
first to third graders should not be expected to learn more than 10-12
words per lesson, while fourth to sixth graders can learn up to 16 words,
enough for bingo games. Likewise, no activity should take more than 10
minutes with lower grades and 15 minutes is the general limit for upper
grades. In this situation, a typical lesson plan would look this:
1. Greetings/
announcements: 2-3 minutes
2. Topic/phrase
introduction: 5-10 minutes
3. Practice of
target topic/phrases: 5-10 minutes
4. Production of
language/games: 10-15 minutes
5. Overview of
lesson/ comments: 5 minutes
6.
Good-byes/announcements: 2-3 ,minutes
Following this
plan, it's easy to see how quickly time passes in the lesson. If it runs
smoothly, the teachers and children will be satisfied that they learnt
something even if it's only once a term. However, if children, teachers (or
even ALTs!) are late, it can be unnerving, so it is of utmost importance
that both the ALT and the JTE are punctual. When an ALT is teaching,
students will only value a lesson if a teacher is perceived to view it as
valuable.
After the lesson,
it is always useful to ask the teacher and the students what they thought
of the lesson. If they say "Tanoshikatta" (It was fun) or
"Omoshirokatta"(it was interesting) then you know it was
successful. However, if you hear "Muzukashikatta" (It was hard) or
"Tsumaranakatta"(it was boring) then you have some work to do!
Some teachers have ideas on how to make a lesson better for their students,
so please ask them: "Kondo wa, motto tanoshiku dekiru yo ni, nani o
sureba ii desuka?" (What should Ido next time to make the class more
fun?).
Communication
As has been broadly
mentioned in the paragraphs above, communication among ALTs and elementary
school staff is an essential component of successful elementary English
lessons and cultural integration. You could argue that it is an ALTs duty
to learn as much spoken Japanese as they can master during their tenure
since it is unrealistic to expect the Japanese staff to always communicate
in English. The only exception would be where the ALT is working with a JTE or a classroom teacher who wishes
to speak English!
In general, the
success of an ALT's lesson in elementary school very much depends upon how
keen an interest they take in the students' own language and culture.
Personally, I can say that my current language ability is due in part, to
the kind guidance I've received from teachers and students alike over the
years.
Resources
1. Mr. Vinko
Boznyak, my former colleague in Kitagata town, has produced a practical,
user-friendly guide called "Elementary Gambare". Please email: aet_gambare@hotmail.com
for details and activities.
2. JALT, the Japan
Association for Language Teaching, holds monthly meetings on Sunday
afternoons at Heartful Square, JR Gifu Station.
Kids' English is featured! For more information go to http://www.jalt.org/groups/Gifu
3. ETJ is another
online group dedicated to helping English teachers in Japan. They are
accessible at http://www.eltnews.com
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