Japanese Middle, or Junior High Schools, have a number of interesting differences. I'll start from the minor items and work up to the more interesting things in different articles.
First off, the school day. There are usually six periods in a day. The classes and the order of classes are different everyday. For example, first period could be math on Monday, and then science on Tuesday. The subjects include: Math, Science, Social Studies, Japanese, English, Physical Education, Technical Education, Art, Music, Ethics and Home Economics. The standard subjects such as math and science are usually everyday. The other classes are rotated in and out, or are once a week. First period starts at 8:40AM at my school. The kids have to be seated for "homeroom" by 8:15AM. Unless you live the mountains or the middle of nowhere, there are no buses. They have to either walk or bike to school. Each period is 50 minutes and after classes are finished, club activities start almost right away.
There are all kinds of clubs for the students to join. To name a few: Basketball, baseball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, brass band, and art club. Since the time that the sun sets in Japan changes drastically from summer to winter, the times for clubs change as well. In the summer, it's usually from 4PM to 6:40PM. In the fall, it's from 4PM to 5:15PM. In the dead of winter, clubs are only until 4:15PM because it's pitch black by 5PM. This is a safety measure since most of the students do club activities, and most have to walk or bike home.
Lunch time. Lunch is after 4th period everyday. The students eat in their own classrooms in most schools. The meal is usually cooked up in a lunch center somewhere in the city, then delivered to the schools. The students get their lunches from where the lunch was dropped off, take it to their classrooms, then serve it to each of the students. Only after each student has been served can they start eating. After they've finished, they take it all the trays and dishes to where they got it from, so it can be delivered back to the lunch center for cleaning.
Next, cleaning time. After 6th period (or after lunch in some schools), the students clean the
school. Each class is broken into groups, and each group has an
assigned area to clean. One group could be the classroom, another the
hallway or the bathroom. Most schools only have the standard weapons for the war against dirt: dust cloths, brooms, sponges and etc. There is almost always no running hot water in the schools, so using dust cloths to clean the floor in winter can be... not-so-fun.
Breaks are also different. Winter break starts before Christmas and ends "some time" after New Years. This year the break started from 21st of December, and school starts January 7th. Here, the school year starts after spring break, in April. Spring break starts from the third week in March, to the second week of April. Those breaks are relatively long, but their summer break is quite short. It starts from the third week of July until September. As a matter of fact, they still come to school after summer break starts in Elementary schools. They get weekends off, but since most of the students have clubs, they usually come back on Saturday and some Sundays for practice or tournaments. In middle school, they have club activities throughout all of their breaks.
That's most of what I can say about the most basic things for now. Next time, I'll talk a bit about the role of teachers in schools. If you have any questions, please ask!
Showing posts with label ALT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALT. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Applying for an ALT Position
I work for Interac (also known Selti or Maxceed), as an Alternate Language Teacher. I've been getting a lot of questions about how I got this job lately, so I'll try to give some information for people who want to get into this line of work. I will be speaking from my experience from applying to Interac.
Requirements:
The only thing that you absolutely need is a college bachelor's degree. So, before you apply you should either have graduated and have your degree, or be graduating soon. Note that you need to be able to prove this with the actual degree or a scan/picture of it. Before I got the job with Interac, I applied for Amity. I didn't get the job seemingly because at the time I had an outstanding debt with my college and they couldn't check for my graduation status. The interview went well, but I was not hired since I could not show my diploma; even though I had graduated.
So being able to show that you have graduated (or will soon) is the first hurdle. I believe you will finally need to prove it after the interview.
Application:
I applied on-line through Interac's website. Much like any other on-line application, they will ask for some personal information. Items such as your full name, age, date of birth, current address and a picture. You will also be asked to give information such previous job experience and education. They will ask if you have any certificates such as TEFL. You don't need to have it to be hired (I don't have it), but I'm sure it helps. The application also has a field for the other languages that you know. They will also ask when you would like to take vacations. I'm not entirely sure why they ask this as the only time you'll really be able to travel is during the summer and winter. So I would put in dates between July-August or the end of December. Another item is where you would like to be placed if hired. You can put what you like here, but you are almost guaranteed to not get it in your first year. Don't worry and shoot for what you like. Two short essays are also part of the application process. Basically, they want you describe what kind of experiences you are looking forward to in Japan, your work ethic and experiences with children.
There is also a place to upload your resume. I would recommend telling them as much as you can about yourself here, especially in the essays. Show all of your work experience and that your are interest in working in Japan. The also want letters of recommendation so ask your professors and people from your previous jobs if you can.
Phone Screening:
Should your application go well. You will be asked to talk with one of their representatives. They will ask what the best day for you is and set a time. The times are usually in MST so be careful. During the phone call they will ask pretty much what you expect. "Have you ever been to Japan? Have you ever worked with children? What kind of person are you? Do you like long walks on the beach?" They basically ask the things that they didn't get to in the on-line application.
Speaking of the on-line application, there are two things that they want right about now. A TB test and a criminal background. Even if you are positive that you don't have TB (which nobody would -ever- have now) or that you have never killed anyone (...), you must send these in.
I personally think that the phone call is the first part of their personality screening. Sound bright, positive and show that you know the difference between liking kids and being able to work with kids.
Interview and Demo Lesson:
If everything has been good so far, they will send you an email and have you decide when and where you want to take your interview. Luckily for Interac, they have plenty of sites for interviews. So you shouldn't have to travel very far to get to one. There were approximately 20 people that took the same interview with me. The first thing they will do is explain a bit more about the company. How the company started, what it does, how you will work and some of the expectations of you should you be hired. After that, they want each of you to present a demo lesson in front of the other interviewees and a video camera. The whole demo should be under approximately 5 minutes long. They have a number of on-line sources that explain and show you want they want, but its basically four things.
1. Self introduction
Your name, age and a quick word. About 30 seconds to a minute long. The also want you to say something in Japanese. Even if it's as simple as "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu."
2. Reading
They want you to read a prompt in a clear voice, at a smooth pace. About 30 seconds to a minute long.
3. Sample Warm-up
A quick warm-up lesson about simple topics such as numbers, colors and vocabulary. A clear presentation of simple English in any way you like to a phantom class. Songs and chants are the most common. About 2 minutes long, give or take
4. Sample Lesson
Showing that you can set up a lesson with a couple of phantom students. Setting up the lesson, explaining the activity and encouraging your illusionary students. This is also about 2 to 3 minutes long.
You don't have to be super amazing or have a ton of experience, but show that you are willing to give it your best and that you have prepared. They want these to be clear cut and around 5 minutes long, so it would be wise to bust out the candle and mirror and practice... even just a little bit. The rest of the interviewees will not say a word, so you'll have to pretend there is a child there for the last two items.
After all of the lessons, you take a personality sorter and quick English test. The English test is just to check that you are not a brick, to be honest. I'm pretty sure I bombed it.... But try your best at it. It has things like, "Is this spelled correctly? Is this sentence correct? How does a GPS triangulate your location?"
Last, you will have a one on one with your interviewer. He will ask questions much like the ones during the phone screening. He will ask more personal questions as well, such as "What does your family think?"or, "Where do you see your self in two years?" At this time, they will also ask you job related questions such as, "What do you do if a child is being troublesome?" and "How many schools do you think would be too much for you?" The interviewer will also ask if you have any questions for him or her and that will be about it.
Look sharp and prepare. There are many people that don't prepare for interviews... That's fine but do look into the demo lessons. I believe it will help your chances immensely.
Hired?:
A couple of weeks afterwards, they will send an email bearing good or bad news to you. This whole process takes about 4-6 months, depending on when your applied. Since the times that you start the job are either in March or August, it would be wise to start in February or October.
I hope this helps anyone trying to apply to a company such as Interac or Similar companies. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Requirements:
The only thing that you absolutely need is a college bachelor's degree. So, before you apply you should either have graduated and have your degree, or be graduating soon. Note that you need to be able to prove this with the actual degree or a scan/picture of it. Before I got the job with Interac, I applied for Amity. I didn't get the job seemingly because at the time I had an outstanding debt with my college and they couldn't check for my graduation status. The interview went well, but I was not hired since I could not show my diploma; even though I had graduated.
So being able to show that you have graduated (or will soon) is the first hurdle. I believe you will finally need to prove it after the interview.
Application:
I applied on-line through Interac's website. Much like any other on-line application, they will ask for some personal information. Items such as your full name, age, date of birth, current address and a picture. You will also be asked to give information such previous job experience and education. They will ask if you have any certificates such as TEFL. You don't need to have it to be hired (I don't have it), but I'm sure it helps. The application also has a field for the other languages that you know. They will also ask when you would like to take vacations. I'm not entirely sure why they ask this as the only time you'll really be able to travel is during the summer and winter. So I would put in dates between July-August or the end of December. Another item is where you would like to be placed if hired. You can put what you like here, but you are almost guaranteed to not get it in your first year. Don't worry and shoot for what you like. Two short essays are also part of the application process. Basically, they want you describe what kind of experiences you are looking forward to in Japan, your work ethic and experiences with children.
There is also a place to upload your resume. I would recommend telling them as much as you can about yourself here, especially in the essays. Show all of your work experience and that your are interest in working in Japan. The also want letters of recommendation so ask your professors and people from your previous jobs if you can.
Phone Screening:
Should your application go well. You will be asked to talk with one of their representatives. They will ask what the best day for you is and set a time. The times are usually in MST so be careful. During the phone call they will ask pretty much what you expect. "Have you ever been to Japan? Have you ever worked with children? What kind of person are you? Do you like long walks on the beach?" They basically ask the things that they didn't get to in the on-line application.
Speaking of the on-line application, there are two things that they want right about now. A TB test and a criminal background. Even if you are positive that you don't have TB (which nobody would -ever- have now) or that you have never killed anyone (...), you must send these in.
I personally think that the phone call is the first part of their personality screening. Sound bright, positive and show that you know the difference between liking kids and being able to work with kids.
Interview and Demo Lesson:
If everything has been good so far, they will send you an email and have you decide when and where you want to take your interview. Luckily for Interac, they have plenty of sites for interviews. So you shouldn't have to travel very far to get to one. There were approximately 20 people that took the same interview with me. The first thing they will do is explain a bit more about the company. How the company started, what it does, how you will work and some of the expectations of you should you be hired. After that, they want each of you to present a demo lesson in front of the other interviewees and a video camera. The whole demo should be under approximately 5 minutes long. They have a number of on-line sources that explain and show you want they want, but its basically four things.
1. Self introduction
Your name, age and a quick word. About 30 seconds to a minute long. The also want you to say something in Japanese. Even if it's as simple as "Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu."
2. Reading
They want you to read a prompt in a clear voice, at a smooth pace. About 30 seconds to a minute long.
3. Sample Warm-up
A quick warm-up lesson about simple topics such as numbers, colors and vocabulary. A clear presentation of simple English in any way you like to a phantom class. Songs and chants are the most common. About 2 minutes long, give or take
4. Sample Lesson
Showing that you can set up a lesson with a couple of phantom students. Setting up the lesson, explaining the activity and encouraging your illusionary students. This is also about 2 to 3 minutes long.
You don't have to be super amazing or have a ton of experience, but show that you are willing to give it your best and that you have prepared. They want these to be clear cut and around 5 minutes long, so it would be wise to bust out the candle and mirror and practice... even just a little bit. The rest of the interviewees will not say a word, so you'll have to pretend there is a child there for the last two items.
After all of the lessons, you take a personality sorter and quick English test. The English test is just to check that you are not a brick, to be honest. I'm pretty sure I bombed it.... But try your best at it. It has things like, "Is this spelled correctly? Is this sentence correct? How does a GPS triangulate your location?"
Last, you will have a one on one with your interviewer. He will ask questions much like the ones during the phone screening. He will ask more personal questions as well, such as "What does your family think?"or, "Where do you see your self in two years?" At this time, they will also ask you job related questions such as, "What do you do if a child is being troublesome?" and "How many schools do you think would be too much for you?" The interviewer will also ask if you have any questions for him or her and that will be about it.
Look sharp and prepare. There are many people that don't prepare for interviews... That's fine but do look into the demo lessons. I believe it will help your chances immensely.
Hired?:
A couple of weeks afterwards, they will send an email bearing good or bad news to you. This whole process takes about 4-6 months, depending on when your applied. Since the times that you start the job are either in March or August, it would be wise to start in February or October.
I hope this helps anyone trying to apply to a company such as Interac or Similar companies. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Projects
I have a nice PC setup now!
To give more insight towards this "soul of a translator," I'm going to start posting about past projects and works. I'll talk about how they went, challenges, what kind of research I needed to do and my overall mindset from start to finish.
I doubt I can tell anyone "how" to translate, but I have high-standards for how translating, and a translator should be.
The ones in English will deal with Japanese to English translation. I'll also have English to Japanese translations, but the chances of those being in Japanese are higher.
To give more insight towards this "soul of a translator," I'm going to start posting about past projects and works. I'll talk about how they went, challenges, what kind of research I needed to do and my overall mindset from start to finish.
I doubt I can tell anyone "how" to translate, but I have high-standards for how translating, and a translator should be.
The ones in English will deal with Japanese to English translation. I'll also have English to Japanese translations, but the chances of those being in Japanese are higher.
 | |
| I knew him well |
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Never Can Say Goodbye
As it is coming down to the end of this school year, the question that I get the most from my students now is, "So what are you going to do next year?" Why do they want to know? If they are first or second year students, then they want to learn with me again the following year. If they are third year students, many have a younger sibling that are coming in and would like to hear about me from them. What I can't tell them though is, "no, I will not be here next year."
Originally, I had planned to stay another year in my area. Over the past year, I was able to make a lot of good friends. The kids are well behaved (for the most part) and the teachers were looking forward to working with me next year. Unfortunately, the Board of Education here has different plans. For the following school year, they intend to use a different company. I wouldn't really have anything to say about that if it wasn't for the probable reason of money. In Yamaguchi, they try to have ALTs in as many schools as possible. However, in recent years, they have be trying to cut back on the money that they spend, going with cheaper and cheaper companies.
This has me thinking about the actual usefulness of ALTs, in relation to how they are changed so frequently. As you may have heard before, Japan is a nation of shy people. It takes a while to get accustomed to new people and create bonds. The first couple of months were a bit rough. I was breaking into this kind of work and the kids and teachers were breaking into me. In a society that takes a long time to get used to unfamiliar people, how can an ALT be effective if they are constantly being shuffled in and out?
Dispatch companies are almost like vending machines for foreigners. If the current one wants to leave, get a new one. If you want to save money, get a new dispatch company. "Why would you use the 120yen machine when there is a 100yen machine around the block?" Assuming that all ALTs do the same work it makes little difference who you get. "It doesn't matter if we use a cheaper company." I don't mean to elevate myself but I do a lot. Staying for club activities on a daily basis, volunteering to help in unscheduled classes, going to events and being able to communicate in Japanese. Not only is there no guarantee that the new teacher will do these things, but they will have to get used to yet another ALT. The kids are used to changing ALTs more than anything from all this.
I would like to see dispatch companies search for prospect teachers that are willing to stay in one place for more than a year. People that are willing to take the time to truly bond with their schools and communities. If the true aim of ALTs is to bring foreign culture to Japan, then you need someone that can stay to truly permeate the community that they are living in, that's the Japanese way after all. It takes time. That way, perhaps things like being "underbid" by other companies wouldn't happen. That kind of thing doesn't help anyone. What do you guys think?
Maybe I'm just mad. Well, the next guy gets paid less than me... so he can hold that.
Originally, I had planned to stay another year in my area. Over the past year, I was able to make a lot of good friends. The kids are well behaved (for the most part) and the teachers were looking forward to working with me next year. Unfortunately, the Board of Education here has different plans. For the following school year, they intend to use a different company. I wouldn't really have anything to say about that if it wasn't for the probable reason of money. In Yamaguchi, they try to have ALTs in as many schools as possible. However, in recent years, they have be trying to cut back on the money that they spend, going with cheaper and cheaper companies.
This has me thinking about the actual usefulness of ALTs, in relation to how they are changed so frequently. As you may have heard before, Japan is a nation of shy people. It takes a while to get accustomed to new people and create bonds. The first couple of months were a bit rough. I was breaking into this kind of work and the kids and teachers were breaking into me. In a society that takes a long time to get used to unfamiliar people, how can an ALT be effective if they are constantly being shuffled in and out?
Dispatch companies are almost like vending machines for foreigners. If the current one wants to leave, get a new one. If you want to save money, get a new dispatch company. "Why would you use the 120yen machine when there is a 100yen machine around the block?" Assuming that all ALTs do the same work it makes little difference who you get. "It doesn't matter if we use a cheaper company." I don't mean to elevate myself but I do a lot. Staying for club activities on a daily basis, volunteering to help in unscheduled classes, going to events and being able to communicate in Japanese. Not only is there no guarantee that the new teacher will do these things, but they will have to get used to yet another ALT. The kids are used to changing ALTs more than anything from all this.
I would like to see dispatch companies search for prospect teachers that are willing to stay in one place for more than a year. People that are willing to take the time to truly bond with their schools and communities. If the true aim of ALTs is to bring foreign culture to Japan, then you need someone that can stay to truly permeate the community that they are living in, that's the Japanese way after all. It takes time. That way, perhaps things like being "underbid" by other companies wouldn't happen. That kind of thing doesn't help anyone. What do you guys think?
Maybe I'm just mad. Well, the next guy gets paid less than me... so he can hold that.
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