| JET Tales: stories from rural Japan This website is a record of my experiences in the JET Programme as an AET (Assistant English Teacher) in two Japanese public high schools. What is JET? JET stands for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. JET is one of many, many English teaching programs in Japan. It is commonly considered one of the best, but that sometimes depends on who you are talking to. In contrast to programs like GEOS or NOVA, for example, a JET participant is officially an assistant - not the primary English teacher - in the classroom. This is the reason the application option says "Assistant Language Teacher." Unlike most other English teaching programs, however, ALTs work within the Japanese school system - elementary through senior high school. If you are looking for the official information, sanctioned full disclosure, and application forms, check out the Official JET Program site. Do you speak Japanese fluently? Can you present your glowing resumé and years of teaching experience to a Japanese school board and finagle them into hiring you? Yes? Then good for you and good luck! If you're like many, many JET applicants, however, you probably answered 'no' to these questions. The truth is that we are like babes in the wood and the wood is Japan and we do not know how to ask for directions - let alone negotiate an employment contract. Nor arrange for visas, hotel accomodations, orientation, and so on. Consider another JET participant's suggestion that the JET Programme functions rather like a placement agency: an intermediary between applicants and the municipal or prefectural boards of education in Japan. The application process is lengthy. Following is a brief overview of my experiences. New JETs Congratulations! The acceptance letter finally came and now you may be wondering what happens next. Fear not - there is still more thumb-twiddling in store as you wait to find out 1) where exactly you will be living and working, and 2) advice (or not) from your predecessor (if you have one). There is much to do in the meantime: shopping, packing, shopping, packing, unpacking (you packed too much) - and somehow saving money for the initial cash you will need to bring with you. If you do not speak Japanese yet, try to learn some before you get here. It is an utterly humbling experience to arrive in Japan and realize that you are completely illiterate. The most simple attempts at needful conversation [ordering food. asking directions. telling the doctor what is wrong with you. trying to make small talk with the nice old lady at the bus stop] can be extremely frustrating. At Work vocab | school system Every situation is different. This is one of the fundamental (unofficial) statements of the JET Programme. As an ALT, your work experiences may vary from classroom to classroom, day to day, and school to school. For example, lesson plans that work really well in one classroom may fall flat in another. You may teach five classes one day and one class the next - and with teachers who speak fluent English or those who speak almost none. At one school, you may have a great rapport with the rest of the staff while at another school everyone ignores you. There is a wide range of possibilities, and at some point while you are here, you may experience or hear about all of them. ALTs work in the public school system, and all contracts are for 12-month commitments. The kind of school an ALT teaches in is determined by which kind of board of education picks up your contract. Prefectural BOE's are responsible for high school placement, while municipal BOE's are responsible for elementary and junior high school placement. These contracts differ with every BOE, so it is very important for every ALT to read and be familiar with his or her own contract. This is right up there with your passport in terms of important documents - think of it as your Bill of Rights at work. You will want to read it and refer to it many times while you are here. The JET Handbook that you received with your acceptance letter should help clarify some of the terminology, and you can always ask other ALTs if you still have questions. These are the (fabulous) schools I teach at (2001-2002): |