Being an ALT: What do I do?
Shortly after moving to Japan last summer, I was lucky enough to find a job in one of the few fields that will take someone with basically no Japanese language ability. After two and half days of training with a private company, I started working as an Assistant Language Teacher or ALT. To begin with, I found it really difficult to adapt. I felt very stressed out by the whole experience of moving country, and I found it hard to cope working with people when I couldn't understand a single word of what they were saying. Everything made me feel tense, from eating lunch to talking to students in the classroom. And added to this was the pressure I put on myself to be perfect at the job from day one. But gradually I started to relax, and now I can honestly say that it's a great job and I really enjoy it. My role as an ALT is to support the Japanese teachers of English in my school and promote an enthusiasm for speaking English among the students. Perhaps equally importantly,
