2. Who are we?
! Yoshie and Sean
! Furano, Alaska
! Saroma Town
! pumpkins and scallops
! 135 JHS students
3. One small advertisement…
If you are a Hokkaido
resident:
• You can get in-state
tuition to the University
of Alaska system as an
international student.
4. Why are you here?
! You attend professional development seminars
as a hangover remedy.
! Your supervisor signed you up without
consulting you first.
! You’re just waiting for the signup sheet to come
around.
! You work with an ALT or JTL. You are
unable to read their mind.
5. Our ALTs and JTLs
! We deal with some complicated issues :
! Language teaching and learning.
! Cross-cultural, interpersonal relationships
6. “OK, it’s nice that you’re married,
but, like, I have no plans to date my
ALT/JTL.”
! Marriage solves none of the problems normally
encountered by ALTs and JTLs. (It amplifies
them – you cannot escape…)
! We both have a range of experience:
! Yoshie: 5 years and 5 different ALTs
! Sean: 5+ years and 10 different JTLs (many
more at ES/HS)
9. The worst ALT in the world…
Glee (2010) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF9TyctTAeQ
10.
11. Case #1:!
Figuring People Out
• Be professional.
• No confrontations
in the classroom.
• Go around
• (or above if you have to.)
• It’s not about you.
12. Case #1:!
Figuring People Out
• People are
products of their
culture.
• But they are also
individuals.
13. Get to know your ALT/JTL as an individual, but
remember that culture is always there, like a ghost…
“We tend to perceive reality within
the context of our own culture, a reality
that we have ‘created’.”
-H. Brown, in Principles of Language Learning and Teaching
14. The ALT Mind The JTL Mind
" Witch’s pumpkin relay race! " Rolling food on the floor
with brooms???
" Mummy race! " Wasting toilet paper all at
once???
" Bobbing for apples! " Kissing and chewing same
apples with all classmates?
" Why is this school so hot?
" Why is he wearing a T-
shirt in October?
16. The thing about Yoshie I
always appreciated was that she
Case #2:
wasn't afraid to call me on my
s**t. Tell me what I was doing
Lessons
wrong and how I should fix it. • Let the ALT be who they
Especially when I was getting are (even if you might break
too big for my britches, Yoshie some cultural rules)
was there to bring me back
• Give and Take
down. -Tim Johnson
• Suspend your
apprehensions.
• Students can make their
own informed judgements
about culture
17. Case #3:
Us
• Sometimes we have
misunderstandings.
• “Talk like a human!”
• Different expectations
of roles.
19. The Basics
• Duh:
• Exchange phone and email addresses.
• JTLs – email!
• Set a regular meeting time.
20. The Basics
• Let your ALT make • ALTs: Exceed your
your job easier. expectations.
• You are the model, so • “Accept the things I
be a good one. cannot change…”
• Chill out.
