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| Guest Speaker from Akita University |
Another quick update from November I thought I’d touch on is about the Annual Aomori ALT Skills Conference (ALT meaning, “Assistant Language Teacher”). The two-day conference is held every year for JET participants (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) working in Aomori Prefecture and includes guest speakers, workshops, and training sessions with the goal of improving our teaching skills. In some ways, I think it’s also a good refresher for those of us who have been here multiple years, even if much of the information seems repetitive at times.
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| Break time between sessions |
One of the challenges I have in my teaching context is promoting more classroom English. It's difficult to try to advise Japanese teachers when living in a society that places high value on hierarchy (I'm not sure this is the right word, but...); I often feel like teachers here don't think I have much to offer since they've worked in the system longer, are older, have more experience, etc. I was hoping to get some perspective on this issue at the conference, which was maybe half-successful. I may have heard some viewpoints but when it comes to taking action and making real changes, I still feel like it's an improbable feat. Yet for me personally, the conference reminds me that there are some success stories out there, I just have to keep working towards my goals.
