Higgins In Japan

Students are students.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume the country you’re from has teenagers. Honestly, it’s not much of a stretch to assume that. So when you’re thinking about your junior high students here in Japan, it’s easy to make the comparison. Are there differences? Certainly! Maybe in your country, there’s not as much pressure to study as hard or for as many hours. Maybe the societal pressure to fit in and not stand out isn’t quite the same. But that doesn’t mean students in your country aren’t dealing with their own struggles. They’re certainly stressing about something.

When approaching teenagers, it’s important to remember one thing — and quite frankly, this doesn’t just apply to teenagers: everyone you meet is dealing with something. We were all teenagers at one point in our lives… unless you’re reading this and you’re 10. In which case… why are you reading this?

The point is, Japanese teenagers aren’t any different from teenagers in your country. They’re all trying to figure out how they fit in socially. They’re trying to decide if the things they like and the interests they have are cool or meaningful to anyone besides themselves. They’re under pressure from school to do well. They’re under pressure from their parents for a myriad of things. The last thing they need from you is more stress.

About eight years ago, I was talking to one of my students about the previous ALT who had been at their school. I was curious about what kind of person they were. As we talked, this student confided in me:
“When you got here, I didn’t like you. The last ALT was mean and made me cry several times in class. I didn’t want to like English.”

It’s not your job to add more stress to your students’ lives. Period. Your job as an ALT can take on some very interesting forms beyond just standing in front of the class and reading oddly worded sentences. I’ve had students talk to me about very serious life events. And like the student in the story above, I’ve had students end up loving English and go on to become English teachers. And I will absolutely take credit for that!

You may not fully understand the importance of your job. If you spend any time online, you’ll see plenty of former failed ALTs complaining, berating, and thumbing their noses at the profession. And to some extent, I can agree with some of their points. But when companies continue to hire unqualified people as ALTs, it becomes a never-ending cycle of people who don’t deserve the title of Sensei. And I’m not even talking about the poor pay, which some of these companies act like is a favor they’re doing for you.

As an ALT, your job is to encourage, motivate, and support your students. It’s never your job, for example, to tell your students that their chosen profession isn’t good enough for your standards — or to push them to the point where they hate English and leave class in tears.