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Once had candid discussions in Aust.with a senior organizer of the jet programme. I was enquiring due to it's illegal (in Aust.)"age-ist" policy of only signing up under 35's and preferably younger still.

 

She told me quite frankly that whatever the stated beliefs of the programme are, the real reason to be was simply getting shoe-boxed kids(& adults) in xenophobic Japan to have firsthand relationships with foreigners - read mainly english speaking.

That's why they want young freshies because of their perceived ability to interract with youth.

 

Language learning is simply a guise and if language is learnt then that's a side bonus, not the goal of the programme.

 

So she said.

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If you are a teacher at home you will likely have to be involved in some sort of club and it will likely take up one of your sat or sun mornings.

What makes you think that you should get away with not doing it here?

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A lot of the discussion here could be applied to most language teaching in Japan.

 

As Winston would probably have said...

 

"Never, in the field of English learning history, has so much been spent by so many to produce so few"... (speakers, that is)

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From talking with lots of aets, it seems to be that the "outside school" part of the job is almost as important as the lessons in the school. You know, the local celeb, eikaiwa, opening the local public toilets, going to the nursery places to frighten the baby kids, that kind of assignments.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quite a few of my friends are alts, there seems to be a good community of the hard-working variety here in Saitama. There are regular training sessions *not sure if this is organised by the ken or not* and they seem to generally not try to be teachers but do what an aet can do best - join in, let the kids get to know them, communicate with them, etc. Theres not much worse than an alt being taken to a class and either not used or be a cause of *not positive* humor - thats good for no-one.

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Just an update here, the AET has been told that if he does not join in, he will not get a contract renew offer next year and also will not be asked to do the town eikawa this winter as he has done before (thereby not getting the cash for doing that).

 

He's none to pleased, but holding firm.

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  • 5 months later...

I will say this, too be asked to join is a big thing here. For the most part they wont ask you cause by law you are not a real teacher. the japanese law will say that you need a license to teach. So too be asked is also to be given a bit of respect. now unless they were really pushing too much work onto he/she was it worth getting fired for beening asked to join in at the school?

 

Ill join my schools club program just to make a connection with the students.

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