Job Description

The position you are considering applying for is a full-time Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) position in Japanese public junior high schools (JHS), elementary schools (ES), and occasionally at senior high schools (SHS) and kindergartens in certain areas.

ALTIA CENTRAL ALTs work in 1 specific town or city teaching at 1 or more schools, typically between 2 and 5 schools on average per ALT. We do have a few positions where the ALT teaches at only 1 school, 5 days per week, but there are also rare positions where the ALT visits up to 10 or 12 schools over the course of the year. For all our positions, the schedules are set in advance for the year, so you will have a clear understanding from the start of your contract of which school you are attending each day. Typically, the vast majority of our ALTs spend the full day at just one school, but it is not unheard of in some of our positions to teach at more than one school in a given day (e.g. the morning at one school and then traveling to a second school for the afternoon).

Roughly 1/3 of our ALTs work in JHS only positions, 1/3 in ES only positions, and the remaining 1/3 work in mixed positions, comprising a combination of JHS and ES, or with some kindergarten visits as well.

The typical ALT workweek consists of up to 25 classes, scheduled between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. On average, the day starts no earlier than 8:30 am and ends by 4:30 pm, although there may be slight variations depending on the location. Many ALTs choose to stay at their schools even after their official work hours to build relationships with their Japanese colleagues.

ALTs engage with students outside the classroom through activities such as participating in club events, supporting speech contests, attending music recitals etc and of course just normal interactions on the playground, chatting in the halls, etc. Classes typically last 45 minutes in elementary school and 50 minutes in junior high, with an average of 3 to 5 lessons per day. On occasion, there may be slower days with just one class or busier days with up to six lessons, so ALTs need to be prepared and flexible for a variety of schedules.

A typical work week for an ALT at 3 schools might be 3 days, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for example, visiting the main Junior High School (JHS) with varying class loads, plus a full day visit to 1 elementary school (ES) on Tuesday, and another elementary school every Friday, with slightly busier class loads as the ALT only visits 1 day per week and there are more grades in ES.

Throughout the school year, your calendar will also include required Follow-Up Training and Professional Development events. These high-quality events are scheduled well in advance with ample notice and support the ongoing development of our ALTs. They provide valuable preparation for the evolving role, covering topics such as new teaching methods and ideas. These events also offer a great opportunity to connect with fellow ALTs, share success stories, discuss challenges, and seek advice.