Sunday May 27, 2012

Do you think the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program has outgrown its usefulness?

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  • 0

    grafton

    Did it ever have a usefulness?

    They were/are useless and the schools always seemed to avoid giving them anything of value to do anyway.

  • 0

    KingSaint

    As a former JET, it is difficult for me to say that it has outgrown its usefulness. JETs are usually untrained 20-somethings right out of college with no knowledge of how to teach Japanese high school students. But this is in no way the JETs fault since it is advertised as a great first job that requires little or no experience. However, the schools that the JET Program works with do not seem to realize that. Any orientation or handouts I received was useless and I had to figure out what to do on my own and JTEs were unwilling or unable to help me. JETs are underutilized and treated as walking dictionaries, something that allows JTEs to not know correct pronunciation, grammar, or translation. Under the current plan, JETs are novelty acts in schools. I believe it is the school's job to illustrate to JETs what to do and how to accomplish it, and to make sure that JETs are not left out of important school events. Finally, the crux of the matter is the average Japanese student has no interest in learning a foreign language. While the JET Program was designed a little more than 20 years ago to have more Japanese people capable of speaking in English, how many Japanese people do you run into that can speak in English? Because of this, it is clear that the JET Program is a failure. By the way, usefulness is an adjective, not a noun.

  • 0

    NuckinFutz

    Teaching English or any other foreign language in Japan has outgrown it's usefulness! My wife is a junior high school English teacher and none of her students can speak a word; but they'll all pass that part of their HS and university entrance exams! If the education ministry would remove anything to do with English from any and ALL examinations just think how much money could be spent on other things! I've met many of the JETs over the 15 years I've lived here and I agree with KingSaint, they are novelty acts at the local schools (many have told me this is how they feel!) What I find really strange is that I once asked my wife if a school would be interested in having someone my age (40's - with teaching experience) volunteer (i.e. FREE!) to help with English programs. Her response was "No, we pay JETs to help us".

  • 0

    alladin

    Not to be mean here, but I think the JET Program is useless and has not done much in English learning in Japan. Many of the JETs that come to Japan are right out of college and have no idea about teaching English in Japan. They all come to Japan to teach English and while they are in Japan they all have a great time partying and enjoying themselves while teaching their students bad corrupted slang English. JETs are just spoiled immature foreigners that has very little respect for Japanese society and creates a whole lot of trouble for many people in Japan. The Government of Japan should just get rid of JET once and for all and start to hire real people who has a real passion for Teaching English in Japan while respecting the Japanese culture.

  • 0

    Disillusioned

    Outgrown its usefulness?? Was it ever useful? Less than 5% of students actually learn any English at the Jr/Sr high level and it is not because of the JETs or the ALTs. It is because of the apathy in the school system where the teachers make easy tests to keep the averages up and to keep themselves in a job.

  • 0

    Zenny11

    I think JET still does have a place in teaching but I think the current method of teaching is no longer appliceable.

    Learning english is fine but I think more emphasis should be placed on how to use english and different activities used to teach english.

    Looking at the way I learned english in europe, I could soon read it and shakespeare and write an essay about(speaking lacked) it but had very little real life skills and applications taught.

    So a bit more immersive teaching should be used, rather than ask students to write a report let them read the problem on mail and texting and let them reply via same methods.

    Use thinks that they like to do in everyday and they can use quickly.

    Just my view.

  • 0

    tmarie

    It was never useful. How many JET questions are we going to have? This is the 2nd in less than a month I believe.

  • -1

    WMD

    A criminal waste of tax payers money just to give a bunch of young kids a long holiday and so that they go home and tell everyone how wonderful japan is. Scrap it today.

  • 0

    gaijinfo

    Depends on what purpose you think JET is for, what it's original purpose was, and what it's current purpose is. If it is for allowing Japanese students the opportunity to interact with a native speaker, then yea, it's useful.

    With growing globalization and increased necessity for English, I'd say JETs (or ALTS) are more needed than ever. But know they are not there to teach grammar or language theory or discipline to how Japan can compete in the global market place. They are there to give Japanese students a chance to listen to and practice English with a native speaker.

    Nothing more.

    and @KingSaint,

    usefulness is a noun. (uncountable)

    reference:http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/usefulness

  • 0

    borscht

    As a person who depends on the inability of Japanese people to speak English, the JET program and Monkasho's insistence on grammar tests vs communication is invaluable to me. Keeps me employed.

  • 0

    KingSaint

    @gaijinfo, my mistake, misread the entry. @alladin, that is a horrible generalization since nearly everyone I knew as a JET had an amazing passion for teaching English and worked hard to learn about Japanese culture and loved it. Also, considering the application process(which takes nearly a year) to get into the JET program, I don't think it would be possible to find better people who want to teach English in Japan. If someone was better qualified, they would be teaching in a university.

  • 0

    sakurala

    Its all about the effort that the JETs put in and how much responsibility the Japanese teachers of English let them have. The JET program can be useful if the teacher really has the passion and if the school let's them do more than just soundbites. I'm not a JET but I see the importance of a native speaker at schools who will actually allow students to gain an interest in English and foster intercultural interactions.

  • 0

    whiskeysour

    Abolish the JET program I've worked side by side with ALT's and JETS. In my opinion JETS are lazy, nose high, useless and shiftless human beings. The BOE shows favortism to JETS, I've witnessed this. Plus,they get paid more than the ALT's while the ALT's recieve a more complex school schedule and a dirt cheap salary. Workplace discrimination anyone Yeahhhh !!!

  • 0

    oikawa

    Funnily almost all of the comments so far have focused on the JET program's usefulness in terms of teaching and learning English, but that was never it's purpose. The purpose was to provide a good image of Japan at a time when the bureaucrats could spend money more frivolously than they can now, and to reap the benefits in later years when those who had been on the JET program were in positions of power in their home countries, and would favour Japan in important decision making because of the favourable impression of Japan they had gained while on JET.

    The original mission statement says "The aim is to increase international exchange and co-operation". Teaching is hardly mentioned on the JET website FAQ's, it's all about "internationalisation" and mutual exchange of culture", and obviously this was intended to be in Japan's interests in the future. There is less money to spend nowadays of course, but so long as the benefits of having so many people inclined to favour Japan outweigh the costs of the program then of course it is useful, but it would take a better economist than I to work out whether that is the case or not.

  • 0

    Noripinhead

    By the way, usefulness is an adjective, not a noun.

    Huh? "Usefulness" is certainly a noun. "Useful" is an adjective though.

    The program shouldn't be scrapped altogether -- just cut back and streamlined. And organized properly with specific goals for the participants and the local schools. Having thousands of young people in the prime of their intellectual creativity and physical stamina simply marking time studying Japanese and playing the human tape recorder is not the way to go. JET has been useful as a "way into" Japan for young people seeking bigger and better opportunities. But it shouldn't only be that.

  • 0

    crazygaijin

    absolutely yes. flush it down the toilet.

  • -1

    WMD

    japan has got massive debts, 200% of GDP. There is not the spare cash to waste anymore on such a ridiculous scheme in 2010. Maybe 20 years ago japan could give kids holidays but not now.

  • 0

    blvtzpk

    Oikawa has it nailed. I was under the impression it was about increasing the English ability of students (and Japanese teachers of English), but it wasn't too long until I found out what it was really designed for. If you can track down some of the original JET ALTs and ask them, you'll get a clearer answer. The outward purpose is summed up by David McConnell's book on the JET Programme, which is entitled "Importing Diversity" - in the mid 80s, there was money to spend, a poor image of Japan in the US (the 1980s equivalent of the China-fear felt there today) and elsewhere, and an interest in nurturing a positive feeling about ol' Nippon in major trading partners' future movers and shakers (i.e. the recently graduated young 'uns in the 1980s). Not only would Japanese schools and kiddies be exposed to 'Johnny Foreigner' on a day-to-day basis, so would the community, and those same foreigners would go back with a glowing impression of Japan. When these returnees went back home and then climbed the corporate and governmental ladders as they pursued their 'real' careers back home, they would be familiar with, and hopefully positively oriented towards, the people and country they had spent their time in during their 20s. The decision in the 1980s to create the program was also an effort to placate governments who saw 'Japazilla' chomping up the rest of the world, and permit these young ambassadors to have a (supposedly) pressure-free period in this country, which would also help pay of any study debts they may have had.

    So, has it outlived its usefulness? Thinking about its original purpose(s), and whether they're still relevant and practical in today's world, will undoubtedly lead you to a certain conclusion.

  • 0

    kotaro78

    Japan has decided to give up the jet programme already． because it's complete wasteful expenditure． thankyou

  • 0

    bicultural

    I would say being passionate about the job is sometimes more important than being qualified. That said, I say raise the salaries and give them more work to do. They get paid under 250,000 yen but they only work around 20 some hours per week.

  • 0

    komachi0jim

    For something that's been around for so long, you'd think it'd be better implemented by now. While it was invented for show, it could have been turned into something rewarding. Now it only serves to frustrate passionate teachers fresh out of school and enable slackers to continue living as relatively responsibility-free as they were as undergrads.

  • 0

    porter

    Its up there with paving the beach - just another spending debacle. Nobody cared during the bubble but not now.

  • 0

    Triumvere

    I can't speak to the JET system specifically, as I have never been a participant. It may be that the system needs reform. But what I can say is that ALTs are, at current, a necessity. Native speakers of English have been a requirement due to the relatively low supply of Japanese teachers of English with strong fluency. This problem will only increase as English programs are expanded to include elementary schools.

    I think English, as an international language, is important to the Japanese school system, and would like to see the effectiveness of the system increased. I also think it would be benificial to expand the system to include other major languages, starting with Chinese.

    So here is what I think Japan needs:

    • An expanded foreign language program that allows students to choose between English or Chinese classes. Highschool & University entrance exams adjusted accordingly. (giving students a meaningful choice is a good step toward increasing interest in the subjects in question)

    • Over the short term, a continuation of the importation of native speakers to agument the talents of Japanese foreign language teachers.

    • Over the long term, an investment in increasing the pool of native Japanese faculty with fluency in said language, and increasing the level of that fluency

    • A greater emphasis on creativity in the classroom, including essays, dialogues, short stories, and other creative writing projects were students are encouraged to generate their own English content (rather than to memorize and repeat patterns).

    • A substancial increase in essay writing, listening, and speaking elements in standardized testing. While this means more subjective standards of test evaluation, it is clear that purely objective methods of testing (focus on gramar and vocabulary) are insufficient to encourage English fluency.

    The last two steps are truly critical, but I cannot see how they can be achieved given the current level of English fluency of teachers and evaluators without the support of foriegn ALTs. Whether the ALTs come from JET or some other source is another issue, but if JET is scrapped the resultant lack of native speakers must somehow be filled.

  • 0

    kazan

    I came to Japan on the JET Programme because I enjoy teaching and because I love Japanese culture - I'm not here to 'party' or 'take a long vacation', I'm here to learn the language and make friends with the people - that's my personal goal.

    That being said, the schools I work at treat me like a paperweight. Regularly, I will attend a few classes per day to read/speak in 'native' English, then spend the remaining time sitting at my desk. The JTEs I work with seldom let me proofread their lessons/worksheets because they are so dead-certain that their English is better than mine (it's not). Despite my Japanese ability, I'm rarely given duties outside of attending classes even though I'm certainly capable of more work.

    So do I think the JET program has outgrown its usefulness? Somewhat. Many JETs in my area are dedicated teachers, some of them having managed to stay in the English teaching field for over ten years. But more often than not, I hear stories like mine: of JETs who want to help more at their schools and try to get included for the purposes of internationalization and teaching, but who are shot down by JTEs/BoEs/ other supervisors. If the schools knew (or listened at all) about using us as resources better, there wouldn't be so much talk about how JET is a waste of money. I'd happily accept a lower paycheck if it meant I could be more involved in teaching.

  • 0

    wontond

    I'm sure people looking for the opportunity to live and work in Japan still find the JET program "useful".

  • 0

    Wakarimasen

    KingSaint, the fact that you don't know your adjectives from your nouns says a lot about the type of people who get to teach English on JET. JET is useless for teaching J-kids English (none of them can speak it straight out of school) but great for the JET's themselves.

  • 0

    amerijap

    The JET program has provided nothing more than the government's lip-service for "internationalization" and the promotion of idolization of English spoken by native speakers. The ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) are NOT helping or assisting Japanese teachers in the classroom at all. They are stealing teaching jobs from Japanese English teachers. They don't provide any instructions or tips to train Japanese teachers, who are responsible for teaching English to the students on a regular basis. Moreover, they don't get paid by the US government; funds for the JET program are driven from Japanese taxpayers' money.

    How can you call this voluntary welfare program beneficial to Japan in the first place? This is so lame.

  • 0

    genkimark

    This question presumes that the JET Programme has actually been useful at some point, lol...

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