Team Teaching English in Japanese Schools

Download or read book Team Teaching English in Japanese Schools written by William Sean Sutherland and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Japan the team teaching of English language classes has been a growing phenomenon since the late 1980s. Team teaching typically involves two teachers: a Japanese teacher of English (JTE) who has a university degree in English or education and a teaching qualification, and an assistant English teacher (AET) who is usually an untrained recent university graduate from Britain, the United States or another country whose citizens are primarily thought to be native English speakers. The stated goal of team teaching is to improve Japanese students' English abilities by having a native English speaking AET in the class as a model of the target language. AETs are often popular with students, their parents and administrators, primarily because they are seen to provide motivation for language learning. JTEs may appreciate AETs, especially as co-workers to share the workload with, something any teacher would certainly appreciate. -- Less research has been done into asking JTEs how they feel about team teaching as it relates to their identities as teachers and as English speakers. For this thesis I used qualitative research interviews and classroom observation to investigate what it means to be a Japanese teacher of English who working with an AET. This data was related to the relevant literature. Several key findings were uncovered: JTEs receive no training on team teaching, leaving them feeling unable to manage their AET partners; JTEs feel that AETs speak 'real' English, leaving JTEs in the unenviable position of being expected to teach a language that they are not thought to have mastered; AETs provide students with little exposure to 'real' English; JTEs sometimes disparage AETs' teaching skills and distrust AETs' motives for working in Japan; and JTEs do not feel they themselves have the skills to teach English.