The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET Program, is a government-sponsored organization which connects English-speakers to teaching opportunities in Japan. I spent almost three years in Taga, a rural town in the Shiga Prefecture of western Japan.
As a JET teacher, you participate in two annual Skills Development Conferences (SDCs) with the other teachers in your prefecture.
Being in Japan has shaped who I am today, and has truly grown me as an educator and traveler.
Overview
As a JET Program Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), you teach English alongside a Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) in the classroom. ALTs and JTEs both convene for one conference a year for professional development and learning more effective teaching strategies.
As ALTs, we can propose a topic for one of these conferences, and if accepted, we speak in front of a room of other ALTs (and possibly JTEs) about a topic of our choosing. I saw an opportunity to introduce the concept of intercultural competence to my peers, so I proposed a workshop with the title “Using Intercultural Competence Theory to Engage with Race and Identity”.
The Situation: How can non-Japanese teachers of English use intercultural competence to be more effective and culturally sensitive educators?
Duration of project: 4 months
Audience: Adult English teachers from various countries, living as expats in Japan
Format: In-person workshop
My Role: I put together this presentation independently, with feedback from my peers.
Skills Demonstrated: Instructional Design, Corporate Training
Technologies Used: Google Slides, Microsoft Powerpoint, YouTube