Event

Narrative Inquiry into ALT Identity

Saturday, February 26th, 2022, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Speaker: Takaaki Hiratsuka (Ryukoku University)

For over three decades, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals have set foot on Japanese soil as foreign assistant language teachers (ALTs) through the government-sponsored Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. The job of the ALTs is to teach English in elementary and secondary schools, in tandem with Japanese teachers of English (JTEs). Although there is an apparent need for scrutiny of the lived experiences of ALTs in their situated contexts, empirical discussion and research addressing them have been remarkably insufficient, as previous studies have focused primarily on the advantages and shortcomings of individual teachers and the characteristics of their team-teaching practices. Against this backdrop, the study on which this presentation is based explored, via narrative interviews, the identities and their constructions of 25 ALTs in the JET program. It is of critical importance to understand the complexities of ALT identity because how we view ourselves, how we project ourselves to others, and how others perceive us impact all aspects of our professional and private lives, including our beliefs, emotions, development, and practices. The findings revealed that the gestalt of ALT identity is comprised of two primary categories, foreigner identity and dabbler identity, and their six incumbent sub-identities (i.e., celebrity, sojourner, English expert, assistant, greenhorn, and Japanese novice). The presentation concludes with implications for teacher education and identity research.

Takaaki Hiratsuka is an associate professor at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, where he teaches a range of applied linguistics courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He received his PhD in language teaching and learning from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research and teaching interests lie in the areas of teacher education, teacher research, and qualitative research methods (in particular, narrative inquiry and classroom-based research). His recent publications include Narrative inquiry into ALT identity in the JET program (2022, Routledge) and Team teachers in Japan: Beliefs, identities, and emotions (forthcoming).

The Zoom details will be available on fukuokajalt.org on the day of the event. We will start the Zoom an hour early (5 PM) for an hour of informal discussion and networking.

Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukuoka JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 500 yen

Venue: Online: The Zoom link will be posted on the Fukuoka JALT website the day before

Location: Online, Online Events, Online Event

Contact Fukuoka JALT

Trevor Holster