Yomiuri: Time to end the use of ALTs
...Detailed data on the academic and professional background of ALTs seem to be entirely lacking. However, it seems fair to say that the vast majority of them are recent college graduates with little or no experience as teachers of anything, let alone English as a foreign language (EFL). Most are in Japan for the first time...As most of their counterpart Japanese teachers of English (JTEs) at middle and high schools receive almost no formal teacher training and inadequate in-service training and rely almost exclusively on yakudoku (grammar-translation) as the only known instructional methodology, the classroom work of paired teams of JTEs and ALTs is often much like the blind leading the blind...
...There seem to be no comprehensive studies with valid empirical evidence to show that the presence of ALTs in middle and high schools over the past 20 years has effected any notable advance in students' English language proficiency levels or the quality of communicative language teaching (CLT) on a widespread scale. Anecdotally, my observations of about 20 ALTs in high school classrooms and discussions with scores of JTEs over the past two decades lend support to these characterizations. I have taught at college level in Japan since before the arrival of ALTs and have seen no evidence of any impact by ALTs on the overall level of students' English language proficiency or their attitudes, strategies, and expectations toward English-language learning...
Given the staggering annual cost of all the ALTs in Japan, a cost/benefits analysis would certainly conclude that their employment involves a wasteful expenditure of massive funds for, at best, very limited and unproven gains. The use of ALTs in English classes should be terminated and the money used for long-term, intensive training of JTEs in workshops, seminars, and courses throughout the year, including the long-term presence of master teachers, both Japanese and native speakers, as mentors in the schools. At the same time, it is imperative that the Education, Science and Technology Ministry mandate the practice of CLT and terminate yakudoku instruction. Other measures, such as reduction of class sizes and an increase in the number of trained teachers, should be funded in place of the current expenditure on ALTs...
...The existence of ALTs in English classes has been a severe distraction from working toward the goal of "cultivating Japanese with English abilities" as set by the ministry. It is time to terminate the use of ALTs while recognizing and addressing the essential role and acute needs of JTEs...more...