Surviving your first days as an ALT

Changing your job is hard. New environments, new people, new tasks to deal with. Any one of these things will are difficult enough on their own. Combine them and you may have some great difficulties dealing with life. It is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the end of the first week.

When I started working as an ALT, I had no idea what was expected of me. The training I received was mainly about how to teach the children, and even that was minimal as well. My first days were spent in front of a desk, mostly left alone and scared, getting randomly greeted by teachers who I would not see for the rest of the year (if ever).

Aside from the things you obviously should do, like get to know the textbooks, grammar, vocabulary and everything else you`ll be using in the classroom, there are other, just as important things to consider.

Find and learn the printer/ copier: You know the saying “The printer only works when you don`t need it”. There is all the truth to it. In fact, I have never had a printer break down on me when I`m not in a hurry. It just doesn`t happen. But, say you have five minutes until your next class. You suddenly realize you have to print 120 copies of that worksheet you made yesterday. You go to the printer and BAM it`s ….something. You don`t know what, because you didn`t study the inner workings of the printer. Does it need a new Master? Is there a jam? New toner? Who knows? I once took most of the loose things out of a printer to find a tiny sliver of paper that was stuck and “jamming” the entire thing. (All the while, the vice principle sat behind his desk and pretended to be busy).

You can`t fight the natural order of things. The printer WILL break. You WILL be stressed out. But if you get to know the basics of the printer, then at least you might be able to be calm while you stress.

Along with getting to know the printer, you can also get to know the whiteboard/ blackboard behind the vice principals desk. Most of the things there don`t matter to you in the slightest.

BUT there is a chance. Once in a blue moon there will be something written there, special time schedule, some event that you have to attend etc. Treat it as kanji practice. Every morning, scan through the board, write down what you don`t know, put it in a flashcard, memorize, rinse and repeat.

Or be like me and wear a black suit on Clean-The-Teachers-Room-Day…