For context, I am a first year ALT who came over with a dispatch company but will be switching over to direct hire for the next school year. I formed a good relationship with a number of people at the BOE who asked for my feedback about how English classes are being conducted.
Long story short, they came to both schools to observe classes and were shocked by how little I was utilized and how (at the elementary level) barely any English was spoken inside the classroom, students indifferent to the lesson content, etc…
It helps that a few of them lived overseas at one point and speak fluent English, so they realized right away how counterintuitive the methods and lesson plans provided by the dispatch company and textbooks (New Horizons, Lets Try, Sunshine) actually were. Going forward, they want to incorporate more natural English into the classroom, and use activities that will actually engage the students with good conversation practice.
Perhaps It would be too difficult to pull off, but what recommendations do you have to make a meaningful change in this situation? Are there any textbooks (In the style of Genki or Minna no NIhongo?) for the age groups I mentioned that would make good replacements for the subpar books we have now?
I realize there are many, many problems with English education In Japan and the ALT system In general. However, I genuinely like my students and think they deserve good learning opportunities. So many of them are bright and eager to learn. It\`s painful seeing them become more and more demotivated as you reach higher grade levels and they can barely ask “how are you?”
If It makes a difference, no teachers at the elementary level speak English, but the two JTE\`s at my junior high school do (albeit not the best).
by Significant_Dig_2983