Why I Want to be an ALT?

English Education in Junior High School
by Allan C. Cadano, Ph.D.

Communication as a two-way interaction between two or more persons is very important to achieve information, understanding, coordination, cooperation, harmony, peace, happiness and development. But at this age, communication needs to be parallel to the globalization era where English is seen as the most widely used language in the world.

The Junior High School curriculum transforms the students from basic education to advance higher and advance education. In here, students are gradually being exposed from national to international social-cultural, economic and technological developments to mention a few.

In social studies national map continues to world map. Recently, Kibo reached the outer space and become the biggest laboratory room in the international space station up there. English as a language made the proper coordination among the many countries involved in that international team.

In information technology, computer and internet brings the students in their email-writing, SMS or text-writing, surfing, browsing, internet shopping, e-ticket reservations and the like not only to the various industries in Japan but to the varying people world-wide. English brings the people and the students to this international communication through English as their language or medium of communication.
Nagano hosted the Winter Olympics in 1998 and hopefully on 2016 the Summer Olympics. Are the Japanese prepared to communicate to the more than 200 nationalities who will come here on that time?
In a nutshell, it is very important that Japanese students, be it in elementary or junior or middle high schools or university, be taught basic and advance English as their international language in order to be trained for their future and exposed more in the international competitive development among the many nations.



Why I Want to be an ALT?
by Allan C. Cadano, Ph.D.

Being a son of both teacher-parents, I have desired to follow their footsteps as I choose my profession. For 25 years in teaching, my experiences helped me develop further in my aim to contribute in reaching quality education.

Having been exposed to English as our modern national language, I have seen the importance of teaching English as a language to fit the international developments.

Being a teacher in a class with students is like managing a big family and at the same time organizing a small village. Students vary from each other. Their nature, likes and interests also vary among each other. But language is a good instrument to harmonize their differences. With the language you teach, you can let everyone know and understand each other. With the language you can let them talk and have a good conversation to interact, listen to the need of each other until they can achieve an agreement between or among themselves.

ALT to me is broad to handle. It is not only teaching English as a language. It is teaching the students to know how to express their opinion, views, ideas their feeling, their needs. Moreover, ALT is teaching the students to understand his classmates, his friends, his fellow citizens and the international community in general.

Numbers, arts, culture and sports have its own language. But it is the language that counts, appreciates, understands and expresses the essence and value of all. Being an accomplished ALT makes him a man who knows and understands the world in its highest dimension.