Assistant language teachers (ALTs) entering the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme serve in a role that ranges from language model to international communicator. As the native model of English education becomes less important globally, ALTs role in the classroom shifts. In this study, interviews with former JET ALTs were conducted to understand perceptions of teaching philosophy and teacher development before and after entering JET. Findings are interpreted in terms of recommendations for teacher training.

This presentation examines how newcomers to a community must be initiated into a target discourse community, including learning shared beliefs, values, vocabulary, and processes (Borg, 2003; Swales, 1990). Furthermore, this presentation uses an autoethnographic approach to show an example of becoming an engaged member and leader in a professional community of practice. Finally, this presentation will demonstrate how mentoring, coaching, and orientation are important interventions in a community of practice of academic professionals in Japan.

Japan has instituted a number of initiatives to internationalize its higher education sector. This presentation outlines a mixed methods study exploring the role of leadership in these processes. The study compared Japanese and non-Japanese academics’ (N = 153) perceptions of leadership using the full range leadership model. The results informed a second phase of semi-structured interviews (N = 10). The results provide insight on effective leadership for current and aspiring leaders working in EFL contexts.

In post-war Japan, ronin were university teachers: nearly all were lecturers who worked part-time at various universities around town. Recently, the ronin has been re-envisioned with foreign university English teachers. Here, the question of why pursue a teaching career in Japan at all was investigated. Publicly-available data of over 300 university teachers in Japan was examined, and the data confirms much of what is already known about teaching in university in Japan with some surprises.

The number of international faculty at Japanese universities has grown substantially over the last few decades. However, not much is known regarding their satisfaction with work and degree of integration into their universities. This research analyzes data obtained from a multi-item online survey in 2019 measuring the degree of work satisfaction and integration. Findings suggest that faculty at universities with strong policies toward diversity and internationalization demonstrate stronger perceptions of both integration and satisfaction.

In this presentation, two learning advisors will report on their use of relational mentoring in a duoethnographic approach for their continuing professional development (CPD). They will highlight how mentoring affected each of them and their practices over the course of this regular engagement. The implications of this study will be of value to any educators interested in CPD through online mentoring and in the use of duoethnography as a form of reflective practice.

The presenter will discuss the results of a year-long case study of three university EFL teachers working in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants practiced several techniques inspired by ancient Stoic philosophy, which were adapted specifically for teachers by the presenter. The results of the study showed beneficial effects on self-reported measures of well-being and teaching efficacy. The presenter will also demonstrate how audience members can use these techniques in their own teaching contexts.

This study explored doctoral students’ construction of and participation in a community of practice in a course on educational technology use in second/foreign language (SL/FL) education. Findings indicate the participants identified themselves as members of a supportive family of language professionals and nascent academics. Multimodal projects they completed in their course served as testaments to their evolving status as developing experts in both these fields. Implications for practice and research are also discussed.

A series of increasingly complex tasks within the TBLT framework pushes learners to experience language gains. A research methodology course using technology like Web 2.0 tools within the TBLT framework was offered to a group of 25 pre-service ESL teachers to examine the impact of TBLT on content learning. The findings showed a positive impact on teacher task difficulty perception and social use of technology on task completion and improved comprehension and content learning.

Often met with disdain and mistrust by regular instructors, corporate “dispatch” language companies have become widespread in Japanese higher education. However, as these companies and their instructors are here to stay, a closer examination of them is of value. What can regular instructors and departments learn and gain from their corporate counterparts? The presenters examine the experiences of surveyed ex-dispatch instructors as well as provide their own insights and recommendations.

This presentation introduces the podcast project called Lost in Citations. With each episode centred on an academic publication, we invited scholars from a wide variety of fields to discuss their research in a more in-depth way and learn more about their background. We cover our subsequent text-mining activities, including an example of thematic similarities that emerged within a series of our research-based interviews with academics in connected fields.

ALTs and Eikaiwa teachers in Japan may find themselves limited in future career choices, while entry to university positions can be intimidating and seemingly out of reach. This presentation aims to make this option more transparent to educators interested in exploring this career path. The presenters provide practical suggestions on preparations/steps for obtaining university positions, as well as skills useful in advancing a career within the university system towards procuring a tenured position.

This study examines pre-service team-teaching (TT) training courses for Japanese and English-speaking international students in an education-majored university. The author’s participant observation, interviews with the students, and their reflective notes were analyzed. Japanese students’ English communicative competence is a decisive factor affecting TT role-sharing and satisfaction of their TT performances, but power struggles were sometimes seen. Additionally, opportunities for on-campus intercultural interactions were created through collaborative learning, contributing to enhancing the Japanese students’ intercultural skills.

English-medium Instruction (EMI) has grown rapidly in Japan, with nearly half of universities offering EMI programs. Unfortunately, there has been no parallel growth in support for faculty members who face challenges teaching in these classrooms. This presentation explores professional development (PD) experiences, needs, and expectations among teachers in EMI programs across Japan, revealing specific competencies that they hope to gain from PD and some interesting differences between Japanese and international faculty members.

Although there are many ALTs in Japan, they are not well-represented within JALT’s membership. JALT and similar organizations can benefit from the diversity and flexibility that ALTs could bring, while ALTs can benefit from the professional development opportunities offered by such organizations. This panel discussion features current and former ALTs who will discuss what drew them to such organizations, how ALTs have contributed, and what organizations can do to recruit ALTs.

In recent years, a number of Japanese EFL teachers at the secondary school level have participated in short-term teacher training programs in English speaking countries. However, we do not have much knowledge about teachers’ experiences of learning to teach after they return to their native countries. Therefore, this study explores how Japanese EFL teachers appropriated the pedagogical resources presented in one of the overseas training programs into their own classroom instruction back home.