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International High Schools
Several schools in Toyama offer an International Course. This gives students with an interest in English and international issues a chance to develop this further. The students on these courses are usually quite motivated when it comes to learning English and are interested in meeting with and talking to ALTs. Therefore if you are teaching at a school with an International Course (IC), you will probably find that the IC students are the ones you know the best.
In my school, the IC begins from the first year. The students don’t have any more English than the students in other courses, but the emphasis has changed a little – they have Eiken (the English Exam that employers love) practice instead of Oral Communication lessons. A little counter-productive in my eyes, but hey, I’m just the ALT. Your school may be different. They may have more Communication lessons than other students. They may have more English per week. It’s going to vary! In the second year, they have more Eiken practice and also classes like Current English, where we discuss world issues and news, and Expressive English, where the focus is on communicating both through speech and writing. In the third year they have more Current English, and some students can take a General English course where they brush up on all skills before the dreaded university entrance exams (which will include a listening section for the first time from 2006).
My school offers the students on the international course two chances to experience English in a “native setting”. In first year, they go to “British Hills” – a faux-English village somewhere in Fukushima prefecture for a few days, and have concentrated English lessons. The people who work there are all British and Australian, so the idea is that there are very few people who can speak Japanese to them. In 2nd year, they go on a study trip to Australia where they stay with a host-family for a week or so, go to an Australian school, and also do some sightseeing. The kids love these trips and often they are the only reason that students choose the IC! Your school will probably have something similar in place.
In the past, international high schools had two ALTs. However with the cuts this year you may find that you are the only ALT, or you have another ALT that visits for a few lessons per week (like my school), or you are in fact the ALT that visits an IC school a couple of times a week. You may teach entirely separate classes, or you may work together for example practicing interview tests with students during Eiken practice classes.
In theory, the kids that choose the IC are interested in English and will therefore be more motivated to learn and to interact with you. This is usually the case, but as always there will be a few kids who refuse to take part, interact, or show any kind of interest whatsoever. Don’t be disheartened though, as lessons with my IC students are usually my most rewarding as they are the ones who are most interested in life abroad and also foreign movies/music. Last year I had one student who would happily spend hours debating the British music scene with me! They will ask you questions and genuinely want to know about your life at home.