Kobe/Saitama JALT Chapters Present: Shifting from ALT Job to University Teaching & Narrative Inquiry into ALT Identity

Jackson Lee's  presentation is to introduce this career path and make it more transparent for passionate educators who are interested in teaching at the university level. This informative session will provide concrete suggestions on the preparations and procedures applicants should consider taking to help with their chances. Realistic expectations about the logistics and the nature of the job will also be set as the presenter provides examples of responsibilities at such positions. Different levels of positions and potential career paths at university teaching will also be explored. A short Q&A with the attendees is planned at the end of the session.

Takaaki Hiratsuka, Ph.D. explores, via narrative interviews, the identities and their constructions of 25 ALTs in the JET program. He asserts that it is of critical importance to understand the complexities of ALT identity because how they view themselves, how they project themselves to others, and how others perceived them impact all aspects of their professional and private lives, including beliefs, emotions, development and practice. His presentation concludes with implications for language teacher education and identity research.