Recent Posts
Accentuate the Positive: Using Different Styles of English in the Classroom
Your English accent is a part of your teacher DNA so make it a part of your lessons, too.
By Liam Carrigan on August 21, 2018
Building Bridges as an ALT with Your School’s Board of Education
Bureaucrats everywhere aren’t always that easy to deal with, but here are three handy tips to help you do just that where you teach in Japan.
By Liam Carrigan on August 14, 2018
Wet Hot Japanese Summer: Keeping Cool in the Classroom
How can we deliver engaging, informative lessons that students will retain, when neither they — nor you — want to be in a sweltering classroom with no AC?
By Liam Carrigan on August 7, 2018
Forward Together: 5 Ways to Build Bridges Between Teachers and Dispatch Companies
Sometimes, simple steps can make a big difference — like these ideas for helping ALTs and dispatch companies in Japan reach more mutually beneficial relationships.
By Liam Carrigan on July 25, 2018
ALT Super Powers: From Unexpected to Awesome in the Japanese Classroom
When teaching in Japanese classrooms, inspiration for ways to help can sometimes come from the most unlikely sources — and don’t always involve your English lessons.
By Liam Carrigan on July 18, 2018
Using Down Time as a Language Teacher in Japan for Self-Improvement
What’s the point in having all that free time as an ALT if you can’t make good use of it?
By Liam Carrigan on July 10, 2018
Bringing the Concept of ‘Real Life’ English into the Classroom
As an assistant language teacher, sometimes it’s who you are here rather than where you come from that matters most to your students
By Liam Carrigan on July 4, 2018
Making the Best of It: Creating Positive Outcomes from Negative Situations at School
As an ALT, you can expect to face some tough challenges in the classroom. Here’s how I overcame two of the worst.
By Liam Carrigan on June 26, 2018
LGBT in Japan: Yes, it Gets Better!
Being queer in Japan hasn’t always been easy, but I want to be one of many voices that says it gets better.
By Alex Rickert on April 24, 2018
5 Soft Skills ALTs Acquire that Are Resume Builders
Learn how being an assistant language teacher in Japan has turned you into a valuable team player for your next employer.
By Cara Lam on April 19, 2018
Good Morning! This School Ritual Could Be the Key to a Great Day
Schools in Japan have many customs but the first energetic greeting of students in morning can set the tone for your students — and you!
By GaijinPot Partners on March 22, 2018
ALTs and Their Utility Belts: 3 Practical Tools for the Classroom
Things will go wrong in an English class, but if you plan ahead for possible hiccups you will rarely be caught by surprise!