Welcome to ALTing: It’s elementary school, my dear ALT.
Welcome back to “Welcome to ALTing.” This article is all about teaching at elementary schools.
Background information
Starting in 2020 in the lead-up to the delayed summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japanese schools started implementing changes mandated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (a.k.a., MEXT). These changes are most apparent in elementary schools as students officially begin learning English in 3rd grade, whereas under the old curriculum they started learning it in 5th grade.
The new curriculum mandates that 3rd and 4th graders have English class once a week. This increases to twice a week in 5th and 6th grade. In 3rd and 4th grade, English is a fun and playful activity meant to get their toes wet. In 5th and 6th grade, English is still fun, but it is a graded and tested subject just like math, science, and social studies. This is the current framework ALTs work under. If you’re inclined to read about the revisions, you can do so here for an overview. Information about the 3rd and 4th grade can be read here, and the information for 5th and 6th grade can be read here. These links will open and download PDF files, so don’t be alarmed.
Working in an elementary school
3rd and 4th grades
As mentioned above, English class is held once a week for these students. The primary goals are introducing a foreign language to students and letting them practice listening and speaking skills. There are no tests or grades, so everything is no-to-low-pressure and fun to help lay down a positive foundation for future language learning.
While both grades focus on speaking and listening to English, 3rd grade is more about that first contact with a foreign language. For example, the first unit in Let’s Try 1 (the textbook my 3rd graders use) is about greetings around the world. They learn how to say, “Hello! I’m ____.” That’s the goal. In Unit 2, they learn “How are you?” Very basic firsts. Students should be able to form and answer very simple questions such as “What (animal / color / food / sport /etc.) do you like?” and “How many (balls / dogs / rice balls)?”. Communication may not go beyond one or two sentences at a time.
In the 4th grade, the communication evolves into simple dialogues. There is a fair bit of review from the 3rd grade target vocabulary, but the students also learn plenty of new words and are introduced to slightly more advanced grammar, such as adjectives and gerunds. They learn how to tell time in English, learn the days of the week, and practice talking about familiar things such as their schools and their daily routines. Once again, students may not be able to communicate much beyond one or two simple sentences (at least by native speaker terms), but the variety of questions they can answer can be broader and more relevant to “everyday interactions” such as shopping and asking for and giving directions to places at their school.
5th and 6th grades
If 3rd and 4th grades were about setting out a foundation, 5th and 6th grade is all about building upon that foundation and setting up a framework for future learning.
By 5th and 6th grade, the students have had some exposure to English and a chance to try it out. Maybe they’ve had an ALT (maybe that ALT was you, dear reader) and had a chance to learn about someone else’s home country and home culture. While 3rd and 4th grades were all about fun activities, games, and trying English in a low-pressure environment, 5th and 6th grade are more serious.
English is a graded and tested subject but there’s still a strong undercurrent of fun and play involved. The students begin to practice writing English letters, easy and common words, and either writing or completing short sentences. Students can also make presentations “after organizing contents they want to communicate” (MEXT, “The National Curriculum Standards for Grade 5 and Grade 6”). These presentations can be made using worksheets (the analogue option) and/or Chromebooks or tablets (the digital option).
The students should also begin to learn when and how to use capital and lowercase letters; word order (subject-verb-object); understand basic pronouns (I, we, us, he, she, they, it); and be-verbs (am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had). They will struggle a little bit, but that’s where an ALT can come in to provide encouragement and corrective feedback.
The role of homeroom teachers and ALTs in the classroom
Homeroom teachers (HRTs) have a lot on their plates. Their primary responsibilities for English class include developing a lesson plan that is fun, teaching a foreign language, and preparing the students for future language learning. They have resources and a curriculum available to help them with that goal. HRTs are in charge of classroom management and student discipline. If a student is causing problems for you, you should alert their HRT.
On the topic of HRTs, they’re busy people. They teach every subject, attend meetings, have PTA meetings, and about a dozen other responsibilities to manage. You coming to class with an activity to help the students learn and try English really helps them because they are usually buried with work. Don’t underestimate your role in the English class, no matter how small it might be. Being proactive and showing your HRTs activities you’ve found or prepared can really help them. While you might not always get a yes, more often than not, they’ll appreciate the effort you’re putting in.
As an ALT, you may be a student’s first contact with a foreign language and culture. Imagine yourself as a cultural and linguistic ambassador there to help the HRT. Sometimes you will be more involved with making lesson plans, and sometimes you will just need to be present to help the HRT and the students. From my experience, I try to be proactive and make a plan with my HRT a week before class and bring in a game or activity or two. Sometimes, I’ve stepped up to plan and lead the whole lesson in a teacher 1 role with the HRT helping me explain the lesson and activities to the students. If you find yourself having to lead class at the last minute (such a case has happened to me at least twice now), doing a review lesson and playing some English practice games is ok.
Specific ideas you can use.
There’s plenty of games and activities you can find online to practice these skills to various degrees and effects. Without further ado, let’s get into some specific examples you can use with a little prep time and / or at the last minute.
The Keyword (or Eraser) Game
Grades: All grades
Time: 5 to 10 minutes
Teacher Materials: Flashcards, magnets, and a blackboard
Student Materials: An eraser
Procedure: Practice the target vocabulary with the class at least 3 times. Stick the flashcards to the blackboard with a magnet. Next, put the students into pairs and push their desks together. They should put one eraser in between them. Draw a circle around one of the flashcards: this is the keyword. Have the students say the keyword to practice saying it. Tell them to put their hands on their head, their shoulders, their ears, or up in the air. They have to listen for the keyword and the first person to grab the eraser wins the round.
This game is useful as a warm-up, for reviewing vocabulary at the end of class, and for practicing listening skills.
Variation: Keyword Karuta: This is a variation I play using little vocabulary cards. It requires a little extra prep time as you may have to print and cut little decks of cards for pairs or groups of students. Much like the eraser variation, the first person to touch the keyword card wins the round. This makes the game a little more competitive as the person with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.
The Shopping Game
Grades: 4th grade and above*
*3rd graders can do this activity, but they require shorter dialogues and more practice
Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Teacher Materials: Fake money or spare change* , cards representing real world objects, or relia
*If you do this, save your 1 yen coins. I found my students responded really well to using them. You can save 5 and 10 yen coins for smaller classes or older students.
Student Materials: Worksheets (depending on variation)
Variation 1: Worksheets and cut-outs with pictures of real-objects (useful for crafting activities).
Variation 2: Real objects (clothes, school supplies, cards representing real-world objects)
The shopping game takes extra prep-time and resources to make happen. Ask your HRTs and other school staff about what resources are available at your school(s) first though. They’re usually quite happy to help you find materials to do your job. I also use my own resources as I teach at 5 different schools, and that just helps me teach because I know what I have.
Procedure: Write a simple shopping dialogue on the blackboard or prepare a slide on a PC with the dialogue ready for display. An example I’d use with 4th grade would go something like this.
Teacher: What do you want?
Student: I want apples please.
Teacher: How many?
Student; Two please!
Teacher: 2 yen please. Thank you!
(Teacher and students exchange money and cards)
Student: Thank you!
This game is particularly useful for things that the students would see at a store, and I’ve done different variations to practice different vocabulary with similar grammar structures. I did variation one with my 4th grade students. They really enjoyed getting to ask for fruits for a parfait and ingredients for a pizza. The HRT and I cut out ingredients that students could color and glue to a parfait glass or pizza worksheet. I did a similar activity with my 3rd grade class, but the students made Christmas or New Year’s cards.
With my smaller special needs class (there’s only 8 students in it), we played the shopping game using clothes I brought from home. We also learned school supplies with the same game. Using real world objects like clothes works better with smaller classes. In addition, you can buy or make cards to represent real world objects for larger classes.
Toy money for shopping games can be found at your schools or at 100 yen shops. Be sure to ask your teachers about what resources you have available at your schools before rushing off to acquire your own. Ask about anything your predecessor left at your visit schools that may go unused otherwise. Raid the depths of your closet at home, too. Sometimes you’ll find some squirreled away resources you can use for your own classes.
I like to use real money (1, 5, and 10 yen coins) that I specifically saved for teaching purposes because kids (typically) respond really well to it. Even if it is technically a loan, real money (and other forms of relia) adds a sense of authenticity to the learning process, especially when relia is used in tasks that mimic everyday life. Relia takes a little while to gather and extra planning, but it’s a lot of fun for the students and even the HRTs. If you decide to use relia, use things at school, things you already have, and/or gather it up bit by bit.
Student Presentations
Time: 30 to 45 minutes
Grades: 5th and 6th grades
Teacher materials: Worksheets, teachers’ textbook
Student materials: Worksheets, students’ textbooks, student tablets and/or Chromebooks
Variations: Digital or analog; group presentation
Procedure: At the end of the unit, students will make a presentation using vocabulary and/or a grammar point covered in that unit.
At one of my schools, the HRT ended each unit with the students making a presentation at the front of the class using their Chromebooks and the TV. It helped develop some technology skills and linguistic skills, such as speaking and typing. I did something similar with one of my classes, but I used a worksheet they could draw a picture on and I had the students speak at their desks.
Making a model using the target vocabulary and/or grammar before letting the students work gives them an idea of the final product. You can also do group presentations followed by question and answer sessions. One of my 6th grade HRTs did this, and it was a big success. The students worked together, helped each other during the writing process, and had a lot of fun speaking in front of the class together.
Walk-and-Talk Bingo
Grade: All Grades
Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Teacher materials: Bingo sheets
Student materials: Bingo sheets and a pencil
Procedure: Prepare bingo sheets, give to students, demonstrate with HRT
Give the students bingo sheets. I like to do 3 by 3 sheets, but you can do 4 by 4 or 5 by 5 sheets. Place a grammar point (usually a question and start of an answer) over the bingo chart and a word bank with pictures underneath. Let the students fill out their bingo charts. I let my students try English, write in katakana (this is particularly useful for the 3rd graders), and/or draw pictures. I give them around 5 minutes for this part.
After their bingo sheets are complete, I demonstrate with the HRT. We play janken to determine who goes first. Then, we demonstrate a yes answer and a no answer. Yes answers earn bingo points, and no answers mean no bingo points are earned. 3 bingo points in a row is a bingo! (Bingo means stickers in my classrooms.)
Have the students stand up and walk around, playing janken and practicing their speaking and listening skills. I usually give the students 5 minutes, but it’s ok to give them a few more minutes if they need it.
Resources You Can Use
Strapped for time and/or ideas? Visit ALTopedia. Sign-up is free and ALTs from across Japan are adding plenty of new activities you can use with your classes. You can search by textbook, grade-level, and grammar point. I will point out that not every activity is suitable for every class, and that some activities will require modifications (simplification, upsizing, downsizing) depending on your classroom situation. Even if you come across activities that you necessarily can’t use, it can be a source of inspiration on a day when the ideas just aren’t coming.
The Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) journal, The Language Teacher (TLT) magazine, and conference archives are a good resource for professional development. Most of the materials are academic in nature and explore working with university and high school students, but there are articles specific to elementary school as well. Worth a read during the desk warming season.
For images, Irasutoya is a great resource. You can search with English, but searching with Japanese yields more results. Just use Google Translate and play around with the search terms. Other good places for images and photos include FreePik and UnSplash. All of these sites are useful for making presentations and other materials where you want to use pictures.
Closing Thoughts
I hope this article helps you find your feet in your elementary schools. Working with young learners is challenging and sometimes exhausting, but worth the effort. There’s something fun about watching kids try out a new language and have fun while doing it. And you might have a little fun along the way.
