This study offers quantitative and qualitative data collected through a survey of JTEs and NETs engaged in team-teaching. Teachers lacking an educational framework within which meaningful team-teaching can be realized are in danger of perpetuating the current status quo in the revised Course of Study, to be implemented at the junior and senior high levels in 20, respectively. Obstacles to realizing team-teaching’s potential include limited official guidance and gaps between the four-skills and conversation subjects featured in MEXT’s current Course of Study.
Uncertainty persists among team teachers, however, about what “team-teaching” really means and how close their own practices come to meeting its goals.
Native English teachers (NETs) have team-taught English with counterpart Japanese teachers of English (JTEs) in Japan’s secondary schools for over thirty years. In this paper we report on the new research, experiences, and practical ideas discussed in the forum. A forum at the JALT2016 International Conference was therefore convened to (a) discuss ndings from recent research on team teaching including Walter’s survey of preservice homeroom teachers’ perceptions of ALTs and Sponseller’s survey of JTE and ALT role perceptions during preinstructional and postinstructional phases of team teaching (b) share experiences on what is actually happening in many primary school teaching situations where team teaching is considered impractical and contractually outlawed and (c) discuss practical, transformational steps that can be taken to support teachers during the transition to more English in ESs. The compulsory introduction of foreign language (English) activities into Japanese elementary schools (ESs) has transformed the Japanese educational landscape in recent years and this trans- formation is expected to continue with English being allocated considerably more curriculum time in ESs in coming years.
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