What Is an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher)?

If you’re researching jobs in Japan, particularly jobs teaching English in Japan, you’ve probably seen the word “ALT” (Assistant Language Teacher) come up. ALTs work in Japanese public schools, supporting language education and cultural exchange. Most come from English-speaking countries and support English-language classes.

As a job description, it sounds straightforward; in practice, the job varies wildly based on where you work and who you work with. Why? Well, to explain that, we’ll explore why the job of ALT exists in the first place.

Why ALTs Exist: A Short History of the Role

The ALT role did not emerge from a traditional teaching career pipeline. It was created as part of a broader Japanese government effort to internationalize Japan’s education system and improve relations with key trade partners.

In 1987, the Japanese government launched the JET Programme (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme). While English education was part of the mission, the program was designed around three broader goals:

Increasing cultural exchange between Japan and other countries
Giving students, especially in rural areas, experience interacting with foreign people
Supporting English education by putting native speakers in the classroom

Teaching English is part of the job, but it was never the only objective. From the beginning, ALTs also served as cultural representatives, simply by being present in schools and communities that had little exposure to foreigners.

This history matters, because it explains why ALT hiring has always prioritized adaptability, personality, and cultural awareness over teaching credentials.

Private ALT Companies

In 1999, Japanese labor law changes allowed private companies to supply ALTs to Japanese public schools. Having an ALT supplied by a private dispatch company is, in many cases, less expensive and more convenient for the schools than hiring at JET. Today, roughly one third of ALTs in Japan work through the JET Programme and the remaining two thirds work through private dispatch companies.

The ALT job changes very little depending on whether you’re hired by a private dispatch company or through the JET Program. However, the motivations of the organizations are different and do effect the ALT experience:

The JET Program emphasizes cultural exchange and participant experience
ALT dispatch companies operate as service providers to schools

For private ALT companies, schools are the client. That means reliability, professionalism, and smooth day-to-day operations matter a great deal. While these companies want ALTs to have a positive experience, their first priority is keeping schools satisfied.

What Do ALTs Do?

Whether they’re JETs or work for private dispatch companies, ALTs have to wear a lot of different hats to do a good job.

In the eyes of your students, you need to be fun and engaging both in and out of the classroom. For many of them, you’ll be the only foreign face they see and their only chance to practice their English in a real-life environment. If you’re boring or unengaged, it impacts their education and future careers.

In the eyes of the JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English), you need to be a flexible team player, able to adapt to their needs in the classroom. Some will want you to stay an Assistant, providing native-language pronunciation and helping run activities. For others, they’ll need someone who can help make lesson plans, lesson materials, or even take over classroom management.

In the eyes of the schools, you need to be an active participant in school life, from joining club activities to pitching in to help Cultural Festivals and Sports Days a success. Most of all, as you are a representative of the school, they need you to not embarrass them in the eyes of the students’ parents.

In the eyes of the local community, you need to be a responsible member of society who pays taxes, puts out your burnable garbage on the right day, and doesn’t disturb others by blasting music at 2 in the morning. Oh, and if you could get involved with local international volunteer organizations, that would be a big plus.

Now, all of these things are important, but how you prioritize and balance them will depend on the exact community you live in and the exact people you work with. Which leads to the famous ALT cliché:

“Every Situation Is Different”

Every Situation is Different (or ESID) is a truism, but it’s a true truism. It’s a recognition that ALTs can’t just work to the job description, they need to adapt to their environment and the people in it. Schools have different needs, different staff cultures, and different expectations. ALTs are expected to adapt to those local conditions, not the other way around.

ALT assignments can vary widely in terms of:

Number of schools
Number of lessons taught per week
Age levels taught
Degree of lesson planning responsibility
Expectations around English vs Japanese usage
Emphasis on language education vs. cultural education

Two ALTs working for the same company or Board of Education can have dramatically different daily experiences. This is a feature, not a bug.

What Schools and ALT Companies Are Actually Looking For

Based on the role’s history and structure, schools and ALT companies tend to prioritize traits like:

Flexibility and adaptability
Professional behavior in a school environment
Comfort working under unclear or changing expectations
Cultural awareness and communication skills

This is why interviews often feel less like teaching evaluations and more like personality assessments. The job requires someone who can function effectively in a wide range of settings, often with limited guidance.

Is Being an ALT in Japan Right for You?

ALT jobs can be a good fit if you:

Want to be part a Japanese community
Enjoy working with children and teenagers
Are comfortable adapting to unfamiliar systems
Can handle ambiguity without becoming frustrated

It may be a poor fit if you:

Just want a way to get to Japan
Only want to work with adults
Need rigid structure and clear expectations
Expect full control of the classroom

Understanding what the role is (and what it is not) can save you a great deal of frustration later.