Effectiveness of Team Teaching in Japanese High Schools

English education and team teaching in Japanese public and private high schools demand the collaboration of JTEs and ALTs. The roles of each in terms of lesson preparation/materials selection, as well as the perceived agency of the Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) and Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) in the national foreign language curriculum can become sources of conflict and dysfunction. This is an examination of their pre-service and in-service training. High school ALTs and JTEs nationwide were surveyed and interviewed. Both parties felt that there needs to be clearer guidelines of their individual roles to team-teach effectively.