Prior to starting school in September, you will have to introduce yourself multiple times: first to your co-workers at your Board of Education (BOE), to the staff at each of your schools, and then again for each class you teach.

If you have little or no Japanese, don’t worry. This page will give you some ideas for a basic introduction in front of your colleagues, as well as ideas for your more thorough self introduction lessons for students.

Self Introduction Speeches (自己紹介/Jiko shoukai )

You will be taken to your office and schools in just the first few days after you arrive (Municipal ALTs might go see their mayor, and Ken-ALTs might come up to the Education Division to say hello to the PA/JET Supervisor office right off the plane!) – so you should prepare a short self introduction in advance.

In Japan, establishing relationships is very important, and you can’t really interact with people from your school/town/etc. until they know who you are. However, you don’t have to give a long introduction! Your name, hometown, and a positive greeting will go a long way toward establishing your new relationships.

It will be expected for you to introduce yourself in Japanese. If you really can’t, then English will be acceptable, but this gesture will go a long way and start you off on the right foot!

English	Japanese
Nice to meet you, everyone.	Mina sama, hajimemashite. みなさま、はじめまして
My name is   ~  .	Watashi wa   ~   to moushimasu. わたしは　〜　ともうします
I come from (city) in (country).	Watashi wa (country) no (city) kara kimashita. わたしは（国）の（市）からきました
I am ~ years old.	（〜）sai desu （〜）さいです
My hobby is ~ (and ~)	Watashi no shumi wa   ~   (to ~ ) desu わたしのしゅみは　〜　（と〜）です
I look forward to working with you	Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu どうぞ　よろしく　おねがいします

In addition to your short speech in front of your teachers (which will probably take place in the staffroom at school), you may be asked to give a short introduction in front of all the students in the school gymnasium. You can choose whether to give this in English or Japanese or a bit of both, but again something short is fine.

Keep in mind you will be giving self introduction lessons for each of your classes, so there is no need to make your intro to the students lengthy. Save something for the lesson!

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Self Introduction Classes with Students

The good news about your self introduction classes is that you should have tons of time to prepare before classes start in September.

Once September rolls around, things can start to get busy very quickly. You will most likely deliver your self introduction anywhere from 6 times (a conservative estimate in the case of just one small school with 2 classes per grade) to as many 50+ times if you work at multiple schools. Needless to say, it definitely gets easier and better with practice, but how do you engage and delight that first classroom of students?

Get ideas: Speak with your senior ALTs if you can. It’s easy enough to read the tips below, but seeing a demonstration of another ALT’s introduction can really show you how it works in practice. Usually at Saga’s Prefectural Orientation there is a session on ALT life/teaching which will hopefully give you some insight into how other JETs go about their introduction. You may also have a chance to attend a session at Tokyo Orientation when you first arrive in Japan.

Timing: Think about how you can vary the length of your introduction. In some cases, you may be asked to just to give a quick 5~10 minute intro, whereas in other classes you are likely to be asked to fill the entire 45~50 minute class period. You may like to prepare several different versions, or think about the extra things you will say or show if you have more time.

Audience: Regardless of the level you are teaching, pictures, flags, regalia from your home country or anything the students can touch is likely to go down well. If you can, try to get them involved, rather than just passively listening. Find common ground with your students – they will likely respond well if you show them similarities between your country and japan or examples of Japanese culture that you enjoy/are known/popular in your country (e.g. Ghibli movies, Pokemon, Japanese food, etc.)

Keep the English simple: Try to look through your textbooks and talk to your JTEs to get a feel for the ability of your students; often the biggest mistake new ALTs make is over-estimating the English level of their students, which leads to confused and bored classrooms. The biggest turn off for your students will be if they want to know about you but can’t understand anything you are saying. Also bear in mind that while games might be appropriate for elementary and junior high school, at senior high school the teacher may want you to incorporate some kind of writing activity, quiz, or other more ‘educational’ component.

Why English? Consider including a slide/activity about why students should study English. Talking about yourself is great, but also try to chip away at the idea that English is hard/impossible/boring/not useful to a Japanese person. Doing so could help focus some students or give others reasons to engage more fully. At a basic level emphasise opportunities to meet and communicate with more people, see the world, gain a better understanding of Japan and its place in the world and the chance to better enjoy things like foreign media, foods, travel etc.

Depending on your class’s level/age you could also highlight things like:

• The increasingly competitive job market and University entry
• English as a common global language (1.2 billion speakers)
• The English proficiency of Japan and other countries
• Japanese corporations like UNIQLO, Honda, Bridgestone, and Rakuten moving to make English their primary language of business and English ability a key component of job progression
• International events in Japan
• Opportunities to study abroad during senior high school (Saga Prefecture and other organizations have financial assistance available)
• Greater access to information and resources on the internet
• Showcasing well-known Japanese people who have a good grasp of English and use it in their day-to-day lives could provide some helpful role models e.g recent Noble Prize winners, Kei Nishikori, musicians like Miyavi, and sportspeople like Keisuke Honda and MBL baseball players.

Getting Students Involved

Whatever content you choose for your self introduction, try to make  it interactive somehow to involve your students. Consider using a game, quiz, or some other kind of activity. This is an area that may change depending on your year level.

Some ideas for ways to involve your students include:

• Jeopardy, True/False quiz, Comprehension quiz
• Question time – allow students to be curious in English/Japanese (depending on age/level)
• Introductions – prepare simple meishi students can fill in with their name, age, hobbies and have them walk about introducing themselves to you and other students
• Tactile items such as money (or pictures) for students to touch and see up close.

Other tips

Do:

• Be enthusiastic. Bring your genki!
• Speak slowly and clearly. Your students may have trouble understanding your accent at first and will take some time to get used to your English, even if you are using words they understand
• Try and show your JTE or HRT your presentation before so they can give feedback and are familiar with the content
• Include things for students to look at or touch. If you haven’t brought anything with you, don’t worry. Most schools have very good printers that you can use and probably laminators too!
• Whatever pictures you show, make them BIG! At elementary school, use bright colors
• Hang on to your self-intro lesson and materials. Not only will you be giving it A LOT, but each time you get fresh students (i.e. every April, especially if you change schools) you will need to pull it out, dust it off, and give it again
• Be flexible about the timing and flow of your intro. Always have something up your sleeve in case it doesn’t go according to plan.
• Learn from your first few classes – don’t be afraid to modify for subsequent classes if something isn’t working!

Don’t:

• Just talk at students for the whole lesson. This will be boring, no matter how cool or funny you think you are.
• Rely on technology (see note below).

A Note About Technology

Although smartboards and interactive TV screens are now installed in many classrooms throughout Saga prefecture, there are many that still rely on just a standard old-school blackboard. Even in cases where you have access to technology, remember that many computers in Japanese schools use older versions of software. You may find yourself with compatibility issues if you try to bring a presentation on a USB stick, or may be forbidden due to school IT safety regulations. You could be lucky enough to find yourself in a language lab with computers and internet, but of course there could always be some kind of technology malfunction that leaves you high and dry if that is your only prepared option.

Be sure to check beforehand to see what kind of technology may be available for you to use in your classrooms, but ALWAYS have a back-up plan. For whatever presentation or game you want to include in your lesson, consider having a low-tech alternative. For a jeopardy game, for example, you might have a PowerPoint file on a USB, but it would be wise to also take a paper version that could be used.

Similarly, you might want to prepare a PowerPoint (or similar) presentation, but as a low-tech back-up you could also carry a set of printed and laminated pictures (that would normally be shown in the presentation) with stick-on magnets on the back to hang up on the blackboard.