System 107 (2022) 102799

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System
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/system

Book review

Narrative inquiry into language teacher identity: ALTs in the JET Program, Takaaki Hiratsuka. Rout­
ledge (2022). xiv þ 234

With this book-length study, Hiratsuka brings us the most in-depth look to date at the identity of foreign assistant language teachers
(ALTs) in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program, a program which pairs local English teachers with native English-speaking
co-teachers for public school English classes. Hiratsuka is an appropriate author for the subject matter and a credible source: Prior to
becoming a professor, he had been public school English teacher in Japan for many years, and much of his research and scholarship has
been devoted to understanding the experiences of ALTs and promoting better collaboration among local and native English-speaking
teachers.
In the introduction (Chapter 1), Hiratsuka shares his aim for the book, which is to address “a longstanding gap in our knowledge …
of the lives of ALTs” (p. 3). To meet this aim, he presents a thorough investigation into the identity of ALTs by focusing on the narratives
of ten assistant teachers. Chapter 2 discusses the background of ALTs in Japan, and Chapter 3 explains the scholarship around the
central construct of the book, language teacher identity. Here, Hiratsuka offers a definition of ALT identity, calling it “a continuous
process of being, becoming, and ceasing to be an ALT,” including how individuals “view themselves, how they represent themselves to
others, and how they are recognized by others in their local professional and private contexts” (p. 44). I think it is interesting and
important that Hiratsuka included the notion of “ceasing to be an ALT” as part of his conception of identity. Turnover is an issue in the
field of expat English language teaching, and by offering insights from participants who left the JET program, such as the effect of the
“distinct and ‘othered’ positioning of foreigners” (p. 87) in Japan, he helps us better understand factors leading people away from the
field rather than growing within it. In fact, by the time the book was published, all participants had left the JET program and had quit
English language teaching (ELT) altogether, which means that whatever institutional and professional knowledge they gained while in
Japan has been lost to the system and the profession.
In Chapter 4, Hiratsuka outlines the methods for the study, and in doing so, he shares his insightful knowledge of narrative inquiry
and personalizes his decision making undertaken during the study. There is an interesting section where he shares his own story as a
former English student and teacher in Japan, and where he is forthcoming with his motivations for the book:
From my past experiences, I can now say with confidence that I have the concomitant desires that (a) I want ALTs to lead the
best life they can in Japan, and (b) I want Japanese teachers and students, like myself in my own past, to successfully exploit the
presence of ALTs to the full. (p. 52)
This quote captures the humanistic and conscientious spirit of Hiratsuka’s writing, which is evident throughout the book, for
instance, in the manner in which he presents and discusses his participants’ narratives.
The study focuses on 10 participants, carefully selected from a wider pool of 22, who were chosen for their representativeness
across the factors of gender, nationality, age, race, and educational background. The findings chapters (Chapters 5–9) span what
Polkinghorne (1995) described as narrative analysis and analysis of narratives. First, in Chapter 5, Hiratsuka engages in the former,
skillfully reconstructing the findings from video-recorded interviews into first-person narratives from each participant. These narra­
tives are interesting to read, and they foreshadow the latent themes that will be expressed explicitly in the following chapters (Chapters
6–9), where Hiratsuka presents a thematic analysis of the participants’ narratives, culminating in a model of ALT identity, which is
arguably the most important contribution of the book.
In the model, Hiratsuka describes two primary aspects of identity: foreigner identity (Chapter 6) and dabbler identity (Chapter 7).
Foreigner identity is characterized by three themes—being a sojourner, local celebrity, and English expert, whereas the dabbler
identity involves being an assistant, a greenhorn, and a Japanese-language novice. Subsequently, he explains the internal (Chapter 8)
and external factors (Chapter 9) influencing ALT identity. In the conclusion (Chapter 10), Hiratsuka presents two figures of this model
that help the reader conceptualize the analysis by providing a condensed visualization of the analysis. However, he clarifies that

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102799
Received 23 March 2022; Received in revised form 4 April 2022; Accepted 7 April 2022
Available online 14 April 2022
0346-251X/© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Book review System 107 (2022) 102799

the whole point of setting out on the research endeavor and writing this book was not to put ALTs’ identities in neatly wrapped
boxes. Rather, it was to describe, identify, and even emphasize the complexity, ecology, and the whole gestalt of ALTs’ identities
and their constructions. (p. 216)
To this extent, as a reader I found that Hiratsuka was successful. Through careful analysis and thoughtful commentary, he lends
credence to the lived experiences of ALTs, and he concludes the book with practical implications and suggestions for improving the
efficacy of the expat co-teachers in the JET program. One such suggestion involves incorporating the model into ALT training. As
Hiratsuka notes, the literature on the JET Program portrays it “as a hugely successful venture under which it is assumed that all
participants’ experiences are overwhelmingly favorable” (p. 203). By adapting the model, and by including narratives of the lived
experiences of former ALTs, the initial training for ALTs could instill more accurate expectations for participants that “could allow
them to better prepare mentally for the reality of their professional and private lives as ALTs” (p. 203).
A further strength of the book that Hiratsuka shares his expertise with narrative inquiry scholarship in an accessible, personalized
manner, for instance, by including author reflections at opportune times, such as by sharing his own narrative (Chapter 4) and
including an epilogue in the conclusion (Chapter 10). It is also well-written and includes useful signposting throughout, such as with
meaningful previews and summaries of the chapters.
That said, there is one notable drawback worth mentioning in that the context of the book is limited in two respects: the participants
were all expat teachers in Japan, and they were all co-teachers (i.e., ALTs) in public schools. This inevitably limits the scope of the
inquiry. However, that is not to say that the book is not a worthwhile contribution. The book is part of the Routledge Research in
Language Education series, and I think the editors of this series should be praised for making space for contributions such as this. In
addition to providing model of ALT identity, it is a solid example of narrative inquiry and language teacher identity research. With that
in mind, I do not think that the audience will be limited only to those interested in the JET Program. For instance, the book does
contribute to understanding the identity of expat native English-speaking co-teachers more generally, so it will be of interest to
stakeholders in similar English education contexts that involve local and foreign co-teachers, such as in China, Hong Kong, South
Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. In addition, it should find an audience with those interested in research about language teacher identity,
narrative inquiry, and transnational language teachers. In sum, despite a somewhat narrow focus, Hiratsuka’s contribution should
make a welcome addition to any department library.

Reference

Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8, 5–23.

Ian Moodie
Department of English Education, Mokpo National University, B40-319, 1666 Yeongsan-ro, Muan-gun, 58566, South Korea
E-mail address: ianmoodie@mnu.ac.kr.