This spring, the Fukuoka Board of Education suddenly informed the 120 ¡°guest teachers¡± responsible for its elementary school English classes that they were no longer welcome.
According to a Fukuoka BOE spokesperson, with English becoming a required class in grades five and six throughout Japan by 2020, the city was switching to what it calls ¡°native speaker¡± teachers (NTs) ¡°for the purpose of enriching the classes and improving the teaching ability of teachers.¡±
¡°Daniel,¡± a 10-year veteran guest teacher (GT) at several Fukuoka elementary schools, says he didn¡¯t find out about losing his classes until about a month before the end of the academic year. Daniel didn¡¯t want his real name used because he still teaches a small number of classes in grades three and four.
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