TEACHING ENGLISH IN JAPAN Teaching English in Japan TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW Job Overview….……………..1 CHAPTER 1 Public vs. Private…………..2 CHAPTER 2 Job Search….………….……..4 CHAPTER 3 Experiences….….…….……..7 CHAPTER 4 Resources…..……….……..17 International TEFL Academy © 2017 OVERVIEW The Asian market is one of the largest in throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada. the world for English teachers, and Japan Instructors are usually responsible for air- has one of the longest traditions of em- fare and housing costs, although schools ploying English instructors. The Japanese do assist in finding housing and some- have mandated that English be taught in times provide accommodations. Most all of their public schools, beginning at age teachers live in apartments recently va- 5 and lasting through the completion of cated by previous teachers, and many high school. This broad base of child room with coworkers. learners has opened a large market for A solid hourly wage allows English teach- teaching English in Japan. Adults are ers to live a comfortable lifestyle, while taking English language classes in the saving up to 800 USD per month. English millions as well, and it often seems that teachers need a bachelor’s degree, and language schools, known as jukus, are on TEFL certification is required. Major cities every corner of a city block much like for English teaching jobs include Tokyo, Starbucks coffee shops in the USA. Fukuoka, Kobe, Kyoto, and Osaka. English teachers can find jobs year around, and in-person interviews are con- ducted 3 to 6 months in advance 1 CHAPTER 1 PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE Working in public schools throughout Ja- pan is very common for English teachers. Teachers –and are classroom assistants to Unlike language schools in Japan, public Japanese Teachers of English. schools typically have very strict applica- tion deadlines and start times. From There are a number of government pro- time to time a teacher may be able to find grams teachers can apply to, including the a public-school position outside of these world famous JET program. Another is In- times but these positions are typically terac. To get into these programs, you filled quickly by teachers already living in must begin the application process almost Japan. a year before you want to arrive. The most common public school positions The other option for teaching English in are found through the Jet Program. Eng- Japan is as private language centers, such lish teachers are more commonly known as Gaba, Berlitz, or AEON. Below is a chart as ALTs –Assistant Language comparing teaching for public schools versus private schools. 2 Public Schools vs. Language Schools Public School (JET) Private Language School Location Can be placed throughout Japan The teacher chooses the city or town Teaching 1 or 2 ESL teachers per school Many ESL teachers per school Environment Type of Student Children (elementary to high Children or adults school) Work hours and Normal school day Mornings, afternoons, and/or Schedule evenings Airfare & Provided by JET Varies; Typically, not provided Housing by employer Type of Job Assistant English teacher Lead English teacher Hiring Times One major time each year (early Year-round (may need to attend start dates can be available) an interview in your home coun- try) Timeline Info session: Varies depending on the school September – you are working for. Can take November anywhere between 1 and 6 Application Available: months. October – November Application Deadline: December Interview: January – February Results: April Placements: May – June Departures: July – August 3 CHAPTER 2 JOB SEARCH public schools through the JET program, there is a different process to gain a posi- The application for the JET program is a tion. long process that begins nearly a year be- fore the expected arrival date. The pro- When applying to private language gram application is only available in the schools, or jukus, it is possible to begin fall. If you submit all the documents (tran- the scripts, personal essay, proof of citizen- ship, and two letters of rec.), pass the in- terview process, and are selected by a process prior to arriving in Japan. This will Japanese school, you can expect to begin make it possible to obtain your work visa in late July and arrive in Japan with your prior to arriving in Japan, instead of enter- teaching job already secure. For English ing on a tourist visa and upgrading it teachers who are not applying to work in there. To get a work visa, you will need 4 your passport, Certificate of eligibility While most prefer the security of arriving (provided by the school employing you to in the country with a teaching contract prove that you have been hired), Interna- already signed, it is still possible to find a tional resume and cover letter, TEFL cer- job on the ground in Japan. There are tificate, Bachelor’s degree, and in some many language school chains that operate cases a criminal record check. throughout the country, and hire a large number of English teachers. It is possible Many teaching jobs are posted on job to secure a job at any time throughout the boards, so begin the application process year. Below are some of the largest lan- as soon as you can. Some schools will guage school chains: conduct interviews over skype, or even in your home country. Getting a job through Gaba – Provides one-on-one les- a recruiter is also a great way to smooth sons to clients of all ages and the process. Below are some of the most backgrounds throughout Japan - useful recruiting resources: http://teaching-injapan.gaba.co.jp/ Teach Away – Recruits for public and Berlitz – Employs more than 1200 private language schools in Japan - English teachers a year in Japan - http://www.teachaway.com/teach- http://teach.berlitz.co.jp/ english-japan/ ECC – Has 164 language schools Ittti – Recruits for language school Pep- throughout Japan and has different py Kids Club - http://www.ittti.com/ educational branches listed below- Footprints Recruiting - http://www.ecc.co.jp/htm/english http://footprintsrecruiting.com/learn- /index.html#01 about-teachingabroad/country- AEON – Teach English to infants up guides/country/japan to adults in locations throughout Japan - http://www.aeonet.com/englished ucation/ Amity – Teach English to all ages in schools mainly located in the cities, suburbs and rural areas of Honshu and Kyushu - http://www.amityteachers.com/te aching/ Westgate – Teach young learners, university students, or online stu- dents (must reside in Japan) throughout Japan. Contracts are usually signed per semester from 3 5 to 5 months and flights are reim- Recruit.net - bursed to Japan - http://japan.recruit.net/search.ht http://www.westgate.co.jp/applica ml?query=english+teacher tion/ Heart – Hires teachers to work mainly in public schools but also has positions working in private language schools - http://www.heart-school.jp/en/ Job boards are another good method for finding a job. Positions may be found on websites such as: Ajarn Recruit - http://ajarnrecruit.com/ O Hayo Sensei - http://www.ohayosensei.com/ Gaijin Pot - https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Jobs in Japan - http://www.jobsinjapan.com/ Career Cross - http://www.careercross.com/en/ Teacher Gig - http://www.teachergig.com/jobs/j apan 6 CHAPTER 3 EXPERIENCES Nagoya, Japan English What is your education level and back- ground? Teaching Q&A with Thomas Master's Degree or Higher Paeme Have you traveled abroad in the past? What is your citizenship? Taught English abroad previously Belgium If you have traveled abroad in the past, What city and state are you from? where have you been? Leuven Thailand, Cambodia How old are you? What sparked your interest in going to 25 teach English in Japan? I volunteered in Thailand and Cambodia as an English teacher for about 3 months. This inspired me to chase my dream of 7 becoming an English teacher. After com- were intelligent, constructive and very ing back to Belgium, I took an online TEFL useful. course and at the moment I'm teaching English in Nagoya, Japan. The tasks we got were extremely useful; they started off fairly easy but while our TEFL CLASS INFORMATION course progressed, the level of difficulty Why did you decide to get TEFL certified gradually went up as well. and choose International TEFL Academy? I browsed the Internet and some online Finally, the practicum (student teaching) is TEFL forums to find a good and renowned so important because you really get the TEFL company. It didn't take long before chance to put to use the skills and meth- noticing that International TEFL Academy ods you studied during the course. was the best pick. It sure isn't the cheap- est one, but it was definitely worth every How has your TEFL training helped you in penny. your current teaching position in Japan? First of all, it helped me enormously in Which TEFL certification course did you finding a teaching position because as a take? non-native speaker it is harder to find a Online TEFL Class job. How did you like the course? Secondly I had the chance to study a lot of The quality of the course was very high; I my peers' work; this gave me a lot of in- am very happy about the level of the syl- spiration and I still use a lot of the games, labus, the teachers and the co-students. activities and teaching methods that I The fact that students have to comment learned during my online teaching course. on their peers' assignments adds to the high level of this course; you learn a lot TEACHING ENGLISH IN NAGOYA, JAPAN from each other.