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Help planning for a prospective teacher? 2016/10/31 19:05
Hello!
I'm hoping someone can list the process for me, it's been a lifelong dream of mine to be an English teacher but I always felt as though schooling for it wouldn't be worthwhile because of how few English teachers get hired nowadays.
I've always been very good at picking up other languages, though, so im not worried that I'll be poor at that if i start now and make it a daily ritual to use the language. In the next five or six years I was considering taking a degree or two with me to Japan. I don't mean to sound ignorant, if I do... I was really just hoping someone could take the time to explain how it would work, were I to pursue a teaching/interpreting career there, it's genuine interest! I'm 18, going on 19 in a few weeks, and up until now I've never had any real goals or aspirations. I've always wanted to teach, but I always thought it was a bit underappreciated here in the US.
I am not inpatient or in a hurry, I am more than willing to set aside the next ten years of my life to prepare, if I must. What things will I need to become a citizen? Is there anything other than a teaching degree that would be helpful to bring to Japan, like humanities courses or childcare or some such? Thank you.
by PresumptuousPanda  

Re: Help planning for a prospective teacher? 2016/11/1 10:18
English teaching in Japan isn't really a career, unless you're fortunate enough to land a job at a school (and that would require a teaching degree and fluent Japanese). Just teaching at language schools, or through a program like JET, requires a bachelor degree (to obtain a work visa), but the type of degree is not important (e.g., it could be in science!).

If you want to seriously pursue a teaching or interpreting career in Japan, you're obviously going to need fluent Japanese. You say you're able to pick up languages quickly, but remember that Japanese is different to learning, say, a European language - you not only have to learn the language, but also three new writing systems (hiragana, katakana and kanji).

Have you ever been to Japan? What do you know about life there? What do you know about the work culture? Would you be happy working long hours? Would you be comfortable living in a country where you are likely to never be accepted as a local, but always as a foreigner?

I'd start with taking serious language classes, and seeing how you fare. You'll want to obtain a university degree in order to achieve a work visa, as well.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Help planning for a prospective teacher? 2016/11/1 11:57
There is no magic recipe you must follow in order to have a successful English teaching career in Japan. It will require the right combination of skill, determination, connections, and more than a bit of luck.

What I would do right now if were you is...

1) Enroll in college-level Japanese classes, even if just for a semester or a year, to start studying the language on good foundations.

2) Try to contact foreigners with an established, full-time teaching position, usually they teach in private middle/high schools, or in colleges. People don't usualle get the chance to talk candidly about their job, so they are often glad to be able to do so. You can for example browse schools' websites (which you can find, e.g., when clicking a school on Google Maps) and see if you find something there. This will probably already require some Japanese ability.
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Help planning for a prospective teacher? 2016/11/1 13:21
All you need to be an English teacher in Japan is a pulse. I'm French but I worked as an English teacher back when my English was barely conversational and only had a high school degree.

Visas are an other story. If you don't have a university degree and a passport from an English speaking country, you probably won't be able to find a sponsor. (I was on a working holiday visa)

Considering the extremely low requirements and overabundance of applicants (99.999999999999% of English speakers want to work as English teachers since they don't speak Japanese and aren't qualified to work in other fields) the market is absolutely over-saturated and it's a nightmare to find even a part time position with low pay.

Even if you do find a full-time position that doesn't pay too terribly, like most people you'll probably get laid-off before the 5 year mark as this is when the employment becomes permanent.

No one takes English teaching in Japan seriously. Not the employers, not the teachers, and not even the students.

If you want to come over and do it for fun then go ahead, enjoy, but planning your life around English teaching in Japan is horrible mistake.
by S King rate this post as useful

Re: Help planning for a prospective teacher? 2016/11/2 07:41
It's not entirely clear what you want to do. Essentially, there are two jobs here, and it's not clear which one you are talking about.

First, the most common; Assistant Language Teacher. ALT is basically an assistant in language classes. Think "human CD player". A degree in any subject, and a can-do attitude will get you the job. Don't expect to last more than a couple of years at it though - 99% burn out fairly quickly. In general, I advise people to get the degree for the job they want AFTER their adventure in Japan.

Second, English Language Teacher. This is the job the Japanese get. This would require you to have a degree in education - almost always from a Japanese university. It can be possible to transfer over a foreign qualification, but it is exceptionally rare for that. In this case, you'd need native level Japanese language, and a willingness to accept 60 hour weeks as easy ones. Given that 500 schools (all levels) close per year, and Japanese universities are being urged by the Ministry of Education to reduce the number and size of Education Faculties, this seems like a hard row to hoe.
by Dainichi Heater rate this post as useful

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