Greek seeking English teaching job

Hello ,
I am George and I live in
Greece.I wonder if I could get a
job as an English teacher in
Japan.
All job offerings I have come
across so far require a 'native
speaker'.Does this necessarily
mean that I have to be from
USA , United Kingdom e.t.c?
I have studied computer science
at the university and have
a First Certificate in English
so far.
Would getting a Certificate
of Proficiency in English
improve my chances ?
Or do I have no chances at all?

Thank you

P.S Perhaps I could become
a Greek teacher but I have
found no job offering for
a Greek teacher so far either.
I don't want to be a software
developer anymore...
I want to deal with people
instead of machines.
I want to live a more simple
and joyful life away from
big cities...

If you are not a native english speaker, then you'll need to demonstrate English ability. Such as the TOEFL.

If you wish to look for greek teaching positions, a great website for you to research is called "DAVE'S ESL CAFE" http://www.eslcafe.com/

Thank you so much for
your answer!
Hmmm...Do I really
need TOEFL?I mean,
if I get the CPE ( Certificate
of Proficiency in Engish)
would n't that be even better?!
Do you recommend
Cambridge or Michigan certificate?!
And thank you for the link!
In general , how would you
rate my chances of getting
an English teaching job
in Japan if I 'm not a native
speaker but I do have a strong
certificate?!
Thank you very much

George,

In general , how would you
rate my chances of getting
an English teaching job
in Japan if I 'm not a native
speaker but I do have a strong
certificate?!

Not impossible, but very low.
Japanese English teachers are paid a fraction of what native-English teachers are paid, so why would an employer (or a student) choose a non-Japanese non-native English speaker over an English-speaking Japanese national?

Yes, I see your point...
Well , I guess I 'll just
have to keep trying even
if my chances are really low...

I want to thank all of you for
your kind replies...

It depends George, do you want to teach at an elementary school? Highschool or Universities? Students, Children or adults?
I am not a native english speaker and enjoying my life here so much teaching and interacting with children. You can really find a teaching job here.

My friend , thank you so much
for your answer! I felt
very dissapointed but now
I am starting to hope again!

Advice me and help me!
This is really important to me.

I may contact you if I have time George. Many threads here seem to be very negative and depressing concerning non natives teaching in Japan. I'm not saying it's easy to find a teaching job but it's certaintly not impossible. You really have to push yourself and not give up. When I arrived here I contacted 50 to hundreds of schools, had bad and good interviews and eventually found myself a job. I love children and enjoy my life very much.

Good luck to you

Thank you for your support.
I hope I will hear from you.

I don't see how it is negative to say that if one had a TOEFL that it would certainly increase their chances?

Yes its hard even if you had one, and are not a permanent resident of a english speaking country, but you want to do everything to increase your chance right? Increase your chance by having all the certificates you can have certifying your knowledge of english.

You're right, a TOEFL will certaintly increase his chances of finding a job here. I guess I was only trying to point out that he should not give up so easily concerning finding work here. I know quite a number of non natives teaching here so he should give it a try :-)

You guys mean TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language - something teachers-to-be get trained in) certificate, not TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language - a test non-native speakers of English take in order to qualifyt and enroll in universities in English-speaking countries), right?

To my friend was is also a
non native speaker :
Hmm...Could you please tell
me what were your qualifications
when you tried to apply for
the English teaching position?
I mean , your studies,
your English certificates,
previous teaching experience.
This would help me understand
better my chances and goals..
Thank you!

At least I know one of my friend, who is Japanese-Brazilian but went to American school all her life, got a job teaching English, no problems. For you, your foreigner looks are already an advantage, of course. The rest depends on your accent, I suppose. Why don't you start emailing companies and tell them how well you speak English ?

Often, they are looking for how you SOUND, not necessarily how proficient your English is alone.

e.g. Japanese people want to sound like a native English speaker, so if you don't sound that way, that is not what they are after.

Thank you all for your
kind help.

Hello George, I am American of Greek decent and I just HAVE to help you.
I know a Romanian lady here who has only a 2 year nursing degree and a thick accent, but she is teaching A LOT! If she can do it, you can! Sounds like you are qualified. I would check rural places and places like the YMCA. My friend teaches at a kindergarten and some elementary classes. If you can get here and have money to spend and stay, maybe coming here and searching in person would be a good idea. Yamanashi, where I live, is close enough to Tokyo and in a rural setting and may offer many opportunities. Nothing is impossible, Na prospatheis! Na eisai tuxeros!
Athena