Can I teach in Japan?

First im sorry if this is on the wrong category and if you can let me know.

I' am a 20 year old native English speaker from Canada. I�f am TESOL certified. Furthermore I have 7 months of experience being a teacher assistant on a volunteer basis. I�f am of Salvadorean nationality, but I was born in the U.S.A. and currently a Canadian citizen. I�f am able to speak Spanish and French at the moment and I will learn Japanese soon.

Will I be able to teach and Japan? What are my chances and what more do I need? Will going to university, college or an institute in Japan help me with my situation?

Thank you for your time reading this I mean it, and for your answers as well.

As a Canadian citizen you will be able to get a one-year working holiday visa which will allow you to teach in Japan. For a full working visa you would need a university degree.

Check these sites for info on teaching in Japan:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewforum.php?f=11

http://eltworld.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=35

plus the many other similar posts on this forum. You will also find info here about the working holiday visa.

Hi
I have been teaching 12 years now in Osaka Japan. I know the situation very well.

I'm assuming that you are not caucasian. I don't care, but that might slow you down in Japan, even if you speak 7 languages. Japanese like their native English teachers to fit their stereotypes, which are changing at glacial pace.

If you want a good teaching job, finish university and get a 4-year degree. Anyone who comes to Japan to teach without a degree will end up with unreliable employment and short-term, visa-hindered work.

Since you have a certificate, it shows you are serious about teaching. Check your local university about the Applied Linguistics program if you want to live/work here. That'll put you at the top of the heap. Good luck!

I disagree. In Tokyo at least it is becoming very well accepted that English teachers aren't all blue-eyed blondes. I know plenty of Asian, African-American, Latino and South Asian (Indian and Pakistani) teachers working these days. Not being Caucasian is unlikely to be a handicap as long as you are a native English speaker.

hi tesoljosh, im in the same boat as you. Ive heard that the way you look is a big advantage if you fit the stereotypes and I dont have a university degree but i will have an advanced diploma in tesol when i start applying for jobs in japan.

I'd like to know how you go with finding information or getting a job. Ive been hunting the internet for information about teaching but most of its pretty old. It seems i have a great idea of what it was like to teach english back in the 90s and early 2000's but now is 2008 soon to be 09 and ive got no idea what the market is like over there. Its very frustrating!

well any way good luck with it.

If you want a decent job/decent pay, you definately need a four year degree. For most English Jobs in Japan, the TESOL will help you get hired, but not by much. If you apply to work as a ASL through the japanese government, it will help.
For an English conversation school, it won't affect things much.
The fact that you're of Salvadorean decent shouldn't be a problem, as long as you are a native english speaker.
I am currently working with a few forgein teachers who aren't quite the 'white' sterotype.
The job market for forgein teachers in Japan seems to be on a decline.
Because of Nova closing, there are more students going to others schools, meaning other English conversation companies are doing well, but because of the percieved insecurity of the English conversation schools, they are all tightening their belts, and less teachers are being hired then before.

-good luck!

Thanks for everyones answers... I got a better idea of what i should do.