Working Holiday, TESOL & Music!

Hi everyone!

This year I'm planning to live in Japan, and I'm almost 100% sure about how I'm going to get there... but I'd absolutely love some feedback and/or advice!!

Here's some background information first:
I have one year left of university so I don't have my degree yet. Since 2005 I've been planning to teach English in Japan, thinking I would likely apply to the JET Programme or another similar organization after graduating. But now my circumstances have changed! I've been in a long term relationship with a Japanese man for almost 2 years, the last 8 months of which have been long distance because he had to return to Japan before his visa expired. He and I, along with some friends who've also returned home, made music and had performances together here in Canada, and we all want to continue doing that once we're reunited in Japan. (We hope to eventually get picked up by a label in the future!)

So originally, my love of the Japanese language and culture was what made me decide to go there, but now my boyfriend and musical future await me in Japan... so I have even more motivation to go! ;D

Now onto the planning stage:
So far, I've decided to apply for the Working Holiday Visa. I've also decided that, with the current CAD = JPY exchange rate, I need to save around $9000 CAD (more money than I had originally planned) if I head to Japan without securing a job first. But I wonder, could I get away with saving a bit less than that (so I don't have to wait until June to go to Japan) if I am accepted for a job prior to leaving Canada?

My Japanese knowledge is okay, but I'm not fluent yet. I think that teaching English (either through an agency, private lessons, or English cafe) is most likely what I'll be doing to support myself. Since I haven't completed my degree yet, I've decided that it might be my best bet to take a 100-hour TESOL/TEFL online course (I can't afford the in-class courses) and get a certificate, since that is better than going with nothing. Is this a good way to think?

So essentially, my plan is to have a Working Holiday Visa and TESOL/TEFL certificate so that I won't have to rely on sponsorship to get to and work in Japan, at least for that first year. Once I have TESOL/TEFL and the WHV, is there a fairly good chance I could be accepted for a teaching job before I go to Japan, even without a degree?

I was under the impression that one of the issues with the degree is that it is 99.999% required in order to be sponsored for a work visa, correct? So if I already have a WHV, and if I am able to provide transcripts from my university, will my chances be increased somewhat?

I don't expect to get many music gigs or music-related job offers during my first year in Japan (although I do have some connections, so I could be underestimating the situation), but I also wonder if the WHV has any restrictions with regards to doing both teaching and music-related jobs at the same time. Does anyone have any idea about this?

Anyway, I hope someone out there can let me know if I'm on the right track so far! I'd love to get to Japan a.s.a.p. (I miss my boyfriend), but if I have to wait and save up more safety net money, then I will. :/

Sorry to be so long-winded and possibly repeating questions that have already been answered in other threads! Thanks for reading!!

- For the first year, since you will have Working Holiday Visa status, employers can employ you, or you can take on casual jobs, or you can perform music for a pay, etc, it should be no problem. Remember that Working Holiday Visa is a special arrangement so that young people can experience "extensive travel" in another country while providing opportunities to earn money along the way to help with the travel expenses.

- TEFL/TESOL certificate might increase the chance of employers taking you on, or students trusting you more, during that one year time. But note that you will not get long-term contract anyway, since your status is only up to one year.

- However, after your working holiday visa expires, since a bachelor's degree is an "immigration" requirement, (unless you already have several
years' of language teaching experiences), you cannot get any English school (employer) to sponsor you - or the immmigration authorities would not accept their sponsorship application even if someone wanted to hire you under their sponsorship - unless you have a degree.

- Note that once your working holiday visa expires, you cannot do any casual private teaching, etc., because you'll be eligible only for a temporary visitor status, under which no paid work is permitted.

- Another future possibility; if you get married to your Japanese boyfriend and acquire Spouse of Japanese National, etc. status, you can live and work in Japan, no restriction on work at all.


- Another thing you might want to consider is the current economy - there will probably be less students willing to pay to take English language
lessons, and there *could* be English teachers who may have been made redundant.

- Is there any way you can stay one more year to complete your studies and get your degree first? I think this is something that requires long-term planning, IMHO. And to be honest, 9000 Canadian dollars is not that plenty, unless you have housing and everything secured.

It depends on what TESL or TESOL, you take. If it is some standard online one, those are a waste of money and not worth the paper they are printed on.

If you are taking a real course like Cambridge or Oxford, then those have some weight. A good TEFL, TESOL etc acronym program will be one that has hands on feedback, actual teaching with peer review.

But in most cases employers for your standard schools, don't care about certificates, they care if you have a proper visa.

As for Visas, as mentioned it is a immigration requirement that you have a degree, even if you are transferring from a WHV to a regular Work Visa. Again in most cases this applies.

Whoops, I overlooked that it was an "online" course that you were looking at!

In-class courses would be worth the experience, it gives you firsthand experience interacting with students, and you get to work together with and will get to observe other teachers-in-training; you will get to understand what/why some non-ENglish speakers stumble over some grammar. Also the one I went to started off with the instructor teaching us Greek using only Greek - this is what YOU would be doing when you start teaching English using only English, so it was all worth the time and money and effort.

Thanks for the responses AK & John!!

I'm happy to hear that performing music should be okay to do on the Working Holiday Visa, that's a big relief.

I've been doing my research on schools offering TEFL and TESOL certificates, so I've narrowed it down to two schools that appear to be legitimate and recognized in Japan. I wish I could afford an in-class TEFL/TESOL course, but I can't... and I'm not sure I'd have the time for the in-class version anyway, since I'm trying to work as much as I can in order to save up enough money for Japan.

Yeah, I would have to head back to school and finish my degree if I want to stay and work in Japan after the WHV expires... but I'd still prefer to go to Japan this year, because of all the reasons I mentioned before. Plus, my university is on strike at the moment (it's a good thing I didn't enrol in September '08 because things are very uncertain for people who were supposed to graduate this year), and the whole school year is skewed... I don't fancy going for summer or fall courses during the tail end of all that madness.

Getting married to my boyfriend is a possibility for the future, so it's good to know that I will be able to work freely if that happens.

Yeah, $9000 is the bare minimum, really! :( But I likely won't have to worry about accomodations for least a month after I get to Japan, since I have lots of friends who will let me stay with them while I'm getting settled. My boyfriend and I would like to get an apartment together after I reach Japan, but if all the apartments have 2-year contracts then that could become a sticky situation... so we'll see. I'd LOVE to live there for 2 years, but obviously I don't know if that can happen yet.

If I were to take a Japanese language course (or another school course) in Japan, I could continue living in Japan with a student visa, right? Some of my Japanese friends who lived in Toronto did this, and took English classes at ESL schools, so I wonder if that's an option for foreigners in Japan too. Although, I wouldn't be able work on a student visa... but I'm just trying to think of all my options. :D

Thanks again for the feedback!

Most English instructors here in Japan will tell you, those online courses no matter how legitimate they try to sound, are not really worth the paper they are printed on. Most companies in Japan can't tell the difference.

Most companies don't care, and will train you in their methods if you have never taught before. What companies are looking for are:
1. You have the right visa.
2. You speak English.
3. Job experience

They don't care much about TEFLs and certificates, unless you're teaching at say schools/universities, in which case they would want you to have a "real" TEFL and not a online course.

As for studying in Japan, yes schools can sponsor visas, but it costs money and 9000CAD scratches the surface of what schools and immigration wants to see for student visa issuance.

I suppose all I can do is make as much money as I can, head over to Japan with the Working Holiday Visa and cross my fingers for a job, and then get kicked out of the country when my visa expires a year later. :(

But I'd much rather have it this way so I can at least have a year with my boyfriend. Otherwise, we'll be apart for 2 years, and that would be pure torture!

Thanks for the responses, guys.