Personal reviews and assessments of Japanese ESL companies

[KazeToAme]

So I am returning to Japan in the near future and have been looking over various companies. I have made my own decisions about the companies that I want to work for, but even doing a good bit of research there are always bits of information that can be difficult to find. I thought a thread regarding some questions for current or past employers of companies would be helpful to me in making decisions, as well as helping people later to reach their own.

So first off, the companies that I have found that present the most care and respect towards their employee seem to be ECC and James English School. My questions now revolve around daily life and teaching methods used there-in. There doesn't seem to be a lot of material on how these companies teach and what strategies and techniques they promote. I personally strongly believe in immersion, creating a necessity and relevance for communication to teach language, providing personal realia, and as a by product of these, creating lessons relevant to daily life of students. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences is also something I subscribe to and I believe in constant assessment of self and students to find improvement. What sort of strategies and techniques do these or other companies employ? Also, I would love to hear from a Berlitz teacher as well. I am a current employee of Berlitz in the United States and really like many of their methodologies but have heard that the company is not the best choice of Japanese employer. I know they are now owned by the Japanese company Benesse, so likely are adopting many Japanese policies.

My second question is what is a working day or week like at James English School? Are there many split shifts or do they schedule their employees to work either mornings or evenings? How many days a week do you work at James?

Lastly, does anyone have any other Japanese ESL companies that they would recommend? For ALT or eikaiwa?

 

[Glenski]

The reason there isn't much info on how they teach classes is twofold:

they have their own systems, and
they are a lot like every other place.

I'm sure you must have read what each of these schools/companies offers by reading their web sites. Basically, you take the students through the same type of drill all the time. Present a new lesson point, explain it, model it, practice and elicit, then let them go at it in pairs or groups as you monitor. Until you speak to a teacher from either of those places, you really aren't going to get much more info, but if you have something specific to ask, fire away here!

Constant assessment? We're talking about eikaiwa here. Unless you end up with a one-on-one lesson, you're going to be monitoring small groups with conversation practice, and that's not easy even if the group is small. How did you figure on assessing them? Never heard of any quizzes or tests in eikaiwa, just so you know.

As for Gardner's multiple intelligences, you might want to just file that in the back of your mind and use it only in the sense that students will learn better if they are presented with more than one teaching style. Period. Otherwise, the school of thought about different learning styles has been disproven.

I am a current employee of Berlitz in the United States and really like many of their methodologies but have heard that the company is not the best choice of Japanese employer.

You might want to do a search on the law suit filed by the teachers and the countersuit from the company that failed.

My second question is what is a working day or week like at James English School?

Ask teachers there. The web site says: "Our teachers are given a great deal of professional autonomy to create their own lessons", so perhaps it varies like every other place does. I would suspect 45- to 60-minute lessons to run 4-8 per day, with a short break between, and maybe some time for interviewing prospective students or doing paperwork.

Are there many split shifts or do they schedule their employees to work either mornings or evenings? How many days a week do you work at James?

Write and ask them.

Lastly, does anyone have any other Japanese ESL companies that they would recommend? For ALT or eikaiwa?

Nothing for ALT, unless you want to go with the JET program (not a company, of course). As for eikaiwa, perhaps AEON or Peppy Kids Club.

 

[KazeToAme]

Hello Gleneski, thank you for responding. I have however already read over all of the available information on the internet regarding those pieces of information. I was hoping to make contact with a current or former employee of those companies. Your suggestion to talk to the company about their working days and methodologies is valid however I would rather save such questions until I am sure they will be offering me a job on the chance that such queries may put the company off me somewhat. While my resume is much stronger than the average eikaiwa applicant, or even possibly a large number of young eikaiwa workers, I think the last thing I want to do is put the HR department off of my resume.

Regarding constant assessment, there are many kinds of assessment, both formal and formative. While a greater number of students will make constant assessment more difficult, having taught ESL in public school in the United States I think that assessment of small groups in lessons should be entirely possible. Also, I hardly think Gardner's schools of thought have been entirely disproven, though of course other outside factors and stimulus often have greater influence and sway in the classroom than variance in teaching styles. However, many aspects of such factors you may not have easy control over while presenting the material in a variety of ways which may relate or appeal to the student more so than is within your control. In the end understanding anything all comes down to relate-able realia; teaching styles varied and tailored to the students is a good way to do that. That I suppose is the sense in which I subscribe to Gardner's theories as relevant to the classroom if that is indeed what you meant.

What you say about Berlitz is indeed largely why I have such concerns about them. I know that now being under Japanese ownership has already brought about changes in their corporate structure here and I think that is a shame. Typical Japanese companies have much less concern or respect for workers. I am assuming you have worked in the EFL field in Japan. What companies have you worked for and what were your impressions of them?

 

[Mike Cash]

It sounds like you are a serious, experienced, competent professional.

Be careful that you don't end up in one the joints where you're basically just McWarmbody flipping language burgers all day....pretending to teach English to people who are pretending to learn it; you'll go nuts.

 

[KazeToAme]

Thanks Mike, that is what I am afraid of. It is actually what kept me from just jumping into JET as soon as I graduated Uni. as well as what makes me so cautious. While I am still a young teacher I have a need for professional fulfillment in life and don't want to end up in such a situation while already living in an at time quite isolating culture. On the whole though I think that the benefits outweigh the risks for me and it is time to return to Japan. Plus the job market here is absolutely lousy. While I work part time at a Berlitz here, as I mentioned, but my degree and experience are currently being used to make 8 dollars an hour as a cashier full time to pay the bills.

On a more relevant note, I also hoped that maybe such a thread on this forum would help others to make more informed decisions about the kinds of companies they will chose to work for while in Japan. We've all met I think those people that just jumped on the first plane to Japan without learning enough about the culture or working conditions.

 

[Mike Cash]

I am largely ignorant of the particulars, but you might want to consider skipping the Eikaiwa racket altogether and aiming for teaching at the college level. I believe you'd be more satisfied and it certainly is more conducive to having a steady life here should you wish to do more than the here-and-gone which is the norm for Eikaiwa. I believe it may require a Masters degree, but given that in most cases a Bachelors is the minimum requirement (for most jobs, due to visa conditions) I suggest that anyone contemplating a serious move here try to do so with at least a Masters in hand. A Bachelors becomes sort of like a GED in a job market where everybody has one.

 

[KazeToAme]

Yeah, that was my original plan, but having not found any decent employ over here in a stiffed and over-crowded job market (the government being almost the only option for international education in the US) I am not really able to afford going to graduate school without going abroad to teach. While I technically meet the minimum requirements for Westgate in terms of teaching hours in lieu of a graduate degree, I know they vastly prefer that piece of paper. Long term I would like to teach at the collegiate level both in ESL as well as in more academic subjects like international studies or comparative East Asian cultural studies in a variety of locations around the world. That too will require the 50,000$ piece of paper. Though for anyone reading this with a Master's and a bit of experience Mike is completely right, look for collegiate employ. I am hoping that barring me being phenomenally happy with my company come contract renewal time I can make the jump to college teaching with a bit of luck.

 

[Glenski]

Yes, I have been in the EFL field since 1998. Worked in eikaiwa, private HS, and currently university.

As for the suggestion that you look at college work, you will need a master's degree minimum (in the appropriate field), publications, some J language ability, and experience in Japan (usually). Without this full complement, look elsewhere for a year. Then try PT in universities, but be advised that most uni work is PT, and that even such work requires master's degrees most of the time. Competition for uni jobs is very steep.

Mike's advice about being careful about eikaiwas is valid. However, who can say about JET? Every situation is different there, and you might be a token human tape recorder or practically the class convenor.

As for employment in the U.S. being poor, don't get all that excited about Japan, either. Salaries are falling in EFL here, employers are more and more cutting benefits (or circumventing them), and competition is high all around.

Want to teach in a uni something other than English, and you'd better be nearly fluent in Japanese.