A Few Questions

[yellowfrizbee]

Hey, I have a couple questions. Seeing as some of you might be in this line of work, I would be very grateful if any of you can help.

Background info: I am still very young (currently 17, a sophmore in an American high school) but Im interested in a career path teaching English in a Japanese Highschool through the JET program. English is my native tongue since birth and Im in the process of learning Japanese right now and plan too continue learning it all through College so I suppose if I keep my studies and majors in favor of the program, Id meat the requirements by then. Also, I understand Univeristies pay more but I feel a little intmidated thinking about teaching Uni students; perhaps this is because Im so young? Should I expect this too change with time?

Questions: Id like to know, from people in this career, a summary of what you think of it. What should I expect? Whats it like? What courses should I think about taking? What should I major in? Can you tell me anthing about the benefits? How bout the general pros and cons of being so far away in Japan? Is the work enviroment real serious, do I have to teach by a strict set of orders; Or can I make my lessons full of light hearted fun and joke with my students...use fun videos and such? Feel free to add in an info you feel I should know

Important question: How many holidays, how long are they, etc. details please!! Vacation is important to me..how does the vacation (including summer break) compare with the US? Sorry for all the questions! Your time is appreciated, I promise!

-Please help a future Japanese educator out ?

 

[Glenski]

You need a bachelor's degree to be hired on the JET Programme. Universities usually require a master's degree or PhD.

Go to www.bigdaikon.com to read what people currently on JET are like. Beware their immature attitudes!

JET puts people mostly in rural settings, usually in more than one public school, to serve as ALTs (assistant language teachers). The JTEs (Japanese teachers of English) are the ones who run the classes. ALTs support them in whatever way the JTE wants. Sometimes that's a lot, sometimes that's pitifully little.

High school and JHS students must take English for 6 years. Their true goal is not to become fluent in speaking it; the government has seen fit to make the real goal just to pass the college entrance exams (mostly reading and listening based). Native speakers merely provide natural English for them to hear. Anything else is a bonus, including the "internationalization" nature of JET trying to impart foreign culture to Japanese kids.

Benefits.
Salary
Sometimes low or free rent
A view of public education
Sensible hours (compared to conversation schools)
Support
Rural settings give you more opportunity to learn Japanese

Cons.
Living in rural settings may make one feel isolated and alone.
Public school kids are unruly (do a search on "classroom chaos")
JET has a limited term (3 years in most cases), and half of the ALTs never renew after the first year.
Your JTE may not be able to speak much in English, let alone advise you.
Lots of down time (which can be good, but many ALTs complain and just Net surf)

www.jetprogramme.org describes the vacation time. Trust me, Americans are spoiled when it comes to summer break. Get used to it.

Look at the FAQs for more info.

 

[JimmySeal]

Unless you are shooting for a CIR position, you don't need to know any Japanese to get a position as an ALT. Some interviewers would probably prefer that you don't know too much Japanese.

JETs typically get 20 days of discretionary holiday that they can more or less use whenever they want. Summer break is about a month and Winter and Spring break are about two weeks each, but teachers (usually including JETs) are required to report to school during those holidays or use their discretionary vacation time. National holidays and weekends are bona fide time off.

 

[yellowfrizbee]

Thanks both of you!

I see. After the time I spend with the JET programme, I will evantually be promoted (eh, lack of better word) to run my own classroom, right? Or will I be an assistant teacher forever ?

Excuse my lack of knowledge but, what is a CIR? I know what it stands for but my understanding on what it is could be better. Well that is dissapointing I was really enjoying learning Japanese..I guess it doesnt hurt to know it if im gonna be there.

The sites are VERY helpful, thank you for taking the time to read all of that and thank you for your patience with my noticeably inexperienced questions

 

[JimmySeal]

Any JET participants who teach their own classes are not the norm. The only teaching position JET offers is Assistant Language Teacher. There are plenty of non-JETs in Japan who teach their own classes, but they had to find the work on their own, and the vast majority work in universities, juku, eikaiwa or preschools.

CIRs generally work in prefectural offices or places like that, organizing cultural exchange activities, translating documents, putting out newsletters, supervising ALTs, and so on.

 

[Glenski]

JET ALTs do not get promoted. No way. It is actually illegal for an ALT to be in the classroom alone anyway.

You work the ALT gig for 3 years, then you find another job (unless you want to work as a JET trainer or some other sort of admin type). Those jobs are probably not in Japan, either.

Don't know what CIR means? PLEASE read my link FULLY before asking any more simplistic JET-related questions! That's why it's there.

 

[Mike Cash]

There is no such thing as a career path for what you propose. As already indicated, there is a "term limit" on how long you're allowed to work as a JET. Further, you would have to go through the normal educational path and licensing procedure as a Japanese person in order to gain certification as a genuine honest-to-gosh teacher. Add to that the fact that in practically all settings Japanese citizenship is a requirement for such employment anyway and you can see that prospects are infinitely dim.

That is not to say that you can not have a tenured career as an English education professional in Japan; you can. Just not in the form that you currently envision.

 

[pipokun]

Also, I understand Univeristies pay more
...

It may be right to say so in your country, but the situation in Japan is a bit different.

「博士募集」に応募殺到 秋田県教委が教員採用
文科省のまとめでは、１９年度の博士課程修了者の就職率は６割以下、人文社会系に限れば４割を切る。希望通りに研究職へ就けた人は１割強に過ぎない。
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/trend/080330/trd0803301834025-n1.htm

Many Ph.Ds rushing at teaching positions of high schools, Akita
...
A survey by the ministry shows the low employment rate, less than 60%, of Ph.Ds in Japan.
The rate for non-science major people who got a researching position decreases to as low as 10%.

Michael Green is the Japan Chair and a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as well as an associate professor of international relations at Georgetown University.
Michael Green (political expert) - Wikipedia

He was also in the JET program before.
Even the Japanologist like Dr. Green needs to have other fields as well as Japan-related now. I read somewhere that he is now focusing India-related matters as well.

I don't know how feasible it is for you to become a transfer student and take the teacher license course after the JET. But you can get the full-time teaching position after passing local teacher tests.

 

[Mike Cash]

I don't know how feasible it is for you to become a transfer student and take the teacher license course after the JET. But you can get the full-time teaching position after passing local teacher tests.

I am pretty sure that just as with police, fire department, and most other official positions Japanese citizenship is a requirement. It may be different if he teaches as a private school or one not accredited by 窶｢ﾂｶ窶｢窶昶?ｰﾃ闇?wﾂ湘?

 

[yellowfrizbee]

Sorry, Ill try not to ask those kind of questions.

Hmm well then what if I do the JET programme for 3 years, take the teacher liscense and all those requirements afterwards? Getting a Japanese citizenship isnt out of reach, if I remember correctly, you only have to stay there for 5 years, right?

JET programme is not a must for me. My main goal is to become an English teacher in a Japanese area..I just thought JET might help alot . Surely it takes hard work but I dont think I should count this career out completely.

 

[nice gaijin]

Just out of curiosity, are you considering this path because you want to become a teacher, or because you want to live in Japan?

 

[yellowfrizbee]

Because..I want to live in Japan and being an English teacher is the most practical job considering im fluently English and it paaays soo good. Seriously, Id have to be a college professor here in the States just to make the same amount of money an assistant teacher does over here. I also developed an interest in this career cause Id get to work with the kids of Japan!!

Also I have a Japanese friend (happens to be the one who got me into chasing this career) and he told me how if I do this, the JET programme will pay for benefits such as the flight. His daughter is in it right now, he speaks very highly of the JET programme. I havnt really looked into other jobs over there though.

 

[Glenski]

Further, you would have to go through the normal educational path and licensing procedure as a Japanese person in order to gain certification as a genuine honest-to-gosh teacher. Add to that the fact that in practically all settings Japanese citizenship is a requirement for such employment anyway and you can see that prospects are infinitely dim.

Mike,
The above holds for public schools, but not necessarily for private schools and definitely not for international schools.

As for private schools, foreigners can get FT jobs and work contract to contract (3 years at a time), or if they are very lucky they can get tenure and THEN have to get the official licensing courses. I have 2 friends doing this right now.

Public schools require licensing of FT teachers from the beginning, and that means a different license which itself requires that you go through the Japanese university system. I am 90% sure you don't have to be a J citizen, but it is extremely rare for any foreigner to do this.

International schools usually ask for a foreigner to have a teaching license and 2 years experience both from back home.

Teaching covers a wide ground here. Regulations change, too. The market is seriously flooded right now, and with the decline in the birthrate, schools are closing or merging, so the university market above all is getting very tight. I know people who have been here for 15-20 years, and they are living with strings of PT work.

Yes, JET pays for airfare, but that is about it. Granted, it is a rare thing to get paid, but there really isn't any other guaranteed financial benefit with JET. People say they got free housing, but it's all case by case. Don't bank on it 100%.

 

[pipokun]

You don't need to renounce your US citizenship to get a teaching position in a public school.
The fastest way is to enroll a college in Japan soon after you graduate from your high school, and take the teacher license course here.
In theory, you can be teacher at the age of 22/23, but keep in mind that it is highly competitive to be a teacher now.

If you are more ambitious to be a school principal in public schools in the future, you need to be naturalized here under the current regulations.
(*snip* The youngest principal seems a Japanese who was an ex-IT-related entrepreneur. So you still have 15 years ahead before you make a serious choice)

Now the job opportunities for international students are dramatically improving over the last two or three years. I am a bit surprised to hear the government starts the young entrepreneur (for international students) support.
Now I wonder what was our efforts to help my friend from a SE Asian country for his great entrepreneurship about 5 years ago, though he says he is fully satisfied with his job in his home country.

 

[Mike Cash]

The OP seems to have chosen English teaching primarily because she speaks English.

She has overlooked the fact that in order to go through the educational, licensing, and hiring processes involved in what she proposes she is going to have to achieve an outstandingly high level of Japanese proficiency.

I would recommend getting an education/skills in a field that appeals to her interests instead of her geographical aspirations. The geographical stuff can always be worked out later, but there is no point shoehorning one's self into a narrow career field if one feels no particular passion for it. Choose a field that both interests you and which will serve you well no matter in which country you end up doing it. The novelty of being in Japan wears off after a relatively short while and you don't want to find yourself in the position of being stuck in a career field you don't like or of finding yourself stuck staying in a location/country because that is the only place you've prepared yourself to be.

 

[nice gaijin]

The OP seems to have chosen English teaching primarily because she speaks English.

She has overlooked the fact that in order to go through the educational, licensing, and hiring processes involved in what she proposes she is going to have to achieve an outstandingly high level of Japanese proficiency.

I would recommend getting an education/skills in a field that appeals to her interests instead of her geographical aspirations. The geographical stuff can always be worked out later, but there is no point shoehorning one's self into a narrow career field if one feels no particular passion for it. Choose a field that both interests you and which will serve you well no matter in which country you end up doing it. The novelty of being in Japan wears off after a relatively short while and you don't want to find yourself in the position of being stuck in a career field you don't like or of finding yourself stuck staying in a location/country because that is the only place you've prepared yourself to be.

Very well said.

To be fair, the OP is 17, so it seems that she's determined that being a native English speaker, becoming an English teacher would be the easiest way to get where she wants to go, but has put little thought into the logistics of the situation, and what to do after she gets there. There is nothing wrong with trying the JET program and getting some experience living on your own in a foreign country and working for a change (as most JETs are fresh out of college), but if you expect to live the rest of your life in Japan, you might be in for a rude awakening.

To become a JET you need little experience and it pays decently, but that's mainly because you will probably be sent to the boonies where you will have no choice but to save your money. ~30 grand a year may seem like a lot to a teenager, and indeed it is good for a starting position, but there is no room for advancement and being an ALT is not a career.

My recommendation is to grow up a little and find things you are passionate about and pursue your studies in those fields. Try teaching in Japan for a year or two as a JET or with one of the private companies if you'd like, but since you just want the experience of living in Japan, don't base your whole education and life around what will likely be a short visit.

Lastly, come back in a few years and reread your first post here. If your spelling and grammar haven't improved by then, please, for the sake of your future students, don't become an English teacher.

 

[yellowfrizbee]

youll have to excuse me, my original post was accidentally erased before I could post it..so this is my post by memory

Well, thats the thing, I AM interested in being a teacher. Its the "English teacher" part I thought was practical. Im not just suddenly interested in being a teacher because I can speak English. Regardless if I went to Japan or not, I was always interested in teaching..just maybe not the English subject specifically. The "English" subject came from wanting to be in Japan. Get me?

My recommendation is to grow up a little and find things you are passionate about and pursue your studies in those fields. Try teaching in Japan for a year or two as a JET or with one of the private companies if you'd like, but since you just want the experience of living in Japan, don't base your whole education and life around what will likely be a short visit.

Oh, I am, this is merely an option im researching seriously. Youve never made a list of jobs in high school?

Lastly, come back in a few years and reread your first post here. If your spelling and grammar haven't improved by then, please, for the sake of your future students, don't become an English teacher.

Low blow man ! You might be grateful for my spelling and grammar if you saw how horribly alot of other people my age type on the internet . Anyways, Ive got alot to learn so Im not worried.

 

[Glenski]

Don't compare yourself to others on the Internet. If you are merely using Internet-ese, so be it, but if you want to be taken seriously as an educator, spell correctly and use proper grammar.

FWIW, on discussion forums, I tend not to berate people and their spelling for various reasons. I DO, however, appreciate good spelling and grammar.

 

[nice gaijin]

youll have to excuse me, my original post was accidentally erased before I could post it..so this is my post by memory
Well, thats the thing, I AM interested in being a teacher. Its the "English teacher" part I thought was practical. Im not just suddenly interested in being a teacher because I can speak English. Regardless if I went to Japan or not, I was always interested in teaching..just maybe not the English subject specifically. The "English" subject came from wanting to be in Japan. Get me?

I'm glad to see that teaching is a real interest of yours, and not simply the means to an end, as it is for so many people. What raised an eyebrow was the talk of seeking citizenship, when you apparently haven't even been to Japan. That's what I meant about basing the rest of your life around getting over there on the JET program.

Low blow man ! You might be grateful for my spelling and grammar if you saw how horribly alot of other people my age type on the internet . Anyways, Ive got alot to learn so Im not worried.

I realize that it was harsh, but when I worked for an eikaiwa during my time as an exchange student there were so many "teachers" there that had no business teaching English. If you are serious about becoming a teacher, you need to not only be able to answer questions about your language that you might never have considered yourself, but you need to be a good example for your students. You do yourself a huge disservice by making such blatant mistakes. Just because other people have low standards doesn't mean you should too.

And I don't normally play the grammar nazi either, and I let netspeak slide, but I'm referring to the misuse of homophones, run-on sentences etc. Granted, there's a long way to go, but it's painful to see someone that can't use their own language properly talk about teaching it.

 

[yellowfrizbee]

Don't compare yourself to others on the Internet. If you are merely using Internet-ese, so be it, but if you want to be taken seriously as an educator, spell correctly and use proper grammar.

Lighten up a little, I was jesting. Thank you very much for all the help btw!

I realize that it was harsh, but when I worked for an eikaiwa during my time as an exchange student there were so many "teachers" there that had no business teaching English. If you are serious about becoming a teacher, you need to not only be able to answer questions about your language that you might never have considered yourself, but you need to be a good example for your students. You do yourself a huge disservice by making such blatant mistakes. Just because other people have low standards doesn't mean you should too.
And I don't normally play the grammar nazi either, and I let netspeak slide, but I'm referring to the misuse of homophones, run-on sentences etc. Granted, there's a long way to go, but it's painful to see someone that can't use their own language properly talk about teaching it.

Whats with the saucy attitude? You come off rather pompous to me. I dont constantly check my grammar and spelling, as this is an internet forum, not a test. I really appreciate the help youve given me, but the subtle character assassinations are unnecessary.

 

[nice gaijin]

since when is it saucy to suggest that if you want to become an English teacher you should at least try to avoid careless mistakes? This forum is far from academic, and everyone here makes mistakes from time to time, but think about what you are saying and how you are saying it. I'm not criticizing you because I'm somehow offended by your mistakes, but that's the kind of thing that your chosen profession kind of frowns on. I'm just saying it for the benefit of your future students.

 

[yellowfrizbee]

since when is it saucy to suggest that if you want to become an English teacher you should at least try to avoid careless mistakes? This forum is far from academic, and everyone here makes mistakes from time to time, but think about what you are saying and how you are saying it. I'm not criticizing you because I'm somehow offended by your mistakes, but that's the kind of thing that your chosen profession kind of frowns on. I'm just saying it for the benefit of your future students.

I was referring to your posts throughout as well. Well, perhaps Im taking it wrong, or a little too personal? I can point out a few things that suggested otherwise. You are right though, I can see quite a few areas where I have butchered the English language...I could use some grammar and usage lessons.

Nevertheless, thanks for the advice!

 

[Glenski]

yellowfrizbee,
You might want to consider that the people you are throwing insults at ("Lighten up" , "saucy attitude", "pompous") are the people who are already here working in the field you seem to want to join.

Lighten up yourself and learn to respect your peers. It makes life working with them so much easier...on you. You said it yourself: Anyways, Ive got alot to learn

Or to put it another way... don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Mars Man]

May I suggest here folks, that we leave the matter of what has developed up to this point in any emotional sense, out of the thread, and just focus on additional information that may help in the process of making future decisions.

I would reason that we are all capable to entertain the concept that there may be things that we have overlooked, or may think differently on in variying ways (and do, in fact have personal opinions on at the moment even), yet can allow certain details or particulars go for now...in that we have the advantage of time and experience to play with.

Thanks for taking note of the intent of this moderating post.
Mars Man

 

[Glenski]

Seriously, Id have to be a college professor here in the States just to make the same amount of money an assistant teacher does over here.

In light of Mars Man's recent post, I went back to see if there were any unanswered questions. The above is not a question, but I'd like to pose one in reverse.

ALTs in Japan get 250,000 to 300,000 yen/month.
At an average exchange rate of 115 yen/dollar, that's US$26,000 to $31,000 per year.
How do you figure college professors really paid that low in the States? Even Wikipedia has grossly different (bigger) figures. Professor - Wikipedia

I also developed an interest in this career cause Id get to work with the kids of Japan!!

May I ask why this seems to thrill you? Having taught teens and uni age Japanese for a few years here, I am curious of your perspective, not just of the kids but of the education system here.