Hello Everyone,
Thanks for your helpful replies. It is very much appreciated. I will try not to sound like a "Debbie Downer" as I reply to you good suggestions.
Move to the countryside where there are jobs? Or commute weekly to such a job? Teach online? Start your own juku or just hustle your own English students in your area? Meet students at McDonald's if you have to.
And, if I may ask, is there a particular reason for your unemployment besides age discrimination?
My family and I don't live in the countryside, but in a city with a population of about 400,000, which relatively speaking, could be considered the boonies to those living in Tokyo. I have applied to online teaching jobs, and sought out students here, but most of the students are kids. I have nothing against kids; have two young ones myself, aged 10 and 12, it's just that I went back to North America to get the requisite qualifications to teach at the university level, and feel that is where I am best suited. I have put up a sign at the local international center on several occassions, but it never generated any lessons...Apart from my age, the only thing I can think of is my Japanese is not great, not fluent enough to do the kind of job I had a few years back here, where I was asked to do all the administrative stuff in Japanese, and had a mental meltdown and had to quit. I have no ill will against that employer. I just told them they should hire native Japanese speakers to teach English, since I don't have that language proficiency. I taught at the university level in the Middle East and South Korea, and from my experience, most of the foreign EFL teachers had little or no knowledge of Arabic or Korean; myself included. Again, I want to emphasize, that with respect to Japan, it's THEIR country, and they can do what they want, hire whom they want...So living in this small community, maybe my mental breakdown got around to other employers?
And instead of harbouring ill-will or anger against those foreigners in your area, have you tried approaching them? I have always found peer networking to be quite efficient.
I did join JALT a few years ago,but it did not open up any doors for me. I suppose I felt so discouraged and disillusioned about the hiring process here, I felt that writing and publishing the "three pieces of work that is usually required from universities" would not make a difference…
Do you consider yourself qualified to teach English?
Yes, I have a master's degree in TEFL and did it on-campus. I mention this fact since some of the places I taught in the Middle East were starting to avoid teaching applicants who did graduate degrees online since there was no teaching practicum, like I did. I also went to the USA to get an elementary teaching degree and a CELTA in Vancouver.
hat was my next question, too. Are there any language schools in your town?
Yes, there are. When I went to HelloWork and the local labour office here, they could only suggest Interac. I did begin the application process, but later contacted them to bow out, since their hiring age limit is 60 (I'm turning 59 in January), and I don't have a driving license. They were very cool about it.
What sort of jobs do the other foreigners who are "less qualified" and "less educated" than you have?
Well those foreigners who are teaching at the local universities here who have only a bachelors degree, and usually in an unrelated field to TEFL. Or,if they do have any graduate education, it is in something like geography….
I don't say this to rub salt in the wound, but if you can't speak much Japanese (I'm just extrapolating from your other thread about grocery bags; forgive me if I'm being presumptuous) this would also naturally count against you.
My Japanese is OK, probably a lower-intermediate level. I have never taken the JLPT, but I reckon if I did, I think I could pass N4. But the difference between an N4 and what I was expected to do at my last job in Japan is vast. I usually tell people that for my wife or, say another Japanese teacher at that college, they could read a memo written in Japanese in a minute, whereas for me, it would take a few hours with a dictionary, and I would still not be sure if I had it right. Again, I want to emphasize, there are many foreigners here in Japan who are very proficient in Japanese, but despite they years of self-study and language classes, I am not in that league.
I don't mean to suggest it'll be easy to go from your current level to fluent at your age (again, sorry, not trying to be rude, just speaking objectively about language learning), but it's never too late to learn, and I think that being able to communicate independently would also do a lot for your self-esteem.
No offence taken, and I agree that it's getting harder for me to learn as I get older. Regarding the idea to volunteer or do something, 3 years ago I tried to start a local chapter of Amnesty International, and a local chapter of the Environmental group, 350.org, but after a couple of months of going solo and no interest expressed from the Japanese or foreign community, I gave up. Thomas (the Admnistrator) can attest to the effort I made on this forum a while back to raise awareness about climate change, and I tried a 2nd attepmpt here in my town, by visiting the universities, colleges, international center, JICA, a local environmental NPO, and visited the international affairs division at the KENCHO to bounce-off the idea to them of me visiting high schools to talk about climate change. Like the international center, the education system here was not interested in what I had to say, so I gave up.
If you want to try being a celebrant and you need a driver's license, continue taking the driving test until you pass, or sign up for driving school where they virtually guarantee you will pass the practical test.
Yes, I agree I should try again. I did have a BC license from Canada, but while my wife and I were in the Middle East, ever vacation would be back to Japan, thus I was not able to renew it. I did call a driving school yesterday and was told I could complete a 6-week course with 2-3 hours of class/day for about 230,000. The only reason I would do this, since I have been able to get around town for other teaching jobs, is one wedding celebrant company I applied to said they would not allow me to ride my bike to the site, but would need to come by car.
i have another question for you. Do you think you would enjoy teaching English? Teaching English is not for everyone. If you don't enjoy teaching English, your students will pick up on it and it won't go well for you.
Yes, I do.
