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Teaching English in Japan

nomad89

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12 Sep 2013
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Hello all. I am a 24 year old English language teacher from the UK, currently working for a international language school in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. I have 2 months left of my 12 month contract and I am seriously looking into the possibility of teaching English in Japan in the new year. I am a British university graduate with a CELTA and nearly 1 year's teaching experience of 3-14 year old children. China was never my first choice (I actually wanted to live in Japan much more) but I realise that Japan is more competitive and there were lots of jobs going in China (and there still are).

I believe I meet all the visa eligibility requirements and I am not considering a move to Japan for a year/2 years on a whim.

My question are: do you believe I would be able to land a good teaching job in Japan? Is a year's experience enough to land one with a reputable employer, or do I need more experience?

I would rather not live and teach in Tokyo as it doesn't sound as authentic as say, Kyoto or Osaka.

I'm sorry if these types of questions have been answered already, and thanks for taking the time to read!
 
"Good teaching job". Please define that in your own mind. I would hope you have been researching the job market here and know what sort of things are available for someone with your limited experience. Yes, you are qualified to teach here, but do you really know what "teach English" means in Japan?

Answer: Be a lowly conversation school instructor, or be an ALT at a public school (actually, more than one). Either way, the pay is dropping here, and you should expect about 220,000 to 250,000 yen/month before deductions.

With only 2 months left on your contract, that means you want to be here working in November? Bad timing. You won't likely get anything in a public school (academic year runs April to March), and most eikaiwas (conversation schools) are already in full swing, too. Openings may crop up in the latter throughout the year, but after October and until late January early February, things slow down to a crawl hiring-wise.

I would rather not live and teach in Tokyo as it doesn't sound as authentic as say, Kyoto or Osaka.
Please explain what this means. I have no idea where you are coming from. Also, Tokyo has the largest number of jobs, so you automatically cut out a huge chunk of potential jobs. Kyoto has fewer jobs for foreigners, so keep that in mind.

Want more advice from a forum that has only English teachers? Go to the ESL Cafe.
Job Discussion Forums :: Index
 
"Good teaching job". Please define that in your own mind. I would hope you have been researching the job market here and know what sort of things are available for someone with your limited experience. Yes, you are qualified to teach here, but do you really know what "teach English" means in Japan?

Answer: Be a lowly conversation school instructor, or be an ALT at a public school (actually, more than one). Either way, the pay is dropping here, and you should expect about 220,000 to 250,000 yen/month before deductions.

With only 2 months left on your contract, that means you want to be here working in November? Bad timing. You won't likely get anything in a public school (academic year runs April to March), and most eikaiwas (conversation schools) are already in full swing, too. Openings may crop up in the latter throughout the year, but after October and until late January early February, things slow down to a crawl hiring-wise.

Please explain what this means. I have no idea where you are coming from. Also, Tokyo has the largest number of jobs, so you automatically cut out a huge chunk of potential jobs. Kyoto has fewer jobs for foreigners, so keep that in mind.

Want more advice from a forum that has only English teachers? Go to the ESL Cafe.
Job Discussion Forums :: Index

Thanks for your reply. Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you.

I have been researching the job market in Japan and believe I can find jobs with my CELTA and 1 year's experience with a big name and reputable school in China. Is an Eikaiwa a private language school? I am aiming to work in a private language school as opposed to a public school. I have looked at Peppy Kids and Coco Juku. Have you any experience with these schools?

Nope, I said in my first post that I aim to be out in Japan in the new year, so roughly the end of January/beginning of February.

Re. my Tokyo comment, I've read and heard that there's a lot to do there on your weekends (e.g. bowling, cinema, football, nighlife etc.) but it doesn't have a whole lot of culture. If possible, I'd love to find a city with both fun and culture, but I accept this may not be possible.

Yes, thanks for the tip re. Dave's ESL cafe. I check there every few days.
 
Re. my Tokyo comment, I've read and heard that there's a lot to do there on your weekends (e.g. bowling, cinema, football, nighlife etc.) but it doesn't have a whole lot of culture. If possible, I'd love to find a city with both fun and culture, but I accept this may not be possible.

I'm curious what is your definition of "culture".
If you're talking about something educational, or related to history, there are 2,868 temples, 1866 shinto shrines, 260 museums (including art museums, botanical gardens and zoo), 377 national and public libraries in Tokyo, just for example. There are many good concert halls, parks and gardens, too. Many of those places I listed are historic sites.
 
I'm curious what is your definition of "culture".
If you're talking about something educational, or related to history, there are 2,868 temples, 1866 shinto shrines, 260 museums (including art museums, botanical gardens and zoo), 377 national and public libraries in Tokyo, just for example. There are many good concert halls, parks and gardens, too. Many of those places I listed are historic sites.

Fair dos. Do you live in Japan? If so, where are you based?
 
I was born and bred in Tokyo, and am still living and working there. ;-)

Oh cool. I guess you must really like Tokyo as a city then. Would you recommend it as a place in which to teach English? I would primarily like to teach kids? Have you heard of a chain of schools calle coco juku? I came across their website the other day will apply to them soon. Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really interested in the idea of Japan.
 
Would you recommend it as a place in which to teach English? I would primarily like to teach kids?

Sorry, but I cannot really tell because I have no knowledge in the field of Education, teaching English in particular. All I can say is that Tokyo is such a big city, there are many, many schools, that means there should be a lot more opportunities than in small cities or countryside.

Have you heard of a chain of schools calle coco juku? I came across their website the other day will apply to them soon.

COCO Juku is very famous, I saw its ads on TV and on the trains. It is comparatively new among the many chain English schools such as Berlitz, AEON, Shane, ECC. All of these schools seem to enjoy good reputation, but this "good" reputation is in the perspective of students, not teachers. Most of those major English school offer lessons/courses for children.
 
Hello all. I am a 24 year old English language teacher from the UK, currently working for a international language school in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. I have 2 months left of my 12 month contract and I am seriously looking into the possibility of teaching English in Japan in the new year. I am a British university graduate with a CELTA and nearly 1 year's teaching experience of 3-14 year old children. China was never my first choice (I actually wanted to live in Japan much more) but I realise that Japan is more competitive and there were lots of jobs going in China (and there still are).
I believe I meet all the visa eligibility requirements and I am not considering a move to Japan for a year/2 years on a whim.
My question are: do you believe I would be able to land a good teaching job in Japan? Is a year's experience enough to land one with a reputable employer, or do I need more experience?
I would rather not live and teach in Tokyo as it doesn't sound as authentic as say, Kyoto or Osaka.
I'm sorry if these types of questions have been answered already, and thanks for taking the time to read!


Make life easy on yourself with visas and get a working holiday visa

If you are a UK national and under 30, and can get 3000GBP in the bank then you can apply to live in Japan for a year with permission to work without a specific job sponsor or type of work visa.
Use that to scope out the job market, if you get in a place you suit ask them to sponsor you a full work visa for the next year.

you might have to go back to the UK to do part of the application process, but it might be easier in the long run? 😌


I am planning to come over to Japan in 2015 with 6k on a working holiday visa to scope out work
 
Coco is a very new language school, and I would not label it as "very famous" for that reason. It's advertised on TV, but not all that much. Perhaps it is famous in certain locales.
Is an Eikaiwa a private language school? I am aiming to work in a private language school as opposed to a public school. I have looked at Peppy Kids and Coco Juku. Have you any experience with these schools?
Yes, eikaiwas are private language schools. Peppy is fairly well known, mostly in the southern regions of the country. Fairly positive reviews.

I said in my first post that I aim to be out in Japan in the new year, so roughly the end of January/beginning of February.
Again, not so great timing, especially in January. Fiscal years and academic years here start in April. Eikaiwas may advertise year round as a whole, but they tend to hire for April starts, and the peak hiring time is Feb/March. Expect 2-8 weeks for visa processing time, too. Were you planning to be physically present at those times, or hoping for an Internet interview? The latter is worse.

Re. my Tokyo comment, I've read and heard that there's a lot to do there on your weekends (e.g. bowling, cinema, football, nighlife etc.) but it doesn't have a whole lot of culture. If possible, I'd love to find a city with both fun and culture, but I accept this may not be possible.
Sounds like you've already backpedaled on this. Culture is everywhere. Once again, you have not stated what you actually MEAN by culture. Did you expect koto music in the background and everyone walking around in kimonos or with samurai swords strapped to their hips? Yes, Tokyo is a huge megalopolis, but it DOES have its own flavor of Japanese culture, just like London, Madrid, NY, Moscow, Sydney, Rio, etc.

Make life easy on yourself with visas and get a working holiday visa
He won't be able to do that unless he goes back to the UK first. Just so nomad knows.
 
I don't know what you mean when you say "authentic", but I would not say that Tokyo represents Japan. It's just ONE part of Japan.
It's one of the biggest cities in the world with all its good and bad points.
If you want to experience "authentic Japan", then why not live in the countryside?
I really don't get why everybody always wants to live in the big cities.

Tokyo gets a lot of earthquakes compared to Kyoto / Osaka.
Hokkaido gets a lot of snow, but is cooler in the summer.
Okinawa has sub-tropical climate and is great for snorkeling and diving. It's quite different from the rest of Japan.

If you want to experience "authentic Japan" and less competition in finding a job, then looking for a place to live outside the big cities is a better choice.
 
Tokyo is about as authentic as any big city if all one wants is a typically large Japanese city. I suspect someone wants an atmosphere that consists of koto music constantly playing in the background, visions of geisha and samurai strolling the streets, coy women who cater to one's whims (wink, wink) at restaurants and hotels, and a life like in Tonari no Totoro or Dragonball.
 
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