Wanting to Live and teach in Japan

Hello folks,

Heres the deal, i want to live and possibly teach english in japan (possibly assist in teaching as well)

Problem is i've been finding it real hard to get infomation on what I need to do this and where i can go to learn the skills I need.
So far the SOAS in london looks very good but other than that i dont seem to be having much luck (the Diploma in Modern Japanese)

I hear that in some cases you are not required to know Japanese to help teach English and in other cases they would preffer if you didnt speak Japanese >.<

Basically what i need is infomation on courses and what qualifications i would need to make my dream a reality.

(Personal Info to make things Easier)
Age: 17
Location: Hampton, Middlesex, London,
Postcode: TW12 2RF
10 Gcse's (7 A-C including C in english, B in maths and BB in double science)
AS level in Biology (E :S)

Thanks for any help and hope to hear from ye soon
(sorry if this is in the slightly wrongish section, i felt that it didnt specifically belong to any of the sub forums)

The quick answer is a bachelor's degree in anything and a tie. It helps if you speak English.

Shouken,
The short answer is what "nice gaijin" has posted. Entry level jobs here don't require much in the way of qualifications:

1) work visa needs a bachelor's degree in any subject, or 3 years of related work experience.
2) Brits 18-30 can bypass the degree requirement in another way, by getting a working holiday visa for 2 six-month stints.

Entry level work is conversation schools (eikaiwas), JET programme, or dispatch agency ALT. JET requires a bachelor's degree, but either of the other two options will work with a WH or WHV.

Just what sort of teaching goals did you have in mind? Long-term? University professor will require a master's degree in a specific subject, plus other credentials. International schools let you teach more than just English, but you need a teaching license from your home country, plus experience there.

You don't need Japanese to teach English in entry level jobs. As an ALT, you will work with a Japanese teacher anyway, and his/her level of English is passable, so you can get by. Besides, they want you to speak as much English as possible to simulate immersion classes. As for extreme beginners and/or very small kids, you might need a little Japanese, but it depends on why and on the employer. Obviously, the more you know, the better you will be off in daily life.

Oh, and your grades don't mean anything here. Just the degree or eligibility for a proper visa.

You can have a poke around my website, which is slowly being filled with these types of details too

hmmm

I'm having a meeting with a careers counciler later next week so that may sort some stuff for me XD.

Teaching: Nothing too fancy, just highschool equiv english, failing english teaching translating for an uber rich company XD

Japanese study English for 3 years in Junior High and 3 years in Senior High (in addition to recent inroads in their elementary school education). We foreigners don't teach them the grammar. Japanese teachers do. What we foreigners are responsible for is producing natural pronunciation and providing some foreign culture to the class.

You will find that ALTs (assistant language teachers) have quite varied experiences, but by and large, they work with (assist) a Japanese teacher. Whether the ALT is through the JET programme or a dispatch agency, their main role seems to be as I wrote above. Many students here have never had contact with any foreigner except on TV or in movies.

ALT work is one of 2 types of entry level teaching jobs. The other is conversation school (eikaiwa). That is a different situation, where you "teach" conversation to much smaller classes by yourself. Students come to the company/school and pay for lessons. If your students are adults, you may have to review some grammar, but the thing to understand is that they come to get only a very light education in that because of their previous training. They often come just to socialize, meet a foreigner, meet other people, spend their husband's money, get out of the house, etc.

Some posts deleted, please refrain from posting in Japanese in the Non-Japanese section.

Thank you

Dutch Baka said:

Some posts deleted, please refrain from posting in Japanese in the Non-Japanese section.
Thank you

Click to expand...

OK, sorry for violating that policy. Mine was at least clearly translated for the reason I didn't intend to cause offense.

I actually want to (someday) teach classical history and language, as well as American history, in Japan. Call it an attempt to marry all of my favorite subjects into one huge mesh.

Discussing these prospects has been met with mixed reviews. Some think that, with a PhD, I'd get in easily. Others think that there is such a lack of interest in those fields that I'd be hard-pressed to get a job in a Japanese history department, even if I was fluent in Japanese.

I actually want to (someday) teach classical history and language, as well as American history, in Japan. Call it an attempt to marry all of my favorite subjects into one huge mesh.

Discussing these prospects has been met with mixed reviews. Some think that, with a PhD, I'd get in easily. Others think that there is such a lack of interest in those fields that I'd be hard-pressed to get a job in a Japanese history department, even if I was fluent in Japanese.

Click to expand...

Here's the deal.

Universities will absolutely require that you teach such content courses in Japanese. I'm not even sure you will find a need for teaching American history! And, the minimum requirement for universities is a master's degree in a specific field. The market is getting smaller, too, with the declining birth rate and universities closing/merging.

High schools. Same language deal, and for public schools you will probably have to take a test in Japanese to get a teaching license.

International schools are a better bet, but credentials include a degree in your field PLUS a teaching license from your home country, PLUS teaching experience there. At least you will be able to teach practically any type of course in English.

By the way, just what is "classical history"????

I think its Green/Roman era history. The really old stuff