5) Eikaiwa work is shoddy and may be hard to find. In fact Glenski, you paint a pretty grim picture of my chances as a 39yo Australian with nothing going for myself but a spouse visa... actually I'm considering using my British passport for the spouse visa this time. Being a 39yo Brit with a spouse visa might have the edge?! Opinions?
In short, nope.
With a more lengthy reply, we first have to realize that American English is regarded more highly by more people. I will not argue whether it really should be. Just keep this opinion of Japanese in mind. At best, you'll be given equal regard by locals. I couldn't say whether people in any particular region of the country feels more strongly towards either English. Also, are you saying you have both British and Aussie passports? If so, it's eventually going to get out, so then what are you going to do? Just be honest about yourself.
As for grim, yup. Look at it in reverse. Say a Spanish national, or Taiwanese, or Russian, etc. were to emigrate to Australia. Same age and circumstances as you. How do you think people in the boonies of Oz would take to such a person as a bona fide teacher of their home language, especially with scant ability to communicate business concerns in English in order to attract customers and deal with students? (This analogy is a bit unfair because not necessarily all of those languages are considered strong candidates by Australians as a necessary second language, and because Australians have a different mindset than Japanese, but it's a working proposal you should mull over.)
I think I will offer free tutoring to Japanese uni exchange students
Not an entirely bad idea, but please keep something in mind. The students who go abroad usually have far higher language learning motivation and level of starting English than you will encounter here for the most part. Plus, if they are uni age, there is a world of difference between their emotional and social skills compared to younger ones here. I mention younger ones because if you set up in a remote area, you won't necessarily be able to pick and choose your customers by age, and lots of parents here want to start their kids very, very young in eikaiwa.
Majestic offered this:
If you have some prior experience and the right attitude about it, you could skip the low-paying and fairly tedious eikaiwa part of your plan altogether and start immediately building a private business tutoring students.
Yes, and if you do, I
strongly suggest that you formulate a sound business plan first! Leaping into opening your doors at home to teaching at the kitchen table and planning little more than that is inviting problems. There are just as many details to assemble as in creating a restaurant biz from scratch. Too many to mention here, but consider:
- exactly where you would teach (home? Ok, which room is best? decorate it appropriately, too. Outside home? Ok, what is actually available in rural Japan? A community center? City hall? What rent will you have to pay for it?) At least in a city setting, you may have a central hotspot where people can access easily.
- What textbooks do you think are optimal? Textbooks plural.
- Length of lessons and series of lessons, teaching style, your attire, etc.
- Types of students you will accept (and not)
- Materials needed beyond textbooks (board/monitor screen, chalk/pens, tapes/CDs/DVDs, furniture for more than one student, posters, etc.)
- Payment plan (monthly? weekly? in advance?) and refund policy (for disappointed customers or absences)
- Advertising methods, locations, and costs.
- Taxes
Majestic also wrote:
Doing this may also make it easier for you to stay active in the music industry
I have not looked back on this thread, but if this is truly where you plan to go for long-term work, have you determined how you will do that (or even search for open doors) while living far from most people? I find this one to be very hard to fathom, but I won't criticize much further (constructively, mind you) because it's not my field. I suspect that like most non-teaching careers, your language skills in Japanese will be a big necessity just to get your foot in the door.
Go to gaijinpot.com and look at some of the blog links on the front page. I have not examined them, but their titles look promising. Here's an internal link from one:
The Japan Venture Show
You might also want to see what Terrie Lloyd has to offer your situation on his
Daijob.com - Looking for jobs in Japan? Want to work in Japan? website. He has excellent expertise in setting up businesses here, and he has many concise pieces of advice online at that site.
That's a very healthy realistic way of looking at anyone's advice. Perhaps this thread needs to get back on track with your specific questions. I sense it's beginning to diverge, as often happens with ishibai's involvement.
