Jump to content

I'm Thinking About Teaching English In Japan


RoboThruster

Recommended Posts

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

a friend of mine just left, like last friday, to do this for two years.

he'd never been to japan

he is a 6foot+ tall dark skinned black dude with fraggle rock dreads

i cannot get over how many japanese people are probably staring at him and taking pics right NOW

 

so i guess, if he can do it, anyone can do it

he's got a four year art degree and doesn't have any special skills i know of.

 

 

also, i work with two japanese people and they are cool as can be

no prententiousness...they are humble, polite and acomodating

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by chivita+Aug 30 2005, 05:21 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (chivita - Aug 30 2005, 05:21 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-ARCEL@Aug 28 2005, 09:09 PM

Do you speak Japanese

I would think you have to do that

To teach English in Japan

 

 

hey this is rule number 1.

[/b]

 

 

Not at all, my sister did this, andtold me they actually prefer you not to speak english because it forces the students to try harder to communicate with you (the teacher).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been looking into doing this for a little bit now, I've heard some good things and some serious horror stories. People giving their opinions aren't aware of aware of the fact that there are different types of english classes being taught in Japan, ranging from what you'd think of in america teaching a different language to adolescents in school(which you need some sort of TEFL certificate for I believe) to teaching english slang and conjugation to workers and businessmen(where the only requirement in theory is a BA). Getting a job with a school directly pays more, but does require you do a lot of things on your own(housing, airfare, already being familiar with some japanese), where as some recruiting companies take care of everything for you, including setting you up with housing and taking rent and utilities out of your check. The drawback to going the recruiter route is that you dont know who you'll be teaching(Children/women/adults/workers/yadda) or where in the country you'll be teaching(countryside/city). A lot of these classes have 0 japanese being spoken in them, so yeah it would be a good idea to know how to speak enough to get around, but I guess nothing teaches you faster than total immersion.

 

Some dude I met while getting tattooed who didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer(he got his BA in "General Studies"....what?!?!) was talking to me about his experience, he went the recruiter route and had a positive time, But I've also heard testimonials of people who had a shitty experience with recruiters, feeling like robot cattle. Never really got feedback on specific companies though, which sucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh great dont even get me started

 

english teaching reallllly fucking sucks. however if youre doing it for a year im sure you can hack it. do you have a job now? can you keep a job? if you can adapt quickly and learn to play by a whole different set of rules then you can most likely be able to teach english aka be a language prostitute aka western clown, game master, western cultural expert phd. us citizens only need a ba or you lucky canadians aussies can get a cultural visa with a hs diploma. no teaching experience required.

 

conversation schools: aeon nova berlitz etc. the mcdonalds of english school. they take anyone and absolutley anyone. make these your last choices. they make you work 40 hours of teaching which is fucking exhausting. if someone doesnt show up for their lesson they put you in the back office and have you file shit for an hour or stand and be the human western blow up doll sitting in the lobby chit chatting about dumb shit until your shift is done. they give piss all training and factory farm the jkids along without any regards to an actual educational experience. look for privately owned conversations schools. preferably with someone from planet earth. that would be anyone western. japanese owned usually equals norman bates only with classrooms and kids instead of empty hotel rooms and stuffed birds. there are some decent ones out there but 90% will make you want to buy a first ticket home. btw you need absolutely no japanese to teach english. you only need to speak english. if a bunch of immigrants can make it in america with no english you can do it with no japanese. now if you plan on having a decent conversation with anyone besides whats your name well then i suggest you get to studying.

 

jet program. if you can jump through all their hurdles in terms of meetings, deadlines, paper work etc and get through the interview process then this is your best bet. they basically encase you in a han solo like bubble and bring your ass over to japan without any worries on your part. they bring you to the school, set you up in an apartment sometimes a house with a car and pay the minimum wage which is 250,000 yen a month ( around $2200) but its difficult to get in because of quotas etc also you cant choose where they are putting you and more often then not its in bumble. most of you i guarantee cant hack it unless you have a sincere intrest in j culture if its just girls well they get boring real quick. conversation doesnt get passed its hot/cold, this is interesting this is scary etc. so unless you learn the language you cant find any good girls unless they find your dumbass. most likely they will have a good grasp of english and there goes your dream of ever learning japanese. you can get into the public school systems here without the jet program such as interac etc but they suck too. they are just a middle man that recieves $1500 amonth that could have went to you had you scored the job without them. gotta have connects for those jobs.

 

i could go on but you did mention that it was only for a year so id say pack $1500 atleast in cash, a few credit cards with cash advances, (no one accepts cc in japan besides hotels, and a handful of department stores, and some suits and ties. besides that it really sucks but its a means to an end and you could find you actually like it here. but most dont. japan is only fun and exciting if you live here for one year anything passed that and you are venturing into murky waters. japanese culture is a real bitch, learning the language is hassle, people stare constantly, talk about you in front of you, some people look at you like your brad pitt, some look at you like some asshole, guys with 1980s hair, makeup, versace bags, and really bad fake tans act tough even though you could have probably kicked all their asses when you were 12. i could go on.... but im not known for speaking about the good things because well hell its different for everyone in terms of what they like. next year i will have lived in japan for 6 years. i obviously found things i like. thats the only thing that keeps me here. the job situation sucks. i freelance my ass off, and work in an ivy league level school part time teaching art and computers, and barely get bills paid. but i do put on occasional art shows, dj, and paint illegaly in the daytime in the open and therefore im happy. painting commuter trains even loses its appeal because its just too easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Biggus Dickus@Aug 31 2005, 07:19 AM

Nice information. Too bad the original poster probably sobered up and forgot about this fantastic new idea they had already.

 

What type of guy not only acts like a dick, but acknowledges the fact that they are a dick in their username? It's not even funny slapstick dicklike behaviour. Its genuwine dickness. It's all too elaborate.

 

Serum- thanks for the feedback. That was actually pretty helpful. I'm going to go talk to some travel agencies this week. Might hit you up after that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

fatbastard, check through your embassy`s website for cultural visa in japan. basically i believe that you could come to japan, get a one year visa then get a job.

 

now everyone advertises and says you must have ..... they all say that but they are basically dreaming. one requirement that gives me a chuckle is you must have a ba in teaching. anyone who has a ba in teaching would make a ton more money in their own native country so why would they come to japan? a masters in teaching however will get you highly desirable university positions. but 99% of the english teachers out there have just a ba or highschool diploma.

 

so apply for the visa and then send out dozens of resumes. some corporate places may not take you but i have met plenty of aussies, new zealanders, and canadians with out a ba and they find work. you just have to realise that it will just take a bit more work.

 

also coming to japan you will have to be brave and begin your job search once you get here. besides the jet program, do not, i repeat do not try and get a job from your native country. if you were to get one through a recruiter in say canada you would basically be paying a part of your salary every month to this fool. come here and get it once you arrive and keep that % for yourself. yes, a bit scary, and difficult since you have no address or telephone but it can be done. you cant expect someone to hire you while you are in another country so dont apply from abroad. these jobs advertise fast and interview fast. so you get here, pick up a classified section of the local gaijin mag and begin calling or faxing. buy a disposable cell phone from the convenience store and use that as your #. it should take only 2 weeks before you get a job. just dont come here in december, end of march/beginning april and end of july/ august because these are the holidays and sometimes theyll hire you but then you wont start until after the vacation ends because they dont want to pay you during that time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...