Teach English In Japan

I f you’ve recently                extensions being from 1 to 3       graduated from school and       years for U.S. citizens.           are at a crossroads in the                                         start of your career Teaching         Another very helpful trait is an   English in Japan might be worth       interest in Japanese culture.      looking into. Believe it or not       When you fly 10,000 miles east     the English language learning         things get pretty different        industry is a multi-billion           pretty fast. So having a desire    dollar one that employs over          to experience Japanese culture is  65,000 ESL teachers.                  helpful. Not from the standpoint                                         of getting a job but from the      What’s Needed to Teach                standpoint of enjoying the                                               experience. Those who don’t have   In order to get a job teaching        a natural curiosity or desire to   English in Japan, you’ll need to      experience Japanese culture        be a college graduate from any        usually don’t last that long.      field – (sorry but 2 year degrees                                        won’t cut it.) You pretty much        What Isn’t Required                also need to speak English at                                            native level fluency. There are       Contrary to what many believe a    some that do find teaching jobs       TESL or TEFL certificate is not    in Japan even though English is       required in order to teach.        not their first language but this     Although it does help getting      is more an exception to the rule.     higher paying jobs. The majority                                         of the large recruiters, the ones  You’ll also need a working visa       that have recruitment centers all  in order to work legally in the       over the world, don’t require      country. Most employers will take     TESL certification.                care of this for you. Working                                            visas are good for one year with      Also because these large           recruiters pay the minimum wage       Expect to work close to 40 hours   of 250,000 yen per month (roughly     per week. Each school is           $2100 U.S.) they also don’t           different but you can expect       require much teaching experience.     roughly 22 to 29 actual teaching   In fact the bulk of this industry     hours per week with the rest       runs on recent grads.                 being office hours. A typical                                            teacher will work 5 days per week  General Information About             with Sunday and another weekday    Teaching English in Japan             off. Teachers with seniority may                                         get Saturdays and Sundays off.     Let’s start with money. You           Typical office hours are filled    should expect a wage of at least      by grading student work, taking    250.000 yen per month. This is a      class notes, preparing future      entry level salary for those with     lessons or just chatting with      little or no experience. However      students. Most schools also will   be warned this won’t go that far      provide you with health insurance  in large cities like Tokyo or         or subsidize it.                   Osaka. You should expect a bit                                           more to compensate for the cost       Larger chain schools, mentioned    of living factor in these large       above, usually have a fixed        cities.                               curriculum. This means you’ll be                                         using their in house texts, tapes  Large English schools like Nova,      and other support materials for    Aeon, Geos, Berlitz & ECC will        teaching. For those who don’t      also offer 2 weeks paid vacation      have a lot of teaching experience  and most national holiday off.        it’s a helpful in reducing stress  Schools differ on which national      (there already is quite a bit in   holidays they observe but the         adjusting to the culture and       norm is 8 to 10 per year.             learning the language etc.) Those                                        who need to express their          creativity in the lesson will         Most of your large chain schools   probably find it stifling.            will provide you with some type                                          of accommodations. This is a very  Students who will be assigned to      big help as it’s difficult to      your class will probably be of        find accommodations on your own    all ages. Literally from 5 to 6       without the help of a Japanese     year olds up to 75 and 76 year        national. Not to mention being     olds. Some schools deal               very expensive. Although the type  specifically with children or         provided will vary expect things   adults but because of the             to be on the small side.           competitiveness of this industry,                                        most schools cater to all ages.       Teaching English in Japan surely   Student wise, you can expect a        is an experience best taken with   healthy dose of children and          an open mind. For those with an    young professionals like office       interest in Japanese culture it    ladies and salary men as they’re      surely can be one of the most      called to make up the bulk of who     enjoyable and lucrative ways to    you teach.                            experience Japan.                                                         About the Author: You can find more detailed information about what to expect teaching in Japan at http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com Read more articles by: John Paxton Article Source: www.iSnare.com