English Teaching in Japan
Discussion
Depends on what kind of risks vs reward you want to take tto be honest. Easiest way would be to go and work for an agency but obviously they will be taking a significant cut, second option would be to do this yourself finding clients and doing your course plans.
Work will mainly be for middle aged women and then after you have built up a rapport with them they will likely get you involved with their grandchildren. Be aware however that you will have a reasonable turnover of students as they will drop you without much notice as they have found another interest, at the moment a lot are turning over to learning computer skills.
Also you will need to be aware that the times of classes are likely to be all throughout the day but with sizeable time gaps so not massively conducive to a stable family life.
Everyone says that Japan is very expensive but as a place to live costs are very reasonable indeed and if even moderately successful you can have a very good life.
Do you currently speak any Japanese? If not a popular thing to do mainly with Japanese higer education students is to meet in a park for an hour and spend half hour speaking english and half hour speaking Japanese as a form of shared tutorage this will very quickly help you get bothe friends and comfortable with the language, maybe go on a long holiday and try thos to see how you get on.
Have you given much thought to where in Japan? You will need to pick somewhere fairly modern otherwise there will likely be little interest but of course nowadays there is a lot of competition in the bigger cities.
One final thing for the moment would to think of your future. I dont know if you have a family or commitments but of you spend a long time in a place you will likely meet someone, think long and hard about what this would mean. If you have children or loved ones who will remain in Japan what would this mean, if you stay with then you would likely only see your friends/family once a year at best.
This probably reads quite rambly and confusing so if you have any specific questions just ask otherwise i hope this has been at least some help.
Work will mainly be for middle aged women and then after you have built up a rapport with them they will likely get you involved with their grandchildren. Be aware however that you will have a reasonable turnover of students as they will drop you without much notice as they have found another interest, at the moment a lot are turning over to learning computer skills.
Also you will need to be aware that the times of classes are likely to be all throughout the day but with sizeable time gaps so not massively conducive to a stable family life.
Everyone says that Japan is very expensive but as a place to live costs are very reasonable indeed and if even moderately successful you can have a very good life.
Do you currently speak any Japanese? If not a popular thing to do mainly with Japanese higer education students is to meet in a park for an hour and spend half hour speaking english and half hour speaking Japanese as a form of shared tutorage this will very quickly help you get bothe friends and comfortable with the language, maybe go on a long holiday and try thos to see how you get on.
Have you given much thought to where in Japan? You will need to pick somewhere fairly modern otherwise there will likely be little interest but of course nowadays there is a lot of competition in the bigger cities.
One final thing for the moment would to think of your future. I dont know if you have a family or commitments but of you spend a long time in a place you will likely meet someone, think long and hard about what this would mean. If you have children or loved ones who will remain in Japan what would this mean, if you stay with then you would likely only see your friends/family once a year at best.
This probably reads quite rambly and confusing so if you have any specific questions just ask otherwise i hope this has been at least some help.
Did it in Vietnam for 6 months back in 2011.
I just turned up with a one way ticket and found work there, but from what I know Japan is much more organised and professional.
To be honest, I'd be up for doing again in a more organised way, and Japan would suit the bill. When I did it, it was truly piss easy. Playing hangman on the board and throwing a ball around class while the kids shout out English words for example. The hardest bit was class control - controlling a class of 50 unruly kids is tricky, although in Japan it won't be anywhere those numbers I wouldn't have thought.
But yeah, if you're bored, and you have the skills and experience to get back into work asap in a years time, then I'd go for it. Even just being immersed in a whole new culture is totally worth it! The experience is amazing and you'll never struggle to pick up girls for as long as you live!
I just turned up with a one way ticket and found work there, but from what I know Japan is much more organised and professional.
To be honest, I'd be up for doing again in a more organised way, and Japan would suit the bill. When I did it, it was truly piss easy. Playing hangman on the board and throwing a ball around class while the kids shout out English words for example. The hardest bit was class control - controlling a class of 50 unruly kids is tricky, although in Japan it won't be anywhere those numbers I wouldn't have thought.
But yeah, if you're bored, and you have the skills and experience to get back into work asap in a years time, then I'd go for it. Even just being immersed in a whole new culture is totally worth it! The experience is amazing and you'll never struggle to pick up girls for as long as you live!
As someone who has had a long-running love affair with Japan, teaching English there is something I've never been keen on TBH, however I did have a look into it a few months ago out of interest. There are many varying stories out there from people who loved it to those who had high-expectations crushed by a disappointing experience. I think a lot depends on where in Japan you get the work; from what I've seen/read, anything outside of Tokyo/Osaka/major cities makes the task significantly harder and because it is quite a popular route for non-Japanese to get visas to live/work in Japan, there can be resentment against you from hardline nationals (i.e. just the same as people here saying "all these foreigners coming here, taking our jobs"). However there are plenty of people who have made it work.
Check out youtube channels like Gimmieaflakeman; others are available however he's a seasoned English teacher in Tokyo and does a lot of response videos to others who have blogged about their experiences.
Check out youtube channels like Gimmieaflakeman; others are available however he's a seasoned English teacher in Tokyo and does a lot of response videos to others who have blogged about their experiences.
Have a look at the JET programme. My cousin did this back in 2005 and has been out in Japan ever since. His intention was to teach for a year and see how it went. Picked somewhere fairly remote to teach, think he ended up in Saitama which is about an hour away from Tokyo. He then got a job doing graphic design which is what his degree was in, met his now wife, had a kid, bought a house and is doing well for himself. Went out there in 2015 and It's good way of life if a bit hectic. It's definitely a bit of a ginger bread house though. Go in eyes wide open.
If I knew I could pick up Japanese quick enough and if I was a bit younger I'd have given it a go. 12 years later he's fluent and even the locals sometimes don't realise he's a foreigner. I only know basic words and numbers at the moment
If I knew I could pick up Japanese quick enough and if I was a bit younger I'd have given it a go. 12 years later he's fluent and even the locals sometimes don't realise he's a foreigner. I only know basic words and numbers at the moment
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