Teaching English in the JP
 

Hello, my name is Jason. I am an ALT (assistant language instructor) in Gunma prefecture. If you are interested in teaching English in Japan, this thread is for you. There was previously a separate word document to accompany the info in this thread, but now the thread pretty much covers it all. If you have any questions about finding a teaching job, feel free to post them here. If you are teaching, please share your experiences and knowledge with the rest of us. Thanks for reading, ja ne...

I just got the information from you and it is amazingly helpful. I will be looking into becoming a ALT as soon as possible then staying in japan for a long time
thank you again
Justin

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Well, uhem, I can't seem to figure out how to PM :o . Jasonbvm, this thread's OP, sent me a private message that I replied to, but can't tell if he's gotten that reply. I'm very interested in more information! Ohayosensei is wonderful, by the way. Please reply to me, or tell my how to PM. I can't see an option for it. Thankx.:o

hmmm....I can help if you want!

okay, that'd be great! How can you help? With information about teaching in Japan, or information about how to pm?

PMing help.lolz

Great! then give it up. What's the secret? How do I PM him? I can't find a option to PM anyone.

ok. Ususllay when you click on a name for who is on you get their page.
You will get their picture on the top left and below that you get this add to buddy list and over on the right add to ignore list.Below that you get Fourm info and contact info. Look at contact info and you will see Email and Private message. Now PM stands for Private Message, so click the blue letters Send Private Message and then you can type to them. Be sure that when you are done tying to click send, sometimes I click preview message and click out. lolz. When you get a message, you can check by scrolliong to the top after you click on the Japan Forum name you get your picture and under that is Private messahes and it shows how many you have. Click Private messages and you get a list of all the messages you have. If you have a new one its a gold and if you have looked at it its blue and if you have responded it is blue and has arrows. To tell if you have sent a message you look for a little box that says inbox(#of messages) and click that and go to sent items and that will tell you the thinhs you have sent.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me!

Also, if anyone wants me to take a look at their resume and cover letter before sending it off, just email me to me. But you may want to message me through JF just to make sure I actually check my mail. And if I didn't mention it before or in the document, you want to apply to about twenty different positions and tailor your cover letter to what they are looking for and any contact info they have listed. Peace!

I got your email. Thanks, it's realy informative.

thank you
 

email recieved and read quite interesting
thanks for the info

Amendments and corrections
 

I basically typed all that stuff in one day and didn't read over it until today. I will add a little bit of info I feel that I missed last week.

Money- All those estimates are in yen unless it says dollars. I hope I didn't give anyone the impression you could make 250,000 USD a month.

Owning a car- The most expensive thing is the shaken. Jetsetjapan.com has a very good section, but I will summarize. When you buy a car, ask when the next shaken is. It will usually costs a thousand dollars more or less. I knew a guy who's shaken cost him more than the actual car. Car tax is in between three and five hundred USD. Lastly, tolls will add up (twenty bucks or so, one-way) just like the 4 dollar a gallon gasolin.

The JET Programme- website, The JET Programme--Official Homepage of The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (It's interesting that the ministry of education aims to teach American English but spells everything like they're from the UK) The hiring process is nearly a year long which I think I was incorrect about in saying it was six months. Have a look though, even if you want to go private. It will give you an idea of what they look for in ALT's.

Vacation and holidays- JET's get twenty days paid vacation and I think national holidays are paid for too. Some schools do not ask their teachers to work in August when the kids are out, but some do like mine have you there everyday. The kids will be here, just not in class. August is looking like football with the kids, but I digress. Privates will get whatever they sign for on their contract. If they are not promising you paid leave, ask if you can get ten days at the least. Say something like, "Well, I would really like to accept the position at your school but another company is offering me ten days of paid leave. Are you flexible on no paid leave in my contract?" Most likely they will give you the days because the school board is paying them when you take leave and they simply pocket the money. School holidays are different than national holidays, usually school holidays are not paid for. For example, we had four days of holiday for the New Year but only one was paid holiday.

Anyways, I look forward to your questions and welcoming you all to Japan.

More info...
 

I will　probably continue to add personal experiences in working as an ALT to this thread fairly often so keep coming back for more if you like. Today's installment, the run down of a normal work day:

The students and some of your teachers come to school around 7:40 or so in the morning. Not all of the students, just primarily those in club activities like baseball or tennis club. The practice or run laps until around ten after eight or so. ALT's are required to be in by 8:30 and expected to work an eight hour day. I get in around 8:10 to be at least present for the daily morning staff meeting at 8:20. The staff meeting is run by one of the teachers making announcements and giving the floor to any other teachers with an announcement. The principal (kocho-sensei) or the vice principal (kyoto-sensei) give a small announcement or simply stand up and say, "I have no announcement today." Then the meeting turns from the entire staff's meeting to the separate grades. Our desks are sectioned off into groups of teachers responsible for each of the three grades in the school. The separate sections discuss among themselves issues about their students.

Around 8:40/45 the homeroom teachers for each grade visit the student's homeroom classroom to make some short announcement and do a quick five minute cleaning of the school before classes start at 8:50. The entire time the teachers are in the meeting and for most of the day, the students really govern themselves. This is also true of the after school club activities. They get little supervision from the teachers.

There are four fifty minute periods before lunch and two afterwards on a regular day. Special forty-five minute schedules happen when there is a staff or school meeting at the end of the day. Lunch is...well, its okay most of the time. Sometimes you get some things that not even the teachers or the students want to eat for lunch (kyushoku), but it is probably the cheapest meal you will have in Japan. Sometimes you will, should, eat with the students. Other times just hang out in the teacher's room when you want the peace and quiet. After lunch the students mill around outside and in the hallways, look at books in the library and their class representatives come briefly to the office to ask what to expect the next day from their teachers. The teachers tell them what classes they have and what to bring to class.

After classes are over, the students and teachers clean the school. You will be expected to help out on this one, morning cleaning they never mention anything to me. It is something like ten or fifteen minutes before the teachers retire to the staff room for the majority of the remainder of the day. By this time, unless there is a meeting, you have thirty minutes left before you leave. The students are in and out of the office talking to the teachers about different things before starting their club activities just before you leave. Some schools encourage their ALT's to join in the club activities too, but I once did an interview with a private school that thought that was quite an odd thing to ask an ALT to do. I'd like to learn kendo but the gear is a bit expensive. Currently it is winter as well so all my funds are committed to seeking out snow on the weekends.

There you go, the normal 9 to 5 of an ALT.

?
 

is gettn a teachin job in japan da same as applying in da US?
or are their standards higher?:confused:

my school's Japanese teacher used to teach english in JP. :)

Another Update
 

Other Languages?

You do not have to be a native speaker of English for the JET program because they do seek other languages. Look specifically at the list of participating countries here The JET Programme - Aspiring JETs - Participating Countries to see if your country is on the list and what the embassy says about visas and blah, blah, blah

NOVA will hire native speakers of almost any foreign language. There are a few private French eikaiwas, and I believe Aeon Language services may hire a few of the others as well. But there are more jobs for English teachers which is why it is almost all you ever hear about.

Sometimes, I wish I could throw erasers at them...
 

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Jason...each post you give has loads of information in it, and it's always pretty useful.
But, do you ever do small posts? :mtongue:

Haha, no I guess not. I have a lot of free time when outside of classes so you end up with huge posts from me. I also like explaining myself or thinking in detail. And if you start looking back on a lot of my posts, you may notice that they are nearly always edited because I have a tendency to get really picky with spelling and grammar. I am a teacher or something like it. I correct stuff and write like nine to five. Which may be the reason I can reply to a two sentence posting with a paragraph.

Just like that one edited because of an unnecessary comma!
I tend to do that a lot too, but when I do it most of the time the 'Last edited' bit doesn't come up...

Why would u wan show ppl tt u actually edited it?Isn't it btr to allow ppl to think that u dun make mistakes instead? :P

Obtw jason,I'm still a wee too young to get my parents' consent to go to Japan and experience the way of life there, but i managed to get my folks to agree to let me go to japan once i come of age. I'm 17 currently but I'm planning to go take some time off in Japan when I reach 21-25.Is there a law in japan that restricts underaged job-seekers or smth?Cuz if there isnt,I hope to fulfill this wish as early as possible.However,if it cant be helped,then will u still be available on this forum by then?I've been comtemplating about wad kinda jobs i wana hold in japan.. or at least, wad kinda jobs to get me fuelled up and rdy to roll(teaching English sounds promising enough XD). I cant think of anything i wana ask at the moment.. but if anyone knows anything that i shld be knowing, pls do enlighten me ^_^

What up CoolNard, check with Japan's embassy in Singapore for info on getting a work visa. The requirements differ by nation and I am unfamiliar with Singapore. You should be able to click through to the embassy's site through the JET's website The JET Programme - Aspiring JETs - Participating Countries If are not a citizen of Singapore, refer to the country with which you hold citzenship.

Also, check this out boobooSKI - Ski Jobs in Japan Not sure if skiing/boarding is your thing, but this is what I want to be doing even though it is temp work.

And the chances of me being here eight years down the road are slim. As much as I love Japan, the world's a big place and I have many countries left to visit. I only showed the missing comma as an example for Maku, usually I don't leave the reason for editing. It isn't really wanting to appear perfect, I edit my posts because I am teaching English so when I use bad grammar and make mispellings I feel like a retard.

Pension Tax for JET's
 

Last week I had dinner with a couple of JET friends and we were discussing the differences in our wages. I was telling them how much I made and the salary of another ALT who is on the bottom end of the pay scale. They were asking how he could afford the income tax with that salary and I said, "What are you talking about, tax is just a flat 10 percent." They were like, "We pay four man (40,000 yen) a month in taxes." Turns out JET's have to pay in to the Japanese pension system. At the end of their stay in Japan, they will be reimbursed the majority of their taxes paid. I feel a lot better now about being a private ALT, but it would be nice to have that little added bonus when I leave Japan even if you have to do some paperwork to get it.

Lol.. tt was pretty detailed. I dun feel i hv any questions anymor ^_^ Nth less from an english teacher i guess haha.. but if i do happen to have more doubts, then yea,, i'll post them up here =) thx loads btw

Unfortunately I think my command of the English language makes me a rather poor teacher. At first I was making things too complicated and detailed for the kids. Sometimes I even would get the teachers confused because I am using words like homonyms and superlatives when talking about the lesson plans. Now I use descriptions like words that sound the same and adjectives ending in -est.

What to do when there is nothing to do
 

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do you really need a university education to get the job as a englishteacher/translator ?
can't you just get som sort of certificate or something that approves ones ability ?

I would check with the Japanese embassy in the country you hold citzenship. All nationals have different criteria for work visas. US citizens you do need a bachelors or some sort of four year degree.

To actually own and start your own English school though, you don't need anything. Why, I don't know. But that may be over simplifying the process of starting a school here.

Oh and to be a translator you probably just need to pass level one of the JLPT.

:D as if a youth with just a high school degree could ever afford to start an own school :D
but i understand that you'd need to have gone to a university to be able to work as a teacher, because you need to know so much more than just the language, like english history and poetry..
however.. I think that one can always manage somehow to get work if you let your voice be heard and ask around. I mean like a private tutor or something.

You are very correct. Determination will get you a lot farther in life than a sheet of paper.

hope you aint being sarcastic :D

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Native speakers.. what if you was raised in an english speaking country.. for a long period of time? good language skills over nativity.. or nativity over good langauge skills?

most of the time its nativity over good language skills.

I even encountered, that accent is more important than grammatical structure :D

Now see, that is really disheartening for me to hear. I'm a non-native speaker, however I've completed all of my university education (BA and MA) in the UK and, frankly, my English is better than that of the average native speaker. The only problem is my rather non-standard accent, which is somewhere mid-way between northern English and American.

But I really want to go to Japan! I even have a TEFL qualification from a leading university! Does anyone know of any language schools in Japan that might accept me anyway?

~annelie

don't be disheartened annelie. you have a certification and you studied in UK that's an advantage. Although English is the co-official language of my country, Japanese seems not to know that and I don't have any certifications, cause I hate taking them :D

Try applying for YMCA, I know for a fact that they accept applicants with proper teaching background than just accent.You can also try GABA.

goodluck

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