How to : Live in Japan ?

[emkael]

Hello everyone !

First of all, I'm not an english speaker so excuse me if my writing seems weird.

Second of all, I'm sure there is planty other threads about that subject (maybe have you some links to share), but I just signed in and I really have no courage to make a major check out ("Major Check Out") to find them right now.

I actually live in Switzerland. I've been few times in Japan since 2003 and now I feel like I really want to go try to live there.

I was planning on working as a french teacher (which I'm not). I guess french is thousands times less attractive than english in Japan.

But still, is there any whatever language teachers who succeed that can give me some feedback or advices ?

I would be very interested on reading any of your experiences (good or bad) about achieving their dreams, even for a short period.

What are your secrets ?!

Thank you for reading and maybe answering.

M.

[tokusatsufan]

Oh I don't know about that. French is still spoken in lots of parts of the world.

[Sangetsu]

Teaching in Japan is not a bad thing for a young person to do for a time. The pay is reasonably good, and the workload is usually quite light, allowing you the money and time to see and do many things.

If your goal is to live in Japan permanently, you'll need to find something better than teaching. 3 million yen per year is enough for a single person, but isn't adequate if you want to get married or have children.

[RealJames]

I teach/offer both French and English lessons and the demand is about 100:1 -> English:French.

There are far more willing teachers than students for French.

Like Sangetsu said, it's not quite good enough a job (in English or French) for permanent living.

[WingsToDiscovery]

People can say what they want, but English is the lingua franca. Japanese want to learn English, and there's not too much of a demand for other languages.

[RealJames]

Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery

People can say what they want, but English is the lingua franca. Japanese want to learn English, and there's not too much of a demand for other languages.

That's a bit of an overstatement, don't forget about Chinese.
There are only a few less Chinese schools in Kobe than English schools.
English is still more in demand but Chinese certainly isn't such a distant 2nd.

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by RealJames

That's a bit of an overstatement, don't forget about Chinese.
There are only a few less Chinese schools in Kobe than English schools.
English is still more in demand but Chinese certainly isn't such a distant 2nd.

Although I could have explained better, I was really just considering most western languages. I agree, Chinese is quite popular.

[RealJames]

Originally Posted by WingsToDiscovery

Although I could have explained better, I was really just considering most western languages. I agree, Chinese is quite popular.

Yeah in terms of western languages, I see a few Spanish and French schools, but they don't last very long.
Some schools offer them in addition to English but you'd have to be well qualified to get that job considering the demand is low.

[emkael]

I see..

So RealJames, you got to speak french by learning it or are you coming from any french spoken coutries ?

How did you get in Japan at first ?

Thanks eveyrone for participating to that thread.

M.

[RealJames]

Originally Posted by emkael

I see..

So RealJames, you got to speak french by learning it or are you coming from any french spoken coutries ?

How did you get in Japan at first ?

Thanks eveyrone for participating to that thread.

M.

I grew up in the French Caribbean (Guadeloupe) and then lived in eastern Canada (Quebec city and Montreal). My French is as native as my English.
I don't advertise it because it isn't popular here, perhaps it would be like 100:5 instead of 100:1 if I advertised it more