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Going to school, prepping to teach. Help! - 06-23-2014, 04:49 AM

Hello everyone. I am planning to move to Japan, but I need some advice.

I just graduated high school and I am prepping to go a local community college in the fall for a semester (I will be obtaining some computer programming and networking certificates during this time). In January I will be transferring, and my options are that I can either go to an American university to study Japanese and maybe go abroad for a semester, OR I can withdraw from college and attend a Japanese language school for two years (One 6 month program, a 12 month program and then another 6 month program. I imagine it will take longer than two years if you factor in holiday breaks and whatnot).

To be honest, I would rather go to the language school. It is located in Shibuya and if I do that I can learn Japanese while residing in Japan, which would probably be good for me. I plan to become and English teacher at some point and eventually obtain citizenship so I believe that this would be good for me. As far as I know, I don't get any certification from the language school. I imagine that I would get some sort of fancy paper saying I'm fluent in Japanese, and obviously the skills would help me with daily life in Japan, but I'm pretty sure I don't get anything that could help me as much as a degree. However, during this time I will have plenty of free time so I plan to take some classes online and get my TEFL certification in order to improve my chances of employment.

I've been doing some research for the past few months, and you don't need any kind of college degree to teach English in Japan. You only need a degree to get your work visa. But if you find a company that will sponsor you, you can go to Japan without a degree (It's just that your odds are slim). I will be getting my TEFL to improve my chances of employment as I will not have a degree if I go to the language school.

Is this a stupid idea? I mean, I don't really want to go to college, I would rather go to the language school and get a better grasp on the language. I'm 17 right now, but I would be going in January 2015, so I'll be 18 when I go. I'll be in Shibuya, which is the young people's city, so who knows, maybe I could even meet a girl and get married. That would certainly help me become a citizen.

Can I please get some input here? There was a girl from Japan who went to my high school during my junior year (Although I only ever talked to her a handful of times), and I've been chatting with her about it on Facebook. She even thinks it would be smarter to go to the language school because I would be immersed in the language.

I just really need some input. I want to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid here. As for working as an English teacher, I have an interest in that as a career, so I think I want to do that no matter what. I just need advice for school. Am I setting myself up for failure?

Last edited by OldWizardEyes : 06-23-2014 at 04:52 AM.
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06-23-2014, 04:16 PM

Japanese language might be tough much more than you expect.

How do you proof (or convince yourself) you could overcome the language barrier before coming to Japan?


Language makes Culture and Culture makes Language.

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06-23-2014, 05:17 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by RadioKid View Post
Japanese language might be tough much more than you expect.

How do you proof (or convince yourself) you could overcome the language barrier before coming to Japan?
I'm planning to go to a school in Japan to learn the language, I said that above.

I think I am going to go with my plan to attend the language school. My only concern now: How do I pay for this? It's so expensive and it doesn't look like I can get any type of financial aid to help me out.
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06-24-2014, 11:21 AM

This Youtube Video might help you.



Language makes Culture and Culture makes Language.

Links to Japan forum Tips :
1) How to remove spam massages on you screen
2) How to post Youtube movies or Pictures

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Ask professional translator for your business work. You can not get useful business resources for free.
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07-20-2014, 02:24 PM

As an older person with experience, who has a cousin and acquaintances who taught English in Japan and a son currently in a language school in Tokyo I have a strong opinion. A college degree will open a world of opportunities for you that a language school will not. Get the college degree, do the semester abroad, so you can try living in Japan and you can always go teach English in Japan after you have a degree.
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