For my references I got mine from a dean/professor at Ryukoku University in Japan and from an English school in Melbourne where i volunteer. This got me to the interview stage, which is what i guess it is helpful for. now i'm still waiting to see if i blew the interview or not, haha. i'll be getting a working holiday visa if i did blow it so all is not lost.

I have no idea who I could ask for a second reference. I was going to ask my Japanese instructor to be the first reference. That's a given, but, I'm finishing up my schooling online, due to full-time employment, so I don't have time to attend the "traditional" way. The only "offline" thing I do is the Japanese class.

Maybe I can get a letter written by my new employer...even though, I'd feel awkward asking for something like that. I personally don't want to tell anyone about the whole JET thing. Maybe I could get the guts to ask my employer from my previous job to write me a reference letter. At least they've had real contact with me. I don't think asking an online teacher to write a letter would hold much weight. What do you guys think?

What types of people aren't allowed to be references?

Family members, as far as I know, can't be a reference.

And while it's technically allowed I think, I wouldn't ask a friend or classmate. They prefer someone with some authority, such as a teacher or employer, not a buddy.

Makes sense. Anyway, I started my new job today. I hope I can keep it for a long time. My boss knows Japanese, which is cool. The agency that sent me to this place, went on about how I was studying the language. He said that he and his wife lived in Japan for six years as missionaries when younger. I told him that my Japanese wasn't very good, and that's when he said that it's better to learn it when you can apply it someplace, like in Japan.

He's a very nice guy, and I'm sure after he realizes that I want to join the JET program, that he'll probably be glad to write a reference letter for me. I hope so, anyway, since I don't have anyone else that I know of who can write me a reference letter.

Cross your fingers and hope I keep this job indefinitely.:)

Oh yeah, another question. Has anyone ever been in a situation where you end up with an interview panel where you knew one of the panelists? What would happen then?

I'd find it so ironic if I met up with the guy I met last year that's on the Tochigi Board of education if I ended up with an interview.

I think the panelist would either recuse himself, or they'd send you to a different panel. In SF, they had 4 different panels of 3 people each going at the same time, so they could just ask you to interview with another set of panelists.

Wow O_o My city is quite small (the local alumni site says around 200 JET participants from my state in the history of the program...) so I'm expecting a really small interview round with only one panel. One person from here who interviewed this year said it was at a local highschool near my house, and one of the interviewers was the highschool principal. Should be an interesting experience, bit different from other people's.

Good luck on the job, SSJup81, sounds like your employer would make a pretty good reference by the time you need to send in your app.

Question! I know this is probably the least of my worries since I can't even apply for several months... but do most places JETs are sent to have access to internet? I just saw that someone was asked what they would do if they didn't in an interview, and personally that would be a bit of a nightmare for me >_> I could live without the recreation and professional interest I have in the internet if I absolutely had to, I suppose, but I'd be depending on it heavily to contact family, friends and boyfriend if I did get in. I have seen people posting on forums from what they claim to be very rural areas though, so maybe it's not too bad...

I think its really interesting to read that ALTs change schools a lot. I never knew this. I love change! I like things to be different and to go new places and meet many people.

Personally I'm more interested in becoming a CIR but I'm going to have to finish uni first. :)

In the case of ALT's dispatched by eikaiwas, a lot of times you have to switch companies to get a pay bump. Either that or a lot of people just get sick of the town they're in and after a year working for a company you can get the choice schools your company has contracts with a lot easier.

Correct me if I am wrong JET alumns, but isn't it relatively difficult to change schools within the program? It isn't like you just put in for a transfer.

Another thing about dispatched ALT's, most companies pick up resigning bonuses if the ALT stays at the same school. Not that we would ever get a piece of that, not anymore anyways.

There are some who don't seem to change, either. To be honest, even though I know I'd have to do some changing, if it came to that, I'd prefer not to since that might include actually having to physically move to another apartment if it's really far off, right?

That aside, a question for the ALTs who have been on JET, are there usually more than one JET in a school or just like maybe one per school?

Nearly always only 1 per school (or more precisely 1 ALT for 2 or 3 schools), though I did know of 1 school in our prefecture that had 2 ALTs at once.

And yes, it's not easy to switch schools on JET... you need to give a pretty good reason, get approvals from both schools, etc.

By switching, I didn't think that the ALT had much of a choice in the matter, just like placement. I thought that maybe the ALT would get assigned to another school if contracted for another year, that type of thing.

No, on JET, once you receive a placement, you remain there barring extraordinary circumstances. If the school decides they don't want you another year, chances are they'll just send you home, not shift you to another school. And I've never heard of a JET being moved to a different placement against their will. Some private companies do that though.

should be getting my result in the next two weeks if they keep their word on early april, so far they have been ahead of schedule in australia so hopefully not too much longer to wait. anything less than acceptance (rejection or alternate) and i will be booking my flights and getting my working holiday visa and back to Japan in May.

Well, in my experience, many (most?) alternates end up going. In fact, I've known quite a few JETs who were selected as alternates at first and ended up going, and I've only ever met 1 person who was chosen as an alternate and didn't go. Some year (1998, for example) every single alternate ends up going.

So if you're rejected, go ahead and find some other way. If you're an alternate, don't give up hope, you still have a decent chance of going...

thanks but actually i'm well aware of that samurai007. I've read the same thing in many places. the thing is i actually LEFT japan to apply for JET, as crazy at that may seem. I have been sitting around on my arse for 7 months doing almost nothing except for a month surfing trip and part time work in family business, i'm not needed full time.

If I am upgraded while I am in Japan then I will organise it from there, medical forms etc and make my way to Tokyo (as i would be in Kansai region) for the training.

The only disadvantage of being an alternate, imo, is that you can't prepare in advanced like say a person who has been shortlisted. If the person has a full-time job, he or she can give a two-week notice and have more time to get stuff needed for the trip. Can't say that for an alternate who might find out as close like a week beforehand that he/she is being moved up to being shortlisted.

anrakushi, whereabouts in Australia are you from?

Being an alternate would be a pain... as it is with the JET process your life and long term plans kind of have to hang in the balance for more than half a year; extending that even further and leaving you less time to deal with leaving if you do would really suck. Better than being rejected straight out though, if you're in a position to wait to be possibly upgraded.

Thinking about what I'd have to leave behind keeps making me want to change my mind... at least I have a crazy long time to think about it :mtongue:

I live in a small town outside of the melbourne metropolitan area. I guess you could say im in the country, but it is about 50-55km from melb.

I didn't find in my year living in Japan that leaving things behind was hard, I was only sad that my dog deteriorated in health due to cancer and i couldn't be there to help make the last months of his life happy. With communications the way they are these days, I actually talked to my family more while in Japan than I do when I'm here thanks to ichat and skype I could see them also.

The melbourne consulate has the list today, of course i couldn't get the result before everyone else. the letters are getting sent out this week, possibly it was done today. that all depends how much work it involved. Will know my result soon. At this point I just want a result so i can plan my next step. This time, as many JET hopefuls are saying on other forums, is the hardest time of the whole waiting time until now.

Ah cool, I like Melbourne. I'm a Perthie :)

I think I'm worried about leaving my boyfriend (going for the long distance relationship thing) and career more than anything, but I'm confident enough about my ability to keep both going well enough to have some peace of mind.

The wait does sound terribly nerve wracking. Hope you get a positive answer.

Before considering applying, I was worried about my bf too, but we broke up, so he's no longer an issue. If I'd gotten in, and we were still together, I would've felt guilty leaving him behind.

I do keep thinking about what I'd leave though and have second thoughts. Mostly, doubts in myself. "Could I really get by?" is the main thing I keep asking myself, since my Japanese is so awful. I wish I could pick it up as fast as some other people. I must be getting old.:mtongue:

Anywho, anrakushi good luck to you! I hope you get your letter soon saying you got in. ^_^

I'm lucky that my boyfriend is pretty supportive of me going, and we've been together long enough and have a steady enough relationship to be able to survive a year apart, I think.

I keep hearing about people going to Japan on JET or other things without any Japanese and coming back without learning much either, so I'm sure you'd do fine :) In all the places I went to in Japan they either spoke some English or we got by with my crappy Japanese and charades. It definitely sounds like it would be a lot easier to get by and make friends with some Japanese though, and people always seemed to appreciate my bad attempt at their language all the same.

Like Chisachi said, you can get by. I'm one of those JETS who knew no Japanese, and while I learned some while I was there, I certainly never became fluent. But within a couple days after arriving I was going shopping by myself, and within 6 months, took a 9 day trip through western Japan without any problems (over Christmas break).

It can be surprising just how much you can understand without words, and what other clues you can pick up on. For instance, look in your cupboard and refrigerator, and imagine that none of the packages had any words on them, just the pictures, etc. How many things would you really by unable to tell what they are? I bet most of your canned foods, TV dinners, etc all have pictures on them. And of course numbers are numbers, so you can see prices of most items just fine. And you'll learn hiragana and katakana fairly quickly, which will let you sound out many words.

i agree with not worry about your japanese level, you can get by on none at all. In China, a different country but from my experience the people in this area knew far less english than where i was in Japan last year, I met a man who had been teaching english for a few years and he could only speak a few words of Chinese. He was having a great time. I could speak more chinese than him which surprised the hell out of me. On the opposite side of things i met a man at the chinese consulate in melbourne, he was from China but had been living in melbourne for 20 years and boy was his english awful. it took him quite an effort to explain to me that the east coast of China was very populated. luckily i already knew this so i can guess what he meant.

what i will say though, knowing Japanese there sure makes your life more independent. I think the worst feeling I had when i started out in Japan in 2006 was that I had suddenly lost a lot of my independence because i couldn't deal with the internet company over the phone, i couldn't see doctors without a friend helping me, and so on. but if i can say anything about japanese it would be they are very patient and will do their best to make sure you understand. so you shouldn't be concerned.

as for career, well, my future depends on me knowing Japanese as I intend to stay in Japan for a good number of years before possibly moving to Korea. so I see being in JET as a nice way to work, get paid and also have more opportunity to speak japanese than I would otherwise have working in an 英会話 (english coversation school). hopefully i can make a difference in the lives of some students along the way as well ^^ of course that is if i get in ><

thanks ssjup81 for your wishes also. people in Perth are getting notified by email as of yesterday, lucky people.

What if you decided to stay on for two years, after really liking it after a year? That's what I was worried about since I'd hate to leave him behind in a general sense. My ex is very loyal, and I'm sure he would've done the same. I broke up with him because...well...I just wasn't into him much anymore. The relationship really wasn't going anyplace, even if he thought so.Yeah, I suppose. I've heard that too, but I still find it a bit difficult to believe. How can someone go to another country for a year, surrounded by the language, and not pick up anything? Even if it's basic stuff, seems you should get something.

I think the biggest obstacle that pops into mind, is if I have to go someplace, like say...the post office (I dunno), and have trouble communicating since my Japanese is limited and how there's a possibility that the person I'm conversing with doesn't speak much English or any English. Grocery stores, markets, or restaurants I'm not worried about.That's pretty cool. What part did you go to, by the way?Wow, you're good! I don't think I could do that right off like that. If I get into JET, I hope to be as lucky. I think I really need to be around the language more than what I am to really get a good grasp on it.I already have a heads up on that. I already know Hiragana and Katakana....although I'm weaker when it comes to Katakana. My writing of it is horrible, though. I need practice with that, especially with my Katakana.

Anywho, I'm not really worried about grocery shopping and such. There's a mart that my cousin and I go to at times, and since it's an Asian mart, everything there is an import. Some things we can't figure out (it might use Kanji or is either Chinese or Vietnamese or Korean, etc.), but we get the gist by the picture on the front. It's also a nice way to practice my reading of Katakana for some of the products.That's very interesting. My older cousin is teaching English in Thailand. He headed over there last year. I keep forgetting to ask my aunt for his e-mail address to see how he's truly managing with the language barrier.Whoa, see, now that's what I was thinking of! Situations like the ones you mentioned. That's what I'm worried about. What if something comes up, and no one is around to help me, that type of thing.Out of curiosity, are you planning on going to North Korea or South Korea?Don't forget to inform us, but I'm sure you will.:)

I think I'll be satisfied with a year, although staying longer would definitely benefit my Japanese skills more. I wouldn't want to leave everything else behind for any longer than that though.

I think you would have to either be completely disinterested or in a very urban area where you can always find English speakers to hang with to not pick up anything. But yeah, more important situations like talking to a doctor would be pretty hard and frustrating...

I went to all the tourist areas and big cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Hakone), so the level of English was probably a lot higher than in other places. People were very patient with my disjointed Japanese words though (my grammar is a bit terrible) and didn't have much trouble. Then again they're probably a lot more used to clueless tourists than the more rural areas that JET will send you to.

My theory is that if other people with zero Japanese skills can do it, then I sure can :) I'm under the impression that you have a supervisor or someone to ask questions from if you get really stuck, right?

SSJup81 - While as an Australian, I can, with a fair bit of red tape, get into Noth Korea I am only allowed to be there as a tourist and from my understanding from people who have travelled there before, i would never be without a guide even if i wanted to be. I'm very interested in North Korea but it is just not realistic to plan to be there. South Korea is predicted to become possibly the second richest country on a per capita basis, their economy is set to become stronger and stronger. not the same can be said for Japan unfortunately.

As for communicating, one thing i found difficult was that Japanese didn't tend to understand, and im generalising here from my experience, how to slow down their speaking. this can make things difficult. but you do adapt to it and those who are familiar with dealing with non-japanese are generally more likely to slow down, use easier japanese etc.

I remember the internet company used to call me early on when i was in Japan and they would use 敬語 (keigo) which is the very polite, honourific language. of course at that point in my studies of Japanese i had not learnt that and even though they were saying simple things I couldn't understand them. i kept saying to them that I couldn't understand but she just kept saying the same thing in 敬語 to me as if repeating it will magically make me understand. luckily there was also a guy who worked at the company and he was great, he would talk to us (fellow students) in slower conversational japanese and we could understand what was going on.

I've gone through my initiation of living in Japan so now i'm ready for some hardcore countryside. I'm hoping they place me in a nice small town if i get in ^^ Where i live now in australia all i can see out my window is a field for grazing animals and then the mountains behind that covered in good old aussie bush.

as for living in the country and not learning much Japanese, that is dead easy depending where you live. hell i managed to find soo many australians around osaka and i wasn't even living in that city. it just depends how willing you are to get out of your comfort zone.

Yes, every JET has a supervisor. Some will be more helpful than others, though. Mine was very helpful on the day I first arrived in the prefecture. He picked me up at the Kansai airport, drove me 90 minutes to the town, showed me the apartment, police station, train station, post office, bank (where he helped me set up an account), and school, took me shopping for a few basic things, and took me out to dinner that night where he introduced me to the Vice Principal. But then he pretty much vanished until school started, leaving me to the VP (who was a great guy and spoke better English than my supervisor, but was busy with his own job). (I don't mean to downplay the help he gave me, it really helped get me started, but it was a whirlwind of activity, like "here's this, this, this, this, and this, ok, you're set, bye!" Or maybe it just seemed like that, having just come to Japan for the 1st time.)

He helped me learn some Japanese in the summer before school started, but after school I was pretty much on my own. I would get on my bike and just start riding, exploring the town, getting a feel for the place, etc. I found all kinds of places on my own, from other supermarkets to the video rental store to a wide variety of restaurants. Not having a car was a pain at times, but I got by... when I bought a nice stereo/cd system, the store clerks tied all of it to my bike (seat, handlebars, etc... with the boxes, it was pretty large) and I walked the bike home, 45 minutes, uphill, pushing the stereo-laden bike on a sweltering summer evening. But I got it home! :)

Just to update, I got my letter today and I've been accepted into the program. I'll be back in Japan at the end of July for training. looking forward to it ^^
depending on my placement, i might make a trip back to kansai region to see everyone before then. i miss people back there >< hopefully my preference of hyogo prefecture will be given, but not getting my hopes up.

i'll be happy to answer questions on the process as i get over there and things start happening if you guys get curious.

Congratulations! I've heard that Hyogo has more Aussies than any other prefecture, so you might be lucky... it has a sister state thing with WA, so I'm hoping to end up there too when I apply.

Well done!

thanks :)
really? i thought saitama was first, but that might have been 2 years ago now, haha. i've been waiting to apply for this for some time.

my preference outside of the kansai region is to be placed in miyazaki, it has some great surf there and surfing was something i dearly missed during the year i was in Japan.

Wow, congrats!! I know of another person I chat with who applied, but he ended up being an alternate. I hope he gets upgraded, though.

When do you know where you'll be placed?

I was just wondering something. Right now, I'm working as an Instructional Assistant (I know, fancy for Assistant Teacher). Out of curiosity, do you all feel that this will help me in the long run?

Also, do you all know about when they put up information for the next year's applicants?

BTW, anrakushi do you know what your placement is yet?

Yes, that experience should be helpful on your application, and when you get over there.

I think they put it up in October or so.

Yeah, I suppose so. That was a pretty pointless question, thinking about it now. ^^; I guess I'm trying to think of ways to better my chances of even getting an interview.That's a good while from now. I was kind of hoping that it'd get put up even earlier, though. I'm anxious to get my materials together early. :p

Anyway, out of curiosity, does anyone here know of anyone who got into the program prior to graduating from a university? I was just thinking about my situation. I won't be finished until either February or March of 2009. I'm pretty sure it'll be February, though.

I believe you can apply as long as you are scheduled to graduate before you'd leave. But if for some reason you fail to graduate, you won't be allowed to go, so make sure you really will meet all the needed credits and pass your final classes...

Yep, that's the plan. I also didn't realize how much discipline is needed for online courses. I'm supposed to be writing a short paper on Stereotypes right now. I haven't even started it yet since I keep procrastinating.

Oh yeah...question about this...I mentioned before that I am finishing up my degree online and by the time I apply, I will still be in an Undergraduate program. I don't have any face-time with any of my instructors, so I'd find it odd to ask either of them for a reference. I talk to my Academic Advisor more than any of my instructors. I'm already set for my first reference (my Japanese teacher), but having trouble with my second still because of that particular rule. For my second reference, I was planning on asking one of the teachers I've been an assistant to, to write the letter, until I noticed that rule, which I never had before. In you all's opinion, do you feel that this would count against me and cancel out my chances of even getting an interview?

I too plan to apply this year for 2009, I should be completed with my degree in August this year. I was wondering if anyone could give pointers on the letter of intent? :D
thanks

It's OK if you are still in an undergraduate program when you apply, as long as you have graduated by the time you leave for Japan.

Can you give a few details?

The biggest mistake people make is write about why the JET Program will be great for them. "I really want to see the world and become more worldly and this will help me become a better-rounded person." Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Go with: "I have always enjoyed working with and being around children. With this opportunity I will be able to give children a chance to practice English with native speaker and give them insights as to what life is like in America (or Canada or where ever you are from)."

Also, don't talk about how you plan to innovate or revolutionaize the teaching systems already in place. Go with

"I look forward to working with and learning from my Japanese colleagues. Learning how to work with the unique group of students in each class will help me come up with lesson plans catered to meet their English needs as well as stimulate thier desire to learn."

Stuff like that.

Well, that's not really the problem. The problem is getting a second reference since when I apply, I will still technically be in an Undergraduate program, and according to the rules there, I have to get a reference from someone of my school. I'm doing my schooling online, and have no real contact with my instructors (as the school is in a whole other state), so how can I get an honest reference? I know that JET's application process is strict on rule following, and this is one I'm actually having a problem with.