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Wanting to teach in Japan - Some Guidance and Advise -
11-15-2011, 10:41 PM
Hi
I've been seriously considering teaching in Japan for a few years and now have the opportunity to do it. One small problem is I keep recieving conflicting advice or the internet is so saturated with online TEFL courses that its hard to find the information I need. My questions is whats the best process to obtain a TEFL certificate with classroom experiance and get a job in Japan. I met an english teacher in Thailand who said the best way to get a job is to go to the country you want to teach in and then obtain a TEFL whilst there and then apply for jobs. I also met an TEFL instuctor randomly at my work who said the best thing would be to join a system like JET. I obviously want to something with the highest likelihood to land me a job but also I am kinda worried about ending up in a position which gets filled easily by a big faceless company who send in drones after drones of english teacher ( i know most likely a massive miconception) but i want to enjoy a life in japan whilst working (dont mind the hours) but want to enjoy as much as an authentic lifestyle in japan as possible and not just be a corporate commodity who had to sell their soul to get in japan. If anyone could give me some advice i would be really grateful especially to those who have taught in japan and can give me some insight. Thanks  
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11-15-2011, 10:50 PM
Do you have a college degree? If you don't, are you planning on getting one?
To teach there, legally, you'll need one to be admitted in the teaching system. There are so many threads about this on this forum, all you have to do is a search for "teaching in Japan" and that will give you many threads. I do find this thread very interesting and full of insight.... I live in Japan! I recommend you read it....
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TEFL certification -
11-16-2011, 03:21 AM
If you are planning to teach English working for Gaba, you don't need any TEFL certification.
I applied for an instructor position at Gaba and was accepted (I turned them down though for web developer job). I have no formal education when it comes to English teaching, except 2 years experience teaching one-to-one English classes in Japan, which I assume helped a lot. I believe the situation at other similar companies (Berlitz, Shane, Aeon) is the same. Nevertheless, in order for them to support your work visa application you do need to have a Bachelor's degree, which of course can be a necessity if you don't manage to find another way of getting a visa.
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11-16-2011, 11:58 PM
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11-17-2011, 01:24 AM
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* Companies that don't tend to ask for qualifications tend to also have the worst business policies, highest staff turnovers and life is more stressful working for them because they still expect you to perform like you have had training. GABA are notorious for treating their staff like dirt. I would avoid them. ECC if you have the opportunity, are one of the more reasonable eikaiwa's. Shane English school is a British English school which is reasonable as well- has it's pros and cons, mainly that it's run a bit like a Japanese company, but it's not bad for a starting position. * 'Training' you receive on the job for ANY company is usually minimal and supplemental- you cannot rely on it alone. A pretty universal complaint is that 'the training they gave was useless'. Generally speaking, your first teaching job is STRESSFUL. You will handle it, and the culture shock better if you know what you're doing. * JET is very good pay-wise but they have their issues too. I'm wouldn't turn down JET if you got it, but the application process is VERY long- almost 9-10 months, and you may have already missed the deadline for this year. It's also highly competitive, so don't pin your hopes on it. *Consider a CELTA rather than a TEFL. It does roughly the exact same thing but ALL CELTA courses are regulated by Cambridge university and operate to the same standard, which not all TEFL courses do. They are also very highly recognised world wide, which helps if you have no experience to your CV. Also it's a recognised base to expand from if you want to move off into specialised teaching areas like business or you can follow it on with a CELTA diploma which with teaching experience would qualify you for management positions in the future.
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11-17-2011, 07:30 PM
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I have looked at local courses but still raises the question should i get my qualification in japan or prior to japan. the courses here are like £1000 but it is an investment i know.
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11-18-2011, 03:19 AM
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11-19-2011, 12:09 AM
OK
lots to info to digest. Once i get a celta is it beneficial to start applying via email and other means of communication or should i just appear in japan and start hunting from there? Probably silly questions but someone i met in thailand just turned up and found one but the dynamics between the two countries are vastly different
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