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Teaching English in Japan: Other Options
Crapfestival
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey, folks.
So, I applied for the JET program last year, and I perhaps naively went into it with too high of hopes. I was confident in my application as a whole, worked hard on my statement of purpose, and made sure that my letters of recommendation were solid and from people I had a good amount of experience working with academically.
Unfortunately, just today I got back word that I didn't manage to get in. So, aside from the staggering disappointment I'm trying not to think about, does anyone have any other suggestions for teaching English in Japan? Program suggestions or personal experiences; anything is helpful here. Thanks in advance.
So, I applied for the JET program last year, and I perhaps naively went into it with too high of hopes. I was confident in my application as a whole, worked hard on my statement of purpose, and made sure that my letters of recommendation were solid and from people I had a good amount of experience working with academically.
Unfortunately, just today I got back word that I didn't manage to get in. So, aside from the staggering disappointment I'm trying not to think about, does anyone have any other suggestions for teaching English in Japan? Program suggestions or personal experiences; anything is helpful here. Thanks in advance.
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I know there are other options out there, but from what I understand none are as reputable. If you decide to go that route you need to make sure you research your options hard, because you can really get screwed that way.
Is there something specific about Japan, or do you just want to teach English abroad? There are other countries where you'll have an easier time doing something like this, that need it much more. Again, make sure if you do this you research different organizations carefully. Things can get rough for you quickly in Korea, I hear, if you go with one of the sleazier cram schools.
As far as teaching in Korea, I suppose I wouldn't mind swinging that. Though, I do have a specific interest in Japan, as I plan to do some graduate work on Shintoism eventually, so the intimate experience will be beneficial to me. But, honestly, next year is just a year for me to get some good personal experience before going to grad school.
So, yeah, I'd be willing to teach English elsewhere in the world, though I would prefer Japan. So if you don't mind getting the name of that program for me, Improvolone, that'd be great.
But, yeah, no matter what I do, I'll make sure I research it, and find some testimonies.
I also have a blog!
So, well, there you go! I guess if you'd like the e-mail address I can PM it to you.
You could try AEON.
http://www.aeonet.com/
The jobs section of www.gaijinpot.com is a very big website for teaching in Japan. Most jobs require you to be resident in Japan but a few do not, so some searching will pay off.
I often hear Korea is even harder work than Japan, and their immigration laws are slightly oppressive.
I've always heard good things about teaching in Vietnam, but of course that would mean you're not going to be able to put away as much money.
Right now there are a lot of applicants for any job teaching in Japan, but Westgate are not terrible. None of the big famous companies are good, mind, but Westgate are one of the less awful.
If you put some more specific info (where exactly you'd like to live, your qualifications, your expectations) into your OP or a PM I can tell you some more concrete ideas.
If the main reason you want to come here is to see Japan you'll be able to find something, it might just not pay that well.
Edit: Aeon, Geos, Berlitz etc are pretty terrible. I've known energetic irrepressible 22-year-olds who had a happy time with them, but most people get pissed off with them.
I taught in korea for a little while before needing to return to canada for some medical issues (man, canada's health care is *so* much better) And I quite liked it, the trick is to make sure you're in, or within a short bus ride of a big city, most of the people who moan about how terrible it is are surprised they didn't have any fun in a middle of nowhere town with a population of 500.
The imimgration laws are a bit..well, racist to be blunt but the work weeks are pretty short if you get in with a public school, and unlike japan the cost of living is virtually nil so you can save everything
If you're interested in doing gradaute work, why not just apply to graduate school as a foreign exchange student? If you just want experience working in Asia, I think Korea and China have greener pastures at the moment. China doesn't pay much, but the cost of living is dirt cheap and you only work like 20 hours a week.
Edit: Also the "salary" is of the "you should be able to survive" level, most of the time.
STEAM
As someone who got boned pretty hard by GEOS, let me say only this:
The experience I had seemed, from the testimonials of the other teachers with whom I spent time, to be on the more negative end of the general consensus. No one seemed to get an especially good setup, but mine was one of the worst. What it came down to, for me, was that the particular school to which I was assigned was simply too busy for the number of instructors available, and there was insufficient room for the school to be expanded or accomodate another teacher.
Not all schools were like this, however. A few of my friends had scenarios that were far more positive regarding the work environment, but weren't in as slick a locale as I.
The long and short of it is: apply, and cross your fingers. At worst, it's a shitty year where you're over-worked and underpaid. At best, you get good digs near a city and a decent school environment with enough free-time to travel and experience the country.
If you want a poorly-compensated job at a small "English school" where you have to work on public holidays and you don't get proper vacation time or control over your schedule, let me know and you can have my job when I leave in August. I've also been working a lot of unpaid overtime lately, which is normal for a lot of Japanese workers, as is voluntarily forgoing your paid vacation days. If you work for a small company they may be less accommodating to you as a person from a different working culture, especially if they don't get a lot of foreigners coming around. Smaller companies can be nicer than the big schools, but not necessarily.
In Korea your employer owns your visa, so if you have a falling out for whatever reason, you're going home. But a good friend of mine teaches at an English kindergarten and loves it. She has done quite a bit of traveling, too. On the other hand, this guy I met at a hostel in Japan was forced out of Korea because he tested positive for marijuana he smoked when he went home for Thanksgiving.
I agree with twotimesadingo on deciding whether or not to come at all: what's a year here and there? If you want to live in Japan, you can do it without much trouble. If it's "easier" to get a job in Korea the difference is negligible. I have a (mostly) terrible job but I'm going to come home after a year with money saved and a better perspective on what I want from my working life.
This here, applications are currently open:
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e.html
edit:
Being rejected from the JET program isn't a big deal. JET is flooded with applicants, and they've become stricter recently because so many JETs have been pretty horrible (people coming over to Japan just to try and bang as many Japanese girls as they can, for example). In my area, I know JETs are not very popular among the public schools and they prefer my company.
Also, last year there was a global report on English aptitude, and Japan was near the bottom of the list. So there's a resurgence of funding into English education here, which means some more jobs in the future.
Quite the opposite. While the federal government is posturing about the importance of English education, local governments just keep on slashing funding. English gyomuitaku contracts are just a way of cutting costs. Just look at how Hashimoto Toru talks about a new age of English education in Osaka while cutting personnel funding for education across the board. How about all the BoE's across the country trying to implement the MoE's elementary school English guidelines without hiring native speakers? In Tokyo the more respectable gyomuitaku company's won't even deal with public schools anymore. I think Taito ku even abandoned its private hire system.
I have my doubts whether ALTs will even exist in 10 years.
But it probably does vary region to region.
Years ago, many people were set in their one to two year pre-grad school JET stints. Nowdays, it seems even the most driven JETs with plans for the future are putting them on hold to recontract. The job market sucks and the yen is strong, so it's more tempting than ever to continue. As a result, not only are JET applicants up, but returners are down. No shame in being rejected under these circumstances.
Let me just say: thanks, all, for the information and suggestions. I've been investigating most of the organizations or options posted in here, and it's been very encouraging. I'm going to apply to a few of them later this week, after I know a bit more about each.
Also, thanks for the help in getting over my disappointment concerning JET. It's also helped me get motivated to search for a new alternative.
I also have a blog!