Teach English In Japan

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You will have a great time and a wonderful cultural experience if you decide to teach English in Japan. I know people that went for a year and have been there for the last 5!!

If you are going to teach English in Japan there are a few things that you need to know that will help you get started.

The first thing I will say is that I highly recommend that you take an online course and the best one I have found is here: learning Japanese Online 

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Qualifications

Firstly most employers of foreign English teachers in Japan require you to have a 3 year under graduate degree and a TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) certificate.

In saying this though I have heard of people that have managed to get jobs without either of these qualifications but it is more difficult. You may find that in country areas the jobs are easier to come by as most people head for the big cities like Osaka and Tokyo for jobs.

The most widely recognised TEFL qualification is the Cambridge CELTA. The course can be competed full time in about 4 weeks or longer if you choose the part time option.

Visa's

You can apply for a work visa through your potential employer, and the process is relatively straight forward. The new employer will require you to send your qualifications and they will then take them to the local emigration office in Japan.

Once approved you will be sent a certificate of eligibility which you then take to your local Japanese Embassy with your passport and receive your visa. (please check all the legalities and proceedures with your local authorities thoghroughly as each country is slightly different).

The other option is to go to Japan on a tourist visa and apply for a job. Once you find employment you can change over to a work visa, and your employer will most likely take care of the application.

However please note that some nationalities are required to leave the country to apply for a new visa. A while ago I know that American tourists were required to do this, so please check this out carefully. You can always go to Korea and come back in.

Applying for a Job

The best time to apply for a job to teach English in Japan is February and March just before the new school year begins, as this is when most places are hiring. However you can find employment as an English teacher anytime of the year you go. It will help if you learn Japanese even if only a little before you go.

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One piece of advice I woud stress is that you make sure that you think carefully about where you want to work. Ask good questions in the interviews such as - "what are the holidays?" , "will I get to meet a lot of Japanese people?", "will I get to experience Japanese culture?" , and don't just except a polite "yes" ask them to be specific.

There are two types of employers; the public system or the corporate system.

The public system is where you work in the public schools in Japan. The feel is a bit different than working for a private company as profit is not the driving force. You will get all public holidays off which is a bonus, however I have heard of people getting placed in country towns, so be aware of this if you have your heart set on the big cities.

The biggest player in placing people in jobs to teach English in the Japanese public system is 'JET'. You can look them up on the web should you choose this path, however they are harder to get accepted into and do turn down a number of applications each year.

The other option is to apply to a private language company. There are a large amount out there but just keep in mind that like all companies they are driven to make a profit and this can be reflected in the way they operate, which you may like or dis-like sometimes.

This section of Teach English In Japan is found of page 2

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