Teaching English in Japan?

[Gul Re'jal]

They just wanted him to speak in English all the time, and not even try to speak in Japanese.

That's actually quite typical in Hong Kong schools. They want the kids to make an effort to try to communicate with their teachers in English and with someone who doesn't speak the local language there's no way around it--kids must use English.

I have to hide the fact that I speak some Cantonese from the parents of my students, or they might demand a change to a teacher who doesn't speak any Canto at all.

So not speaking any Japanese might be an asset, not an obstacle

 

[AliciaD496]

I came very close to teaching English in Japan about 5 years ago when I was 23. I had graduated the summer before with a degree in History and no real hopes of grad school at the time.

I had visited a job fair during my last quarter on campus and gotten a business card from Nova but hadn't taken it seriously at the time. My actual last quarter was spent studying abroad in Japan for 6 weeks, mostly just 4 weeks of language and a little culture class and two weeks of whirlwind touring of Honshu, taking the shinksansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima and working our way back up, stopping in Nara, Kyoto, Nagoya (the Aichi world fair was going that year and we got to spend a day seeing that) and Yokohama. Our school did a lot of exchanges with Nihon University, so aside from food and airfare they paid for most everything. I had some experience in Japan, but mostly as a tourist.

Anyway...fast forward 9 months I've hit a dead end job searching and remember the representative I talked to at the fair the year before. I look up the website and decide to take a chance considering I didn't have much hope of doing much else. I get the call to come to the group interview and decide to participate. Ironically I've gotten a call at the same time for a job in Seattle at AAA as a cashier so I interview for that as well. I get an e-mail saying I've been accepted to the Nova program and would be starting in Japan in June 2006 if I accept, and this is just the day before I get the call saying I got the other job.

I took the job in Seattle mostly because it was close to my family and less of a dramatic shift, but I still wonder what it would have been like and what would have happened afterwards. I figure I might have come back and done some postbac work to get teaching certification in English or History, but it's all hypothetical. It's true it's probably something a 23 year old can do because the resume's so thin at that point anyway that a year teaching is only going to help, but not when you're older.

In another way, and perhaps this is good warning as well: be careful what program you go through if you do decide to teach abroad. I found out via the internet I'd dodged a bullet by not going, Nova went bankrupt around the time my first contract would have been up.

 

[TerokNor]

I not really understand why people say something like teaching English in Japan for a year and the like is only something one could do when younger. Also when being older it can be a bonus in your CV (and IS a bonus for yourself). Doing something like this, no matter what age, shows certain qualities.
Of course it gets more difficult when being older...for example if you already have the good paying job you are happy with or a wife/husband and children than its not such a good idea, but in general, if you just have a normal job, no job, a job you are not happy with, no family etc. it is also something for older people.

An example, a teacher from my University went for 6 months to India teaching English there. Well, he hadn´t had to give up his job for this, he was able to take 6 months vacation time and than just started working his job again after returning, but he said, it was one of the most valuable experiences in his life...and the man must be 40+.

I am also not that young and its the second time for me living abroad, one times when I was young and now. And I know both times are/ will be + points in my CV. It may also depend a little what your job is, but if you do something, that is your job (like when you are a teacher already) or very near to your job, why should something like this stop being good just because one is older?

TerokNor

 

[Gaith]

A basic but key question: do you think you could thrive for that long away from your home culture? Call it a personal failing if you like, but I think I'd go bonkers being away from the States and Yanks for that long.

 

[RoJoHen]

A basic but key question: do you think you could thrive for that long away from your home culture? Call it a personal failing if you like, but I think I'd go bonkers being away from the States and Yanks for that long.

My friend's biggest frustration in China was being completely cut off from American sports. The very first thing we did when he got back was take him to a baseball game.

 

[Goji]

I was happy to get away from certain aspects of American culture, and vice versa when I came home. It was harder being separated from friends and family for so long. I made new ones, of course... but it's still hard missing everyone from your old life. In my experience, anyway.