Edward Mills wrote:

> I'd say your chances are close to slim and none to get a job
> teaching English in Japan. They put a premium on "native
> English speakers", and any degree or certification you might
> have in that area will only mean that you  will be refused
> with a bit more politeness than usual.

That sounds plausible, but I disagree because it conflicts with my
experience in two respects. The first is that I met a young Slovenian woman
a few years ago whose English was OK, but not brilliant, and she was working
as a teacher. I don't know how *good* her job was, but  I met her at a JALT
(Japan Association of English Teachers) conference, and I guess she probably
wouldn't have been there at all if she'd been on the bottom rung (she'd have
been too busy working for next to nothing). She seemed quite happy with what
she was doing.

So there *are* non-native speakers teaching English here in Japan.

The other reason I disagree is that in my misspent youth I did dozens of
short-term contracts in a variety of language schools (none in Japan). Some
were high-quality schools, some were dumps, but they all had one thing in
common - when they didn't need a teacher it didn't matter how good your
qualifications were, they'd turn you down snottily, and when they did need
one and you turned up, looking and acting the part, you were God for that
day.

Simple as that, really! It's in the nature of the job that every so often
people pick up their pay packet and disappear, even walking away from good
contracts. When that happens, the school is desperate. And teachers get
sick, courses get oversubscribed - there are all kinds of reasons why a
school could find itself short of a teacher.

So be prepared to make a lot of phone calls and visits, be prepared for a
lot of rejections, but leave your phone number and/or calling card and
sooner or later something will come up.

Always did for me, anyway. OK, so I'm a native speaker, with a list of
qualifications as long as your arm, but as I say, if the school didn't need
a teacher it didn't make any difference - I was no one. But if they did need
one they wouldn't even ask about qualifications; they'd just take one look
at me and roll out the red carpet. And once I got that foot in the door -
even if ostensibly just to fill in, or cover for someone off sick - one
thing would invariably lead to another. It all comes down to being in the
right place at the right time.

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com