Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!ccsf.homeunix.org!news1.wakwak.com!nf1.xephion.ne.jp!onion.ish.org!news.daionet.gr.jp!news.yamada.gr.jp!passion.nalgo.co.jp!news.moat.net!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: "John Yamamoto-Wilson" Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan Subject: Re: Teaching English in Japan (as a NON-native English speaker)... or other jobs? Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 23:19:01 +0900 Lines: 50 Message-ID: <383i1pF5e99puU1@individual.net> References: <4219c504$1@news.broadpark.no> <142ddcymojk6p.v4giatalqpc9$.dlg@40tude.net> Reply-To: "John Yamamoto-Wilson" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: individual.net nDDuzm/cQgKVCiTQxuDGuAml4vq7w3Ac4qL96wQAvPFwk3tC5l X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org fj.life.in-japan:25702 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