# teaching in japan



## skylineowl

Any expats give me the run down on teaching english either at schools or privately in Japan, do they have preference on nationalities age and sex? normal salary? also is it possible to work other than as a teacher?


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## xhristophe

What do you really want to do? Working outside the teaching industry would be relatively easy if you have a good level of Japanese. As far as teaching goes... Hmmm. 

Schools: By that I think you mean public/state schools. They are run by boards of education (BoEs) and either hire directly, or use dispatch companies (against Ministry of Education guidance) to put foreingn language speakers in assistant positions. "In theory" all BoEs as to direct hire ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) from 2015, but the BoEs are not prepared IMHO. It is December and the Dispatch companies are still hiring for the next academic year. 

The dispatch companies range in size and quality. As do the contracts. If you go Direct Hire you will get more hours, better money, better benefits. Dispatch contracts have longer holidays but less pay and benefits. 

Why do they use dispatch companies? Easy of management of foreign staff. Why would you use a dispatch company? A foot in the door (though they do have no-compete clauses which I will get to in a minute). 

No-compete clauses in ALT contracts (like mine) mean that I cannot be hired straight off the back of my existing contract by a BoE (either directly or by dispatch). It means that BoEs cannot poach workers, and there is a level playing field for potential workers on a rolling basis (jobs are not blocked by contract workers filling the ranks to the detriment of the schools, students and job market). Problem is, if a dispatch company has a contract with a BoE to supply workers, to get around the no-compete clause they use the three month cooling off period between contracts. That way they can keep a rolling contract with the BoE, supply ALTs but not break the law.

Sounds a bit weird but basically You get hired, you work a year (from April for example). You start in May, you work through till about March. Then you are dropped. You can be re-contracted by the same company, but they cannot put anyone forward until three months after the end of the last batch of contracts. This means you have to work one month in lieu, you are not paid a salary, you are paid an hourly rate (this drops in August and December due to holidays). You then end the contract in March. Then you wait until the dispatch company emails you with a new contract offer. 

"In theory" you get 10 days holiday a year, start early go home early and have 99.9% of your weekends free. Some changes occur to your schedule due to the schools putting in sports days and PTA demonstrations etc. No one can state they want to employ "only women" or "only white men" but it happens. The law is flouted. 

Private: Language schools. Again, range in size and quality. Unlike ALT work there are more hours, you will be eligible for better healthcare benefits. But you will be expected to work like a dog.

Some schools have contracts with unenforceable but very real stipulations(I can go into these in greater detail in private or here if you wish at another time). I was given a contract by Nova that stated I was not allowed to have any contact with students outside of the school. Adults, not kids. Like above it is partially so you do not offer them better lessons at a cheaper price (the schools charge a lot), it also stops/protects the students from predatory foreigners. I would just like to seem them do mental gymnastics if I taught at a school my wife was a student at... The hilarity. 

TL;DR it is what it is, contracts aren't great, everyone wants to save money, the students are great. I'm trying not to sound too negative.


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## skylineowl

Thank you for your insight i've heard over 40 years and your chances are slimmer of teaching in japan is that true? actually i want to be more of an assistant/helper with students wanting to communicate and speak englsih.

Btw how do you find Japanese girls?


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## larabell

The same way you find any other girls. Get up from your computer and go somewhere.


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## xhristophe

Honestly? Sounds like hot air. I know a lot of teachers who are as old or older than me (I am pushing 40). There are also a few who are a lot younger. 

If you want to be the assistant/helper then ALT direct hire may be the way to go. Of course experiencing the work in Japan and weighing it up appropriately is down to you. If you could get work teaching English in cram school/juku then you'd have kids with better skills that the state/public schools (and probably a higher chance of teaching communicatively, though that may be pushing it!!).


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## skylineowl

haha it wasnt a literal question


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## larabell

It doesn't much matter whether or not the students need classroom training. What matters is what skills the OP has to bring to the table. In order to get a job that doesn't involve teaching English, one of the following would have to be true:

(a) you have some sort of technical skill that's in demand here,
(b) you're sent here as a representative of a non-Japanese company,
(c) you marry a Japanese national, or
(d) you're reasonably fluent in Japanese.

There's no law that says that, of course... it's just the reality of the job market. For most jobs that don't involve teaching English, you'll be competing against a healthy supply of competent local applicants. Lacking a spousal visa or some specific skill that would entice a Japanese company to sponsor you for a working visa, teaching English may be the only choice.


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## wabisabi

*I'm one of the Japanse English teacher.*

I'm negative to say this kinds of words, but I'd like to leave a comment for my folks.

It's really difficult to living as English teacher in Tokyo. I mean to live as you like.

In my case, I'm teaching English privately. That's really tough to live, so I'm doing another kind of job, too. Just like translation and more.

Best


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## Zangi85

I have actaully met a number of English teachers from countries other than USA, Canada, Austrasia, UK, Ireland. Orginizations like Interac would hire people from various countries. However, at private language schools they have preference for native speakers.


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