News on Japan - “Thinking of teaching in Japan? Don’t bother” (Amen!)

3/2/2006

“Thinking of teaching in Japan? Don’t bother” (Amen!)

PSA (public service announcement)

Shane Inwood: Thinking of teaching in Japan? Don’t bother
The Independent: Do you fancy a stint teaching English in the land of the rising yen? Heard a few good things about it from that girl who works for the record label? You know; the one with the really cool tattoo you talked to when you and your workmates went to that trendy sushi place after the end-of-work do.
Bad news, I’m afraid. While you were mucking around finishing up that TEFL qualification or BA, the party ended in Japan. You should have got here sooner, because it used to be a blast.
I can’t think of any other work abroad that paid so well, gave on-the-job training, accommodation and a visa, and had such amazing nightlife. Don’t get me wrong; expat life in Japan is still mental, but nowadays it’s a kind of fruit picking/ backpacker mental rather than the Skybar-champagne-happy-hour mental it used to be…more…

Back in the dawn of time when the first chordates pulled themselves out of the ocean, I was a linguistics doctoral student with teaching certification in ESL/EFL (engrish as a second language now called EAL). Thirty seconds after dragging my body onto to beach in Japan, it became obvious that engrish teaching was not a good career move in Japan with degrees and certification.
Nuf said.
English teachin’ …just say “dame” ãƒ€ãƒ¡.

Update: Read more about working in Japan here from SMH News Service (March 15, 2006).

Posted by Taro in Education |

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4 Responses to ““Thinking of teaching in Japan? Don’t bother” (Amen!)”

taro Says:
March 15th, 2006 at 8:25 am

Here’s more info on the news today…

Hard lessons in broken English
World - smh.com.au, March 15, 2006
DAVID Dormon, a former department store salesman from Sydney, signed up to teach English in Japan and look where it got him: fighting a lawsuit against a powerful company, in a battle of wills with a supervisor who kept a shame file and grasping at an insecure visa. The lawsuit - over demotion, a pay cut and intimidation - concluded with a win and compensation for Dormon.
But he resigned anyway, ending the humiliation of dealing with Japan’s leviathan language school, Nova, the country’s biggest employer of foreigners. “I felt very stressed, alone and unappreciated and I was very happy to get out because I was hating every moment,” he says…..
…advice to new hands is to think about going to China, South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. But for anyone set on working in Japan, the Nova language school should be the last option, he says. “If you come over with Nova then stay for six or seven months and start looking for another job.” Once you find one, resign, and leave before the visa expires.New teachers should also bring at least $2000 in savings because it is almost impossible to settle in and survive on the 200,000 yen ($2200) monthly starting wage, Richards said….
…Nova does not provide medical and health insurance for foreign workers …The company advised all recruits to bring 120,000 yen because it took up to six weeks, for the Japanese salary cycle to kick in….
…more…