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July 11, 2004 Well here it goes. Now usually I just tend to go on a rant about this, but not this time. I have decided to try and do away with ranting and instead will try and present a piece that just tells it how I think it is... Ok so you want to teach in Japan. First of all...good for you !! I have been up here now for roughly 2 years and 4 months, and I can say that the job is actually ....well....its really what you make it. Personally I think that the JOB is quite good. Having the knowledge of something and being able to impart in a logical and innovative manner, and seeing that the product you are giving is actually working really is quite rewarding indeed. Many people have different goals and things that they want to achieve by coming to Japan, whether it be learning a little about the culture, learning the language or studying a martial art, and they use the teaching gig as a means of getting by whilst here. Some people are actually trained teachers and just want to further their experiences. There are even those of us, like me, who really dont care that much about the culture and just came here for the job. Either way, Japan and the teaching gig caters to people in a number of ways and guises. Secondly, if you do come here to teach, be prepared to experience many different things. From arrogance to politeness, from ignorance to supreme knowledge and from peculiarity to being treated in a cultlike manner....there are a plethora of things to be experienced. There are a variety of ways that you can get a teaching job up here. You can come up here on a working holiday visa and try your luck, or you can be sponsored and get a visa through working with one of the big companies. However, this is where things can become a little murky. This is because learning English has become a profit generating entity, and the big companies up here may not be entirely interested in the quality of the material presented, as long as there are bums on seats and people putting money over the counter. You really are just a cog in a machine when working for some of the big companies. But dont let that phase you. You can give your students an enjoyable experience. Just put it all into perspective. Dont get too caught up in the company analities. Just do your best and the results may be far more rewarding then you ever bargained for. ------------ About the author: James Dooney is an Australian currently living in Japan teaching English. He would love to write a book one day and would love to write magazine articles one day. Email: James5150@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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