Job Discussion Forums

[mfuechec]

Hi,
I'm looking into getting a job in Japan, hopefully starting aroundish CNY. I have 1.5 years experience experience in Taiwan and 10 months in Vietnam. But I also have about a months experience teaching Vietnamese public school English teachers FCE test prep.
I found that to be a pretty challenging and rewarding job and I'm interested in working in teacher training more.
My questions are:

-Will that experience be viewed as anything significant when I look for a job in Japan?
-Any ideas where I could find a job like that?
-Should I consider a job recruiter?

[fluffyhamster]

You don't mention qualifications, but assuming you have a degree and a TEFL cert of some kind, your experience qualifies you for a cuppa at Starbucks after the day's entry-level work (eikaiwa/private language school, AET dispatch, possibly JET) along with everyone else. I'm not sure how your FCE coaching will be viewed (especially if you hope and push to do similar in Japan), as not all the Japanese Teachers of English that I've worked with have been open to learning anything, even when it's they who broached a question (that they often had already decided the answer to, even if that answer was incorrect). You can lead a horse to water...

[OneJoelFifty]

I'd say your best bet would be a position with a dispatch company. You'd likely have to put in a year or two of work in public schools, and if you're good you might be able to climb the ladder within the company a little, towards some kind of training role. I wouldn't count on it though. Also, my limited experience with foreign teacher training in Japan is that it's as much about the unique situations in Japanese schools as it is about actual teaching skills.

[fluffyhamster]

I once interviewed with an eikaiwa based in Minato-ku that was branching out into AET dispatch work in Chiba. When I showed them some of the materials I'd created, and explained a little about my approach to teaching, they asked if in addition to the AET job I'd be interested in developing some workshops to help train their AETs. I had to say no to the job generally for several reasons:

1) The low pro-rated pay (similar jobs had paid an average of only 160K per month, no pay during school holidays, been difficult to get absolutely any time off from, etc)
2) The very probable lack of interest and even resentment from most AETs (see 1) regarding training, esp. if during "holidays"
3) I didn't particularly want to work in Kashiwa (I'd worked in neighbouring Nagareyama for a year), let alone potentially beyond that city.

I don't see teacher training as a particularly rewarding area, at least not in Japan LOL. You can have some good online discussions, but that's probably about it. Sure, there's stuff like AJALT (if you're that interested in literally paying the profession's membership dues yet further), but that's not really connected enough to one's day job ultimately.

[mfuechec]

Alright, thanks for the information guys. Any thoughts on using a recruiter? Reach to teach got me my job in Taiwan. I do have a degree and tefl btw.

[fluffyhamster]

I've never found it necessary to use a recruiter, so I'm afraid I can't help you out with that one, Mfuechec!

[marley'sghost]

[HLJHLJ]

FCE exam prep isn't teacher training, it's exam prep. Your class just happened to be teachers. If you seriously want to get into teacher training you need to improve your qualifications, e.g. DELTA, MA and get a lot more experience under your belt. Although neither will help you much in Japan.

[G Cthulhu]

Given there are, AFAIK, only two prefectures (Aomori & Hokkaido) in Japan that require genuine practicum training and in-service training, I'm thinking that the odds of finding genuine teacher training positions aimed at Japanese EFL teachers will range from "slim" to "none".

There are certainly a few more prefectures that are now requiring teachers to pass certain tests (you mention one, although that one's not common in Japan) in order to fully gain tenure, but that's effectively juku or eikaiwa work, not genuine teacher training.

[Mr_Monkey]

Teacher "training" in Japan is a joke.

What you were doing would be closer to test prep. Frame it that way when applying for jobs: don't - DON'T - try to frame yourself as a 'teacher trainer', because 1) you're not, and 2) it will be perceived as arrogant (if it doesn't, indeed, generate a "what does that mean?" response from anyone looking at your CV).

Teacher training is - as G Cthulu notes - practically non-existent in Japan.

then we wonder why they can't speak English...

[timothypfox]

There used to be teacher training back when I when GEOS was still around. The first year I worked for them in 1995 it happened about once a month during a work day (so you would cancel your classes and go). 1/2 to 1/3 of the meeting was genuinely useful training applied to improving our practice in the classroom while the other "training" was how to improve your sales of courses and textbooks. You get the picture.

In my second year, they introduced a program called "Big Jump." If you signed up for this, the understanding is that you were interested in staying long term with GEOS. This training also included going to extra trainings on your day off. GEOS had two days off - but usually Big Jump happened once a month on a Saturday. It was fun meeting people - but again 1/2 to 1/3 was practical, and 1/2 or 2/3 was business.

I'm not sure whether dispatch companies provide training or "training" - since there are very few real eikawas of any great size left - and I don't count GABA because they are a different beast altogether.

[fluffyhamster]

Yes, most dispatch companies (e.g. Interac, RCS, Borderlink even) do provide at least a day of training per year. If only so they can make that claim in their brochures.

Well, I say training, but it is more like a general induction day than anything that well thought-out and thorough. I guess a lot of it goes over complete newbies' heads, as they have little experience to relate it to.

Interac conducted small group sessions, say 3 teachers chatting to the teacher trainer at Interac HQ i.e. they processed the teachers as they came. RCS did large hall gigs shortly before the first term started, but attempted some form of interactive, two-way give-and-take with the audience, and endeavoured to supply very basic teaching resources. They also saw about ordering in lunches and drinks (nice of them, eh. This was the good boss part, the bad boss part came later, but then it always does with dispatch work!). Borderlink in contrast was very much a "sit down, shut up and listen", quite patronizing affair, but at least it was reasonably short (only a few hours).

Bear in mind that my experiences are from several years ago now. Things might've changed since (though probably not for the better!).

[mfuechec]

Thanks for the advice guys, good stuff. Sorry it took me so long to respond, just flew back to America. I guess I'll be writing it down as test prep and applying my little balls off.