Job Discussion Forums

[litlmssunshine]

This question may seem a little naive (polite word for stupid I think) but I am a qualified Swim teacher and I am hoping to head over to Japan next year to teach English. I was wondering if there is any demand for swim teachers? Do they have public swimming pools like we do here in Australia? Do the Kindy/Preschools/Primary schools do any kind of swimming in the ciriculum? Is there any kind of after school swim lessons set up?

I am hoping to do SOME volunteer swim teaching for the community (I'm sick of pulling young Japanese people out of the surf here in the Gold Coast but was thinking I may beable to also use it for a source of income.

Is there anyone else teaching swimming in Japan at the mo that would like to contact me? I'm hoping to head to Okinawa/Nagasaki area but then again I may end up anywhere so ANY information on this subject would be great.

Thank you for any responses.

x LMS x

[lajzar]

If youre teaching at a state school, theyd love you if you voluterr to coach teh swimming team. In all other cases, how's your Japanese language skills? Anything less than fluent and they'll be less than enthusiastic - they go to swimming classes to learn swimming, not english.

[PAULH]

If you are on an instructors visa you will not be allowed to do any other paid job than teaching English. Its unlikely you would be able to do any swimming instruction if you dont speak the language anyway, unless you can use lots of gesture and body language. You really need to be able to explain what you want them to do. My kids go to swimming lessons at the local pool and all of the instructors use Japanese to teach them swimming skills. No English required.

[David W]

Tell them you're Ian Thorpe's sister and you'll be straight in. Otherwisw, what the other said. I don't think they really "teach" swimming here, more like "controlled drowning".