Job Discussion Forums

[johanne]

Hi, I realize this is more of an ESL teaching site, but I'm wondering if anyone has any information about teaching at an international school, specifically Kindergarten to Grade 5. I started off as an ESL teacher in Japan and am now a certified elementary school teacher in Canada. My husband, who is a Japanese national, and I are planning to return to Japan with our 4 year old daughter and I would prefer teaching in an international school rather than an eikawa if I can. I realize most international schools prefer to hire single teachers without dependents, but given that my husband is Japanese and not really a dependent if we are living in Japan and the fact that we are planning to enrol our daughter in public school so that she can become more fluent in Japanese and therefore she won't be taking advantage of any free spots given to children of staff, I'm wondering what my chances are? Also, I'm only interested in teaching in Japan, specifically in the Yokohama/Tokyo area and so I'm not eligible to join the K-12 recuiting fairs, since they require candidates to be much more open to where they are willing to work.
Again, I know this is basically an ESL forum, but I haven't been able to find anything comprable dealing with the K-12 system overseas, so I'm throwing the question out there in the hopes that there are some people with knowledge in this area. Thanks for any advice/info you can give me,

Joanne

[PAULH]

Johanne

I dont teach at an international school but my daughter attends the one in Kyoto

there are several dozen international schools with many located in the Kanto/Tokyo area- I dont know where you would apply for them but the best thing to do is contact the schools directly and see if they have any vacancies

go to http://www.tokyowithkids.com and scroll halfway down the page to links to the schools. Most require teachers with acreditted teaching credentials in their own countries, a background in Education as well as relevant experience. Sorry I cant be more help but this should get you started.

Paul

[Alice Mary]

I'm interested in this subject too; I'm currently midway through a two-year teacher education program in Canada (having already graduated from university) which will qualify me to work as a teacher. I'd like to work internationally for a few years, and I'm open to both the idea of ESL/EFL (which I will be taking a course on), and to teaching mathematics or English in an English-language international school. I'm curious how the experiences compare - can anyone give some insight?

[PAULH]

Alice

Although I dont relally have experience teaching kids (though I am now doing some academic study on childhood education in Japan) I can give you an idea about the international school my daughter attends. She is now 3rd grade and this is her 4th year. there are about 14 kids in her class, made up of Japanese, Koreans, children of international marriages, and foreign couples. The head teachers and staff are all qualified elementary school teachers though non-credentialed teachers sometimes do get hired on ability. As classes are conducetd only in English (my daughters teacher does not speak Japanese) For the Japanese and Korean kids it is English by immersion, rather than EFL. The children will learn subjects like Sciences, Maths Art etc as well as English.


The kids will speak Japanese at home but during school the day it is English only with the teacher, though they speak Japanese in the playground. In a Japanese school my daughter also attends (part time and she has to be enrolled as she has a Japanese mother) there are 30-40 kids in a class, and since last year English has been taught in Japanese elementary schools with the help of assistant language teachers. It is possible to get jobs teaching English as an ALT in elementary schools but many foreigners work at private language schools teaching kids, or they teach children privately. One of the biggest concerns of teachers is that foreign teachers are usually not adequately trained in teaching EFL, nor do they have any practical experience etaching kids. Here they are mostly hired for their native speaking ability and often lack experience or qualifications. So if you can get a bit of both you should have no problems getting work as there is a deamnd for qualified freign teachers.

Teaching at an international school is different than teaching at a Japanese school as the students are different as well as the type of teaching required.

[ryuro]

Hey folks,

Just thought I'd chime in here and I'm sorry if it seems like I might be raining on your parade a bit, but I thought it would benefit you to know the reality of the situation in regards to international schools.

My wife is a certified teacher (meaning she holds an actual, mutliple teaching degrees for teaching a varity of schoolsubjects pre-school-high school) and has taught in international schools in other parts of the world (we currently live in Japan) and here's what our experience has been...

Yes, they do tend to like hiring single "non-dependented" teachers, but being married to a native of the country in which you would be teaching is probably more a plus than a minus. However, there is a definite hierarchy to the types of teaching jobs desired and coveted in Japan and it goes something like this (from the most coveted to the least):

- University/College Positions
- International Schools (from pre-school to high school)
- Local High Schools/AET Positions
- Eikaiwas (coversation schools)

As with everything most people start at the bottom and work their way up over time. or by knowing someone or simply thru a lucky break.

From the level of the international schools up, you will more than likely need something more than just a B.A. (although not in all cases).

Strangely in our experience we've found International Schools are far more discriminating in the types of credentials/experience they require of their teachers than the Universities/Colleges.

So I guess I'm trying to point out a basic supply/demand equation. There are A LOT of credentialed and expereinced teachers already here in Japan are all going after one of the VERY FEW available teaching opportunities at International School and Universities.

All things being more or less equal, candidates already residing in Japan and having some experience teaching in Japan (even at an eikaiwa) are going to be tapped first, sometimes even over those more credentialed.

The competition is fierce in Japan now with the economy here being what it is so my advice is to take whatever decent job you can, even if it's not exactly what your looking for, but then keep your eyes and ears pealed and NETWORK. In almost every instance that I'm aware of (including my own personal experiences), these plum positions have been "handed off" (or at least a foot stuck in the door) by the departing teacher for someone they knew.

I hope I didn't bum ya out too much, but I think it's only fair for you to understand the current realities here and that simply because one has a 'teaching degree' doesn't mean their gonna waltz into an International School on that alone (not that I assume you would think this). You'll find a lot of people ahead of you in line.


In any case, good luck and best wishes.

Cheers,
ryuro

[PAULH]

Just a quick note to add this:

I am currently applying for the above university type positions and in the letter I received from one university in Tokyo it had over 75 applications for one full time position. Another one I know of have 150 applicants for 5 full time positions last year. This is for a position requiring Masters degrees and publications. In the last two months I must have applied to over 20 universities and realise that more than anything its a NUMBERS game.

getting jobs here is not just about having the paper qualifications they ask for but about knowing someone, contacts, timing and an incredible amount of LUCK.

[ryuro]

Paul,

I think you're absolutely right- hit the nail on the head!

LUCK LUCK LUCK AND TIMING (and a little more luck just in case)!

The first college position I snagged was PURE LUCK! I knew the departing teacher, I just happened to be looking for a new job at the time he happened to be leaving and he set-up an infromal chat with his boss.

I know I certainly wasn't probably the best qualified on paper- but LUCK and TIMING were everything for me.

So heaps of luck to ya Paul!

Cheers,
ryuro

[guru]

Ava, what recruiting company did you belong to?