Job Discussion Forums

[joshua s]

hi, I was wondering if you could give me a straight answer. I have 3 years TEFL teaching experience and no degree. I have been offered a job in Japan however was wondering if 3 years exp is enough to qualify for a visa.(I read that 3 years and 12 years English schooling) in lieu of a degree is ok. However in London, the Japanese Embassy has no such info. They said to check it out in Japan. So if anyone has any info that may help me out it would be great. Thanks (I have already used my whv for Japan, and my old employer is happy for me to come back if the visa can be sorted.)

[canuck]

Straight answer = no. Get a BA.

[PAULH]

From the Ministry website on visas


Instructor visa requires that you have a university degree


Humanities visa you can get a visa if you have 3 years related and verifiable experience. Chances are the employers won't know this either and 90% ask for a degree. Your 3 years has to be accepted and recognised by immigration in order for your employer to sponsor you.



Instructor

1. In cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at a vocational school ("Kakushugakko") or an educational institution equivalent to it in facilities and curriculum or in cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at other school with a capacity other than a "teacher", the following conditions are to be fulfilled.
However (a) is to be fulfilled in cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at a vocational school or an educational institution equivalent to it in facilities and curriculum which is established to give the children with the status of residence "Diplomat" or "Official" mentioned in Annexed Table 1 (1) or "Dependent" mentioned in Annexed Table 1 (4) education of primary, junior and senior high school in foreign language.

a. The applicant must have graduated from or completed a college or acquired equivalent education, or must hold a license to teach the subject that he or she intends to teach in Japan.
b. When the applicant is planning on teaching a foreign language, he or she must have acquired education in that language for at least 12 years. When the applicant is going to teach other subjects, he or she must have at least 5 years' teaching experience in that subject.

2. The applicant should receive no less salary than a Japanese national would receive for comparable work.



Specialist in
Humanities/
International

Services The applicant must fulfill the following conditions. However, these conditions shall not apply in cases where the applicant plans to engage in work involving proxy duties in procedures relating to international arbitration cases as designated in Article 58-2 of the Foreign Lawyer's Law (Law No. 66 of 1986).

1. When planning to engage in work requiring knowledge in the humanities, the applicant must have acquired the relevant knowledge by graduating from college majoring in a subject relevant to the knowledge required for performing the work concerned, or by receiving an equivalent or higher level of education, or by accumulating at least 10 years of practical experience in the planned work (including the period of time spent majoring in a subject related to the required knowledge at college, "Koto senmongakko", senior high school, the latter half of unified secondary school, or during specialized course of study at an advanced vocational school ("Senshugakko")).
2. When planning to engage in work requiring specific ways of thought or sensitivity based on experience with foreign culture, the applicant must fulfill the following conditions:

a. The applicant is to engage in translation, interpretation, language instruction, public relations, advertising, overseas transactions, fashion or interior design, product development, or other similar work.
b. The applicant must have at least 3 years of experience in work relating to the relevant job. However, this does not apply if the applicant has graduated from college and is planning to engage in work involving translation, interpreting, or language instruction.

3. The applicant should receive no less salary than a Japanese national would receive for comparable work.

[PAULH]

[joshua s]

Thanks for the info. I guess I will put in the paper work and see how it goes. will get back to you and tell you what happens. Maybe what I learn will help others. A couple of you guys on this web site seem to have a positive manner and helpful approach, unlike CANUCK who has no REAL idea.

[ava77]

I had a humanities visa for 2 years and now have an instructor visa and i do not have a BA. I think this BA stuff is BS. I never had any trouble!

[abufletcher]

Obviously just having a BA in a non-language related subject doesn't make you any more qualified to teach EFL than any other reasonably intelligent and resourceful native speaker (with or without a degre). And in this respect the BA requirement is indeed BS.

The thing that has always amazed me about the Asian EFL market is that there really is room for all kinds, from the rawest untrained native speakers looking for a bit of adventure to career-minded (and deeply qualified) EFL professionals. It used to bug me a bit having cut my EFL teeth in the Gulf where an MA in Linguistics or TESOL was the Golden Ticket to any job and people without one simply "need not apply." You couldn't even sneak in on a tourist visa. (The situation has since changed somewhat by the way).

But now I've come to realize that the EFL market really does need all types and that the market as a whole is probably enhanced by the commercial availability of English instruction in every conceivable market niche.

Still, you can understand the government's position of not wanting to be seen to be hiring "just any old English-speaking body."

[ava77]

I hope you aren't implying that I am untrained. I have a TESOL diploma that I used when I taught ESL ( which doesn't mean much). I also have a 2 year college diploma in Early Childhood Education and am now teaching at a top International School as an Assistant Teacher making the same salary as I was teaching ESL. I think BA's are way over-rated!

[abufletcher]

Not at all, you're just somewhere along the continuum with people both to the right and left of you.

As I said above, just having a BA means nothing in terms of one's ability to be a successful language teacher. Even having a technical qualification (whether than be a 2-week TEFL certificate or a Ph.D.) doesn't mean much on its own -- there are just too many other factors involved. And of course the institutional restrictions on the language teaching enterprise here in Japan go a long way in leveling out the playing field anyway.

[ava77]

I just feel that alot of information that is given on this site says "you have to have a BA" which is in fact not true(as you said) and very discouraging for people wanting to come to Japan. I think that if I would have read all the info given I probably would not have attempted to come to Japan. I think people without a BA need to be more optimistic.

[PAULH]

[Gordon]

ava77, the same goes true for just about everything here. If you follow every warning, there is no good country to teach in, all the schools are corrupt and it is dangerous everywhere you go. You have to take everything with a grain of salt AND THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS.

That's not to say, there is no truth to the warnings because there usually is. Some people think they can drop in anywhere and get a job without any qualifications. That doesn't often happen, in Japan at least.

[abufletcher]

It's probably best to think of the job of the EFL professional as consisting of ever-widening rings of skill sets.

At the very center of these concentric rings is the ability to be a "positive person who can deliver a fun lesson." And to honest this is mostly a personality issue and a complete novice just off "the boat" may be able to do this just as well as the long-time (but still chirpy ) professional. And this has often been my experience with the "inexperienced" people we've hired to do general ed English. There are times that I can even see how a "fresh, young" teacher can even do this part of the job better than the jaded long-timer.

But as you move into the other rings, the novice starts to be at a definite disadvantage. The next ring out might include things like test writing, grading procedures, classroom management, textbook/matierials selection, etc. Further out would be things like syllabus and ultimately curriculum development, program management, etc.

Even beyond that is the experience and academic background to know why things are the way the are at the present in terms of methodologies and teaching techniques and thus being able to try innovative things that might well effect the future of language teaching.

And yes this is ALL part of the EFL profession. Just walking in an "doing the lesson" is the least part of it. Not least important -- but just a small part of the whole.

Of course as Paul says the great majority of language teaching situations in Japan (including at the university level) limit the teaacher, either though tradition or design, to the "chirpy deliver" role.

[canuck]

[Glenski]

ava77,
People like Paul and myself get our information from being in Japan for 10-20 years, and from reading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs web site on visa requirements.

You got lucky. Admit it.

Unlike the original poster, you at least had some college education. It even came with a parchment you call a diploma. (In my home country, a diploma is what you get when you graduate high school. In places like Canada, I think a diploma is what you get when you graduate from a 2 or 3 year college, not a university.)

Your diploma plus the TESOL diploma (not sure if this is from a college or a certification agency of sorts) probably was enough to let immigration figure you could pass visa requirements for an instructor visa. By the way, most of our comments on work visas are aimed at the Humanities Specialist visa, not an instructor visa.

Ease up. You are a rare exception. 99% of the time, you either need a bachelor's degree or 3 years of work experience to get a work visa. If the OP had mentioned similar qualifications, someone like Paul or I would have said "maybe" about getting past immigration with it, and your comments would have lent support instead of snobbish apathy in this thread.