Job Discussion Forums

[alexcase]

Have started a new thread to avoid the "bad teachers" one getting tied up in yet another maybe unconnected controversy. My new question is:

Why aren't there more CELTA or equivalent qualified teachers in Japan?

Please, lets try and not get distracted by comparisons to other countries or whether or not a 4 week certificate is a good thing. The point is: there could theoretically be more, why are there not?

[TokyoLiz]

Devil`s Advocate here

Take for example a young person, fresh out of a BA, and already finished one year in Japan in an eikaiwa or ALT situation.

Who is going to pay?

Can you stop out of your job for four weeks in Japan and do a CELTA?

Where can you do it?

You tell your boss or principal you want to do the CELTA and s/he says kel-what? Very few Japanese educators or eikaiwa managers know about CELTA, never mind DELTA.

I think that, in Japan, school administrators do not know the value of ELT training, as few of them, or teachers under them, have language teacher training.

I finished a 300 hour ELT program at a local community college in Canada. I worked for two recruiters in Kanto who did not care about my training or experience, and I left them. My current employer is aware of the value of ELT training and retains their teachers. But this is not common, in my experience.

If you feel very strongly about the value of ELT training/experience, only accept employment with those companies that support you, encourage your colleagues and friends to do ELT training, and join professional organizations.

[JimDunlop2]

[SeasonedVet]

[womblingfree]

[alexcase]

I started the thread and I agree, there's not much to say about this. So, getting back to my original question....

[Kilgore Trout]

[alexcase]

Not sure it's ever been the be all and end all anywhere, even in the UK Trinity has run it a pretty close second since the 90's. I just picked it as one example I knew about that could possibly spread some on teaching in Japan generally. I'm not sure which US qualifications you are talking about, but I'm guessing not that many people in Japan have those and/ or not many employers are demanding them or offering much incentive to take them, so the question is the same.

One latest theory from me: Japanese companies generally do not believe in specialised pre-employment training and prefer fresh graduates they can install their own values in. Hence the lack of MBAs too.

[Glenski]

[stillnosheep]

He doesn't have info, just theories; most of which seem to be half-baked.