Job Discussion Forums

[AndyinNZ]

Hi
I'm currently doing a CertTESOL, and have a BSc and PhD in Chemistry. I would really like to work in Japan, in a role teaching some sort of mixture of science and English.
I've read some old posts on this forum and the ESP forum, there hasn't been much recently.
I'm keen to hear from anyone with hints on where to find jobs like this, and/or comments on whether there is much of an opportunity in this area.
I've checked and registered with JRECIN, are there any other sites for this sort of job?

thanks
Andy

[Glenski]

To teach the science itself you have to consider a few things, Andy.

1. Who would want to learn the science in English? High school and university courses provide the fundamentals you learned, and all in a language that the students are familiar with. Your own learning of science was probably full of moments where you didn't understand the text or instructor. Magnify that difficulty a thousandfold by putting it to people in another language.

2. ESP/EST is teaching English for a specific purpose or for science and technology. Perhaps this is what you have run across. The key to note here is that it is English that is taught, not the specific purpose or the science. ESP/EST can be taught to university students or people in any sort of business (from flight attendant to aviation engineer, from hotel clerk to accountant, etc.). Whatever the situation, it is still teaching only the English involved.

3. If you want to teach the science, you are going to have to learn the language here. For university courses, you will probably have to have experience teaching in Japanese, too.

4. If you want to teach science in English, the most direct way is to get a teaching license and a few years of experience in your home country, then apply for international schools here. Seems a waste of a perfectly good PhD in chemistry, though. I imagine you had other goals for it when you started.

5. Look at what JICA might offer. You would have to train foreigners (not just Japanese) in various techniques that they could use back home. I have no idea what to expect in the way of job opportunities or visa support.

6. Since you have a PhD, look also into what JSPS has to offer. I think it is mostly for postdoc work, though.

To teach a "mixture of science and English" will be hard. I've been trying to do this for a while myself. Taught regular English for 4 years in a private high school here, and in a couple of those years, they actually recognized my science degree and asked if I could present a Saturday course or two to first-year and second-year students. I did and made them laboratory courses. Taught them with abougt 80-90% English, and I had the school's chemistry instructor at hand to help explain things if needed (he spoke good English and hardly had to explain anything in Japanese to the students, despite their low level) and to be present for safety concerns (a biggie, not just for the students but for the teacher who doesn't know enough Japanese). I currently teach at a science university. No science/English courses yet, but even the graduate students would have a difficult time understanding and using English, so it's no small wonder. The science profs largely have better English skills than most, but they realize they have to cater to the level of the students, not to each other.

[AndyinNZ]

Hi Glenski
thanks for your reply.
I know someone who is teaching Undergraduate/Postgraduate science, in English, in Osaka. He does a lot of web based work and some direct student contact.
I wasn't sure whether his situation was common or unique - maybe it is unique after all.

My PhD is over 20 years old and its time for a change - hence the move into ESOL.

I've been keeping an eye on the ESP forum as awell, that is very much for those already teaching and I'm finding it hard to judge just how big the English for Science/Technology niche is.

Andy

[Glenski]

Hey, Andy!
My university has no liberal arts majors. There are essentially 2 science majors that students fall into. Many of the Japanese professors that I've met speak passable English, but almost none of them teach in English. They struggle whenever a foreign exchange student joins the class because they can't provide enough English materials for that student to grasp what is being otherwise taught in Japanese. So, I'd have to say your friend in Osaka is in a relatively rare position. Would also like to know more about it, just for comparison's sake. For example, how long has he been there (in order to establish his program), what level his students are at (TOEIC scores), whether the school itself pushes students to study English (as a few unis do with a TOEIC-based curriculum, etc.

Hokkaido University requested a medical English program a few years ago, and 2-3 foreign teachers got the "contract", even though they didn't have a medical background. The program evolved over a couple of years, and it seemed to be working quite well, they said. Suddenly, without warning, the uni said, thanks, no thanks, and stopped using the foreign teachers altogether. I've heard similar stories around the country, too.

One of my coworkers is an American with an MBA and a PhD in public health studies. He doesn't teach a single grammar-oriented, oral communication, writing or reading course. Well, for the most part, anyway. He delivers content or quasi-content courses with lots of prints and worksheets in English. (Sadly, he is not very Internet savvy, so he relies a lot on photocopies instead of web-based learning.) Most of his students are grad students. Half of each lecture is given in Japanese.

I'm not saying it's impossible to find what you are looking for, but I can guarantee you it will be pretty difficult.

The ESP/EST niche is big, but every teacher has had to develop his own curriculum and teaching materials. There are books out there, but the ones I've seen are pretty weak in their approach, or they cater only to a specific crowd, and most of the time they don't teach the niche's specialty -- they teach the English vocabulary related to it, plus jargon, idiomatic expressions, and a strong review of basic grammar. The teaching formats vary considerably. Some have students shadow a teacher in an oral reading repeatedly. Some have students making mock presentations or writing mock grant proposals. It's all very uncoordinated IMO, but it's still an exciting area to get into. One just can't stumble into it and hope to succeed, though.

[AndyinNZ]

Hi glenski
have a look at
http://www.espgp.osaka-u.ac.jp/nto_5/index.html

My contact did postdoctoral Chemistry in Japan, then worked as a proof reader for a patent attorney in Japan, and then got the job teaching scientific English. So a case of being in the right place at the right time I think, to score a rare opportunity.

It sounds like my best route is to go for a eikawa type post, then look around once I'm in Japan

thanks for your comments
Andy

[Glenski]

Yeah, I'd say he was one of the lucky ones. I took a look at that site. If he proofread it, he wasn't very careful. Found lots of mistakes, some in basic spelling, some in other areas. Look at just this one sentence.