Job Discussion Forums

[Hezaboro]

Hello all and thank you for looking into this post! I just joined up on the forums and am really excited to meet you all and get to know all of you better.

First and foremost, a newbie question as it were. I recently have been offered a job with an independent company in Japan with various contracts in private schools for teaching English, as well as teaching conversational English for those looking for a hobby and business people alike. I did so without getting a certification as I am 'fresh' out of university with a BA in Asian Studies with a focus on Japanese culture and language.

I don't currently have a certification; however, I feel that it would be detrimental for my students if I didn't have one before heading over there at the end of March. I am currently waiting to hear back from the graduate school near my parent's house (Auburn University) as to whether or not I will be admitted to their graduate certificate program in TEFL (with a possibility of turning it into a Masters as it is accredited).

I would like some opinions on the matter. Should I go the current route of attempting to get into an accredited certificate program with the intent of going on for a masters or should I hold off and just get my certification through a company instead? I've had teaching experience before so generally know how to teach, and did some teaching while studying abroad in Nagoya, though very, very limited.

I look to the benevolent masters of the art to show me the way. I apologize for the wall of text - I was trying to get as much information as possible to garner the best responses.

~Martin

P.S. The accredited program can be taught through distance education, and I've already cleared it with the director to continue on with a masters through distance education as anything I would have left would be practicum type courses anyway. Again, thank you for your time in this matter and I look forward to some great responses!

[Glenski]

The best certification program offers live students in an internship or some other sort of practicum. Think about it.

So, what's the name of this "company"? A dispatch agency doing eikaiwa on the side, or an eikaiwa doing dispatch on the side? It'd be interesting to know what sort of visa they want you to get. You'll probably need special permission to do either of those jobs because in Japan, visas are for either conversation school-type work or public school ALT work, not both.

[Hezaboro]

Thanks for your reply!

It's called M.I.L. The Language Center, and oddly enough the hiring director is from 30 minutes of my current residence in Ohio. To better answer your question, it's an eikaiwa that does dispatch on the side. I'm actually being considered for teaching within the private schools only instead of doing eikaiwa, which is why I was considering getting the certification.

The real reason why I'm trying to figure out which I want to do is one is more intensive time wise and gives graduate credit vs. just the certification. Also, there usually is teaching involved but since I'm a special case where I already will be teaching, the director is allowing me to do it distance for the theory and linguistics bit.

I unfortunately don't have the luxury of getting the certification here in Ohio as the funds don't really exist, so I'd probably have to get it in Japan during my summer vacation or through some other means. Since I don't need the certification to teach it was more along the lines of which would be a better option. Either way I'm going to be teaching, I was just wondering if it would be a better scenario if I had the certification in the future or if the experience of teaching would be enough. That's all.

In terms of the visa, they are sponsoring me for a one year working visa. My paperwork is working its way through on the Japanese side before they send it my way to take to the local consulate. I guess I can give you more information once I get it. I'm also interested on how they are going to work that out. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

I guess the question is do I want to go with just the certification, and a longer road if and when I go for a masters, or the graduate certificate where I would only need to have a semesters worth of work and get my masters.