Job Discussion Forums

[Mr_Monkey]

A certain element of understanding of the social ... situation in Japan is necessary as part of the equation, I think.

Look at the "three year rule" (instantiated in the university sector as those pesky "non-renewable" one and two year contracts, or perhaps as two year contracts that are renewable once with a day or two as unemployed in between). Look at the situations that ALTs and eikaiwa teachers find themselves in. Look at the term limits on JET.

The system is geared to cycle teachers. Why it would be so is an interesting, although separate, discussion.

[Glenski]

[TokyoLiz]

Hiring fresh recruits is an artifact of new recruit hiring process in Japan. Big companies here hire fresh grads for entry level positions in one big drive every year. It's not very practical, and doesn't reflect the real labour market, and there is much debate about it.

Of course, all the other advantages mentioned - molding fresh grads, taking advantage of the ignorant - are there.

So, Micronian, I'm in my 12th year in Japan. Does that make me less authentic than a young Brit freshly hired?

Sure, eikaiwa gakkou and ALT recruiter companies tend to capitulate to stereotypes of the gaijin - young and native-English speaking and usually enthralled by Japanese culture.

[hagiwaramai]

[Glenski]

[Vince]

The economic discussion about tapping larger markets probably doesn't apply to the low-level TEFL market in Japan. These places aren't on the order of an IT company that needs to constantly innovate and stay ahead of the competition. The eikaiwa lesson table isn't rocket science, so there's no need to scour the globe for The One.

My guess is that it's about controlling the amount of foreigners who become long-term residents.

[Glenski]

Vince,
I'm not sure about your exact intended meaning in that last sentence, but IMO eikaiwas do not give a hoot about who or how many foreigners become long-term residents. I do agree that it is more about control, but in this case I feel it is about controlling information (about the company and labor laws) and therefore controlling the teacher.

[Vince]

I was talking about the broader system, not just eikaiwa management. It was when I heard that foreign university lecturers were being limited to three years that I started thinking we were being encouraged to keep it a short-term thing.

I think preferring foreign teachers (at least at the eikaiwa level) to be green is another part of it.

[Glenski]

Uni teachers have been on those contracts for years now. They are not green teachers, unless you refer to being green to whatever uni-specific policies and teaching practices they manage. It's not the same as hiring an untrained inexperienced person from abroad.

[Vince]

I just edited my last post.

[pnksweater]

[nightsintodreams]

O God yes, you don't know how much (actually perhaps you do) this attitude winds me up.
I was helping out with an English club this year and on the final lesson the lady running the club, who also happened to live in America for a few years, said to the children, "Please when you go to foreign countries, you must tell people about Japanese culture, festivals and stories". I was in shock, all these weeks of English Practice had culminated in a stupid request for the children to spread the word of Japanese culture around the world.

Not, "let's learn English so we can learn about other countries' cultures" or "Let's learn English so we can make friends from around the world" or even "Let's learn English so we can work in a foreign country" but "Let's learn English so we can teach the world how great Japan is" What a terrible reason for anyone to want to speak a language, no wonder they're, in general, so bad at speaking other languages.

Moreover, other day I was in a bar, quietly relaxing, drinking a beer while waiting for a friend, when without me realising one of those sneaky English beggars had managed to creep up on me, waiting for his perfect opportunity to impress his girlfriend with his pathetic display of below average eikaiwa. After answering two of his questions I'd had enough of waiting 2 minutes for him to conjure a sentence as basic as "where are you from?" and so switched to Japanese, but of course he had no interest in speaking Japanese to me and continued by explaining some famous spiritual river in Japan and 'Octopus balls'. Do you really think I give a rat's arse about some holy river in Japan? I'm sat here trying to get drunk and relax, not to talk about magical Japanese fairy streams. And as for octopus balls, takoyaki is my favourite Japanese food, so don't waste your time with your scripted English explanation of it because I probably eat Takoyaki more often than you. It wasn't long before I was forced to leach onto the nearest foreigner in the bar to get away from him.

...Rant over