Job Discussion Forums

[agent_cooper]

Hello all,

I'm currently considering taking a position teaching in a small private school in Japan this year. As this would be my first experience of teaching ESL abroad, and also my first trip to Japan, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about good questions to ask a potencial employer before accepting a job?
(I'm thinking questions mainly about contract/conditions etc but any ideas are welcome...)

Cheers

[movinaround]

One big one most people don't realize is the difference between
"hours teaching" and "teaching hours".
For example, AEON says only 25 hours teaching. Since classes are 50 minutes each, this is about 31 classes a week, not 25.

- How many foreign teachers are there?
- Have you had many foreign teachers there before (ie are they, the staff, use to us)?
- How new is this school?
- Can I have emails from some of the people working there?
- How much support will I have?
- Can I have a picture of the apartment?
- Will I be living by myself (this is almost always preferable )?
- When is the salary paid?
- How about health care?
- WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF MY VISA?

There are many more minor ones like "Will I be picked up at the airport?" but those should be later on...

Also, if not a big city, as about where it is and where you apartment is. You don't want to commute 1 hour everyday and then on weekends have to commute another 1 hour just to go shopping...

[canuck]

Ask this:

Why aren't are looking to hire someone who is in Japan already?

Unless the school is in b*ttf*cknowhere...red flags, red flags.

[Ai]

If the school is in a more rural area make sure to ask if there is driving involved. If you will have to drive, ask these questions:

How often will you be driving and how far?
Are the driving hours counted towards working hours?
What kind of insurance does the school have?

I would also ask whether or not the vacation time is paid.

I got burned by both of these things with my first job.

[Dipso]

[Like a Rolling Stone]

[Chris21]

"Is there an established curriculum, or will I need to do lesson planning for all of the classes?"

I had to do lesson-planning for all of my classes when I first started at a conversation school, and it was a huge part of my workload. Of course, there are benefits to lesson-planning too in that you really gain an understanding of what will and won't work in a class. However, I think for a you (a new teacher) it would probably be better if there was some sort of curriculum for you to fall back on (in case you can't devote big chunks of your free time to lesson-planning).

[Glenski]

Not so much of a question as a heads-up:

Beware of employers with lots of clauses in the contract, especially about picky little things you can and cannot do, and even more so if they think they can fine you for some of them.

Your employer cannot tell you who to see and not see outside of working hours. He also cannot tell you that teaching privately on your own time is forbidden.

[PAULH]

Just a word of advice, what employers put in their contracts is in the interests of the employer, not the employee and they will put in whatever they can get away with. Most of the big chains are above board, but many are not.

Rather than simply ask questions and and then wait for the employer to give you a slippery or evasive answer, check some of the union sites or information on labor laws.

http://www.efl-law.com/Japan.php


I will add that in general you cant haggle over individual clauses but at least you will have a fair idea that you are not being taken for a ride. An employer will tell you what he wants you to hear, and its not always legal or above board.

An employer can not make you obey clauses that are illegal, though the contract itself is legal. If you know what the laws are then you can see what the employer is telling you and whether its OK or not.