Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Should teachers over the age of 40-45 years bother to apply to teach in Japan with the corporations like Nova, Aeon, etc....?

Most of the jobs seem to involve younger students and the teaching style seems to focus more on games and activities and the like, and some of the older 'traditional teachers' may not have experienced that kind of style.

Of course, the websites claim that older applicants may apply, but in reality are older applicants offered jobs with the corporations? Looking at the brochures and websites, one does not notice any foreign teachers who appear to be older than around 25 years old maximum. Reality check?

Japan has a reputation of revering the old for their ''wisdom" and experience in life, but the Japanese students whom ghost met in Taiwan did not appear to appreciate the older teachers (those Japanese were studying Mandarin with ghost in Taiwan) at all! So what people say, and the real situation appear to be different.

Ghost has not worked in Japan, but spent a school year teaching in Taiwan, and found that older teachers were mostly appreciated by older students in the same age group. One suspects that in Japan, the same situation would apply? If one is wrong - then so much the better!

Any older applicants out there who actually got hired at those ages or above? Feedback welcome.

Glenski appears to be a rare exception to the rule, and he had Japanese language skills in his favor straight off the plane, as he graduated from the Japanese Language course in Seattle prior to heading out to the land of the rising sun. So at least, he was able to communicate in the language on his arrival, facilitating his integration.

ghost

[Glenski]

[Apsara]

Eikaiwas like Nova have large numbers of older students, including housewives learning English as a hobby, salarymen who have to learn English for their job, and retired salarymen who are trying to keep their minds active.

I also used to teach a lot of classes at "culture centres" in department stores etc. and those classes consisted almost entirely of people over 50- up to about 80 in some cases. Different from teaching younger people but often a lot of fun.

At my time at Nova I came across quite a few teachers in their 40s, although the majority of teachers are probably mid- to late-twenties.

[SeasonedVet]

Hello Ghost,
I have worked with teachers who were in their 40's and it seemed that they were respected both by the young as well as older more mature students.
Older students seem to be quite comfortable with older teachers as they are in a similar age group. Experiences might be similar. I have had students who were in their 60's and 70's and sometimes 80's.
I think they might feel comfortable having an older teacher sometimes. Not that they don't want to see the 23 and 25 year old's, they do too but it might be refreshing for them sometimes to communicate with someone who has had more life experiences due to age.
The teachers I have met here in Japan were as young as 20 and as old as 50's.

[canuck]

You can find a job in Japan. However, most of the people teaching here will be much younger than you are. Find something that appeals to you and apply.

[J.]

I started here at 45, not at Nova but at a smaller language school, and I found that most students liked having a teacher who had a broad range of interests and awareness of life, so that she could empathize with them. I found children, teens, and older students alike were more interested in my teaching skills and ideas than my age. In a nutshell, if you're a good, or evolving to be a good teacher, you are needed here and will be recognized and respected as such by your students, though the administration may not care a hoot as long as you can keep pulling the students in. There's a certain amount of selling involved in working for a business here, or even a school for that matter, so you'd better be personable and like people and be prepared to be flexible and able to challenge yourself in sometimes rather repetitive and low level English. It's more about your suitabilility for this kind of teaching and your willingness to learn than about your age.

[AndyH]

It isn't as easy for a middle-aged person to land jobs here as it is for a person under 30, and that is something that has influenced my decision to return to the US at the end of my current teaching contract, as I am approaching 40.
There are some schools, my present employer included, who do not look at age as a reason to descriminate, and that's something I respect.
However, I think your bigger concern is trying to wean yourself from referring to yourself in the 3rd person. A perspective employer might frown upon that in a job interview.
Good luck!