Job Discussion Forums

[RJK]

Hey, this is my first post and it is one simple question:
- Does anyone know what the teaching situation there will be like in about a year and a half?

I know it's not exactly something easy to say or predict or maybe not even worth worrying about because I am fully planning on doing this thing but for me it's a long term plan starting now. I've seen in several places in comments from the past few years that "the ride is ending" and that things are going downhill. Is there any chance (vain hope) that this trend is reversing or will at least stabilize in the future?

Ideally the types of graphs showing number of foreign teachers in Japan would be the most helpful. I've tried googling it but couldn't find anything useful.

(YOU CAN STOP READING HERE - The rest is just additional info about me followed by the general desire for affirmation that I really have a shot at this)
I'm 24, live in South Africa and I finished my honours in a science field at the end of last year. It's at that time that someone first suggested teaching in Japan. I strongly thought about it then but having just finished university I was pretty broke and didn't have the capital to survive the costs or to do any form of course, which I'd like to do.
In the end I put the plan on hold while I looked for work in my home country, but high unemployment here has had me struggling to find work all year, and I've been surviving on casual work just to keep myself afloat.
I've finally managed to organize something for myself starting in the beginning of next year, and with the salary I'm expecting I should be able to save enough and be able to do a course within a year. After that it should be able to wait around and apply in peak time in Feb/March of 2013.
I intend to try have work lined up before going over there as I'm the cautious type, although (and this might sound dodge) I have a friend who has a friend (who I've met a few times in the past) who has been teaching there for quite a few years (and worked their way up) and will apparently be able to help in organizing a job.

I have no teaching experience, although I've had short/temporary group leading experience.
One involved leading a group of 1st years at university and 'teaching' them about life at uni and how to cope. I did this after my 2nd year and it was just 1 full day just before uni started. We had two days of special training though, with lots of "how to hold a group's attention", how to make education experiences interactive, using games to teach people and create a comfortable atmosphere, which I think would be particularly useful with children. I learned a lot during that training.
Another is that I was a teach assistant (we used the term demi - meaning demonstrator) when I was in honours. As honours students we'd help the lab tech run the pracs for the undergrads by helping them prepare equipment and stuff, and then hover around in the prac and help anyone that was struggling or had questions... To be honest, even though it's not teaching per se, I discovered here that I really enjoyed the "helping people" part of teaching. It really brought me a lot of joy, which is in contrast to everyone else that demied who seemed to apparently hate it.

As a side question, would the "teaching experience" I stated be worth mentioning at all one day when I eventually apply? Or is it too insignificant?

In conclusion, I just wanna state that I've set my heart on Japan. I've been told that trying other countries have a better TEFL environment (a friend of mine is currently teaching in S. Korea) but I really have no intention of going anyplace other than Japan. I'd also prefer NOT to be in a big city. A smaller city or rural area is what I'm kinda looking forward to, preferably in an area with a lot of sights to see within a moderate travel distance. I haven't looked up any special places I'd like to be yet, but for the most part I should be very flexible.

Sorry for the length of this post for what started as a very simple question, and thank you in advance for any replies!

[Glenski]

I don't know about anyone else, but predicting the future, even that short a time into the future is impossible. Don't plan on any large changes unless you count what has been touted for visas in 2012. That's about all anyone can tell you, IMO.

You have a science degree and no EFL teaching experience. Welcome to the world of most newbies. If you are giving yourself 1.5 years to get here, then prepare as best you can, with related teaching experience and Japanese language skills.

Teaching "about life" and in a science lab are a far cry from teaching unmotivated Japanese about language. Just enjoying helping is not enough. Go ahead and mention your "teaching experience", but for the most part it will be meaningless IMO.

[jillybean]

It seems like entry level salaries are getting lower and lower....I wager that in a year and a half the normal starting salary will be 220,000 (versus 250,000).

[RJK]

Haha, yeah, I know I'm pretty much the definition of a newbie. But I'm pretty open to anything, and I've heard flexibility is an advantageous trait. I'm also not going there to make my fortune, I want to live there and experience living there. Sure, money is important, but it's not the most important thing for me.
And yes, I'm using this time to prepare myself - looking for ways to gain anything that might put me ahead of anyone else and I'm also in the process of learning Japanese.

[Tiger Beer]

Well, it seems to keep getting more and more competitive with higher and higher demands on teachers (at the university level).

They basically want you have a PhD and fluent Japanese so you can teach 'side-by-side' to basic Freshman students with little ability in speaking, reading or writing.

[mitsui]

It is not getting easier. There is a lot of competition for the best jobs.

If you just work in eikawa I guess it is ok, but even pay for those jobs has gone down over the last several years.

If I didn't have a Japanese spouse, I would have already left. At least the high yen is nice.

The only thing I will guarantee is that taxes are going to go up. The first rise will be in the consumption tax.

To the OP, I would say applying for JET would be the best idea.

[rxk22]

[Mr_Monkey]

That depends, I think, very much on the profile of the learner.

Sure, if the student is basically in the market for an entertaining hour a week with a young inexperienced gaijin bouncing around the room in place of actually learning anything, the market will likely contract. Students with clear instrumental reasons for learning, on the other hand, probably won't disappear.

This is not necessarily a bad thing.

[rxk22]

[mitsui]

There is opposition to a tax rise in the diet, but Noda wants to raise the tax.
His poll numbers are down, so it may take time to be implemented.

People are spending less money than they did even 5 years ago.
Where I used to live in Kanagawa, I saw a couple liquor stores close in 2008, and around that time, many people stopped leaning English at eikawa schools.

Although there is a push for people to use English in certain companies, so there still will be people who will want to learn English.
With the high yen, companies are investing abroad, so there is some demand for English, but not like it used to be.

[rxk22]

[mitsui]

Japan has so much debt, I do not see how the government cannot raise taxes. Which taxes to raise, is the question.

If the consumption tax goes up and if consumers decide to buy less, then there will be problems.

[rxk22]