By Tom Aaron

In late 1980s Japan and into the 1990s, some English teachers were earning $50.00 to $100.00 an hour while the basic minimum salary for English teachers was 250,000 yen per month. The government required schools to pay teachers this before giving visas, thus establishing the basic minimum salary. On this wage, teachers could pay their rent, eat out, enjoy themselves a bit, and still save the equivalent of $1000 each month. Most native English speakers could fly into Japan, pick up an English newspaper, find job listings, and have several job offers within a week. Some jobs paid the minimum, but most offered more as the minimum was insufficient for schools to find teachers. Many schools, unable to find applicants in Japan, recruited teachers abroad.

As the 1990s progressed, the economy deteriorated, and fewer teaching jobs were available. Native English speakers arriving in Japan found that a college degree was no longer enough to guarantee finding employement in a few days. With reduced positions available, schools were able to discriminate based on qualifications, ability, appearance, gender, age, and race while offering the basic minimum salary. More closely examining teacher qualifications and ability was a welcome change, but discrimination based on age and cosmetic features was not.

Now, the competition is tougher for jobs; salaries are closer to the 250,000 yen minimum established by the government. Still, a college degree, some dedication, shoe leather, and perseverance coupled with some relevant experience and skills may be enough to find a job. Go to your web browser and search for “teach English in Japan” to find all the information you need to get started.

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If you are interested in teaching English in Japan for the money, we recommend you look elsewhere. If you are thinking about Korea, China, or other countries that hire English teachers, go ahead. We are writing of Japan because we know Japan. We have ridden the bullet trains, eaten the sushi, and gotten lost in rural and urban regions. We found our grand adventure here and you may find yours. Here are a few of my memories from Japan:

Omikoshi carrying: Omikoshi are portable shrines resting on two logs or beams. The total weight of one shrine and the two beams or logs that support it can weigh several tons. The omikoshi are carried in parades by groups. The people carrying the omikoshi have an up and down rhythm as they carry the omikoshi for hours. The people in each group will spell each other, so no one drops from exhaustion. I still remember the warm summer night, the beat of the drums, and the weight on my shoulders. Unable to match the rhythm and taller than the other carriers, my shoulder was bruised and my back sore, but I still remember that special night.

Outdoor mountain hotsprings: Emerge yourself in the hot water of a mountain hotspring, surrounded by friends and hills. Sit there and soak as the snow falls down around you.

Speaking Japanese: While many Japanese speak English, many Japanese also speak little or no English. Outside of work, I struggled to learn Japanese, trying to put words together to make sentences and trying to use sentences to communicate. Eventually, I could speak Japanese. I met a woman who was a child in Manchuria in the 1930s and 1940s. Asking what it was like, I waited for an epic tale. She had only one sentence: It was dirty.

Sweet grasshoppers: Sitting at a kotatsu, a table with a heating element under it that warmed my legs, I was offered grasshoppers. Once a major source of calcium, grasshoppers are no longer part of the standard Japanese diet. Looking at the insects head, wings, and legs was not encouraging. Crunchy and a little too sweet.

Carved Buddhas in the rocks: The temples and shrines of Kyoto, Nara, and Nikko are world famous and not to be missed. Still, out for a walk in the country one day, I came upon a series of Buddhas carved in the rock. Standing in the shadows, I thought of who had carved the Buddhas in the stone and why they were there.

These are a few of my memories. Teaching English in Japan was my grand adventure. It could be yours too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Aaron runs Aaron Language Services provides translation and proofreading via the Internet to a primarily Japanese client base. We also offer online English coaching to ESL students. All of our coaching is one to one.

By David Jones

When I was growing up my German-French family were constantly reminding me how nasal and strained the English language sounds, and I guess, compared to the flamboyance of Italian, the intensity of German or the emotion of the French language I’d have to agree, English is pretty mundane. It must be an irritant to them now that rightly or wrongly, the whole world wants to learn English. The Japanese, especially young people, are convinced that speaking good English is their passport to a successful career. What is more, they are being encouraged in this by the government.

But in Japan teaching English has not been an overwhelming success so far. The vast majority of the population, having been tortured one way or another with English classes throughout their childhood can scarcely make a sentence in the great international language. It is a credit to the Japanese character that after so much abuse the average citizen still tolerates foreigners in their land. Would it really be surprising if one morning someone ran amok in an Eikaiwa once all those suppressed memories of incomprehensible textbooks and characters mysteriously called Meiling, Bob and Yuki having bizarre and un-natural interactions re-emerge into the language-challenged adult’s consciousness? Or the blind torture of infinite ‘listening and repeating’ to sounds that have no relevance and are often reminiscent of the final cries of a dying animal. When finally these repressed memories bubble to the surface and the individual explodes into one uncontrolled act of self defense can we really condemn this act? To many, this resistence would seem not unreasonable, justifiable in fact, and could in all possibility start a national movement for restitution from the sadistic autocrats that reside in Nishi Shinjuku at the Education Department. And who will argue that the endless hours, months and years of English drills and paper tests have seriously improved the mental well being of so many generations of Japanese students.

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Having established that teaching English is a crime we must seek the main culprits in this attempt at cultural genocide. To what extent can the humble Mova instructor, assistant language teacher, language consultant, those who constitute the army of twenty two year old university graduates arriving totally untrained be held responsible? Aren’t they just out to pay off the education debts in their own country by making others suffer (albeit mentally rather than financially). Are they not innocents naively bumbling around the Kanto plains screaming in a pitch so high as to be almost non-human but simply chimp like ‘Oh my God’ at everything they see, as if they are constantly in the center of some personal tempest, even when that tempest revolves around something so mundane as to be nauseous? And given the maturity of their thoughts, what sincere prosecution lawyer would ever seriously consider them psychologically fit for trail?

The Japanese, true to their stoic and resolute character, have calmly withstood the cultural onslaught of the barbarians; the high nasal tones of countless Australian making closing blurted announcements before vomiting on the last train out of Ueno, the soccer obsessed German hating English with their noses pointed heaven-ward in arrogant disgust at anything they can’t attain, the laod bombastic Americans smug and secure in the existence of a God dedicated to maintaining the military might of the U.S, might not always being right but consistently being persuasive, and finally the second tier English speaking nations who jump on the band wagon and thus also have to be tolerated. The Japanese already oppressed by traditional social convention as much as by ultra-liberal social elites have shown great resilience and even humor in facing down the Gaijin challenge – because there was resistance!

And that resistance has been in the shape of Japlish, a form of expression so hopelessly messed up that it plays with the Gaijin mind and on the Gaijin mind. Slowly the reader retreats into confusion and panic as they are unable to distinguish veracity from the horrible reality of a preposition free world, where subject and object rapidly swirl into ambiguity and where conjunctions are voluntary. Japlish is the embodiment of everything good about Japanese society and culture – ultimately subtle and patient, classically simple and intelligent, yet unintelligible by anyone other than a select group. With Japlish the Japanese are able, forever politely, to raise their collective finger in the air and wave it at the Gaijin horde smiling and conveying silently what they think of the English experimentation.

By Scott Hillkirk

Experiencing culture shock is natural when you move abroad – here’s what you can do about it.

The moment I stepped off the plane in Osaka, Japan I was already bleary-eyed and bone-tired. I had spent the trip flying across the world in a half-sleep because my seat on the plane was so uncomfortable it felt like a tee-shirt wrapped around a stadium chair.

This was nothing new for me. I had become used to the 15 hour flight because my role as a recruiter for a private educational company focusing on ESL and teaching English in Japan to children. Our recruiters from our offices in Los Angeles, Toronto and Chicago have meetings with our corporate staff in Okayama, Japan throughout the year. These short business trips are tough on my body but they are a breeze compared to my first cultural transition in 2003 when I first traveled there to teach English in Japan.

When I first moved to Japan as an instructor teaching English to children in an EFL setting, I found my train ride after my flight arrived a bit nerve-wracking. The signs were all in Japanese and English at first as my guide books promised but the scrolling electronic menus of arriving stations on the train were only in Japanese and so too were the voices over the intercom and the billboards we zipped past. I remember asking the clerk at the newspaper stand how much it cost for an English newspaper in my simple Japanese and he stood there smiling, unable to comprehend what I had said. It was official, I was illiterate in Japan. I was immersed in the cultural shock every travel book describes.

Moving abroad is a unique challenge and if you would someday like to live abroad – especially if you desire to teach English in Japan – it is critical to become actively involved in a key cultural transition, your own.

If you plan someday to work in Japan or teach English in Japan, keeping in mind the following steps will help anyone ambitious enough to leave their own culture for another.

- Get serious now, so you’ll have fun later. If you are applying for a job that requires you to move abroad, do your research before the interview about the country. This is especially true if you plan to teach English in Japan. Talk to acquaintances and friends who have lived abroad in the country where you would like to go and listen to their experiences. Ask questions and then when it is time to interview you’ll be that much more informed. Don’t just limit your research to chat rooms on the internet. Even though there are websites with postings from the legions of ESL teachers teaching English as a second language, these places are helpful for prescient information can sometimes be trolling grounds of the misinformed or disenfranchised. Go to the library and find a good travel book and write down the books on the suggested reading list and start reading!

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- Take responsibility. No one can better organize your departure and imminent arrival in a new country better than you. Quickly the tasks will mount and you could end up feeling overwhelmed. Don’t worry this is common. Start small and write everything down. Now once you compile this list of tasks, start working your way down and check them off one by one. However, if you are within a month from departure make sure it is all about the practical side. How will you be bringing money? Where will you get your prescriptions filled? What shots do you need? These are important questions to answer during your last month. Also, if you can’t fit it into your checked luggage while packing, don’t bring it! Put your overflow into a box that a family member can send you or bring with them later on when they come for a visit.

- Accept a helping hand. The candidates we send who apply as English teachers in Japan begin their journey abroad as soon as they accept their position in their home country. We begin a paper work process with them at this point but it should also involve learning about the culture, history and values of their destination. Hired candidates who actively pursue this information early on in the process adjust better and have a stronger understanding of what is going on around them, even if they don’t yet know the language. These candidates, of course, become more effective English teachers. Most companies implement their own orientation process prior to departure; make sure the company you’ve been hired by is one of them. We do our best to help our candidates adjust initially when they arrive. The assumption is that they will take over the process after they get moved in.

- Getting settled is no small thing. Our hired English teachers who have made the transition well are flexible and not easily rattled. They possess this confidence because they have thoroughly done their research and they are dedicated to making it work. There will always be rough days so account for them! How will you reach your family or friends when you have a difficult day at work? You can skype, blog, instant message or text your friends if you already have a way to get in touch with those that are important to you while you are adjusting. Teachers who move into the apartments we provide as a company and get settled in quickly also adjust much faster. This is a simple task but a very important one. Put those pictures up on the wall. Find a great local store that you can purchase food you like. Find a great place to work out or get a decent haircut. These are simple tasks but no small thing when adjusting abroad.

- You’ve gotten this far, go the distance! Probably one of the most frustrating things as a recruiter is when I had an English teacher who was homesick give up and head back home. Having a hard day here in the U.S. is an occasional occurrence but one that we often have to endure. The same is true for when you are living abroad. Candidates who have adjusted well find what they like to do in the country that they are living in. Do you like to play sports or go for a run? Are you interested in traditional arts and culture? Do you want to find a faith-based group to communicate with? All of these elements of our daily life are things that we underestimate the importance of until we live abroad and they are not readily available. The key thing is to not wait for your new life to come knocking at your door. You have to get up and go find it using the same determination and boldness that got you there in the first place.

As you can see, achieving success when you get to another culture is dependent on what you have accomplished before you left. Get started today with your great adventure by finding out where you’d like to live and work someday so you don’t get lost in the transition.

About the Author

Scott Hillkirk is an international recruiter for the AEON Amity Corporation of Japan promoting teaching English in Japan and training ESL teachers to teach English in Japan. For more information please visit: http://www.amityteachers.com

by John Paxton

If you’ve recently graduated from school and are at a crossroads in the start of your career Teaching English in Japan might be worth looking into. Believe it or not the English language learning industry is a multi-billion dollar one that employs over 65,000 ESL teachers.

What’s Needed to Teach

In order to get a job teaching English in Japan, you’ll need to be a college graduate from any field – (sorry but 2 year degrees won’t cut it.) You pretty much also need to speak English at native level fluency. There are some that do find teaching jobs in Japan even though English is not their first language but this is more an exception to the rule.

You’ll also need a working visa in order to work legally in the country. Most employers will take care of this for you. Working visas are good for one year with extensions being from 1 to 3 years for U.S. citizens.

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Another very helpful trait is an interest in Japanese culture. When you fly 10,000 miles east things get pretty different pretty fast. So having a desire to experience Japanese culture is helpful. Not from the standpoint of getting a job but from the standpoint of enjoying the experience. Those who don’t have a natural curiosity or desire to experience Japanese culture usually don’t last that long.

What Isn’t Required

Contrary to what many believe a TESL or TEFL certificate is not required in order to teach. Although it does help getting higher paying jobs. The majority of the large recruiters, the ones that have recruitment centers all over the world, don’t require TESL certification.

Also because these large recruiters pay the minimum wage of 250,000 yen per month (roughly $2100 U.S.) they also don’t require much teaching experience. In fact the bulk of this industry runs on recent grads.

General Information About Teaching English in Japan

Let’s start with money. You should expect a wage of at least 250.000 yen per month. This is a entry level salary for those with little or no experience. However be warned this won’t go that far in large cities like Tokyo or Osaka. You should expect a bit more to compensate for the cost of living factor in these large cities.

Large English schools like Aeon, Geos, Berlitz & ECC will also offer 2 weeks paid vacation and most national holiday off. Schools differ on which national holidays they observe but the norm is 8 to 10 per year.

Expect to work close to 40 hours per week. Each school is different but you can expect roughly 20 to 25 actual teaching hours per week with the rest being office hours. A typical teacher will work 5 days per week with Sunday and another weekday off. Teachers with seniority may get Saturdays and Sundays off. Typical office hours are filled by grading student work, taking class notes, preparing future lessons or just chatting with students. Most schools also will provide you with health insurance or subsidize it.

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Larger chain schools, mentioned above, usually have a fixed curriculum. This means you’ll be using their in house texts, tapes and other support materials for teaching. For those who don’t have a lot of teaching experience it’s a helpful in reducing stress (there already is quite a bit in adjusting to the culture and learning the language etc.) Those who need to express their creativity in the lesson will probably find it stifling.

Students who will be assigned to your class will probably be of all ages. Literally from 5 to 6 year olds up to 75 and 76 year olds. Some schools deal specifically with children or adults but because of the competitiveness of this industry, most schools cater to all ages. Student wise, you can expect a healthy dose of children and young professionals like office ladies and salary men as they’re called to make up the bulk of who you teach.

Most of your large chain schools will provide you with some type of accommodations. This is a very big help as it’s difficult to find accommodations on your own without the help of a Japanese national. Not to mention being very expensive. Although the type provided will vary expect things to be on the small side.

Teaching English in Japan surely is an experience best taken with an open mind. For those with an interest in Japanese culture it surely can be one of the most enjoyable and lucrative ways to experience Japan.

You can find more detailed information about what to expect teaching in Japan at www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/jobsinjapan

About the Author

John Paxton is an ESL teacher currently residing in Japan.

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