So, You Want to Teach in Japan

     So, You Want to Teach in Japan

    Konnichiwa, I am Lucas, and welcome to my humble podcast. Today, inevitably, I have to talk a little more about what it is I do, and what I have been doing now for over ten years. As some of you know, I am a teacher of English in Japan, and over the course of my time here, I have worked in both public and private schools, taught all ages from kindergarten through to retirees, and done so in a number of different areas and contexts. I’ve also done a fair amount of editing for English publications, and even a little bit of voice acting. My intention here is to share that experience, talk about what I’ve learned, explain the pros and cons of teaching English here to people who are considering it, go through which employers are better to work for, and maybe dive into some other related topics.

    So, for now let’s just pretend that you’re a potential employer and I’m explaining my background in an interview. I did go through my work briefly in my introductory podcast, but I want you to see what the ins and outs of the job are like, especially if you are thinking of doing this yourself. It’s good to note though, and they’ll tell you this often when you start teaching here: EVERY SITUATION IS DIFFERENT. Sometimes shockingly different. More on that later.

    Originally, I applied to the JET Programme, which is administered by the government of Japan, a few years after university. JET, in case you’re wondering, stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching, and its aims are to both place native English speakers in the public school system to assist the Japanese English teachers, and to promote cultural exchange between Japan and English speaking countries. At the time I applied, I had been working in a call center, wanted to see more of the world, and had always had a fascination with Japan, probably due to my lifelong obsession with the martial arts. I had taken judo in elementary school, aikido in high school and karate in university, and through them had developed quite a keen interest in Japan’s unique culture and history. So, you can imagine how delighted I was when I passed the interview process for JET and was told I was soon to be teaching in Beppu city, Oita prefecture, in lovely eastern Kyushu.

    In Beppu, I was employed by the prefecture, or “Ken”, as are most JETs. The Ken is the regional government, like the provinces in Canada or the states in the US, and it makes the decision about the hiring process for teachers. They also pay your salary. Some teachers are contracted by the regional Board of Education, usually those who teach in elementary schools, but it varies from region to region. In my case, the Ken decided to place me in a regional senior high school, which was my base school. Once a week, I was sent out to teach at a local junior high school, and once a month I went to teach at a special needs school. To be clear, this is not a typical arrangement, and other teachers had vastly different timetables.

    Overall, the job itself was a bit tough at first, because I only had a little teaching experience like occasionally teaching martial arts, and a co-op placement I did in high school as an assistant in an elementary school class. Generally they know to expect this though, as most new teachers are the same. After a while, I learned what the students needed to learn, what their ability levels were, what techniques worked well in class, and became good enough at my job that they seemed happy to renew my contract when the time came. I think the biggest assets that anyone can bring to the job, or at least the ones that helped me most, are open-mindedness, a willingness to improve, and flexibility. In making that initial adjustment to a new culture I may have had it easier than a lot of people, because I knew a lot about the culture to begin with. If you’re open-minded and flexible however, this can really help to get you through any rough spots you may encounter. And, as with any profession, a willingness to improve, especially one you demonstrate consistently, will make people in your work environment not only like you more, but want to help you succeed. You will absolutely need the support of those around you in this place, especially if your Japanese is limited, so giving back where you can and being a team player is hugely important.

    I stayed in Beppu for two years, but then was transferred to Oita city nearby in year three when teaching positions were reshuffled. During this time, my biggest priority was learning Japanese, because I had come with virtually none. This is not uncommon, but it doesn’t make life easy. I took the introductory Japanese course offered through the JET Programme, and basically became competent enough to read things phonetically and use basic expressions. I also made a lot of new friends through the JET community, many of which I keep in touch with to this day. The JET community is good at helping with social networking, and I tried my best to be engaged with the community where I could, taking part in charity activities and helping to organize social events.

    After three years, I began to get a little homesick, and decided to go back to Canada. Originally, my intention was to establish a career in the government. The timing, however, didn’t end up working out in my favor. I went back to Canada in 2008, when the Great Recession was pretty much in full swing. For those of you who don’t remember, after the housing bubble burst in the US, it had knock-on ramifications for economies all over the developed world, and even though Canada wasn’t hit as hard as some countries, there wasn’t a lot of hiring going on. I had to improvise and take what was available, and it turned out that short-term contracts were pretty much the only work around. Over the next few years, I did manage to get a lot of experience in government, but through contract work only, meaning that building a career was more or less out of the question. I moved from Kingston to Toronto to Ottawa, working in Human Resources, Administration and Social Services, but the lack of any job security was frankly exhausting. I finally decided after a few years that I had been better off in Japan, and so, in 2012, I reapplied to JET.

    To make a long story short, I got accepted again, but this time, I was assigned to go to Okinawa. It was basically like winning the lottery. Okinawa had been my first choice of placements, and having never had the chance to visit it the first time around, I was thrilled to be going. I was hired by the Board of Education on Miyakojima, a small island just east of Taiwan, and taught at six Junior High Schools. This time around, I was a little more experienced, and far from being a struggle, I felt I was truly in my element. I built on my knowledge to create a repertoire of strategies for teaching, and a collection of activities that would motivate students to learn while helping them to consolidate their knowledge. Over the course of the next five years, I refined my ideas, built on my experience, and tried to become the best teacher Miyakojima had ever seen. I tutored students for contests, homestays and tests, judged competitions, did a little voice acting, and met a lot of wonderful people. I also used my spare time to study Japanese, getting to a more intermediate level, and to gain as much volunteer experience as I could. I joined the local JET newsletter as Assistant Editor and moved up to Managing Editor, I represented the Okinawa chapter of Stonewall Japan, and was Block Leader for Miyakojima JET participants. The experience in team-building that came from this was invaluable, and has served me well ever since. I even tried some more unconventional lessons, like English cooking classes, and English Kung-Fu classes, to name a few. Coincidentally, I was also placed at a “future school”, where the Ministry of Education was testing a program to give tablets to every student and use touch-screen computers in class. In my experience it was very successful, and I guess the Ministry agreed, because this program is now being rolled out nationwide.

    As my time in Miyako drew to a close, I decided that I wanted to continue working as a teacher. I enjoyed the work, and frankly, I had become very good at it. My relationships with my students and fellow teachers were not only great but very rewarding, and Japan had become like my second home. So, with this in mind, I began applying to similar work. As it turned out, I found a position in Kitakyushu, with an English conversation school, or Eikaiwa.

    Private teaching was quite a different experience from JET, to say the least. Most notably, it was more demanding, as small language schools have a tighter budget, and depend on teaching as many classes as they can to maximize their income. I didn’t mind this, as I like keeping busy, but for some people it might be a bit much. With JET, you would often have large chunks of free time, because you are not the main teacher, but an assistant who helps as they are needed. With an Eikaiwa, you are the main teacher in many cases, and so you have to prepare, teach, mark assignments, and maintain discipline. The salaries are comparable, but for the work you have to do, Eikaiwa teachers should really earn more, and often don’t.

    In addition, in a public school, you have a boss (the principal, and ultimately, the prefecture), but they really don’t have much to do with you. You’re just another part of the “English team”, and you’re more or less left alone to do your job. In an Eikaiwa, you basically work with your boss every day. If you get a nice boss this can be fine, but if you are unlucky and get a boss that likes to micro-manage, for example, this can be a lot of stress. The hours are also…quite different. As conversation schools conduct the majority of their lessons after regular schools finish, you generally start in the afternoon with planning, teach younger kids when they finish around 3-5, and then the older kids between 5 and 10. I often got home around 11 at night. If you’re a night owl like I am this can work out, but if you like a 9-5 job, this option is not for you. Ultimately, it was a combination of these factors that lead me to leave the Eikaiwa after about a year and a half.

    After the Eikaiwa, I was looking to stay in Kitakyushu, but options were a bit limited, as it turned out. This was because over the last few years, Fukuoka has become dominated by the “dispatch” model, along with some other places in Japan. Allow me to explain. Boards of Education, who typically handle the selection and hiring process for teachers, sometimes don’t like the responsibility that comes with hiring and looking out for foreign teachers. Dispatch companies act as intermediaries, hiring and managing a roster of foreign teachers, who they then hire out to BOEs. On the surface, this may sound ok, but after working for a dispatch company, let me be clear: it is not.

    For lack of better options, I gave one of these companies a try last year, and here is what I’ve learned. For starters, private companies care about their bottom line first, and dispatch companies will place this above the welfare of the teachers they hire. To begin with, the money the company makes comes from what the BOE would, in other circumstances, pay directly to the teacher. There is no consideration given to how this might affect the quality of life for the teachers, they are simply expected to live on less while the company takes up to 30% of what would otherwise be the teacher’s salary. Further, because the teachers in a dispatch company are not considered “full time employees” but rather “contract employees”, it means that you only get paid for the days you work, and are given no sick days, no paid vacation, nothing. You also don’t get help with social insurance costs, which your employer would otherwise supplement. This entire business model, based on my experience, seems like a way to exploit teachers, expecting them to do the same work as JETs, but giving them as little as possible back in return. In case it was unclear, avoid this type of work at all costs.

    Aside from public schools, conversation schools and dispatch companies, there are other places and other ways to teach in Japan, such as in private schools. I did work in a private school while at the conversation school, although not directly, as the Eikeiwa had basically contracted me out. My experience was generally good, although since I wasn’t working for them directly, I can’t really say much about salary and benefits. What I know from general research is that because students (or rather their parents) pay a premium to attend private schools, they can afford to pay their teachers reasonably well, and offer competitive benefits. Because of this, they are generally considered the best type of employers for foreign teachers outside of the JET Programme, and sometimes they can even be better. One friend in Okinawa has been working at his private school for ten years, only has to work 4 days a week, makes very good money, and gets lots of vacation time. I’m sure he works hard, but I think I speak for many teachers when I say hard work is not a problem when an employer compensates us fairly and appreciates our experience.

    Finally, an option open to those with a Master’s degree is teaching at a university. As my degree is a BA in Psychology I have not done this myself, but know several friends who have. As you might imagine, universities will pay the most, and have competitive benefits. The downsides are that full-time employment can be difficult to find, and may take a long time to achieve. As for tenure, don’t hold your breath. It takes years. Also, these positions will often require you to be fairly fluent in Japanese, so that you can explain complex concepts to students. If you can get it though, it’s basically the holy grail of teaching gigs.

    In general, I’d say that teaching here in Japan has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. The last few years have been rough, due in part to the pandemic, but in a way the pandemic is working in our favor. Due to the fact that Japan isn’t letting many new foreign teachers in, the shortage of available teachers within the country means that schools are increasingly having a hard time filling these jobs, and as such are willing to offer slightly more. When I say slightly though, I do mean slightly. The trend over the last decade in teacher salaries has been steadily downward, and the pandemic has only mitigated that trend a little. Right now, the average pay for teachers is about 250,000\ a month, which is about 3000$ Canadian or 2400$ US. You’ll see some offers of 300,000\, mostly at private schools, but the average hasn’t budged much over the last year from what I have seen. Only recently have I seen offers creeping up toward the 280,000\ range, but some schools are apparently trying to take advantage of desperate teachers stuck here and looking for work, because I have seen some offers as laughably low as 150,000\ for full time work. I’m pretty sure convenience store workers make more. Also, as with the dispatch companies, many employers will try to cut corners on benefits, so this is very important to pay attention to. Social security and health care deductions can take a huge bite out of your paycheck, and if an employer doesn’t supplement these payments, it makes a big difference. Foreign workers should send a clear message by not accepting work with employers that insist on short-changing them, so that these practices are stamped out. They push the burden onto naïve foreign workers, taking advantage of the fact that they don’t fully understand the Japanese tax codes, labour laws, or labour market.

    In my opinion, for foreigners looking to work overseas, Japan is still an excellent option. Standards of living are high, the people are lovely, crime is basically a non-issue, and importantly their health care system is excellent. Also, the kids are a joy to teach, which is why I do this. That being said, it’s imperative for teachers to understand that companies will not look after your interests the way that privately funded or government-run institutions will. The profit motive, as far as I’m concerned, has no place in education, as it often causes corners to be cut and quality to decrease. The JET Programme, for that reason, is the gold standard, and I cannot recommend it enough. My experiences there definitely enriched my life.

    Even now, if you want to see the world, there are options. For me, the value of doing so still outweighs the risks and burdens that the pandemic has imposed, and vaccines are on the way. Living and working abroad changes you for the better in some fundamental ways, I truly believe that, just as I believe that the world will always need more people with a broader world view.

    If you are considering this sort of work, I hope this helped you to make a more informed decision, and I wish you the best of luck. Stay safe, of course, but never lose your sense of adventure.