I am interested in teaching English in Japan. - General

For the past few years I've been waffling a bit with what I really want to do with my future. I've got a few options open for me(computer science, software engineering, journalism/political science), but I don't know how I want to pursue them. There are a few choices in terms of universities for me, both are fairly close, but I also have an interest in teaching English in Japan. Not for any anime-based reason, mind you. My reasoning is this: I have Japanese heritage, and I've always been interested in Japanese culture, etc. Now, I know a little bit about teaching English in Japan, but I've got a few questions about both Japan and teaching there. Namely, is it possible to teach English right out of high school, or is a university degree required? What specific specifications are required to teach there, if any? Are there any organizations which aid possible teachers in transport and finding work? What are living expenses like in Japan(Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, other large living centers)? Is there any thing else I should know? tl;dr - Don't post. If you're too lazy to read two paragraphs of text, I'm afraid I don't want you sullying my thread. Thanks. [editline]8th December 2010[/editline] Oh, some information which you might be interested in: I am 16, & living in Canada. I have done some reading online, but I'd like to hear from some people who have perhaps gone through this, or have lived in Japan. [editline]poo0[/editline] political sceinec is gay whoever made this post die

I'm pretty sure to be any kind of teacher you need a college education.

Do you really think a teaching career can support you?

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;26573274]Do you really think a teaching career can support you?[/QUOTE] This and japan is a bad country to live in the first place imo coming from a jap

If you want to teach English you better have grammar down perfectly, which is hard to accomplish without a degree.

Teach them Engrish on purpose.

A country like Japan will most likely already have alot of English teachers.

To do JET (Japan teaching and education programme) you need a bachelor's I believe. Maybe you could find something with a private school.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;26573274]Do you really think a teaching career can support you?[/QUOTE] I'm not interested in this as a long term career. One of my uncles has gone through this, and he now works as an engineer for a company in Japan(I don't have much contact with my dad's family, so I can't really email him for some advice on this).

yeah prob not the best idea

[QUOTE=laval;26573326]To do JET (Japan teaching and education programme) you need a bachelor's I believe. Maybe you could find something with a private school.[/QUOTE] Didn't JET go under

[QUOTE=Ama-zake;26573349]Didn't JET go under[/QUOTE] Might be thinking of NOVA? JET is the government-administered one.

[QUOTE=General_Xing;26573323]A country like Japan will most likely already have alot of English teachers.[/QUOTE] They would, but there are always programs to bring teachers over to teach English. Again, I'm mostly on a fact-finding mission, to gather some information which will help me shape my future. [QUOTE=laval;26573326]To do JET (Japan teaching and education programme) you need a bachelor's I believe. Maybe you could find something with a private school.[/QUOTE] Okay, that is a possibility. I'll look into JET and see what kind of degrees/certifications needed for it.

[QUOTE=laval;26573366]Might be thinking of NOVA? JET is the government-administered one.[/QUOTE] Yeah, probably something different, I heard a few months ago that one of those Japanese-American exchange programs was going to be closed though

My uncle is an English teacher in Japan. He's also an artist when he's not teaching. He lives with his partner (yes he's gay) who is a dental doctor. They have loads of money because they don't have to support kids. Seriously they'd be millionaires if they moved back to the States. Not sure on the qualifications though.

[QUOTE=Wayword;26573216]For the past few years I've been waffling a bit with what I really want to do with my future. I've got a few options open for me(computer science, software engineering, journalism/political science), but I don't know how I want to pursue them. There are a few choices in terms of universities for me, both are fairly close, but I also have an interest in teaching English in Japan. Not for any anime-based reason, mind you. My reasoning is this: I have Japanese heritage, and I've always been interested in Japanese culture, etc. Now, I know a little bit about teaching English in Japan, but I've got a few questions about both Japan and teaching there. Namely, is it possible to teach English right out of high school, or is a university degree required? What specific specifications are required to teach there, if any? Are there any organizations which aid possible teachers in transport and finding work? What are living expenses like in Japan(Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, other large living centers)? Is there any thing else I should know? tl;dr - Don't post. If you're too lazy to read two paragraphs of text, I'm afraid I don't want you sullying my thread. Thanks. [editline]8th December 2010[/editline] Oh, some information which you might be interested in: I am 16, & living in Canada. I have done some reading online, but I'd like to hear from some people who have perhaps gone through this, or have lived in Japan.[/QUOTE] I am going to assume it's similar to teaching in the UK. You will need a degree - probably at least a Bachelor of Education, although most English teachers have a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. I have a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Technology. It was a stupid degree that doesn't exist anymore because the university I got it removed a lot of combined degrees. Essentially my degree is a Bachelor of Education, but combined with the neccesary skills to teach Secondary Technology (Woodwork, Metalwork, Food Tech, Design, & Computing/ICT). I know that sounds like a lot, but we focused on one subject area - I focused on design. It's kind of dumb. It was 4 years, and I could have done a Bachelor of Arts/Design Media or whatever and a Bachelor of Education at the same time and itr would have taken the same amount of time and I would have had two degrees, but oh well. I teach in a high school at the moment. It's great. I love teaching Technology. And as a treat, we played Halo Trial (the computers here are pretty decent for applications, but the graphics cards are rubbish. However, lot's of RAM) for the last week of term. That was great - I doubt you could get away with it in the states, but my students were having a blast, screaming out "I'm gonna kill you" every 5 seconds. I don't get why they need to, but they love screaming out their victories. Anyway - you'll need a college/university education - that's at least 3 years. While it is recommended you have a Bach. Education or similar, I don't think it is absolutely necessary although it would definitely help. If you are actually interested in languages, study languages at uni/college. If you are a weeaboo, then you'll probably give up this dream in a year or two anyway, and do comp sci. And yes, to Caboose, a teaching career supports me and my wife. But I don't know what it is like in the states. Maybe not over there. EDIT: If you just want to go to another country - go teach in Singapore, Dubai or the UK. The first two is crazy money, and there are plenty of international schools in both of them, so you don't even need to know another language. The UK is also crazy money (I would make almost 4 times as much as I make where I am), and often, they provide housing, but the schools are often public schools, and you gotta deal with the chavs. In case you are wondering, I am not teaching in England because my wife and I own a house where we are, and are happy here - also the UK is kinda dreary. But, you also get to see Doctor Who before everyone else.. so that's a bonus.

My current Global History teacher did it a while ago. He said his life wouldn't have been the same without it.

I'm almost certain you'll need a degree to teach English proficiently.

[QUOTE=Lukasaurus;26573466]Anyway - you'll need a college/university education - that's at least 3 years. While it is recommended you have a Bach. Education or similar, I don't think it is absolutely necessary although it would definitely help. If you are actually interested in languages, study languages at uni/college. If you are a weeaboo, then you'll probably give up this dream in a year or two anyway, and do comp sci.[/QUOTE] Yeah, that makes sense. And I'm not a weeaboo. I watch anime on occasion, but my interest in this is mostly to experience life in Japan. That JET Programme seems pretty interesting; and from my understanding, it's a one year program which seems perfect for me. However, it seems to be geared for people who are looking at teaching as a full-time career, which sadly is not where I see my life going. I would love to experience teaching, especially in the English department, but I would rather get into something science/engineering based, with languages as a minor. :aaaaa:

Also, since you are Canadian: [url]http://swap.ca/[/url] ^ help with work permits and stuff [editline]8th December 2010[/editline] I don't think the JET programme is for prospective teachers only - when I was in Tokyo I met many people that had done it but were now in completely different industries.

No. We don't need twelve year old japanese kids ranting in english that they love anime

If you want to be a teacher you NEED a college degree, and you'll need to know full Japanese in order to teach English, how else will you answer questions?

It's going to be almost impossible unless you're of Japanese heritage

[QUOTE=Tippmann357;26574305]It's going to be almost impossible unless you're of Japanese heritage[/QUOTE] Great reading there anyway though, the vast majority of JET participants aren't "of Japanese heritage", it's specifically for foreigners.

Do you speak fluent Japanese? [QUOTE=The Spie;26573735]No. We don't need twelve year old japanese kids ranting in english that they love anime[/QUOTE] We don't need you.

It's certainly an interesting prospect, but I can't offer any help.

Japan goes to war with America. TL;DR You're fucked.

[QUOTE=Tippmann357;26574305]It's going to be almost impossible unless you're of Japanese heritage[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Wayword;26573216]My reasoning is this: [b]I have Japanese heritage[/b], and I've always been interested in Japanese culture, etc.[/QUOTE] [editline]8th December 2010[/editline] Agh! Ninja'd. [editline]8th December 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Drasnus;26574469]Do you speak fluent Japanese?[/quote] I do not. However, I am hopefully taking a first year University Japanese course next year as a part of an advancement program in my school board. [QUOTE=VeniVidiVici74;26574478]Japan goes to war with America. TL;DR You're fucked.[/QUOTE] :what:

Just watch out for the giant fighting monsters, they've destroyed a lot of buildings there

Make sure you follow this guy's example except do it for Japanese [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX1Lg-OYbk4[/media]