Should You Teach English In Japan?

After teaching English in Japan for over 10 years and having had a variety of English teaching jobs, I can tell you that there is a lot of turnover and dissatisfaction among teachers.

Experiences range from wishing they had never come to Japan to never wanting to leave

Depending on the type of institution you choose and what kind of lifestyle you are hoping to have, different options might be right for you. Before locking yourself in for a year or more to a country and job you might end up hating, it’s important to understand the kind of person you are before you can decide if teaching in Japan is right for you.

My Path

I moved from my hometown near Toronto, Canada after working in an advertising agency for a year. My university degree is in English and Media Communications, but I didn’t enjoy the office environment and decided to move to Japan.

I started teaching adults at a private English conversation school or Eikaiwa school in Nagoya. After 2 years I changed to teaching as an ALT in Hokkaido.

Then a couple of years later I moved to Chiba and was a Kindergarten English teacher for six years before going back to being an ALT in a small town in Chiba.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride teaching and living in Japan and there were times when I wanted to go home.

And I did. But then I came back.

Here is a quick explanation of the different types of English teaching available for those interested in coming to Japan as a teacher.

Eikaiwa

Very simply, you teach Japanese people English conversation. There is not too much focus on grammar. Instead, listening to CDs, discussion topics, and role-playing, teachers have conversations in English with their students.

Kindergarten

Teaching at Kindergarten requires teachers to travel from class to class in 20 or 30-minute class segments and entertain kids in English. Singing a variety of songs, showing flashcards, repeating the vocabulary, and playing active games to keep kids engaged is the main purpose. The hope is to make English fun.

ALT

ALT stands for Assistant Language Teacher and refers to foreigners from native English-speaking countries who work in the public elementary, junior, and high schools across Japan assisting the main (Japanese) teacher of English. The ALT is mainly in the class to help with listening, reading, pronunciation, and speaking tasks.

International School

International Schools are private junior and high schools that charge high tuition and are an alternative to government-provided public schools. Housing higher standards and considered more elite, all subjects at these schools are taught in English. Teachers are required to plan and implement lessons, create tests and projects, and grade the students.

College/University

Teaching English in college or university is another option but much harder to find. With high competition, a requirement of a Masters or Doctors in English or Education, getting hired is difficult. The job is to create and teach a course on a specific aspect of English learning which students take to fulfill credits for their diploma or degree.

Time or Money

This is the basic question you need to ask yourself. Why are you interested in teaching in Japan? Consider work times and your salary.

ALT

In Hokkaido, I was placed in two Junior high schools and one elementary school. I worked five days a week, Monday to Friday, and was required to be at work from 7:45 am to 4:45 pm. I taught an average of 4 classes a day. The job itself was quite fun, stress-free, and interesting.

When the ALT program first started, the salary was quite high at 300,000 yen per month. It has gone down since then because of competition from dispatch companies and can be as low as 200,000 yen a month now.

And during the periods of August and December when there are many days off for holidays, dispatch companies usually don’t pay or pay only a portion of the salary.

This is bad if you are here for the money. But, if you are looking for long breaks in the summer and winter to travel or hoping to focus on other types of jobs in Japan then it works.

Kindergarten

I went to a different school each day, sometimes hours away from each other and my commutes to schools were often longer than the teaching hours.

Classes were divided into two chunks. I worked from 10 am to 12 pm teaching classrooms of kids than in the afternoon, I worked from 2:30 to 5:30 teaching smaller groups of students who were paying for extra tutoring. I worked Monday to Friday with weekends off which was nice.

Commutes were the biggest problem for me. I often left my house around 7 am to get to my school. I had to travel to a different school every day and sit in a food court in a shopping mall waiting for my afternoon classes to begin. I usually got home at around 7 pm. So a full 12 hours out of my home each day for less than 5 hours worth of lessons.

At first, I was paid over 300,000 yen a month which is much higher than most Eikaiwa or ALT jobs. But as more competition grew, schools started cutting costs, the company I worked for tried to cut corners and avoid having to pay benefits, everyone’s salary was reduced to 270,000 yen a month.

Eikaiwa

My students were mostly office workers, executives, business professionals, and retired seniors. I taught about eight classes a day and worked from 1 pm to 9 pm.

There was no summer break since it was an adult business English Eikaiwa so I was given only the week that everyone in Japan gets for summer called Obon.

Lessons were set to a formula so there was no real lesson planning involved which is why I could churn out 8 lessons a day. But despite not being hard, it was definitely busy and stressful. There was very little time to go to the bathroom, take a break, or just collect my thoughts.

The best part about this job was the students. Since they were adults who were paying to learn English, they were very enthusiastic to learn and classes were fun. It was also a good chance to make a good circle of Japanese friends.

The average salary for an Eikaiwa teacher is about 250,000 a month to start and possible raises of about 10,000 per month after their first year. The vacation time is very limited and only official government holidays are given along with a week of vacation.

International Schools

Depending on the International school, scheduling might differ, but overall working hours are from Monday to Friday with some weekends to help with events. And hours are from 7 am to 3 pm but most teachers stay longer hours to prepare lessons and do other paperwork.

International teachers are responsible for a lot more than ALTs as they are the main teacher and often homeroom teachers for a class filled with students from various backgrounds and experiences. They are not only responsible for teaching English the subject, but also all subjects in English like Math, Science, History, Social Science and Art.

Salaries seem to be pretty high, being about 350,000 to 450,000 per month. This is probably because International Schools charge high tuition to students and also require teachers to take on a lot more responsibility.

Are you living in Japan to work? Or working in Japan to live?

Things To Consider

If you are looking to be the main teacher, gain experience running a class and lead a classroom, then working at a college, university or International school is your best option.

If you are looking for gaining SOME teaching experience but are more focused on meeting a variety of people, learning about Japanese culture and society, hoping to make friends, and long-term relationships in Japan then maybe Eikaiwa is for you.

If teaching is more of something that helps you to stay in Japan to achieve your other goals like traveling or experiencing life abroad then maybe ALT would be your thing.

So to answer the question of, if Japan is worth coming to as a teacher, it depends on what you find worthy.

Depending on the type of English teaching you do, the reward is different. If you choose the right kind of teaching job for you, it can be quite worth the time, money, and experience both in the classroom and in the country.

There will be aspects of your job and life you love, and some you hate. As long as the positives outweigh the negatives, you are in the right place.

Similarly, if you are not feeling satisfied or the troubles, problems, and stress of your job and life in Japan outweigh your personal satisfaction, then it is time to reexamine your situation and make a change.

For me, as I grow older and realize I want to experience as much as possible both in terms of Japanese culture but also in general life experiences, I have gone back to being an ALT teacher.

I have evenings, three-day weekends, and plenty of vacation time to focus on things I love like writing, editing and filming videos, and traveling around Asia.

Before committing or disposing of the idea to teach in Japan, first decide what you hope to gain from moving, living, and working there. That should make your decision much easier.

This article also appears here: https://s-a-ozbourne.medium.com/is-teaching-in-japan-worth-it-1577c1d99f3e