Teaching English in Japan – What’s it Really Like?

For recent grads, there are 3 roads into teaching in Japan but “eikaiwa” is the most heavily traveled road.

Teaching in Japan  “Eikaiwa” The Most Traveled Road
“Eikaiwa” refers to the teaching of English conversation and basic grammar and believe it or not it’s a billion dollar industry in Japan. These consist of your large chain schools like ECC, Berlitz, Geos & Aeon. These organizations employ  thousands of  teachers throughout Japan and can be found in practically every single city in Japan irrespective  of size. There are literally thousands of “eikaiwa” schools dotting the country side.All of these schools are attempting to carry out the daunting task of teaching English to the Japanese.

What’s Needed to Teach
In order to get a job teaching English in Japan, you will need to be a college graduate from any field – (sorry but 2 year degrees won’t cut it.You need to be a native level fluent speaker of English. There are some that do find teaching jobs in Japan even though English is not their first language but this is more an exception than a rule.

Although there is no minimum wage, most teachers drag in  250,000 yen a month before taxes.  A typical work week will be 5 days long. Don’t expect western stuff like weekends off. The “eikaiwa” or English conversation business whirs like a motor on Saturadays and Sundays and someone has to teach the students right? This means that most teachers work at least one Saturday or Sunday with another weekday off.Most school’s vacation packages are remarkably similar. 2 weeks of paid vacation and a handful of national holidays off is the norm. Of course there will be a bit of difference between how many national holidays any given school observes, but expect 8 to 10 per year. Something worth noting is that ECC English school has the best vacation of all the large chain schools. To see a comparison chart outlining: working conditions, salaries, perks, accommodations, vacations days and recruitment methods for Geos, ECC, Berlitz and Aeon, click here.

You should expect roughly a 40 hour work week. Although each school is a little bit different, nontheless, expect 20 to 25 actual teaching hours and a few administrative or office hours.  Most schools also will provide you with health insurance or subsidize it. Most office hours get filled by preparing lessons, talking with students and taking class notes. Furthermore, teachers are sometimes expected to hand fliers as well. Make no mistake at the end of a typical day, you’ll know you worked. When the dust settles, your typical teacher workds roughly 40 hours per week.

Huge chain schools, mentioned in the previous paragraph, all have fixed curriculums. What this means is that you’ll be using their textbooks and other teaching materials. Those with little teaching experience often like these teaching conditios becasue it reduces stress and makes the headache of lesson planning go away.) Those who need to express their creativity in the lesson will probably find it stifling.

ESL teachers typically teach all ages. Literally from 5 to 75 year olds. Some schools have only children as students like Amity English school and Peppy Kids Club. Other  schools like Gaba concentrate on adults.Because of how cut-throat competitive this industry is, most schools cater ot all ages. Most teachers teach children, young professionals and some housewives.

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. And it’s definitely not cheap. Although the type provided will vary expect things to be on the small side. In general, furnishings will be a bit sparce as often they consist of departing teachers belongings.