Eikaiwa

Japanese English schools, particularly 'eikaiwa' (English conversation schools) hire a lot of new teachers, teachers with no experience. The companies often recruit from overseas, then give a period of training in Japan, after which the new teachers are unleashed on the paying public.

Now, whether this training is adequate depends on the company and the requirements of the job. Many eikaiwa have developed specific ways of teaching a class, so once you've learned their 'method', it's fairly plug-and-play. As such, a lot of eikaiwa teachers don't have - or need - a proper background and training in teaching methodology.

If you have a university degree, and are a native English speaker, it's usually not too difficult to find an ESL teaching job in Japan. The virtue of some of the major corporations is they can look after you and ease your entry into the country, helping you sort out things like visas, providing accommodation, etc.

Is eikaiwa teaching for you? Some people say the pay is low, etc, but if you are not a qualified teacher, what would you expect? I think it's a good way to get into the country. However, I think it would be a shame to do this work only for the sake of getting into Japan. You will have lots of students paying good money to learn from you; if you don't enjoy your job and don't care about doing well, it's a bit unfair on them.

Eikaiwa teaching can be repetitive compared to other teaching jobs, but it can be a good opportunity to meet people, talk to students, and learn about Japanese life and culture.

Is an eikaiwa a good place to work? Well, it depends on the person and the place. Here's my advice.

Do your research. If you are considering a particular company, see what other people on the Internet are saying about it. (Be aware, of course, that every company will have detractors, and it's the people who had bad experiences who tend to speak up the loudest.)

Also, different companies have different conditions, different lengths of holidays, different benefits. Some companies have a policy that you can't socialise with students. Some companies don't allow you to find your own accommodation, but make you pay for theirs. So look into this.

Be aware that every situation can be different. I have known people who worked for various companies; some of them had a wonderful time, while others had horror stories. Even within the same company, it's possible for one school to be wonderful and another terrible. The biggest problem I heard of was clashes with management, management making ridiculous demands, personality conflict with other staff members, etc.

A lot of eikaiwa do have problems, but like working in any office environment, a lot will depend on the individual staff you work with, and your own personality. Generally, if you are flexible and have a positive attitude, you are more likely to get along with people. See the next point.

To have the best chance of happiness at an eikaiwa, it's important to be a team player. You may find yourself being requested to do some things which are not strictly in your contract. For example, your contract says you finish at 8, but your manager wants you to talk to a student for a few minutes after class. Or your school is organising a farewell party for someone and would like you to come.

Of course, you do not technically have to do something that is not in your contract, and you shouldn't let yourself get walked all over. But if you refuse in an obnoxious way, or make an issue of it, or refuse every request, it'll likely create bad feeling. I've heard of many such stories, where Japanese staff are upset with foreign teachers who refuse to help with anything apart from their core classes. Often, the staff are just passing on requests coming from senior management.

In my experience, the Japanese staff at eikaiwa, when compared with foreign teachers, usually work longer hours for less pay. If foreign teachers refuse to help with anything, the Japanese staff have to do extra to compensate.

Of course, sometimes it is a case of unreasonable management making unreasonable requests. Again, every situation is different.

You should be aware of the corporate nature of these schools. Education may be important, but ultimately, the businesses exist to make money. As a teacher at this school, you may be asked to participate in advertising campaigns, get students to sign up for things, etc. You may encounter frustrations with Japanese-style management techniques and policies.

A lot of eikaiwa require you to teach both adults and children. Some people enjoy teaching children, but a lot of people don't. The number of kids classes can vary greatly from school to school; some foreign teachers find they have more children's classes than adult's. You should be aware of this.

Your attendance is required. With most eikaiwa, you don't have a lot of holidays or sick leave, and you are unlikely to be working flexible hours. Again, this can depend a lot on your particular school's staff. Some will let you take a week off to go travelling; others will baulk at allowing you a single day. Some will let you take a holiday on your least busy day but never on a weekend. Etc.

Along with these potential problems, there are potential good things - meeting people, working with a team of teachers and staff, help if you are new to the country, a relatively un-stressful job (depends on the school and position), pre-established materials and lesson plans (again, depends on the school), parties, teaching experience, etc.