Teaching ESL, any help?
 

Hi guys,
I've been looking around for jobs teaching ESL here in Vancouver as well as over in Japan and thought I'd see if there's any connections here at RS that could help me out in any way.

I recently graduated from UBC with an English degree and TESL teaching certification with a teaching practicum. I'm bilingual in Japanese as well.

It might be a long shot, but I'll still give it a shot!

thanks in Advance
Dean

I don't know if you've done any research but there is the JET program for Japan. I don't know much about it, all I know is that it's a popular program.

I'm sure there's also the ESL school's downtown that may be looking for help, you should try the school board and stuff too locally to see if they're hiring.

If you do want to go to Japan though, I believe there's this website http://www.eslcafe.com/ Dave's ESL cafe, that may be able to give you some insight/tips.

Good luck.

Thanks for the prompt reply Peanut Butter!
I've done quite a lot of research. I like the JET program but they only hire once a year. If I decide to go with JET I won't be leaving until August next year which is too long for me (unless i find a job here). I've already applied to a few jobs over at Dave's ESL and I agree that it's a great resource, but I will go through the job listings again tomorrow.

Thanks again, I appreciate any input a lot!

Hi I never posted before.

I just got back from Japan about 3 weeks ago, I was studying there for a year but was teaching ESL in a conversation school for part time. Most jobs there teaching English you make about $27,000-$30,000 a year maybe a bit more it depends which company you work for. The company I worked for was NOVA, basically the pay rate is around $22/hr when I teach five students which is almost always the case. They also paid for my training and the hotel I stayed at in Tokyo during that time. I use the subway to get to work and they paid for that too at the end of each month. The work is really easy and enjoyable, but I can't see myself doing it for more than two days a week, because it gets super repetitive that you'll just go crazy. You meet lots of interesting people though, but you can't date students. But some companies such as GABBA allow you to date students. These schools are open everyday even during Christmas time and some holidays. Also no use of Japanese in any of the lessons no matter what. I got in trouble for that.

Other than Nova I also had 2 private students and I got paid $20 each per session with them. It doesn't seem like a lot but it adds up and eventually that money is what got me my groceries because I had no help from my parents while I was there. The website where I got my students from is called http://www.findstudents.net. You basically set up a profile and wait for students to come to you. You can set up your own rate and where to meet etc.

I also helped out at a local elementary school twice and my contact there is the coordinator for all the ALT teachers in Nagoya. ALT might be another option for you I think. If you're interested I could give you her email, she's really nice and polite. I didn't do ALT, but one of my co workers was doing it full time and the conversation school part time. What you do in ALT is you go to a middle school or high school, and you help plan out lessons with a Japanese English teacher. You work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Nights off and week ends off, except on special school events because you have to help out there too.

I only know about JET program by reading it, and by talking with a couple of instructors. Basically they stick you in whichever part of Japan requires instructors. The one I talked to he got put into the most rural area in Japan for a year. No buildings no convenience stores, just a small village with nothing. No one also spoke any lick of English. This might be good if you are interested in learning Japanese, but without some kind of night life I'd go crazy.

All of these jobs pay at about the same rate, but according to the other teachers I worked with its by doing private lessons where you make ends meet. $30,000/yr in Japan isn't luxurious, its just enough to get by and a few thousand dollars here and there.

If you want some contacts I can share some with you no problem. I was in Nagoya and apparently they need the most teachers there for ALT and those conversation schools. Which city were you planning on going?

Hey thanks for all of that info!
ALT is something that interests me for sure. It seems to be a good way to get into teaching in Japan since you work with a Japanese teacher as well. It sounds pretty good!

With your private teaching, did you teach them whatever they wanted or needed or did you have something set out already? I've always wondered how this works.

Some contacts would be really really appreciated. I recently got a mail back from a school in Aichi who's interested in hiring me, but other than that I got nothing so I'm willing to work ANYWHERE in Japan, including some village, which I don't mind since I can speak Japanese.

Thanks again for all your info, it's truly appreciated.

ALT is something I am considering on doing after graduation. It looks very fun and I like working with high school or middle school kids.

One advice I'd like to give is even if the company offers you a place to stay, I'd suggest getting your own place. The reason for this is if you happen to have a problem with the work place, you'll also have problems with the apartment your staying in.

As for the private students, I tried teaching them by bringing some English materials from my University's library, but when I finally met the students they said they just wanted to practice their conversation. So basically I just talked about whatever, but if I run out of things to say I tried some "what if questions". This is super fun to do with students especially if they have really capable English.

Did you check out http://www.gaijinpot.com? This is where I got started actually, a lot of companies that post there are willing to hire you straight from Canada or wherever, and pay for your plane ticket going there. There should be postings from ALT, NOVA, ECC, AEON and other big companies.

I'll send you some contacts by PM by tomorrow.

Thanks SmokinJo,

Yeah I've heard stories from people who got pissed at a company and quit and ended up on the street. Luckily I have a sister who lives in Tokyo where I can crash if something goes horribly wrong where I work.

I have checked out Gaijinpot, I've been applying to a lot of smaller schools for about a month now with only one reply and decided to try RS to see if I could get some connections or even information about work. I like Interac and JET (although JET will require me to drop my Japanese citizenship) out of the larger companies, but both won't have a job for me until 2010.

Hey Kaiten,

A friend and I are also thinking about going to Japan (tokyo) in november to persue dreams of grandeur. I know a guy who owns a school and is looking for good people. I will probably end up there at least part time. Pm me your info and we can talk and maybe share some tips.

there are TONS of places you can find a job at esp when you have a degree in English and also ur TESL....You can go overseas and make tons of money...

www.footprintsrecruiting.com

best place (local too) for overseas teaching english

you're welcome

go for it, japan will be awesome!!

If you want to work locally try

ELS Language Centres
ILSC - International Lanaguage Schools
ELI - English Language Institute (UBC Continuing Studies)
LSC - Language Studies Centre

I have left this industry about 6 years ago but i know those institutions were the largest and most stable back then and I know they are also still around so it should be safe.

For TESOL certification, I would recommend doing a one year program that comes with a pretty decent practicum. In my experience the practicum was the most valuable experience as nothing can compare to classroom experience.