Career Mirror -- by NextSteps Staff

This month we spoke with Cam Ross, who has just returned to Canada after 3 years in Japan. There he worked as a English Language Conversation Instructor.

How did you decide on this career?

After graduating from the University of Victoria with a B.A. in Asian Pacific Studies (w/ Japanese concentration), I wanted to further immerse myself in the Japanese culture. I decided to find a job in Japan and live the life. These days teaching English in Japan is about the only job available to university under grads.

How did you get started in this line of work?

To teach English in Japan it is essential to have a Bachelors degree and a guarantor. The Bachelors degree can be in any discipline but the Japanese government will not issue long term working visas to foreigners degree is not needed for the popular working holiday visa which is good for just one year).

A guarantor is also needed to work in Japan. The company you are hired by is usually your guarantor.

What specific education and training were necessary?

To teach conversational English it is essential to be a native English speaker, have good pronunciation, and have a sound knowledge of English grammar. As far as training goes the school usually provides you with the essentials. In addition an ESL (English as a second language) course can always be advantageous.

What do you like/dislike most about this type of work?

The most enjoyable part of my job was that I was able to construct my own English lesson plans. Each student's English level was so different that every lesson had to be tailored to fit each class. With this I was able to personalize my lessons which in turn allowed me to get to know my students on a more one to one basis. The downside of the experience was my boss. He was very tight-fisted; always with an eye on the "bottom line." Many potentially interesting projects never got off the ground.

What are the possible drawbacks about this type of work?

I guess one of the biggest drawbacks to working in another country such as Japan is the language barrier. Living in a country where you can't understand what's being said by the majority of people can be very frustrating. This situation usually leads to one depending on others for many basic needs. Things we do in our daily lives such as talking with bank tellers, supermarket clerks, or asking what bus goes where can be very frustrating when you can't speak the language.

What skills, interests, abilities or temperaments are well suited for this type of work?

Someone interesting in teaching conversational English should first of all be a patient person. It takes a lot of time to teach even the very basics of conversation. Many Japanese students take English conversation as a hobby and only study when they're in class. Sometimes it seems that last weeks lesson never took place.

Another important point is that one should actually be interested in the country they choose to go to. The job is much more enjoyable if you're happy to be there instead of just wanting to make money.

Are there any dress codes or particular details specific to this job?

The school I worked at didn't allow jeans or short pants to be worn at school. But on the other hand it wasn't mandatory to wear a suit and tie either. Recommended was something slightly dressy and professional looking. I usually wore Chinos and a short sleeved button shirt during the summer months.This seemed to be acceptable.

In other English schools (usually national schools) it was mandatory to wear a shirt, a tie and slacks everyday.

Please describe a typical day.

A typical day was a split day. Some days were not split but a split was usual. The first half of the day started at 10:00 a.m. and went to 12:30 pm. For example, on Wednesdays I started with a private lesson at 10:15. Which meant I had about 15 minutes to prepare for the class. The class consisted of a husband and wife who were intermediate English speakers. The class ran 1 hour. After that class my next class started at 11:30 a.m. This was a group lesson of 7 people. They were a beginner class of mostly housewives. The class ended at 12:30.

At this point I was free to do what I wanted as my schedule didn't start again until 3:30. I usually went home and had lunch and relaxed. At 3:30 I went to another school which was 20 minutes away by bicycle from the other school. I taught four more classes between 3:30 and 9:00 p.m. Class levels ranged from junior high school students to university professors. At 9:00 p.m. I would re-shelf all materials, see the students out and then head for home.

What is a typical work schedule? ie. hours, days

Some teachers worked the Tuesday to Saturday shift while others worked the Monday to Friday shift. Sundays were holidays. In all it was a 40 hour week with a break of 50 minutes each day. About 5 times a year there were special events that were scheduled for after work or on Sundays. For example, the annual English speech contest was always held on Sundays and Midnight bowling was held from once a year on a Saturday night from 9:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The staff was paid extra for these events.

What is the starting wage for a person in this position? What is the average wage?

The starting wage in Japan for foreign English teachers is guaranteed by the government to be at least 250,000 yen per month. This wage is usually the starting wage for teachers at private English conversation schools. Although in some cases I have seen a lower wage but with free or reduced rent on an apartment to top up the salary to 250,000 yen.

Other Japanese government sponsored English teachers (JET- Japan Exchange Teaching program) can earn up to 300,000 yen per month (C$3108.00). When I started working in Japan in1995 the exchange rate was about .0147. My salary in Canadian dollars was $3676.00. Each year I worked in Japan I was usually guaranteed a slight salary increase of about 10,000 yen per month. Although it is different in every school. At the present exchange rate (June 09/1998 - .01036 ) 250,000 yen is worth about $2590.00 Canadian.

What are your future expectations for this work? For yourself, for the field?

After teaching English conversation for three years I've decided to use the experience I gained in Japan and move on to other avenues of work involving Japan. I believe there will always be opportunities for people from English speaking countries to go to Japan and teach English. For example, in Japan at present, English is taught for three years in junior high school and three years in high school. The emphasis on their learning is to pass tests not to learn to use English as a mode of communication. Therefore English conversation teachers will always be in demand as long as the Japanese education system emphasizes rote learning.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone considering this career path?

If you really want to go to teach in another country do it for the experience and not for the money; you'll enjoy yourself and your students that much better.