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8 Things You Should Know Before Teaching English in Japan

November 18, 2008 Working in Japan

I paid 320,000 Yen for this? Sitting in a small room, a foreign person across from him, Kenji Yamamoto sighed as he weighed his options yet again.

Kenji had come to the language school in order to earn the skills necessary to take his career to the next level. With the coming economic problems, his company had sliced the budget on all but the most important of training lessons. This meant that Kenji had to pay for the classes himself. After weeks of online research and attending trial lessons at various places, he had settled on this company. Not only did they appear to be the most professional when it came to education, but they had a solid reputation for results. Unfortunately, after three months of lessons, he felt as though his English was no better now than it was before.

Why is he talking so much? I can’t get a word in edgewise. Kenji’s frustration at wasting not only money but his free time kept mounting. He wasn’t inclined to walk out of the small room, but the idea was tempting.

Not having any opportunity to speak, Kenji decided to look at all the reasons he should request a refund. This guy’s breath smells awful. His shirt is wrinkled. The tie is too loose. The room has eraser fibers on the desk. The TV is old. The CD player is cheap and doesn’t play very well. The textbook doesn’t look to be worth the 22,000 I paid …

In the ten minutes Kenji had to think before being asked to read a sentence he had listed off a hundred things to complain about. Having done this, his decision was made: this would be the last lesson with this company. There were plenty of resources online for people to practice their English, and Kenji needed only to read and write more often than speak. It made no sense to come to a conversational school. This was proven especially by the fact that he rarely ever spoke during the 90 minute lessons.

As the final bell went, Kenji thanked the foreigner for their time as always, knowing that he just wasted another 15,000 Yen.

Never again, he thought. No wonder so many other companies are going out of business.

It’s a common scene in Japan. Customers come to study a language and, over time, begin to lose interest in speaking another tongue. While there are certainly several things that can happen in a person’s life to make learning another language take a back seat, one common reason is a lack of professionalism coming from the language center and, more importantly, from the language instructor.

I’ve had the opportunity to work at a language school for just over a year and, in that time, I’ve heard dozens of complaints students have had about language schools (including the one that I work at). Very rarely does a person decide to quit because one thing bothers them. Instead, it’s a culmination of several large and small issues that make people like Kenji Motoyama miss lessons or end a contract. I will be the first to admit that I’m still a rookie when it comes to language instruction, but there are nine key points that I’d like to share with anyone that is thinking about teaching English in Japan, or any other nation for that matter.

Dress for Success

This should be self-obvious, but I’m still surprised by some people who come to work dressed like they just got back from an all night date. Wrinkled shirts, poorly tied ties, unkempt facial hair … the list goes on and on. A teacher who looks like they just got out of bed sends a very clear message that they not only don’t take their job seriously, but they’re probably not very well educated, either.

In Japan, people who attended university often get jobs that require a suit and tie. People who don’t wear these often only have a high-school or trade-school education.

Dressing the part can be incredibly easy for both men and women who wish to teach. For men, it’s best to wear a suit with a pressed shirt and tie with nothing loose. Wearing the jacket in the classroom is optional, but it’s best to look prepared. Women who teach adults are often taken more seriously when they dress in business-appropriate wear. This means no long V-necks that reveal too much skin, and no mini-skirts. These things are fine to wear outside of the classroom, of course, but seeing too much skin is often distracting for students who (usually) just come to learn a language.

Speak in Full Sentences

Okay, you know how when, you’re trying to do something, and then, without any reason, someone just makes something up on the spot? And you’re all like: Uh … okay? And then they point and tell you to just, like, read it and understand? Chuh-uh huh? So, like … whatever!

You would be surprised how many people who apply for English-speaking jobs cannot speak in full or complete sentences. Is this because of pop culture’s inability to use the language as it was intended, or due to the pervasive internet and SMS culture that has sprung up since the mid-1990s? Who’s to say? But regardless of how we might speak online or on the phone, people who want to learn a language should not be forced to differentiate between Slang-Only English (SOE?) and written English. While the spoken and written forms of the language are clearly different, the two should be relatively close for the first few years of English study. Anything else will just confuse people to no end.

One last point I should make regards the use of inappropriate language. There are very few language schools that present explicit language to paying customers, so try to stay away from subjects like sex, drugs and everyday loose slang. While “Hell, yeah” or “Fuck, yes” is a common thing to hear in North America, it’s never used here in Japan or in the business world in general.

Don’t Pretend

Staying on the topic of language use, try not to pretend like you know everything. If you don’t know the difference between a gerund and a homonym, tell the student that you’ll get a proper answer after the lesson or during the break. We don’t need to be English majors, and most students will understand this. Heck, just ask them about the “te” form in Japanese grammar. They’ll understand that it’s not always easy to remember what everything is called, but we generally know how to use it. Besides, customers pay good money for the lessons that we offer, so lying is just going to piss them off and make you look bad.

One of the greatest benefits of teaching a native language to others is that we get to re-examine how we use the language ourselves, which can make us a better speaker overall. Lord knows that, while my lexicon may have shrunk, my spoken fluency and clarity have increased dramatically in the last fourteen months.

Learn

In addition to learning how to better use our native language, we can also use the opportunity to learn new things about the country that we’re in. Although it’s typically not possible with beginner-level students, asking someone about the culture or less-crowded tourist destinations is a great way to discover more about the area. Everyone knows about all the well-advertised places in Japan, but only a native Japanese person can tell you about all the hidden secrets that have yet to hit the English-speaking blogosphere. Not every tourist spot needs to have 2,500 visitors on a slow day to be worth the visit.

In addition, this is a great opportunity to learn about the minute cultural differences between our home countries and that of the Far East. What’s the proper way to handle a business card exchange? What rules do we follow when entering an elevator? Why do newer bathrooms still have at least one squat-toilet system? Google might have answers for many of these things, but nothing beats getting an answer out of another person.

Don’t Hit On Your Customers

“Why is this even a topic of discussion?” you ask? It’s simple, really. This happens far more often than one might think. There have been several people in the last few years that had been employed at my place of work that had confused their job with that of a professional escort. These people would often hit on the students and try to turn the language of the lesson into some pseudo-sexual lesson that often left the customers feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Looking at the language in some of the online forums for foreign language teachers in Japan, it’s absolutely astounding how many people come here thinking that their employers are little more than fronts for dating centers.

If a person decides to work in another nation for the sole reason of engaging in lots of sex with the locals, that’s their business. There are certainly lots of people who are willing to indulge in this sort of lifestyle. However, please try to remember that language schools exist to facilitate language, not to satisfy urges.

Money

Let’s be honest here. One of the big reasons people want to teach English in a foreign land is the prospect of earning a big fat paycheck. That said, these days are long over in Japan. Language schools abound and English instructors are a dime a dozen. Working at a decent company will earn you about 250,000 Yen ($2,600 CAD) a month before tax, which is nothing to sneeze at, but the days of earning 450,000+ Yen in thirty days are long gone. That said, there are still lots of chances to earn a respectable income through overtime and other gigs on the side. I have consistently earned over 290,000 Yen a month (after tax), so it is possible.

Be Patient

Patience is a virtue, and it couldn’t be truer than when you’re helping another person learn to communicate in your native tongue. There will be many days when the urge to pull your hair out is especially strong, but there will be just as many days where everything goes so smoothly that you’d swear God intended you to be a language teacher. Regardless of what kind of students you have or how tired you might be one day, just remember that it’s not easy for many people to learn another language while simultaneously working 50+ hours a week at a low-paying office job.

Have Fun

The last thing I’d like to mention is quite obvious. Have fun. There is no point doing something you hate, especially when you’re locked into a contract or dependent on your employer for the flight home. As I had already mentioned, there will be many difficult days, but there will also be many great days. This is true of every job, regardless of what country you decide to do it in. Most students are a lot of fun to work with, and 90% of them really do try their hardest to pick up the language. So long as you can present the language in a fun and interactive way, they will remember your name and maybe even invite you out for drinks afterwards.

One of the best ways to do this, I’ve found, is to try and teach the language the same way as one of your favorite teachers. In my case, I chose to teach English the same way Bill Nye would do it if he wasn’t already ‘The Science Guy’. This way, even if the student doesn’t immediately understand a complex grammar point, or they just don’t see the purpose of using an adjective + preposition + gerund combination, they will at least be entertained … and you will, too.

And, at the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters when it comes to teaching English?

The End?

I know this post sounds really negative, but I wanted to say these things with the best of intentions. There are far too many people that come here and think this is a “bird job”, which isn’t fair to the people who truly want to learn the language. On top of this, there have been a large number of language schools that have been going bankrupt due to the slowing economies all over the world. People who want to teach for a little while don’t need to take the job super seriously but, at the same time, they should also remember to try and give the customers what they are paying for.

Truth be told, had I known two years ago what I know now about working in Japan, I would have done quite a few things differently in the past. I’ll leave that topic for another day, though.

Have you taught a language in another country? Are there things that others in your field had done that made the whole industry look foolish? I’d love to know your thoughts on the subject.

Tags: english, Japan, teach