My name is Stephanie. I graduated from UVM in 2007 with a major in English and double minor in Japanese and Film/TV Studies. I started studying Japanese in High School. While I was an undergrad I worked as a student assistant for international student exchange programs at Saint Michael’s College during the summer. The groups I worked with were Japanese High School students from Kanazawa Technical College. I helped in their communication classes, as a chaperone on field trips, and as a conversation partner. In addition to studying Japanese at UVM, this is what drew me to the idea of teaching English in Japan. However, from my experience as a student assistant, I knew that I wanted to get more teacher training before applying for jobs.
I decided to go to graduate school for a Master’s in TESOL at Saint Michael’s College, so that I could continue to work with the international students in the Intensive English Program. This also meant that I was able to maintain my connection with Kanazawa Technical College, who recruit TESOL graduates to work at their school.
I started working at Kanazawa Institute of Technology (the university connected to the technical college) in 2010. Although they actually came to Vermont to interview on campus, I did my interview on Skype. It was a little strange to have an interview online at the time, but I already knew the director since he had chaperoned the SMC exchange program for several years. The interviewers mostly described the details of the job (working hours, teaching responsibilities, extra-curricular English activities, salary, etc.) and asked if I could agree to their expectations. The entire interview was done in English.
My interview was in early May, and I received an official job offer a few weeks later. However, it was near the end of July/beginning of August when I received my certificate of eligibility. I had about 5 weeks to get my VISA sorted and book my plane tickets.
The university covered travel and shipping expenses, and they helped me find an apartment when I arrived in Japan. They told me to prepare enough money for the deposit and key money, but didn’t specify that I should have it all available in cash. I would recommend that if you are moving to Japan for work and planning to get your own apartment, bring a LOT of extra cash. I had a hard time since I couldn’t transfer money to my new bank account, and I had to pay the deposit for the apartment before I got paid.
When I first started teaching, I had a bit of culture shock. In my teacher training, we had emphasized clear communication and openness to ask questions. I was used to sharing my ideas with colleagues and getting constructive feedback, and I expected that as a new teacher there would be some guidance or mentoring to introduce me to the way things worked at the university. However, this was not the case, and I sometimes felt that I was left to figure things out on my own, because I was at the bottom of the hierarchy. This improved over time, and there were other teachers who were supportive once the semester started.
For anyone interested in working in Japan, I would recommend learning as much as possible about the school/company before you start. You need to be patient, and it may take some time before your questions are answered clearly. If you are planning on teaching English and you are able to talk to your future coworkers ahead of time, I’d recommend having a casual chat with them about what to expect.
If you are interested in teaching, I also highly recommend getting a TESOL certificate or degree. Not only will it open up more opportunities for different types of jobs, but you will be much more prepared and confident when you start teaching.