University teaching through an agency

Working through an agency is the easiest way to get started teaching English at Japanese universities

Perhaps the easiest and most accessible way to start teaching English at Japanese universities, especially for those currently based outside Japan, is to teach through an agency. One of the biggest recruitment agencies for university English teachers in Japan is Westgate Corporation, which regularly advertises for new teachers on websites such as TEFL.com. Westgate offers short-term renewable contracts, with two main intakes per year in the spring (April) and fall (September) semesters.

In order to work for Westgate, you will need to be a native speaker of English with at least a Bachelor’s degree, and have teaching experience either in an EFL classroom, or other educational institution. The compensation tends to be better than the average ‘conversation English’ teaching job in Japan (from ¥275,000/month), although this is not paid in the break between semesters. Westgate will also pay for your flights and provide help obtaining a working visa.

Getting a direct contract

Annually renewable contracts tend to be the norm for English teachers at Japanese universities

Getting a direct contract with a Japanese university tends to be more difficult, both in terms of qualifications and experience required, and the process of finding and applying for vacant positions. There are three basic kinds of contracts for English teachers at Japanese universities, with each progressively harder to obtain than the last. The three kinds of contract are: part-time renewable, full-time renewable, and tenure.

Part-time renewable contracts

Most Japanese universities rely on part-time lecturers to provide at least some, and sometimes most, of their English lessons. The qualifications and experience applicants require have been rising gradually over the past few decades, and it is now usual practice for universities to request the following:

• Prior English teaching experience at university level, particularly in Japan;
• An MA (in progress or completed) in TEFL, Applied Linguistics, or related field;
• 2 or 3 publications TEFL-related journals, particularly those based in Japan;
• Conversational ability in Japanese

As for any other job, good references and a successful interview are also a must. If you tick all the boxes, and impress the recruiter at interview, you will likely be awarded with a one year renewable contract for teaching a certain number of ‘koma’ (90-minute lessons) per month.

Compensation is usually in the range of ¥20,000 ~ ¥40,000 per koma per month, including the summer months between semesters when there are no lessons scheduled. In other words, you will receive a set monthly salary all year round, despite only teaching for 30 weeks per year (15 in the spring semester and 15 in the autumn semester). Travel expenses will also be provided, although health insurance and pension contributions will not.

Full-time renewable contracts

The qualification and experience requirements for a full-time position tend to be incrementally more demanding than those required for part-time positions, i.e. more teaching experience, more publications, and at least an MA (completed) in TEFL or a related field. It is not unusual for universities to give preference for full-time positions to Ph.D. holders over MA–only applicants.

You will usually be required to teach a certain number of koma per week, in addition to other responsibilities, such as attending faculty meetings, designing course syllabuses, proctoring exams, and attending special events. Although your contract will be ‘full time’, you will normally only be required to work four days a week, with the fifth day designated as a ‘research’ day. In addition to research, for which you will be given a budget, many full-time university teachers choose to take on additional part-time work during their fifth day in order to further supplement their income, which is usually in the range of ¥300,000 ~ ¥600,000 per month. Contracts are usually one or two years in length, renewable two or three times, after which you will have to start your job hunt all over again.

Tenure

Tenured positions: the 'Holy Grail' of English language teaching jobs

Tenure is widely regarded as the ‘Holy Grail’ of university English teaching in Japan, both in respect of the difficulty of obtaining such a position, and the high demands made on applicants in terms of both qualifications and experience. But if you do manage to secure such a contract, you will be granted eternal life (well, an eternal contract, which is the next best thing really).

Usual minimum requirements for tenured positions include:

• Significant prior English teaching experience at university level in Japan;
• A Ph.D. (completed) in TEFL, Applied Linguistics, or related field;
• A comprehensive number of publications in reputable TEFL-related journals;
• A sufficient command of Japanese to pursue administrative duties.

Salary and other benefits will be equal to or greater than those conferred by full-time positions, including generous research allowances. Of course, you will receive your salary over a much longer period of time (i.e. until you retire). You will also be entitled to pension and health insurance contributions, and the enduring respect of all your non-tenured English teaching peers.

Finding vacant positions

The most common and effective way of finding university English teaching positions in Japan is through the referrals of friends and acquaintances. Indeed, many universities never need to advertise positions, relying instead on a surprisingly close-knit network of their current employees, employees acquaintances, employee’s acquaintances’ friends and… you get the picture. If job searching for university English teaching positions in Japan could be summed up in three words, they would be: network, network, network.

Besides networking, the second best way to find vacant university positions is online, through job postings provided by JALT, JACET and JREC-IN. Because of the staff high-turnover caused by the lack of long-term contracts, there are normally plenty of positions advertised each year around October/November (recruiting for April) and to a lesser extent January/February (recruiting for September). However, for the same reason, there are also plenty of applicants looking for positions.

In summary

Teaching English at Japanese universities is a very rewarding profession, and English teaching careers are available to those with the motivation and means to undertake the qualifications required. If you are a passionate educator with an inclination toward academic research, then teaching at Japanese universities will definitely provide you with a wealth of opportunities. But be prepared to change jobs frequently, and network extensively if you want to stay ahead of the game.

Further reading

For more information about teaching English at Japanese universities, I recommend the following excellent articles:

Getting a university teaching job- Q&A from a reader – by Mike Guest
Foreign university faculty face annual round of ‘musical jobs’ – by James McCrostie and John Spiri

An employer’s time is short.  They are not likely to be HR or personnel professionals and they scan CVs rather than read every word. They don’t want to have to read between the lines, wade through pages of irrelevant experience or guess what type of learner you taught at XYZ language school.

So, if you organise your CV so it can be scanned quickly for the relevant information, you’ll be doing your prospective TEFL employer a huge favour   - and help your CV to stand out above the rest. Read on and also have a look at my Suggested CV template for fictional TEFL newbie Robert Passmore.

Get that job! Make your CV work

How to organise your CV for success

1)      Do you need to trim your CV?
Make your CV no longer than 2 pages – yes, it really does need cutting if it’s creeping onto 3 pages. Their time is short, remember.

2)      Prioritise relevant TEFL information
Ensure all TEFL related experience and qualifications are uppermost, most recent first.  Get them nodding and ticking ‘yes’ against their criteria as early as possible as they scan your CV.
I know this is hard to do if newly qualified but in this case, detail the key elements from your TEFL course. Include type of students and levels taught, course books used and even any particular elements of praise from a reference letter.

3)      Group your EFL experiences together
Unless all your experience is in teaching, resist the urge to list your various positions chronologically.  Instead, put your EFL experience first (begin with the most recent) under a ‘Teaching experience’ header and less relevant experience under an  ‘Other employment’ header. Ideally ‘teaching experience’ should be longer than your ‘other’ category. You can achieve this by including more detail about your teaching – see 2 above.  Why?  Well, this will encourage your prospective employer to see you as an EFL teacher first and foremost and it displays all your relevant experience at a glance.

4)      Include something of your personality – but keep it professional
A smiling headshot photo is a good start. Also,  why not comment under key parts of your CV  about your last teaching job, for example. Teaching is a people profession although do remember that employers tend to be quite conservative so don’t include anything too whacky.

Other things to remember

Include a great covering letter with your CV.
Opinions differ on whether you should include a 3 bullet point profile or summary at the top of your CV to give the employer a flavour of your personality and skills. Personally I favour these if not too banal since it can underline your CV message;  something like:

‘ Experienced and qualified EFL teacher with particular expertise with young learners’

might be one of your profile bullets, for example and can be adapted with a different emphasis  depending on the job.

Finally, do check your CV for errors as the best organised CV in the world may be discarded due to elementary spelling, grammar and punctuation inconsistencies.

Have a look at the sugested CV template (the first link near the top of the article) which is designed for a new teacher with minimal experience. As a former EFL employer, this is the kind of CV I would like to see – but do you agree with the organisation and information included here?

The same staffrooms are also awash with lively, perky (often young) teachers, fresh from their first stint overseas and energised by the lively summer school atmosphere. Many only entered TEFL as a means to see the world but fell in love with teaching and stayed.

Having been in many a TEFL staffroom, the young ‘n’ fresh example is really a joy to see. However, without at least one eye on the future, it’s surprising how quickly the perky can turn into the jaundiced.

I think this is largely because TEFL is a very odd profession. Fragmented, largely unregulated and with worldwide opportunities, it presents limitless and exciting options on the upside. The downside is there is little structured career progression. This means if you don’t make it work for you, then 10 years after starting your first TEFL job, you could find yourself teaching exactly the same lesson for exactly the same money.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this but my guess is that for most of you 18-25 year olds, this is not your idea of a career.

So if there is even an inkling that your gap year could turn into a career, I cannot stress how important it is for your bank balance, job satisfaction and sanity to keep learning and keep progressing. Consider every opportunity that comes your way both personally and professionally.

On the professional front there are many examples of people who have made TEFL work for them and turned it into a career. One lady, for example who was teaching English to pilots in Khazakstan went on to write an English for Pilots book for Oxford University Press. Others become teacher trainers, language school owners, materials developers or work for publishers. Some become specialists; teaching English for academic purposes, for example, taking the chance to leave their comfort zone and try something new.

TEFL is a ‘people’ profession and opportunities can arise simply through your everyday contacts. I know of one relatively new teacher who was offered a partnership with his boss to open a new school. This happened simply because the boss liked and trusted him – factors that clearly trumped paper qualifications and experience. TEFL can be like that.

So, if you want to get on in TEFL,  ensure you look for ways to keep on keeping on; you can teach that lesson better, you should brush up on that sticky grammar point and do consider the DELTA after a couple of years to help you get into management. Upskill and keep abreast of the new technology that is set to revolutionise the way we learn languages in the future.

It is a very wide TEFL world but if you’re not sure what you want out of TEFL yet, then here is some general rule of thumb guidance; if you start to lose interest in teaching and learning, then it’s time to get out and get yourself a ‘real’ job.  And do it before it’s too late!

What are your plans in TEFL?

As 9 year old Pedro dangled my bag out of the 3^rd floor window in Portugal menacingly, I regretted 2 things; firstly, that I hadn’t taken my bag with me when I slipped out of class to photocopy something and, secondly, that I had gone the private language school route at all!

The reality is that most private language school timetables will include teaching children – and while I personally grew to enjoy this over time, I realise that teaching English to large classes of sometimes unwilling primary or teen learners is not everyone’s bag (no pun intended).

If you really cannot imagine yourself standing in front of 12-30 little Pedro’s, then consider freelance EFL teaching where you will generally teach 1:1 or small groups of focussed and more motivated students. Freelance teaching usually pays better than school work and you are more in control over the hours you teach. The downside is you will have to source your own students which can be time consuming. Also, work cannot be arranged from outside of the country so you will need to ensure you have sufficient funds to keep you going while you build up your business.  However, for the keen and enterprising, here are some ways to maximise your freelance teaching opportunities once in situ.

Maximising your freelance teaching opportunities

1)      Teach English online:  this form of learning is growing worldwide and is already very established in Korea and France, as more people take advantage of free internet phone services such as Skype. It does not pay well but can fill in unwanted gaps in your timetable. As you build your student database you can also offer Skype-to-Skype teaching to your own busy professional learners as an option. Telelangue http://telelangue.com/ is just one big company offering this service in France.

2)      Contact your local chamber of commerce: some countries have large and influential networks and I know that many EFL teachers in France have sourced work through their local chamber and are now engaged in lucrative in-company teaching.

3)      Build your own twitter, Linked in (for business) and Facebook profiles. Follow and engage with local community and business groups.

4)      Network:  go to English language bookshops and talk to other teachers about where they found their students. Take advantage of any free ad space you can use to advertise your services such as notice boards at universities, book shops and internet cafés.

5)      Get cards printed in the local language and put them in places where they’ll be seen by your target market:  this could mean leafleting the car park of a local school, college, university or business park. One EFL teacher I know leafleted his local village in France with a ‘New Year resolution – learn English’ message and was rewarded with a steady stream of 1-1 students.

6)      Just be in 1 place long enough: another English speaker living in Italy hadn’t considered teaching English but neighbours and friends were soon asking for English tuition. This prompted her to take a TEFL course and she now runs her own school. The key here is that she was part of a community and was easily and readily contactable.

7)      Start volunteering in your free time: the local school is a good place to start. Yes, we are back to teaching children, but on your terms! Offer a free fun lesson once a week to the school and then offer paid options such as small group or 1-1 children tuition to the parents. A colleague in Portugal started a very lucrative mobile nursery service. She visited the local kindergartens where the children had all paid a small amount to sing songs, count to 10 and so on.

8)      Do some research before you go: in Sweden, Japan, France and Germany, for example, business English is in high demand. You might want to take a TEFL with a specialisation that reflects the local market.

A final word

Freelance students will still expect a professional service. Look the part, invest in getting business cards printed, make sure you are easily contactable and ensure students clearly understand your cancellation policy. Think; where will you teach and consider safety issues if travelling to a student’s home. Check out the visa regulations before entry and that you are allowed to work legally in a freelance capacity.

In the end, like many EFL teachers, you may end up combining a few hours for a private language school with freelancing. If so, I hope I have not put you off the private language school experience.  In the end I did manage to coax Pedro into removing my bag from danger and we went on to have many ‘interesting’ classes together.

We would love to hear from you!

What we would ask

All we ask is that you simply write some content on this Blog that would be interesting and useful to our audience. This can be on a variety of topics, but if you have arrived at this Blog via a previous post you will know the sort of thing that is useful for people.

If you are passionate about passing on helpful information or like to write about your experiences we would really like you to help us help our jobseekers.

What’s in it for you?

We can also offer you the opportunity to write for jobs.ac.uk, the leading recruitment website for careers in research, science, academic and related professions. With over 600,000 people visiting the website each month we are sure you can appreciate the prestige of writing for such an established brand and highly regarded website.

Interested?
If you are interested in writing for jobs.ac.uk or would just like more information, no obligation attached, please get in touch with Alison Osborne on careers@jobs.ac.uk. Please include a little bit about yourself, your job role and where in the world you are (or are moving to!) and what you think you can contribute.

Most foreigners working as English teachers in schools are Assistant Language Teachers, which means you work in tandem with the Japanese English Teacher. What, then, are the pros and cons of working in a Japanese school?

The pros

• ALTs normally earn between 230-250,000 yen per month. JET participants usually earn around 300,000/month. Either way, you will be earning more than enough to live on.

• Working hours are reasonable, with the teacher being contracted to be on-site between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. In actual practice, the hours are normally reduced to something like 8.30am to 4.30pm. Evenings and weekends are yours.

• Teaching hours are normally between 25-29.5 hours per week. This means you have time for lesson preparation and marking and any other duties while on site, although it has to be said that preparation often spills into a teacher’s non-working hours.

• Schools in Japan, like the UK, have looooong holidays. There is a one month break in summer, a holiday of several weeks in winter, and an end of term break between March and April.

The cons

• Working at a school means that certain things are expected of you, especially in a country like Japan. Lateness, for example, is not tolerated. You’re unlikely to get any sympathy if you need to take a sick day too – the attitude is that you should have taken better care of your body in order not to become sick in the first place.

• There isn’t massive room for progression when working as an ALT in a school. You can either carry on doing what you are doing or try a sideways move.

• Being tied to a curriculum can inhibit your creativity. You need to go along with the goals and plans assigned to you and not question the system too much.

• Some ALTs find that they are assigned to several different schools throughout the course of a week. Traveling long distances may be involved depending on your location. The company will most likely refund your expenses, but travel time is not paid.

The result

Teaching at a school can be very rewarding. I intentionally left out the variable of students and colleagues. The attitude of your learners and your relationship with the other teachers depends on you, them, and the school.

There’s a lot written about the major companies who supply ALTs, not all of it go and not all of it worth reading. Weigh up the pros and cons carefully before taking on a teaching job and make an informed decision.

The resume is you on paper. What makes you so special? What experience do you have? What qualifications do you have? What have you got that the employer needs? Your resume needs to answer these questions and more.

Be specific – Your resume should be specific about your experiences and skills, and how they will benefit your employer.

Be lucid – Your word choice is vital. You have to use words that will make your resume stand out. TEFL.net’s 7 Resume Tips recommends using verbs and skills words that can be found in the advertisement.

Be relevant – Include only your qualifications and skills relevant to that specific post, and make sure you apply the relevant information to the specific requirements of this job.

Make it unique – You have to adapt your resume for each application. There is a lot riding on getting it right, so don’t be lazy. Identify the employer’s unique needs and demands, tailor your language to the job description, and show how you are the one for the job.

There are many jobs coming up in Japan this spring, so now’s a good time to start sending your resume out. You can view some sample resumes online to get an idea of what to include, but remember that this is all about you.

Don’t forget that you’ll need a Cover Letter too!

What’s the purpose of a Cover Letter?

Your CV or application form should contain all of the necessary details, such as where you worked, how long you worked there for and photos and vital statistics of people you worked with. The Cover Letter, however, plays quite a different role.

The Cover Letter should get the employer salivating (the words, that is, not the headshot). It should be formal, well-written, and, above all, positive. It should not be a simple repetition of the information in your CV – it should complement the CV. In the Cover Letter, you should show directly how your skills and experience link up to the person specification. You only have one page to do that, though, so use your space wisely.

Cover Letter: Template

Dear (If you know the relevant person’s name, use it. Make sure you include a title (Mr. Mrs. Miss. or Ms) and their surname

RE: job/advertisement reference number (if applicable)

Paragraph 1: clearly state which job you are applying for

I am writing in reply to your advertisement on the GaijinPot.com website on (date of advertisement) for (the position/job title). My CV/application is attached for your consideration.

Paragraph 2: briefly outline why you are a good applicant -what you can do for them

You could echo (but not repeat!) some of the phrases in the advertisement. For example, if the advertisement says:

‘Native English speaker required to teach children and adult classes. Experience is preferable but new candidates may be considered. Enthusiasm and reliability are essential.’

You could write:

As you will see from my CV, my voluntary and paid work as an English teacher has given me considerable experience in teaching both children and adults. It is a job I enjoy very much, and I always try to combine my passion for teaching with professionalism. .

Paragraph 3: Clarify or explain any problem areas (if applicable) or highlight relevant voluntary work.

Briefly explain anything in your CV that needs clarification. For example:

After completing a CELTA qualification, I worked as a salesman for a year. I gained some valuable experience in this job, and I am keen now to put to use the methods and skills I learnt from the teaching course..

Paragraph 4: Bow out gracefully!

Leave on a positive note, and possibly write something to show your knowledge of the employer. For example:

I hope my application is successful. I would welcome the opportunity to start my teaching career for a company with such a good reputation for its educational and employment standards.

Sincerely,

Sign here

Read more

The above template was adapted from Melanie Allen’s article.

If you still want more advice on writing a Cover Letter,  check out the following articles:

TEFL Cover Letters

Top Ten Tips for Writing a Cover Letter

Writing a Teaching Cover Letter

Looking at TEFL in a wider career context, teaching engenders many transferable skills that are valuable to employers.

Communication

Possibly the skill that is most in demand and the one that TEFL encourages the most. If you haven’t learned to communicate clearly and simply after a few years of standing up in front of a classroom and speaking to people who don’t fully understand your language, then it’s safe to say that communication just isn’t your thing.

Interpersonal skills

This is about being aware of people and their differing cultures, needs and backgrounds. It’s a very important skill in a customer-based job and, again, one that TEFL should have taught you. Years of living abroad has hopefully opened your mind to a global level, and the need to be patient and approachable to your students has made you better able to talk to people.

Project management and organisation

Seeing a project through to the end is a much needed transferable skill. It requires planning, creativity and organization. Your experience as a teacher has taught you the need to plan (lessons/curriculums) and to keep track of progression (student reports etc). Organisational skills are vital in TEFL as you have to keep track of time during lessons and be in control of materials, schedules and workspaces.

Good for your career

Yep, TEFL has pretty much equipped you to be the ultimate worker with a whole heap of transferable skills to throw in your future employers face.

TEFLtastic reported that some people are convinced that TEFL will do nothing to increase your earning power back home. They may well be right, but if you can prove the strength and relevance of your transferable skills and how teaching has encouraged these skills with palpable examples, then it can only help your chances of landing a job. TEFL.net has a very practical transferable skills chart and how your TEFL experience has taught you those skills.

In the world of TEFL there are both crooked and honest organizations. Beyond that, you want to make sure you are getting a fair deal. Therefore, finding out the following information is essential before you sign a contract. The ideal time to ask these questions is at the interview when you are invited to raise any issues you might have.

Work time:

How many hours a week will I be teaching? (25 hours per week is the usual)

Are the teaching hours consecutive, or is it a split shift?

How many hours am I expected to be on-site every week?

Will I be expected to work evenings or weekends?

Is there the possibility of overtime work?

What is the holiday allowance?

Payment:

What exactly will I be paid for? (Some companies deduct payment even for the 5 or 10 minutes break between lessons)

Are travel expenses reimbursed?

Is overtime paid or unpaid? Is it paid at the same rate as my regular duties?

Are National Holidays paid?

What do you offer in terms of sick pay?

What is the salary, and are the payments weekly or monthly?

Accommodation, visas travel and health:

Does my work take place entirely in the same location, or will some traveling be involved?

Do you provide, find or subsidize accommodation?

Do you provide health insurance? (Check the legalities of this – some companies are required to provide coverage for all employees)

Do you pay for my flight to the location from my hometown?

What support do you offer for obtaining a visa?

On the job:

What ages and levels of students will I be teaching?

Do you provide full course materials?

What do you offer in terms of professional development?

What period of notice is necessary and is there a probationary period?

How long has the school been established, and what is the number of teaching staff?

When does the contract begin and end, and is it renewable?

Get the details

Most of these areas should have already been covered by the interviewer, or in the materials and information sent to you prior to the interview. If they haven’t told you clearly about these matters already then you might want to be a bit concerned that they are hiding something. Asking plenty of questions is natural when you are making a move abroad, especially when you starting a new job at the same time.

Don’t be afraid to reject a contract if it’s obviously dubious. You might have to look for a new job, but it saves you the hassle and the bad experience of being caught up with a bad employer.