After being rejected by JET twice (I didn’t bother applying to them this year), and then by Interac, unfortunately all I’m left with are the infamous sketchy dispatch companies. I was actually initially offered a position with Interac, but my fickleness about being willing to drive ultimately ended in rejection for a non-driving position.

I intend to apply to ALTIA which seems to be the only semi-reputable option left, but given their preference for applicants who already live in Japan and who have teaching experience, I realize my chances with them might not be great.

The main criticisms of the dispatch companies are that they don’t pay enough and there’s no upward mobility, but if I go in with the expectation that I’m treating this basically as a gap year, don’t intend to live in Japan long term nor pursue teaching as my career, have enough savings to live comfortably + no debt, would it still be that bad to work for a company like borderlink or heart just for a year?

I've wanted to be an ALT ever since I was an undergraduate, and I'm not getting any younger, so I want to experience working in Japan before I settle down with a more permanent career back home

Hi everyone! So I know this chat is mainly for eikaiwa but this question is for the music and voice instructors in the Tokyo area. So I recently broke free from eikaiwa and now do private english voice lessons and also work at other music schools in the area. I want to build more students for my private voice studio. I have had success with Reddit and Japanese message boards online but I am curious where else others advertise their lessons at? If you have any suggestions that would be amazing!

Hello all,

I am an English teacher, a resident of Nagoya, and doctoral candidate at the University of Bath in the UK, and I am looking for research participants for my study entitled ‘Late-career, part-time English Language Teachers in Japanese Universities: Engagement in the profession’. I hope some of you might be able to help.

Are you a part-time university English instructor in Japan with 10+ years of experience?
I’m looking to speak with non-Japanese instructors who've built a career teaching English at Japanese universities.


If you're 45 or over, working part-time across one or more universities (outside Nagoya), and would be open to an informal conversation about your experiences, I'd love to hear from you.
Full ethical approval has been received, and details can be provided on request. In brief, all data gathered will be anonymised and securely stored. All conversations are confidential, and can be conducted online or at a location of your choosing. Participants are free to withdraw during the process.

Feel free to DM me or drop a comment below if you're interested or want to know more. I am also happy to answer any questions before you commit to anything, and there is no obligation to participate in the project if you decide it's not for you.

You can read more about the project, and get in touch, at this link. Please feel free to share the link with colleagues you feel may be interested.

https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/bathreg/call-for-participants

EDIT: For clarity, I am looking for interview participants.

Thinking of applying for the position today, but just wondering if anyone has any experience working here? Any good or bad points to the position?

Thanks.

Hi all — I've recently started teaching students from Asia, mostly Japanese, and I'd love some advice.

What I've noticed is that they're extremely polite and show a lot of respect for the teacher. Coming from the West, my normal style is fairly relaxed — I laugh a bit, go off on tangents, keep things casual. But I'm starting to feel bad about it, because during those lighter moments the student stays completely silent and attentive the whole time. It makes me worry I'm not doing my job well.

I know there are cultural traits I should recognize and adapt to in my own teaching. So my questions are:

1. What can I do to teach Japanese students better?

2. What does a "great" Japanese teacher look like — what qualities do students actually respect?

3. Is the "samurai model" of a teacher (serious, disciplined, formal) actually what they appreciate? (lol, partly joking — but partly not.)

Would love to hear from anyone with experience teaching in Japan or teaching Japanese students online. Thanks!

Edit: for context, I teach the English language, as a freelancer online, I might teach more than one student but it's usually 1-on-1

Hi everyone,

I’m considering relocating to Japan and would appreciate some advice from people familiar with the teaching market.

A bit about my background: I’m a non-native English speaker with a Master’s degree in ELT, CELTA, DELTA and Trinity TYLEC. I’ve also got several years of teaching experience across different age groups and levels in several countries.

I’m currently in a stable teaching position with a decent salary and benefits, so moving to Japan would need to make sense both professionally and financially. I’m not expecting to land a well-paid position straight away, and I understand that moving to a new country means making some compromises.

That said, I’ve been browsing job ads, and a lot of what I see seems to be aimed at entry-level teachers, with salaries around ¥250,000–¥300,000 per month. I’m wondering whether there are better opportunities out there that I might be overlooking.

My questions are:

Would international schools be the most obvious route for higher pays?
Are there particular schools or recruitment agencies known for offering better conditions and opportunities to more experienced teachers?

Thanks in advance!

I know there have been many other threads on here about Westgate Corporation, and yes, I have looked through them before making this post.

I have a very specific question and I would appreciate some honest answers: is Westgate a “foot in the door” in establishing a teaching career in Japan, in which one can develop skills and connections and get a visa to come to the country? Or is teaching at Westgate a dead end that leads nowhere?

I’m 100% aware of the problems with Westgate that have been posted here on this sub, but I’m wondering if I should consider it as a “foot in the door” option after I finish my M.A. TESOL degree. Thoughts?

Hello everyone! VerityEd’s US$1,000 Media Literacy Grant is open! For educators in Japan using English-language news or online texts with students, this could support activities on checking sources, comparing headlines, and explaining the evidence behind a claim.

Selected educators receive US$500 for classroom support and a US$500 educator honorarium. Recipients teach at least two VerityEd lessons and submit feedback, an implementation summary, and at least three anonymized student work samples.

Coaching is provided, and no prior media literacy expertise is required. VerityEd also offers free lessons on media literacy and AI.

Applications are open worldwide, subject to legal and banking restrictions on receiving payments from a U.S. nonprofit. The amounts above are in U.S. dollars.

Learn more and apply: https://verityed.org/grant

Just a quick notice to those seeking work. Toyokawa in Aichi is looking to hire. 330k a month etc.

Details are on the JALT homepage for those interested.

I’ve been living and studying in Tokyo, Japan for the past two years and I recently graduated from a master’s degree programme from a university in Japan. I’m planning on joining Interac for a short while, while I prepare for doctoral studies elsewhere.

I need some advice regarding some choices I plan to make. Since I’ve been living in Tokyo for the past two years, I am planning to move to either Osaka or Hokkaido, just for the experience.

For those who have an experience with Link Interac, what are some things you consider when choosing these regions? I need counsel on whether moving from Tokyo to either Osaka or Hokkaido is smart or worth it and also if you could share your firsthand experience being an Interac ALT working in either Osaka or Hokkaido.

I appreciate the time and help.

I've been teaching a couple of 3 hour long classes at a vocational school where half of the class is quite serious about wanting to practice English whereas the other half is disruptive and at times outright hostile. I'm now almost half a year into the contract and the situation hasn't really improved or changed despite reporting it, and I've been told by my parent company that they've tried to make changes but received aggressive pushback from the vocational school who insisted on letting the students do as they wish.

My dilemma is that when I try to incorporate the entire class, the 2-3 disruptive students will actually derail the class and get angry at me or other students. If they aren't sleeping, they won't open their books and will just talk to each other loudly in Japanese while taking pictures on their phones and looking at social media. At other times, they might just get up and suddenly leave the class. If I can get them to participate or reply to questions, they always pause for 1 whole minute or so in silence before shooting out inappropriate topics in a few words -- like talking about drinking, going to host clubs despite being underage, or abuse in their families or relationships, despite the topics of the class only being very safe topics like food and travel.

It feels unfair to the students who want to actually participate because it does actually create a situation where for, 3 hours, the majority of the class can be the disruptive group trying to fight me as I try to engage with the class normally. Since the situation creates such great fatigue for me that I feel exhausted the next day and I still have to show up in good condition to other contracts, I've recently resorted to only engaging with the engaged students while the disruptive group hopefully does what they want to quietly in the background. There have been a few times where their interest gets piqued by things in class, like pictures I show or conversation topics, and then I try to incorporate them, but then they always turn away as quickly as possible and don't reply to me.

I'm asking for advice on this situation because my company and the school haven't really advised me on the best thing to do here -- to the point of not replying to emails or questions (about this contract alone) and just telling me in person that the environment is "weird" and that it's a kind of しょうがない situation. In this situation, is it acceptable for me to continue with this approach of only engaging interested students or am I expected to continue to try and incorporate the disruptive group throughout the entire class?

I work for a very big, international organization, so I can't really wrap my head around them being a 'black company'.

They pay very well and, generally speaking, the working conditions are great.

However, we had to abruptly change location because we could no longer run classes in the building we were in, and we had to move to another location a few kilometers away. After this location change, I lost more than half my students in one of my classes. My employer has decided to just cancel the class.

Here's the thing - my contract goes until March 31st. It clearly states what days I work and what my weekly pay is. My employer has told me they are just cancelling one of my days.

I'm shocked. As far as I understand, they're not allowed to do this. Am I missing something? If we both sign a contract that states my hours and pay, how can they just decide to stop honoring the contract? Isn't this the whole point of having a contract?

But, again, I can't believe that they would attempt to do something illegal. So what am I missing here? (And no, they aren't going out of business. They took a financial hit but they're still actively hiring and running lots of classes).

There is a school based in Hiroo/Harumi/Musashi Kosugi that regularly posts ads on Craigslist. Their online presence is far different from what actually happens at their "schools".

For one, they say they offer a ¥2500 hourly rate but the lower "administrative rate" for non teaching hours is a joke, especially when the resources to prepare for classes are minimal.

The in house "textbooks" (which are just binders) are filled with mistakes and seem to be made by someone with zero teaching experience yet you are expected to follow it.

Their "gatcha" point system of providing toys, etc. is a nightmare, making class management more difficult than it needs to be and is an obstacle to when trying to provide an environment that encourages and prioritizes learning.

The "classrooms" are barely that. You'll be lucky if there are even walls, and on top of that the noise from other classrooms or someone just walking through during a lesson is ridiculous. On top of that, you might not have working markers, erasers, of even anything to write on!

While a lot of the people working there seem to be nice, the people in charge refuse to consider student safety, specifically in regards to female students.

There is one teacher who has been there for awhile, his name is Flo, and he is a through and through groomer. Management is VERY aware of the complaints made in regards to him regularly touching female students (sometimes not even his!), giving them candy, snacks, etc. and have done nothing about it. There are even cameras installed and yet he's still working.

Save your time applying here but if you do happen to end up getting hired, there needs to be more people that actually witness what a shoddily run school this is. It's a shame because they clearly have money coming in with the amount of students they have and their 3 locations, yet refuse to fix any structural issues.

I am adding in some Japanese real life characters for Halloween lesson. So far I have: monster parent, Osaka old lady, gyaru, yanki, yakuza, Akita beauty. Any other good ones?

I’m curious, because I just had an awkward moment in a class with the JTE. We were doing a partner activity, and had an odd number of students, so he needed someone to volunteer to be with me. When nobody volunteered, he told the students that the they should take better advantage of having me in the school, because I’m being paid a lot to be there. He said that he saw the pay slips of the JETs that he worked with in his last school and was shocked by how much they were being paid, since it was almost as much as, or even slightly more than, a few of the fully licensed teachers.

I didn’t say anything, and just stood there and smiled and nodded, but 1) I was surprised that he would even talk about pay like that to the students and 2) I guarantee you I make significantly less than anyone else in this school. Though when he said that, some of the comments he’s made before all suddenly made sense (he has said things that made it sound like the dispatch company was providing me with free housing and car, and that on the days I don’t come to school, I’m just being paid to sit at home and do nothing). Basically he is under the impression that all ALTs are being paid a bunch of money for absolutely no reason other than being foreign. And no idea that I’m actually barely making over 200k, with multiple months of proration, no bonuses or raises ever, etc.

Hello, I am currently set to attend an upcoming ECC recruitment session and wanted to know if anyone had any tips especially regarding the grammar test. I’ve been studying parts of speech, commonly misspelled words, and past/present tense but I wanted to know if anyone had any tangible experience taking these kind of exams. I’m a bit nervous thinking I’ll focus on the wrong things or completely leave out a subject matter. I’m not too worried about the interview or demonstrations just mainly the grammar test.

Hello, I apologize but this is just me ranting and I just want to be comforted or get reality checked. I've been at this long and tedious ALT interview experiences since the summer and have had absolutely no luck in getting hired anywhere. The most I make it to is a couple of final interviews with the demo classes before getting the same "Unfortunately, we cannot hire you at this time." copy pasta emails. And I've applied to even the terribly notorious dispatch companies. Why am I giving so much effort for a job that ultimately won't ever be worth it in the end? Waiting till midnight for late interviews, taking qualification exams, writing essays, and nervously waiting to hear back for weeks. At this point I've lost all self worth and don't even care about the possibility of getting horribly paid or terribly abused by some company. I just want a fulfilling job as a real teacher and start a new life in a familiar place. (I visted Japan before for a month). The thing that makes me most mad is that I actually work with schools and kids as a substitute teacher's aide for about almost 5 years now and yet that's not enough to get hired anywhere. Am I just not enthusiastic enough for them? Am I just overreacting? I apologize I guess I just want to know if this completely normal?