Teach English in Japan

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My S is graduating from college and is interested in teaching English in Japan for a year. Do any of you know of programs which recruit college grads to do this? He does not have foreign language experience, teaching background, or
travel abroad experience. However he is very social, friendly, and adventuresome. He majored in film production and will probably look for jobs in the field in a year or two but first he wants to do something different before settling down. He was not accepted into the well known JET program but is exploring other programs (on the Internet) but will need to obtain references from them. Any suggestions or info on other programs – especially first hand knowledge – would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Here is one my son interviewed for, but did not make the final cut: <a href=“http://www.aeonet.com/aeon_index.php[/url]”>http://www.aeonet.com/aeon_index.php&lt;/a&gt; It seems like a good program, and pay is similar to JET. My son is scheduled for an interview with JET in a couple weeks and is really hoping to make it. He graduated with a BA in Japanese, and he did study in Japan for a year through his college, so does have an advantage. However, I know the Aeon program does not require knowledge of Japanese, although it highly recommends that their teachers study the language while over there.</p>

<p>Good luck to your son!</p>

3

<p>I don’t know if WorldTeach (based at Harvard) or Volunteers in Asia (based at Stanford) send students to Japan, but it is worth looking into them.</p>

4

<p>Here is a link to the State Department site with regard to teaching overseas. If you surf around it you may be able find some useful info.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/c16899.htm[/url]”>http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/c16899.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

5

<p>Thank you everyone for your suggestions.</p>

6

<p>The school where I work hires interns every year to “help out.” They don’t make much but have room and board, travel expenses and a salary and they get to live and work overseas straight out of college. They usually do after school activities, sports or the like. They must like it since they keep coming and some stay and are given the opportunity to work in the classroom to discover if they want to go into teaching or not. Most end up going off to graduate school after a couple of years. We’ve had graduates of Harvard, Haveford, UVA, a SUNY school, Middlebury to name a few. Many international schools are doing this: it is good for everyone since the “young ones” bring in a lot of energy and the high school students love them. I would imagine this may be happening in the international schools in Japan. I think our interns are hired by way of a program set up in Cambridge, Ma and takes place at Harvard.</p>

7

<p>P.S. The hiring for these positions for next year is just beginning.</p>

8

<p>He should also look into doing it independently. My brother taught English in eastern Europe right after graduating college, and I do not believe he had any program (and he didn’t speak the language!). </p>

<p>It was a great experience, though. He went with a couple of his friends, and he ended up staying for about five years and marrying a wonderful girl there. They are now happy in the US with a baby girl. His best friend who went with him did the exact same thing. Today, one is a doctor and the other is a lawyer. Something like this has the ability to really shape his life.</p>

9

<p>Overseas, I think you are thinking of WorldTeach, which is run through the Kennedy School at Harvard.</p>