SoupNazi
2004-12-10, 05:24 AM
Hello people. I have debated and deliberated the whole idea of where I should go with my degree and desire to pay off school debt (groan...) for some time now. Too bad for me, I hadn't come across this site yet, as it seems to offer one of the better forums for this.
Right now, I have determined that the two best markets in the ESL industry are South Korea and Japan. Initially, I thought Japan would be the better of the two, as I heard many negatives about S. Korea. However, I don't have a fetish for the Japanese experience that a lot of people seem to have.
After many online applications to employers based in Japan, I concluded that it is an very difficult market to find work in, and the first question that came to my mind is, "Why"? Sixty applications later, I got about three inquisitors and one job offer. That one job offer doesn't seem to rosey to me, though. There are some parts of the work summary that I feel are (ahem) odd. It will be interesting to see if anyone else agrees. I will just post the details of it here:
"Working Conditions & Services
1.Working hours from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday with a one hour lunch break (this lunch break may not be at 12pm e.g. 1pm to 2pm depending on lessons) if you have no lesson you are free to leave the building & all classes are taught at our schools as we don’t teach outside classes e.g. company classes. Note: If your first class does not start until 1pm you only have to arrive at ****15 minutes before your lesson(e.g. if you have a lesson at 2:00pm, you must arrive at **** before 1:45pm)
2.The weekly day off is Sunday (You will have one Sunday-Monday two-day consecutive holiday every month after working for 3 months)
3.Potential holidays can be arranged after a period of 6 months e.g. short holidays
4.Wages are per month & you will receive \230,000 as a monthly retainer, which means you, will receive that amount per month but it is possible to earn more than that with a high number of lessons. After three months your retainer will increase to \ 250,000 also a monthly transportation fee of \5,000 is on top of your wage to help cover any train & bus fees etc. If you are only interested in a part time position we can discuss working hours & a suitable retainer
5.Apartment(working at Niigata only): We will provide an apartment for you at your expense & **** will pay all the sign up fees involved in renting a suitable apartment. It will be your responsibility to pay all the monthly fees such as gas, water, power, apartment rental, electric appliances and furniture.
6.Work Visa: **** will provide a work visa for you that can be extended each year. We will require the following documents from you before we can process a visa: Resume, 2 x passport size photo’s and your last educational certificate (This cert must be the original not a photocopy)
7.Any references from previous employers
8.A letter explaining why you would like to work in Japan teaching English and your future plans
9.A telephone interview is also required if hiring from overseas
10.After receiving your resume, your letter & speaking with you we will then inform you of our decision within one week
1１．Any teachers employed by **** must follow our school guidelines & teaching policy
as this is important to our company & the success of our schools.
Main Object of **** private lessons are:
・ The best quality of lessons: by offering 1 on 1 private lesson so we can help them improve their English/French level the most efficient way, teacher can give each student 100% attention, students are able to choose the kind of lessons they would like e.g. grammar, free talking, TOEIC, travel English, business English
・ Let students speak, listen and do some exercises in the class and give them homework to build up their Grammar, vocabulary and confidence
・ Reasonable tuition fee: compared to other schools, we offer students private lessons at the same price as the other schools group lessons.
・ Flexible schedule: students can choose anytime they want and they can change and move their lessons as we have flexible school rules.
Teacher’s role
・ Serve students coffee or tea before the lesson
・ The teacher must arrive 15 minutes before the lesson starts
・ Teacher gives students 55 minutes lesson
・ To ask the students what type of lesson they would like e.g. following a text book or free talking etc
・ To give each student regular homework suitable for their level
・ Bring students to the counter to let them make a booking for next lesson
・ See students off and if you are around the lobby open the door for them
・ Even if students are not your students it is recommended to say “hello” or “konnichiwa” “goodbye” or ”otsukaresama” to them and open the door for them when they leave
・ To greet students with an energetic voice this is how we express our feeling and welcome students to our school this is also **** policy"
That's it in a nutshell. What do you people think about it? I look over it and think, "God, this is going to cost a lot of money to get set up! I can't afford this!" Airfare..., big rent.., utilities..., furnishings..., on and on. Also, I have learned that Japan is the most expensive country in the world to live in. This is the antithesis of what the S. Koreans are willing to do and pay to get teachers over there. The way it stands now, I figure I can only bring under $1700 US with me. Japan is out of the question isn't it? What about getting an advance from the employer on the paycheque?
Anyway, I was wanting to confirm my doubts about Japan. Yet I am still curious as to why so many flock to Japan when there are seemingly greener pastures (in terms of dollar bills) for ESL teachers.
Right now, I have determined that the two best markets in the ESL industry are South Korea and Japan. Initially, I thought Japan would be the better of the two, as I heard many negatives about S. Korea. However, I don't have a fetish for the Japanese experience that a lot of people seem to have.
After many online applications to employers based in Japan, I concluded that it is an very difficult market to find work in, and the first question that came to my mind is, "Why"? Sixty applications later, I got about three inquisitors and one job offer. That one job offer doesn't seem to rosey to me, though. There are some parts of the work summary that I feel are (ahem) odd. It will be interesting to see if anyone else agrees. I will just post the details of it here:
"Working Conditions & Services
1.Working hours from 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday with a one hour lunch break (this lunch break may not be at 12pm e.g. 1pm to 2pm depending on lessons) if you have no lesson you are free to leave the building & all classes are taught at our schools as we don’t teach outside classes e.g. company classes. Note: If your first class does not start until 1pm you only have to arrive at ****15 minutes before your lesson(e.g. if you have a lesson at 2:00pm, you must arrive at **** before 1:45pm)
2.The weekly day off is Sunday (You will have one Sunday-Monday two-day consecutive holiday every month after working for 3 months)
3.Potential holidays can be arranged after a period of 6 months e.g. short holidays
4.Wages are per month & you will receive \230,000 as a monthly retainer, which means you, will receive that amount per month but it is possible to earn more than that with a high number of lessons. After three months your retainer will increase to \ 250,000 also a monthly transportation fee of \5,000 is on top of your wage to help cover any train & bus fees etc. If you are only interested in a part time position we can discuss working hours & a suitable retainer
5.Apartment(working at Niigata only): We will provide an apartment for you at your expense & **** will pay all the sign up fees involved in renting a suitable apartment. It will be your responsibility to pay all the monthly fees such as gas, water, power, apartment rental, electric appliances and furniture.
6.Work Visa: **** will provide a work visa for you that can be extended each year. We will require the following documents from you before we can process a visa: Resume, 2 x passport size photo’s and your last educational certificate (This cert must be the original not a photocopy)
7.Any references from previous employers
8.A letter explaining why you would like to work in Japan teaching English and your future plans
9.A telephone interview is also required if hiring from overseas
10.After receiving your resume, your letter & speaking with you we will then inform you of our decision within one week
1１．Any teachers employed by **** must follow our school guidelines & teaching policy
as this is important to our company & the success of our schools.
Main Object of **** private lessons are:
・ The best quality of lessons: by offering 1 on 1 private lesson so we can help them improve their English/French level the most efficient way, teacher can give each student 100% attention, students are able to choose the kind of lessons they would like e.g. grammar, free talking, TOEIC, travel English, business English
・ Let students speak, listen and do some exercises in the class and give them homework to build up their Grammar, vocabulary and confidence
・ Reasonable tuition fee: compared to other schools, we offer students private lessons at the same price as the other schools group lessons.
・ Flexible schedule: students can choose anytime they want and they can change and move their lessons as we have flexible school rules.
Teacher’s role
・ Serve students coffee or tea before the lesson
・ The teacher must arrive 15 minutes before the lesson starts
・ Teacher gives students 55 minutes lesson
・ To ask the students what type of lesson they would like e.g. following a text book or free talking etc
・ To give each student regular homework suitable for their level
・ Bring students to the counter to let them make a booking for next lesson
・ See students off and if you are around the lobby open the door for them
・ Even if students are not your students it is recommended to say “hello” or “konnichiwa” “goodbye” or ”otsukaresama” to them and open the door for them when they leave
・ To greet students with an energetic voice this is how we express our feeling and welcome students to our school this is also **** policy"
That's it in a nutshell. What do you people think about it? I look over it and think, "God, this is going to cost a lot of money to get set up! I can't afford this!" Airfare..., big rent.., utilities..., furnishings..., on and on. Also, I have learned that Japan is the most expensive country in the world to live in. This is the antithesis of what the S. Koreans are willing to do and pay to get teachers over there. The way it stands now, I figure I can only bring under $1700 US with me. Japan is out of the question isn't it? What about getting an advance from the employer on the paycheque?
Anyway, I was wanting to confirm my doubts about Japan. Yet I am still curious as to why so many flock to Japan when there are seemingly greener pastures (in terms of dollar bills) for ESL teachers.