Hi, I have applied for an hourly paid University position with the British Council in Tokyo. I’m curious to know if any of you fine people have insights on the position. What’s the content? Is it CLIL; similar to the adjunct teaching with Westgate; similar to ALT work in terms of your classroom presence? I know BC titles it’s roles as ‘project based’, but I think this is more inhouse jargon than anything else. Any insights very gratefull received.
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I know a little about the BC. Project based probably means you work focused on the university rather than the other things going on with the BC. It’s unlikely to be CLIL but rather some kind of discussion or general communication course. Very possibly IELTS. It won’t be ALT work unless it’s high school, which you say it isn’t.
I think the BC seems like a decent place to work but perhaps not without issues.
Buddy of mine worked for the British Council in Korea. As far as I know, courses followed the communicative approach. No complaints.
As for the project-based bit, I’d have to see the job posting to know for sure, but “project-based” may mean the work is a gig arrangement. How much work that entails will depend on what courses they need filling.
It could be something dinky like a 8 lesson conversation course, then god knows what until next year.
Or something substantial like a 3 classes a day, everyday, for a semester plus admin responsibilities with a clear expectation of renewal provided all goes well.
Basically, unless they tell you the specifics related to the gig, you’re not interviewing for a job. You’re applying to be approved by the English teaching equivalent of a temp agency.
My guess is they likely have X number of courses they need filling, they’ll interview a bunch of people, “hire” them, then offer up course(s) according to your availability and other factors (e.g., giving hot-shot/previous instructors priority, desire for potential subs, fear of putting all their eggs in one basket, etc.).
I’ve wondered this myself. I don’t really have a good impression of the British Council, to be honest.
“Project-based” is usually the term they use for gyomu-itaku contracts. That means you’re not a real employee, so you have no labor rights under labor law. Not a good position to be in, as it allows the company to get out of paying their fair share of your pension, health insurance, AND they don’t have to pay employment insurance, nor do they have to retain your services – you are basically done when the class you were hired for is over. Sneaky way of having their cake and eating it, too.
If you do get an interview, ask them some sharp questions. And come back and tell us how it goes. 🙂
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