Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone in this subreddit has attained a special license/特別免許 and were able to share their experience?
Just some background about me:
– I’m in my first year of ALT work in Gifu but intend on relocating to Saitama/Tokyo for ALT work.
– I have a relative who lives alone in Saitama that I would like to take care of, and I’m starting to have an interesting in English teaching, hence my initial curiosity about this license.
– I understand there are ALTs who are granted this license all over Japan and also that the school has to generally vouch for you, which seems difficult to get. Also generally you need 3 years’ experience in the field. So how competitive is it?
– I didn’t study education or have a masters, just some ESL teaching experience prior to ALTing.
– Do people who attain these licenses generally work at private schools? Do public schools not vouch ALTs for this license generally?
– I would like to teach English in JHS if my interest keeps up in the next few years.
I would also love to hear your experience!
TIA!
5 comments
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I have a special teaching license for English. I work at a private high school. I put in 5 years as an ALT at the school and learned about the license somewhere around 2015. The principal at that time was incredibly internationally focused and thought getting me the license was a great idea. The school had to do a lot of paperwork, I only had to do a health check, write an essay and interview at the prefectural board of education. The interview is more of a formality because the school vouching for you is the most important part.
Anyways, I received the license and from the 2016 school year I was taken off of 1-year renewable contracts and given the same contract as all other Japanese teachers in the school. The only real change that took place was that I started teaching alone, but even as an ALT I was doing all the lesson planning and hardly ever used the JET. The license helped me a ton by turning my job into an actual career option. In terms of qualifications…several years of experience, a TESOL/CELTA certificate, and a good reputation in the school are enough.
Apparently I am the first person in Saitama prefecture to ever be awarded the license for English. My principal said when he contacted the board of education that they had to research what he was talking about. I told two other friends about the license and they both have them now. One is my coworker and the other works for a public high school with an IB program.
I work at a private school and have one in Hiroshima. The school helped and I need to renew it every three years. It is subject specific. We are an IB school
I got one a few years ago. Private school in Hiroshima. I know quite a few people at both public and private schools here who have one.
I am not sure if its the same as a special license but I know a few people who got hired through different prefectures. They are full time koumin, job for life as an English teacher thing. They have clubs. homeroom, inkai etc. They also can be sent to any school like any other English teacher. I think the requirements is three years working in the education field which an ALT counts as. The interview process can be kinda rough, have to have really good Japanese. Their background in education is mixed, some have education backgrounds, others just had ALT work