Are there more or less students at Eikaiwa these days?
I used to teach at an Eikaiwa in Japan before returning to my home country. Next year I am thinking to return back to Japan when the pandemic settles, and the school I worked for only pays if there are students to teach. So I am worried there would not be enough students to teach.
6 comments
Find a different school that pays a flat salary with a reasonable max number of weekly classes in the contract.
I’m Japanese but works at an international school. In a long run, you should get teaching certificate in your home country to find a better job. I don’t think Japanese eikaiwa school pays well. There are many international schools in Japan if you want to stay in Japan. Or JET program ? I remeber my friend in the US got full-time teaching job at highschool in Japan.. I don’t remember how he found it but it’s way more stable.
It’s hard to live in Japan with part time income and also language is hard learn.
Btw I’m not talking about ESL certificate but teaching certificate from University. Good luck !
> the school I worked for only pays if there are students to teach
This . . . does not sound like a good deal.
Student numbers are basically stable. There may be a slight general trend downward in line with the declining population and some increased competition from jukus. However, Eikaiwa continues to be either the most popular after school activity for children or the second most popular after swimming class.
Not all schools have weathered the pandemic equally well, a number of schools have closed or closed branches so I can’t say if the school you used to work at is still around or how their student numbers are now. Depending on how much they pay per class they might be an alright part time job but their payment system doesn’t sound like a good main gig.
Why would you even consider for one moment to work for such a company?
In the US, thousands of people are quitting shitty low-paying jobs that treat their workers like shit. As a result, these companies are being forced to pay workers more and treat them better.
Think on that.
Depends on the school/area/niche/business strategy.
One trend I think has been the fall in the number of adult students at eikaiwa, and the boom in English language preschools/kindergartens.