Basically the title. I will be graduating from uni in Brazil at the end of the year and would like to spend 6 months to 1 year abroad once my degree is over. I am considering Japan because I hear that English teachers are in high demand and I would love to have a chance to experience what it is like living there for a few months (I am not interested in staying for more than that). I am worried that this will be extra hard or impossible for a non-native English speaker as they wouldn’t prioritize my application, so I thought I’d ask this community for help. Despite being Brazilian, I have lived in an English speaking country for over 3 years in the past and can communicate in English just as well as in Portuguese. I am sure I could pass any interviews/language tests they assign, but I need to get to that stage first. Another point in my favor is that I have experience as a language teacher and have even worked for a Japanese platform (Engoo) teaching English online.
If anyone here could share some insider knowledge and ideas to submit a successful application, I would be extremely grateful. Feel free to share tips and advice on doing an exchange in Japan as a Western/South American or your story if you have been in a similar situation.
Thanks!
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Teaching in Japan as a non-native English speaker**
Basically the title. I will be graduating from uni in Brazil at the end of the year and would like to spend 6 months to 1 year abroad once my degree is over. I am considering Japan because I hear that English teachers are in high demand and I would love to have a chance to experience what it is like living there for a few months (I am not interested in staying for more than that). I am worried that this will be extra hard or impossible for a non-native English speaker as they wouldn’t prioritize my application, so I thought I’d ask this community for help. Despite being Brazilian, I have lived in an English speaking country for over 3 years in the past and can communicate in English just as well as in Portuguese. I am sure I could pass any interviews/language tests they assign, but I need to get to that stage first. Another point in my favor is that I have experience as a language teacher and have even worked for a Japanese platform (Engoo) teaching English online.
If anyone here could share some insider knowledge and ideas to submit a successful application, I would be extremely grateful. Feel free to share tips and advice on doing an exchange in Japan as a Western/South American or your story if you have been in a similar situation.
Thanks!
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>I am worried that this will be extra hard or impossible for a non-native English speaker as they wouldn’t prioritize my application
It ***will*** be extra hard/impossible.
If you’re applying to be an ALT (English teacher in the public schools) you will be required to show that you’ve been educated in English for 12 years. Mind you: That’s not “I took English classes for 12 years”, that’s “I studied *all* of my subjects in English”. That is an immigration requirement for the visa, not a company requirement, so it’s non-negotiable.
Eikaiwa (private language school) teachers are not on the same visa and do not have the education requirement, but there’s some pretty heavy bias against non-native speakers in that industry so you’ll have a fair amount of trouble getting your foot in the door.
An alternative idea: There is a large Brazilian community in Japan, to the extent that there are several large networks of Brazilian schools. While I don’t know their visa requirements, I do know that they have English teachers on staff. [Escola Alegria de Saber](https://www.alegriadesaber.jp/) is probably the largest network. Might be worth checking out.
Near impossible.