Brief context: I’m a non-native English speaker, read through dozens of recommended threads/FAQs in this subreddit and am aware of the innumerable problems I’ll have regarding trying to get a visa.
That said, I’d like to ask about two topics that I haven’t seen discussed much in all of these threads:
\- 1) Letter of Recommendation. I have a Japanese language exchange partner that I’ve talked to for over 100 hours this past year (half in English, half in Japanese). He is an English teacher in Japan with 40+ years of teaching under his belt. He is willing to write a letter of recommendation for me, emphasizing my linguistic and teaching abilities, my qualities and whatnot. Would such a letter be relevant for applying to teaching jobs? Do Japanese companies value having a fellow native who can swear by me? And, of course, does his letter hold more sway (if at all) in his prefecture/city of residence? Lastly, a bespoke letter for each company is basically impossible with the millions I’ll have to apply to, so is a generic one okay?
\- 2) Online Teaching Experience. I have taught languages for over 500 hours, but I hold no formal qualifications. It’s all online work (think Preply, italki, AmazingTalk etc.). As I am trilingual, I have taught my native language (Brazilian Portuguese), English and Japanese to many students and in many directions, so I have taught Japanese speakers the other two languages IN Japanese, or taught Japanese in English, as well as 100% English classes for more advanced speakers. All in all, all combinations you could think of. Is this kind of experience taken into account by the hiring companies?
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You can stop reading here and just discuss these topics, which I think are relevant for anyone looking for a job in the area, including natives.
As for my individual case, here are the details if anyone needs more context:
\- Cons: Non-native speaker, no teaching certificates, no WHV available for my country, residing overseas;
\- Pros: Native-like English (TOEFL to prove C2 level), JLPT N1, European-looking, (online) teaching experience. (And yeah, I have a Bachelor’s in some other field.)
There might be other jobs where I can use my language skills for – such as translation (some experience) and interpreting (no experience) -, but I also hold no formal qualifications for these, so I might as well go for education, which I enjoy the most.
8 comments
Do you have a degree from an accredited four year university? That’s the real gatekeeper as it is required by immigration.
Otherwise, places will work with you if they like you.
If anything you are over qualified sir haha.
Online platforms have no training or supervision of lessons, so there is nearly no quality control. New teachers need training, and they need supervision and observations to improve their teaching skills, so online teaching doesn’t qualify you for a professional visa.
A letter of recommendation would need to come from a current or former employer, because those people can attest to your work ethics.
I would say that if you love education and want to be a teacher, you should take a teacher training course. But you should also know that the only ESL training that has any meaning in Japan is an MA in TESOL (or similar). That will take you around 2-3 years to complete, which, when you think about it, is probably as much time as you invested in learning Japanese – not all that long; and quite doable.
**TLDR:** get a qualification.
As a fellow Brazilian (not Japanese descendant), your biggest problem right now is the lack of proper visa.
Can you find a teaching job with your qualifications? Yes, it’s very likely. But do keep in mind that “teaching” in Japan can mean many type of different jobs, with different requirements.
The competition right now is fiercy, and unless you are living here with a proper visa, your chances will be drastically low.
If you plan on marrying a a brazilian-japanese descendant (nisei/sansei), you are gonna get a long term residency status and you are gonna be free to work with anything you want.
If you plan on getting a work visa, I’d suggest you check brazilian schools in Japan. Alegria do Saber is one that comes to mind, but I don’t know their system or their job requirements.
Depend how well you can impress your interviewer.
In your case, id think your online teaching experience give the impression you’re good at talking and entertaining.
Jlpt is only relevant if you’re applying from overseas or applying for arubaito, but even then they interview you online thesedays anyway.
I’ve gotten last 2 jobs without writing Jlpt on my resume. last job was for a quality insurer position, and now im in an hr position. i found people with n1 can talk less than n2. i have n4 just to get in japan to study and nothing more.
Among Japanese people, I found that people who has more than 1 year overseas experience who have less than toeic 900 or eiken 1 could speak more fluently than those with top toeic/eiken scores but less than or no experience overseas. Thus making qualification obsolete for those competing for the same position.
Making your inverviewer smile and laugh leaves a bigger impression than looking at people’s written history these days. Make them think you know the job or at least some processes is a big seal approval for me at least.
> Would such a letter be relevant for applying to teaching jobs? Do Japanese companies value having a fellow native who can swear by me? And, of course, does his letter hold more sway (if at all) in his prefecture/city of residence?
IMO your main challenge will be getting a visa. If you can get one then a good referee won’t hurt. That said, I don’t think it’ll be a massive power move. More a ‘nice to know’ kinda thing once they know you can get a visa and have interviewed you successfully.
> Is this kind of experience [online experience] taken into account by the hiring companies?
Yes and no. ALT / eikaiwa gigs are entry-level and they’ll have methods that they want you to use (generally pretty non-negotiable). It can’t hurt and shows good commitment. However, I wouldn’t try to over-sell (for example) an assertion that you have proven methods that you can bring to the table as they’ll prefer to hear that you’re keen to learn. One red flag can be people who think they are awesome teachers so won’t listen to advice, or will give too many opinions about their established methods.
Sou brasileiro tbm mas estou no Japao (com visto de sansei, terceira geração). Tentei tres vezes vaga pra professor de ingles aqui, cheguei a fazer duas entrevistas online. O feedback que me passaram foi que, apesar de ter um bom nivel de ingles, a minha falta de experiencia na area comprometia muito. Obvio que ter o certificado já um plus, mas nao conte muito com isso, eles avaliam na entrevista se vc realmente consegue se comunicar bem. Acho que seria uma boa vc tentar dar aulas presenciais em alguma escola de ingles, tipo Wizard, ou alguma rede grande de escolas que tenha sedes aqui no Japão, com certeza vai valorizar muito seu curriculo.
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