Hello!
Seeing all of the bad experiences with getting hired (or trying to get hired) as an English teacher in Japan, it’s a bit disheartening. I’ve got a question or two to clear up some confusion for myself.
The standard for companies seems to be hiring someone who is from an English-speaking country, right? This makes sense as it’s easier for them to get a visa. Fewer bouts of headaches and uncertainties for both parties; The path of least resistance. Despite this, do employers actually prefer if someone’s just a native speaker or someone who is a bit more qualified to teach (or to “”teach””). Or does it even matter at all?
I’m from a random country in Europe. I’ll soon finish university, majoring in English with a specialization in teaching, and will be finishing up my TEFL by the time I would be work-ready. Despite not being from a country from the Anglo-sphere, I would qualify for a visa because of my BA related to English.
***So my question is the following:*** With these considered, would I still be disadvantaged in the rat race because I’m not from an English-speaking country? Or would I be a bit ahead for being considered because of my qualifications? Or perhaps none of this matters, as all that’s important is that I qualify for a visa? **What’s your experience?** Do you know of any non-anglo ALTs having to jump through hoops to even be considered?
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Thank you in advance for your input :\^)
7 comments
Most employers do prefer native speakers. This is prejudice. In general, people in Japan have the idea that native speakers are better than non-native speakers at teaching English. This is not true, of course. Scientific research shows that the teacher being a native speaker has little impact on students’ outcomes. But, the prejudice remains.
You will be at a disadvantage, I’m sorry to say. To qualify for an instructor visa (ALT jobs) you would need to have had 12 years of education in English. It sounds like you don’t have that, so you would be limited to eikaiwa jobs. You can certainly get a job doing that, but you absolutely will be at a disadvantage compared to those from English speaking countries. How much of a disadvantage will depend on exactly what country you are from, how non-English your name looks, your appearance, and your accent (if any).
Can only speak for myself, but I’m much more interested in your attitude and abilities than which country you grew up in. Actually in my experience, second language speakers tend to make better teachers provided their English is properly up-to-scratch.
I’m not sure if the big chains share my point of view though.
Having an Anglo sphere passport would be an advantage.
Unless you have the necessary years of education in the English language, you’re not going to qualify for the visa required to be an ALT.
Better look into eikaiwas instead. That being said, you’ll be behind both people locally (as you said, the less trouble in hiring someone, the better) and native speakers abroad (whether you’re more qualified than they are or not.)
All to get a job that may not pay as much as you need to enjoy your life while you’re here.
I would first ask you why you would want to teach in Japan, when you seem to understand that it’s not a professional teaching context for people who plan to make a career in ESL.
As a non-native, you could get a job but it’s likely the only places that would hire you would be the lower-tier eikaiwa who need to fill seats and can’t be too picky about it. The problem is that there is a lot of discrimination in hiring because, as mentioned, eikaiwa isn’t serious teaching but more of an entertainment industry, where they boost their image with pictures of blue-eyed blonde “native speakers.” The irony of course being that there are highly qualified teachers in the EU and other countries that are far more professional than your average random native who has no qualifications.
So yes, while you would be able to get a job, ask yourself first if you can tolerate having a know-nothing bureaucrat dictate to you how to teach, when you know what you’re being told you have to do is not only bad practice, but might even actively hold back the students’ progress. Then imagine getting paid slave wages and being treated like YOU are the incompetent one.
Think about that, and then make your decision.
Honestly, “non-natives” have a much better chance at landing university positions here, since universities don’t share the prejudices of language schools and care far more about qualifications and experience. Having said that, university positions are also far harder to get, because there are a lot of people who are already here competing for those jobs. These days you need an MA, several publications, and experience to get a foot in the door at that level.
all that matters is if you qualify for the visa and are down to being treated poorly
> Despite not being from a country from the Anglo-sphere, I would qualify for a visa because of my BA related to English.
No, you wouldn’t.