I’m nearly fluent in Japanese, as it’s my first language, and I go back fairly often. I’m not sure how qualified this makes me in the aspect of the language.
I want to teach in either early education (with itty bitties, 2-5ish, but not opposed to early elementary) or in childcare.
As college is super expensive, I’m wondering how necessary a bachelor’s would be. I’m considering an associates in either Japanese or teaching/childcare something in that line.
I’m hearing about people working with an associates, and some saying that it wont take you far.
What’s the best course of action?
4 comments
Being able to speak a language =/= being able to teach a language, if that weren’t the case there’d be no need for licenses and degrees to do it.
So essentially you’re looking at a few fields of education/qualification if you want to be an actual teacher in an actual school as a career. Firstly would be early childhood education, and a BA would likely be enough here plus your language ability. Second would be early childhood education within SLA (second language acquisition), which can be approached from a variety of directions. Those would also be BA’s and maybe a master’s or certification. If you just want to do childcare and something like a daycare, that’s far more accessible and you wouldn’t need any subject expertise outside of childcare.
If you’re a citizen, you might be able to get a legit job with some experience and a lesser degree, but if you’re not, you’ll need a BA just to be in the country. Either way, without legit credentials you won’t be allowed to do nearly as much, and your responsibilities/career potential would be quite limited.
You don’t need a bachelor’s to be a 保育園 teacher. I’m positive it’s something like a certified degree (associates, maybe?). This is in japan at least.. You didn’t specifically say in your post.
If you’re native and want to work in japan, I would start looking at programs there. (edit: this is a teaching in japan subreddit! Hah. So you absolutely need some type of schooling, but it is not a full bachelor’s as far as I know)
Being bilingual in thr US will not really help with this age group unless you find an immersion program (which I have never heard of for pre-k). In the states, you don’t need a degree in most states, but laws and credits differ based on state laws. I’d start looking into your state’s requirements on a government website.
Salaries for daycare workers are pretty low so I wouldn’t give them any excuses to pay you less especially if you are looking to be hired as Japanese staff (their English level can be pretty high too). You would want a degree in early childhood education at the very least so you aren’t absolute bottom tier. Without that you may not be able to be alone on a shift.
Go to Hello Work and inquire about courses. They have an Early Childhood Worker 2 year course