Becoming a T1 English teacher at a public JHS/HS

5 comments

1. You have to graduate from a Japanese university’s education program (full 4-year course, there is no year long certificate course) or you can find a school willing to apply for a special license for you.

2. If you haven’t graduated from a Japanese university, you will almost certainly have to as u/NanpaGrandpa points out. (Or find somewhere willing to apply for a special license)

   You want to search for 教育課程　英語 (or whatever subject you wish.)

   Rather than quitting your current job, you may want to research correspondence (通信) options. Nichidai is one viable option.

   It is worth noting that even if you get the license, you will still need to pass whichever prefecture’s licensing test / interview process. It is worth mentioning that you will only even be able to be hired as a permanent instructor, not a “教諭” / kyoyu teacher (which requires nationality). In practice, there isn’t any major downside to this, but does exclude you from certain promotions/positions of power.

   Of course there is also the option of being hired at a private school.

   In many cases, having greater than N1 Japanese (and the ability to deal with parents, handle school admin work) will be required. (Though some private schools look for less and are happy with high English ability / skill.)

   Also worth noting that some places (Osaka, Hiroshima) have programs in place to hire native-level English speakers and place them in T1 roles within the school system via the special license system.

3. There is a law which allows 3 years’ experience in the education field to qualify you for a license/ job. A few kens are hiring native teachers under this law and it comes with all the benefits and responsibilities of as a normal full time koumin with a lifetime contract, homeroom, clubs etc.. Normally requires high level of Japanese, though this is mostly for the interview process and they do not really look at certs like n1. Though you will expected to be able to deal with things like distraught angry parent over the phone. Deal with paperwork both producing and reading at a high level (like the sheets you see everyday on your desk) and a bunch of other stuff. You will also probably have to take an English test or TOEIC, another one, or an inhouse one. Even if you are a native speaker. You will also be treated like Japanese staff with no coddling which has its ups and downs.

4. You got some good advice here.

   Another route is getting your Japanese level up to N2 or N1. Then apply to private high schools that support you to get a 特別免許 to teach solo. Not all private high schools in all prefectures do this. To make yourself a good candidate, you could do an MA TESOL. If you’d like to ease your way in, CELTA, CertTESOL or DipTESOL are good foundations before you commit to an MA. Maybe someone else can confirm that DipTESOL (and DELTA) are recognized as advanced credit towards some MA TESOL programs in the UK.

5. Just come work for the Hiroshima BoE for 3 years in any capacity, and that will make you eligible to apply for the Global Initiative Program where you can become a fully licensed public school teacher.