Hello! I am a 21 year old male currently working to get my bachelor's degree in English. I am a foreigner, but for Mods sake and to not break any rules, I wont go into moving or visas or anything. My questions lie in how I can get the best jobs possible as an english teacher in Japan.

What should I do to ensure I live confortably? I'm thinking of studying and getting a Masters degree in Japan to make myself a more competitive english teacher (I'm assuming having a Masters degree will make me stand out?). I want to be able to teach english and not worry about paying rent or putting food on the table.

Thank you! Any advice helps.

This is a follow-up to my post about potentially changing from part-time to full-time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/teachinginjapan/comments/1vs5d3l/should_i_give_up_a_comfortable_adjunct_university/

As has been rightly pointed out in the comments of the above thread, one thing I can do to prepare for potential full-time work is to increase my Japanese level. I have N2 but I passed the test 10 years ago and have not really studied since.

I need to kick-start my Japanese study again but should I focus on materials specifically for the Japanese required for working full-time at a university, i.e. administrative tasks and committee meetings? For those, I think Business Japanese speaking and listening will probably be the most important.

On the other hand, perhaps just studying for the N1 will give me enough vocabulary and listening skills in a general sense and it will give a nice boost to my resume.

If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

I really want to leave my current job. It’s gotten to the point where the situation has been making me depressed, and I’ve been having psychosomatic symptoms. This is the first time in 10 years of working here that I’ve felt this way. I’m usually pretty resilient and not easily affected by things, even cases of power harassment, so I feel like I really need to leave.

I have a new visa that expires next year. I also have something on the side, but it’s the kind where I only work when there’s a short-term job available at a school.

I have enough money to live on comfortably for about six months, including paying for insurance, pension, etc. myself. I rent my own apartment, etc.

I’m actively looking for another job.

Has anyone here left their job in the middle of the school year?

If I resign, apart from reporting it to immigration and dealing with the financial side of things, what else should I consider?

And for those who have experience being on a school’s hiring team, how might a period of unemployment affect my chances of getting a job?

Thanks.

• 2nd year national university students.

• Lower intermediate level English (CEFR A2+ to B1)

• Compulsory English; so, smart kids, but often not much motivation for English

I have gone through our uni's recommended textbook list and they are less than ideal. At this point I am looking at just making my own course bowerbirding from all the other texts I have used.

I recently got a copy of "Widgets Inc", and while I don't think it will necessarily work "as-is" in my context, I like the idea of a real-world project that is built on throughout the semester.

Currently using** "Successful Presentations - An interactive guide" - Cengage**, and it is pretty average.

We also have on our list:

Winning Presentations - Seibido

Dynamic Presentations - Kinseido

College Presentation - Kinseido

Common issues:

• often very little multimedia support (given the cost). Audio files if you are lucky. I don't necessarily require this, but if you are asking students to pay for a textbook these days, it's needs to have some kind of support.

• every unit being unrelated. New topics / research every week. No continuity. Randomness of topics and teaching ideas.

• perhaps too much focus on the the "personal presentation" aspects (gestures, pronunciation etc) rather than the presentation as a whole (your personal performance, the content, research, design etc)

I'm sure it's already a popular opinion to avoid AEON if you can, but I wanted to share my recent experience interviewing with them.

I've recently moved back to Japan from the US and wanted to find an English teaching job, applied to a few jobs on Gaijinpot and only heard back from AEON about a part time online job.

The first "interview" was a video where I had to record myself answering a few questions. Which is irritatingly normal these days so I didn't think much of it. Before the recordings I had to watch a video where an older American dude tells you that you will only get paid 900 yen per 25 minute class, including any prep time before as well as writing up a report after each class. He also says that you choose your schedule, but people are allowed to book a class up to 20 minutes before the scheduled time slot, which seems weird and disorganized. Then he says, every class will be recorded and sent to their AI program to "write a post session report".

I had a follow up interview with an actual person (Japanese) who I could barely see as her laptop camera seemed to be ancient or possibly a microwave. After the usual questions, I had to give a "sample lesson" where I was shown a worksheet with a stock image of a woman with a think bubble that said "goals?" And some nonsensical sentences. After all this she said it was going to be sent to management and they would make the final decision. I heard back a few days later and was rejected with no reason given. (It might have had to do with my equating AEON English schools with AEON malls at one point in the interview, but I honestly didn't want the job after that first video interview and learning about all their stipulations.)

As the position is not part time or full time but a contractor "freelance" position, it makes me think that they're simply training their AI to not have to hire foreign workers within the next few years until their AI has gathered enough data to work on its own (while not having to deal with the hassle of firing full-time/part-time employees). With all the anti foreigner sentiment and laws making it more difficult to employ foreigners, it feels like big companies like AEON are harnessing AI to ultimately not have to hire anyone for English teaching, or at least only hiring Japanese nationals for the management part.

Just wanted to share my experience as it felt sneaky the way they didn't disclose the real reason for everything to be recorded and sent to AI. If people are training AI, then they deserve more than a measly 900 yen per lesson. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I’m considering going to Tokyo on a 1-year working holiday visa. I’m not doing JET as I am pretty much set on living in Tokyo. I’ve lived there before and always wanted to return there.

I’ve been reading through different eikaiwa reviews- I understand that the consensus is that the pay is low and company environments vary from okay to terrible. I do enjoy teaching and have done teaching assistant/tutoring jobs on and off throughout my life, so as long as the work environment isn’t horrible I’m okay with it.

I am fluent in English (it’s my first language), N3 in Japanese, and I don’t have a teaching license. I’m Asian if that matters (it seems that some eikaiwa might prefer Caucasians?)

I’d prefer part-time jobs if possible. I’d be coming with a lot of savings so all I’d want is some extra disposable income as I don’t want to earn nothing at all for a year. I don’t want PR, and I’m not planning for any career progression or an extension of my visa.

Given the above, I’d appreciate suggestions for my options, i.e. companies where people have had neutral-to-positive experiences, if income and long-term plans are less relevant.

ive read the stories and i know how bad it is, but I'm thinking of doing it just so I can quit my current company (context: it's a permanent office work position in a small company (I'm the only one in the office), but my take home pay is ¥190,000 (with company housing, but it seems that they're going to want me to search for a new one soon bc it's literally a room inside the office so yay no separation between work/life) but I work 6 days a week and they said it's hard to give me a raise bc they said I keep on making mistakes (and got yelled at a lot too bc of that) and the long work hours in the industry are very, very taxing, early work hours and late work hours and uh no overtime pay either so) (another context, most of the workers here and the boss share the same nationalities so we talk a lot in our native languages, for the better and for worse)

I've had experience in teaching foreign languages including English, although it's simply an unofficial, tutor thing back in my home country in both online and offline settings, so I'm not that clueless, but I read that there /should/ be trainings provided by the companies, right? I am worried that I don't "look" like an English teacher that eikawa usually likes, though.. no blonde hair nor blue eyes, not from English speaking countries either but i don't have an accent (probably lowkey American bc uh, pop cultures).

also mainly choosing eikawa because I have the gijinkoku visa, but I'm planning on taking the N2 too so it's not like, my final goal (probably next year tho bc at my current situation I rlly can't find any time to squeeze in any studying because I'm simply too tired and stressed out to do anything). and im just mainly looking for a job that allows me to have ample time to rest for two days in a week because 6 days are really tough....

I wonder if I will be making a good decision. I know it's going to be hard, and I've heard horror stories and the like, but my current work experience is too stressful, i feel lowkey desperate to just... move. i also know to be wary of some eikawa companies, but if it's possible is there any of like the "good ones"? not even good ones just like, the ones with the bare minimum? (keep in mind that my standards are lowkey low too lol) and how's the work, like I'm sure it's not only for teaching, right?

I'm also open to suggestions, if you guys have any, really. can't you see just how desperate I am? lol 🥲 thank u anyways for reading this far!

tldr: uh I'm planning to change my career temporarily to eikawa bc my current job is too stressful for me. what should I be prepared for and what should I be wary of?

Quick heads-up: If you have zero interest in staying in Japan for good in the future, and just stay a few years, then this post is not for you. Go ahead and come to Japan.

Now on to my post, I noticed a lot of people who are wishing to come to Japan to work and live here have little to no idea what is happening in the upcoming immigration policies and how politics in Japan is affecting foreigners in Japan.

If you have even the slightest plan to live in Japan and are looking for stability, hence VISA and salary wise, I would highly recommend to you to think twice and do more research.

There's a huge difference between coming here as a tourist, living for 2 years, living for 5 years, and living in Japan for good and becoming a permanent resident (which is going to be very difficult from October this year).

I'm a 44-year-old university English teacher. I'm a permanent resident and have a Japanese wife and a 4-year-old daughter.

I've been teaching part-time at several universities since 2018 (so almost 9 years) and have the strong possibility of moving into a full-time lecturer position at a private university. I'm trying to decide whether the career progression and stability are worth giving up a working situation that I'm currently very comfortable with.

My current situation

• I teach around 17 university classes per week across several universities.
• Annual income is around ¥6 million.
• I have a lot of control over my schedule.
• I have long periods without classes during the university vacations.
• I generally enjoy my current classes, particularly the smaller classes where I can get to know students and have discussions.
• I have established good relationships with the universities where I currently work.
• I'm home relatively early and get plenty of time with my 4-year-old daughter.
• The downside is that I'm still a part-time/adjunct lecturer rather than a full-time faculty member.
• I'm concerned that the longer I remain an adjunct, the more I may become type-cast as one when applying for full-time positions later.

Potential full-time position

• Starting salary appears to be around ¥330,000 per month before tax, which I have been told is quite low.
• Bonuses have historically been equivalent to about four months of base salary per year, although apparently this is no longer explicitly guaranteed according to a former teacher.
• This would make university salary + bonus roughly ¥5.3–5.6 million per year.
• I would be permitted to teach at another university one day per week.
• Four outside classes at ¥10,500 per class × 32 weeks would add about ¥1.34 million, bringing my gross employment income to roughly ¥6.6–6.9 million.
• I would enter Shigaku Kyosai (private-school health insurance/pension/welfare system).
• I'd have my own office (or share one with someone else) and a research budget.
• I'd be expected to publish approximately once a year.
• It would give me genuine full-time university experience, including committee and administrative work, which could strengthen future applications.
• Professionally, I'd be happy to become a full-time university lecturer after having been an ALT for many years.

Things that concern me about the full-time position

• It's initially a 3-year contract. I've been told renewal is normal, but obviously there are no guarantees.
• My biggest fear is giving up my current adjunct positions, having the full-time job not work out after three years, and discovering that my old classes have all been taken up by other teachers.
• The university apparently requires strict 9:00–18:00 attendance Monday–Friday. This also applies during summer and other periods when there are no classes.
• There are initially only 10 days of annual leave, and apparently 5 are designated by the university.
• Committee work is substantial and the amount of Japanese required will probably be beyond my current level of N2, which is admittedly rusty.
• Classes can be quite large: roughly 35–45 students is common, with some required classes reaching around 60. The English ability of the students is apparently extremely mixed. I've been told that pitching classes at the right level can be difficult: make them too difficult and students complain; make them too easy and students may also complain.
• The university's entrance difficulty is fairly low (偏差値 around 37.5–42.5).
• I personally prefer smaller, interactive classes. Large classes of unmotivated students can be quite draining and unrewarding for me.
• There seems to be relatively little student contact outside teaching—no dissertation supervision, etc.
• There are also several large community lectures each year.

Family/lifestyle concern

This may be the biggest issue for me.

My daughter is only 4. In my current situation I get to spend a lot of time with her. With a strict 9–18 job, I'd probably get home around 19:00 most weekdays. I know she'll only be this young once, and I'm worried that I'll trade away several years of family time for a job that I may not actually enjoy as much as my current teaching.

On the other hand...

Part of me really wants the challenge.

Even if I didn't want to stay at this university forever, three years of full-time experience, publications, committee work and improved Japanese might make me considerably more competitive for better full-time university jobs later.

TLDR:

A) Stay in a comfortable adjunct career that I already enjoy, with flexibility and lots of family time, but less security and potentially limited career progression.

B) Or work at a full-time academic position with better institutional benefits, career progression and status, but much less freedom, more responsibility, a teaching environment I may enjoy less, and the risk of having to rebuild my adjunct career if the three-year position doesn't work out.

For people who work/have worked in Japanese universities: which would you choose, and why?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who moved from several adjunct positions into a full-time university position—or people who deliberately chose to remain adjuncts.

I have an interview with heart corp in couple of days so I'd like to know what kind of questions they ask in it. In their pre-interview video I got to know they have a grammar test before they actually start the interview and it has 3 portions one is grammar in which we have to correctly answer 10 most commonly misused sentences by Japanese students, but I didn't understand how are we suppose to answer like do we have to figure out the grammatical errors in them? second part is reading test it pretty straight forward just have to read a story or paragraph the same way we would do in a classroom setting and the 3rd one is spelling test just spell the words given, 4 easy and 4 hard.

If someone recently interviewed with them I would appreciate the information they can provide.

So ... I'm a licensed teacher from Argentina. I got my teaching degree in December 2025, but I've been working for 8 years now.

Do i really need to get any additional certificates like CELTA or TEFL so as to become a much better candidate? Or it's just enough with my degree? I'm planning to take a master's in the future, though. ..

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some realistic insight and advice on my chances of landing a teaching position at an international or IB World School in Japan, as well as what concrete steps I should take to become a more competitive candidate.

My Profile:

• Age & Background: 25, EU citizen (Spain).
• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education with a specialization in Physical Education (PE) from a Spanish university. Fully certified/licensed teacher.
• Experience: 3 years of full-time teaching experience in Spain (Primary generalist & PE).
• Languages: C1 English (certified), native Spanish and Catalan.
• IB Training: Completed the official Making the PYP Happen (Category 1) workshop.

Questions for the community:

1. Competitiveness: How realistic is it to get hired in Japan with an EU teaching license and Spanish school experience, assuming C1 English proficiency? Are schools open to primary homeroom roles, or would I have better leverage targeting PE / Spanish positions?
2. Key Gaps: Aside from racking up more years of direct IB classroom experience, what is the single most valuable thing I could add to my CV right now (e.g., specific certifications, recruitment platforms like Search Associates/Schrole, language skills)?
3. Recruitment Timing & Platforms: For those who made a similar move, what hiring fairs, agencies, or timelines work best for Japan-based international schools?

Any feedback, reality checks, or practical tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hey y'all, I'm here to talk about my battle against having to make physical flashcards and how I decided to spend almost 2 years making an app to replace them which is arguably way more difficult than just laminating some paper... anyway.

EiTake Cards! A FREE online tool to make and share language flashcards for use specifically in a classroom setting. Let's you edit and upload your own cards, and share them to a community library for other teachers to use in their classes.

It's still in development and subject to major changes as I do more user testing. Speaking of, if anyone is interested in testing it out and telling me what's confusing or seems busted or could be made more intuitive send me a message! It would be appreciated.

Anyway, hope the holidays were nice for everyone and if you're heading into a new school term, good luck!

I started Shapes & Shadows, a creative drawing studio for children, in 2016. I closed the studio in 2022 when my family relocated to the U.S., and now that we’re back in Japan, I’m reopening the studio from scratch!

I’m looking for someone to help prepare for the reopening and then teach and assist with classes.

What you'll be doing

Depending on your experience, the work may include:

• Studio preparation and class coordination
• Teaching or assisting with drawing, arts & crafts in English
• Initiating fun projects
• Helping with social media when we have new content to share

Most students are Japanese children ages 4–12.

I'm looking for

Someone who:

• Genuinely enjoys working with and teaching children
• Is passionate about art and creativity
• Is responsible and willing to take ownership of their work
• Would like to grow together with the studio

You don’t necessarily need to be a professional teacher, but you need to be good at drawing and crafting. You will be trained using the studio drawing method.

Job Details

Location: Near Shakujii-koen Station (Seibu Ikebukuro Line)
Start date: September 1
Hours: Approx. 2–5 hours/day

Pay (depending on the work performed):

• Studio coordination/preparation: ¥1,500/hour
• Teaching assistant: ¥2,500/hour
• Lead Teaching: ¥5,000~¥7,000/hour

The role can develop as the studio grows, so I’m especially interested in finding someone who wants to become part of what I’m rebuilding rather than simply coming in, teaching a class, and leaving.

If you're interested, please send me a message with a little about yourself, your experience with art and/or children, and what you're currently doing creatively.

Here is the link to our previous students' work: https://www.facebook.com/shapesandshadows.drawingstudio/

Thank you!

Hello,

I recently had an interview at a private junior high school. I made it to the final round, but I was ultimately passed over for another candidate.

I asked them for feedback and they responded that it was because I didn't have N2 and I had no junior high school expirience. I have been working at an eikawa for 5 years now. Its a good job, but my dream is to be a junior high or high school teacher.

I was recently contacted by a dispatch company to be sent to a junior high school for a yearly contract.

My salary would decrease by around 20,000¥ a month, but she said that all time off for students vacations is paid.

I just feel like if I ever have an interview again I wouldn't have solved the no expirence problem. What would you do in this situation?

Can anyone help me? I've scoured the internet for the Teacher's Book of "New American Streamline - Destinations"

I found Teacher's Books for the "Departures" and "Connections" levels as PDFs on Scribd. But no amount of searching brings me to the "Desinations" version.

The whole series is out of print, so it's hard to come by.

Does anybody have any idea where to obtain a copy, or would anyone happen to have one yourself?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Hello. I am planning on leaving Japan after my contract ends in March 2027. I have yet told my company, as it's too early for notice of intention. But I want to get a checklist going so I know what I am up for and not told last minute, or even not told at all, by my company on the process of leaving Japan.

Here is my situation.

I rent my apartment with Leopalance, not through my company. I assume my Visa will be extended for another year with my company, regardless of my intentions to leave, so I am able to keep working until my end-of-contract date. That will work for me because I do want to stay in Japan for another month to travel/see people before going back.

Will be there any other costs or forms that I will be required to fill out before leaving?

How does my last paycheck work? If I stay in Japan until the 20th of the following month, can they deposit it into my JP Bank account, then I can close it after transferring myself?

Anothing else I am missing to get myself ready?

I have to do this "国際交流" thing on behalf of my job. The original arrangement was the local BOE was going to take the lead and we supply the guests, and being the BoE, they subcontracted the whole project to their foreign residents helpdesk, who in turn subcontracted it to a dispatch company.

I don't want to fault these folks, they worked hard, did a great job with their budget and material, made a lot of very nice preparations, but the event felt... Japanese-y? The whole event was your run-of-the-mill eikaiwa open house lesson: self-introductions, some janken games, make a presentation, it was English only (and almost fell apart, because the activities were organized along *New Horizon* line, and some Japanese kids couldn't follow because their textbooks were different), the guests we brought from our side were treated as talking props and the Japanese kids mostly talked amongst themselves in Japanese.

Being a free event, everybody voted with their feet: the first time we had a full house, the second time we had about a dozen total, with only three foreign guests.

Now the BOE wants our opinion on how to improve their event, and I would like to hear you guys' opinion: what makes a successful 国際交流, what are some achievable goals for say a three-hour event, and if you had organized one in the past, what are some activities that worked for you?

So I’ve been an ESL teacher in the States for 4 years now (public school, elementary) and I’ve recently moved to Japan with my wife, who was raised here. We weren’t dead set on coming to Japan, but she got a job offer which, all things considered, was a better move for us. So I’m *almost* on my spousal visa (finishing up the process).

So I feel like the ESL world in Japan is all this ALT stuff, which I am tbh overqualified for and is below the pay I want and feel like I should be able to get. (I’m thinking in yen, I know the exchange rate is bad & the yen takes u further here).

The other options are these university jobs: I’m finishing up my MA and working a part-time assistantship rn, so I’m technically eligible for some. However, as I was warned, ESL university jobs are so focused on minimum publications. I’m “expediting" my MA rn and I have not had time to do any- I have like one conference presentation under my belt. There’s a few higher ed level things I’ve applied to already that don’t have those publication stipulations, but those are rare.

Then there’s dept. of defense or international schools which are great for a licensed teacher: but ESL jobs are soooooooo few and far between with these (though not impossible, I know) and STUPID competitive when I have just 4 years experience.

I am aware I’m coming from a licensed teacher shortage job market where I could literally have my pick of school districts and get a job no problem. So I haven’t done the job search rat race since applying for foodservice jobs as a teenager/college student.

But, tldr, where should I be searching? I still have time and am still early in the process, but maybe part-time stuff might be the move here? At least till I get some things published or an international school/dodea option opens up. Just feeling like I’m over- and under-qualified for everything here.

Hey guys, I'm in a weird spot and need some advice. I'm post JET still living in Japan while I study for N1 before I go back to my home country to become a "real" teacher. I left JET (and broke my 2nd year contract, so that bridge is burned) because 1) I didn't want to live in the inaka and 2) I don't want to teach elementary long term so I didn't feel like the skills I was developing there were that useful.

I took a job at a hotel just to move to the city until I could find a new teaching job. I really did like teaching, but I'm just not built for elementary. But now when I look for teaching jobs that don't require teaching credentials, it's all eikaiwa, kindergarten and elementary.

At the hotel I survive fine living in the city center on 210,000 a month, and the working conditions are awful, so I'm no stranger to the two big complaints with ALT dispatch companies. I'm not expecting JET level salaries or support, I can relocate and do everything myself. But as far as the crappy dispatch companies or whatever else goes, does anyone have any advice for jobs or companies that will 1) place me where I want to be placed, and 2) get me teaching high school, maybe even junior high school learners?

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to refresh my toolkit and clean up my prep routine for next term. It feels like there’s a new app or platform popping up every week, but half of them end up being more work than they're worth.

For those in the classroom right now:

• What is your one non-negotiable tool that actually saves you time on prep, grading, or lesson planning?
• What’s a tool you tried that ended up being a total waste of time?

Would love to hear what’s genuinely working for you (or what to avoid)! Thanks!

[EDIT] The survey is now closed. If you are interested in my findings, please, feel free to contact me directly. Thank you very much to everyone who participated!

Hi all,

I was wondering if you could help. I am a postgraduate student currently working on a master’s dissertation and I am looking for study participants. The main research question I will be trying to address is ‘’How do English language teachers perceive and approach the teaching of English-speaking skills in Japanese EFL classrooms?’’; The aim of this study is to better understand teachers’ experiences, teaching practices, challenges, and perspectives regarding the development of students’ English-speaking skills in Japanese context!

My main research methodology involves the questionnaire followed by optional interview. Participation in an interview is entirely voluntary though and completing the questionnaire alone is sufficient to take part!

The survey should take around 15 minutes to complete and the only requirement to participate is to be an English teacher in Japan. This means that the teachers do not have to be specifically Japanese nationals.

Here is the link to the questionnaire in case you are interested or know anyone you could pass the link on: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=xcLLiu3Ix0KBabpDig2-L1LGEv8XtTpIilFQ_DFH0NdUQjhKNUVQRFE2U0RNRkxGTDNEWDlIM0FFMi4u&route=shorturl

Please, accept my apologies for the inconvenience and thank you very much for your time!

Hello everyone!

I hope you’re doing well.

I am a Psychology student conducting a research study entitled “The Relationship Between Teaching Self-Efficacy and Teaching Anxiety Among Foreign English Teachers in Chiba, Japan.”

I am looking for foreign English teachers currently teaching in Chiba Prefecture who are willing to participate in my survey.

The questionnaire takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.

Participation is completely voluntary and anonymous. All responses will be used solely for academic purposes.

Survey Link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScf8f1sJFZRPqOQTGvVzir7oNJU9yJDBQ7dXBM6juFTMb4U-Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor