Printable View
There's something we don't see written here very often.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Anyways, my good news is...
I still have my job next year! WOOHOOOO!:D
Same schools, mostly same workmates, same awesome supervisor, same cozy apartment in the same quiet little suburb of this city I love to bits...*does happy dance*
Isn't it kind of depressing in this day and age when we're happy that we're still keeping our jobs in the next year? lol :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
It is a bit.:(
To explain why I'm quite as happy as I am about this, my job is Assistant Language Teacher in a little town on the outskirts of Osaka prefecture, Japan. I teach at 2 Primary schools and one Jr High, for a city that takes pretty good care of us and actually values English education. I totally lucked out getting this placement.:)
Aside from a few minor niggles like not being allowed to have projects on the side (like, say, sourcing Japanese exclusive TFs at local prices for the board - sorry guys, the contract says no), the occasional difficult class and/or grade, the language barrier, and most of my fellow ALTs being Americans:rolleyes: it's pretty much my dream job.
おめでとうございます！日本語も頑張ってね！:)
That is something I really want to do in the future. Can you tell me how you got into it etc? I'm already a teacher, just to clear that up in advance, haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
No worries.:) What do you teach re. grade levels and subjects?Quote:
Originally Posted by jena
I got in through the JET Programme, though you can also go through other programs, most notably Interac. AFAIK JET's generally considered to be the best in terms of support and renumeration, even with the slight drop in pay for incoming JETs this year. JET is pretty much just a staffing company, your actual employer is the local government Board of Education.
Family's fine, though if you're coming over with a partner and kids the budget can be pretty tight on a single income.
City placements are pretty rare with JET (it's mostly country towns that don't generally have foreigners there as is), and more common with the private dispatch companies. For the most part country ALTs seem to quite like their quiet little mountain/island towns, though I've gotta say Osaka is pretty much the best place ever IMO.
You don't have to be a qualified teacher (though your coworkers really appreciate it if you are a trained and/or experienced teacher - I am/was a teacher before coming too) or fluent in Japanese (I'm not) for JET, but both will help your chances of getting accepted. TEFL certification helps too - I did a CELTA which is pricey and time-consuming but well worth it if you have an interest in teaching TESL/TEFL. For the other programs you're pretty much required to be a certified TESL teacher. The biggest factors in getting accepted are (apparently) flexibility, adaptability, and an outgoing personality. I'd probably add 'will take your responsibilities seriously' into the mix, though if you've lasted more than 6 weeks as an actual teacher you should be fine; either way there are a lot of 'OMG I love Japan I love anime I want a Japanese girlfriend sushi sumo Gojira!!!' types who apply and don't get in...or worse yet somehow make it past the screening process, get here, and hate it 'cos they suddenly find out Japan's a real place where you've got a (sort-of) real job and a real mundane life, with nary a giant robot in sight. To be fair, I am still sort of cut at the lack of giant robots...:(
The downside to applying as an actual teacher instead of the more common fresh-out-of-uni-graduate is, for many placements you'll end up as basically an expensive prop and/or human tape recorder, so it can be frustrating for actual teachers who really want to teach if they don't get lucky with their employers and coworkers like I did. You've gotta work within the system, and the system is as always all about the tests.:rolleyes: And of course if you have other JETs chances are they'll be recent undergrads with non-teaching degrees, which makes for some :rolleyes: moments in ALT meetings sometimes.
For the most part you'll be teaching primary school kids and Jr High kids. Most people (myself included) come over not really being keen on working with young children, right up until they actually do it and discover it's really fun and satisfying.
Most JET ALTs start in July/August, with applications opening around September and closing in November. You'll generally be notified if you pass the screening process around January, and have an interview in late February. It's a pretty hefty application process and takes a long time, but I'd recommend it.
A few warnings in advance: if your criminal record isn't pretty much spotless you can kiss the job goodbye. Anything that shows up on the requisite background check that's bigger than, say, the odd speeding ticket, and you're pretty much disqualified. Even just a DUI will shoot down your chances. JET is really competitive to get accepted to. Another thing worth remembering is you can't turn down particular placements - if they offer you a spot in Fukushima prefecture it's take it or leave it, and if you accept a job and then back out later you can't apply for another 2 years. Age-wise, anything up to 40 years old is OK, though they seem to prefer mostly young-mid 20s.
Tetsuwan Convoy applied last year and is considering applying again this year, so maybe ask him about the application process too. My year's post-interview period was a bit interesting what with the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami so it wasn't entirely typical.
I'm always happy to help with any further questions/help, it'd be nice to have some more OTCA crew around.:)
jena would've already done a police background check before even doing her prac teaching. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
No worries.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Found this today, for those who are are interested in Avatar The Last Airbender.
There is a new series called Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Set about 70 years into the future. I didn't even know they had done another series.Sure how they do it justice. It took me an hour to find a link to the first to episode.
http://www.watchcartoononline.com/th...on-1-episode-1