Teaching English in Japan – In hindsight

Hindsight is a great thing, not least because with it comes the ability to be able to reflect on things that have happened and see them in a different light.

I’m coming up to the end of my short lived ‘career’ as an English teacher in Japan, or to give it a bit more accuracy, my Eikaiwa teacher career in Japan. As of the end of this month I’ll no longer be an English teacher (I guess there is always a next time, especially in this business).

I became an English teacher so that I could move to Japan, and live here for a while. I needed a change of scenery and a challenge, and it seemed like it could provide both. I took a CELTA degree before moving out, even though it’s not required for most Eikaiwa jobs. I always thought that if you were going to do something you should do it properly.

Four months or so after I arrived here and started working in the Eikaiwa industry, I wrote a series of posts debating the good, bad and ugly of the job. Well debating might be the wrong word. I was quite pissed off at the time, and it was more of a way to vent and put things down then really debating the pros and cons. And my experience at the time was limited to say the least.

Now with hindsight might be a good time to revisit some of the ideas.

The company I worked for is called Shane, one of the smaller Eikaiwa chains who offer British English, as opposed to the American English offered by most other companies. As with most such companies, Shane recruit abroad, pay for your flight (well kinda as I mentioned in the original posts), put you up, give you a job and just generally make moving to the other side of the world pretty hassle free. All in all it’s not a bad deal, and speaking to other people it’s a lot better than what you get at some of the bigger schools, like Nova which went down in late 07 – an event that is hard not to see as a sign of the times and the market’s saturation in Japan.

Shane offer advantages over other school chains. For one they require a CELTA qualification out of most of their staff, rather than on the job training and they give more ‘holidays’ than most companies. On the other hand they do have a lot of downsides too. Being smaller comes at a price. They can offer more holidays, but they have to make their money back somehow. So teachers are obligated to work extra days every year, in the form of cover and stand-by days for when teachers are sick, unavailable or on holiday. The main issue with those days being that, since contracts signed in 06, they are unpaid. Which is hard to digest after a while.

Other issues may be minor to some or bigger to others. Things like poor management, dubious legal implications in contracts and work duties, and at times quite bad working conditions, which as one assistant DoS put it to me one day makes ‘stitching balls in India seem appealing’.

Personally I found it difficult to deal with some of those minor, and major, things at times. As is evident if you read the posts I wrote back in April last year. Shortly after I wrote these I decided to make an effort and get back into it properly, try and ignore the smaller issues and make the best of it. It worked but only for a while and before the first year was out, I’d found a new job and decided to move on from Eikaiwa teaching.

Some people I know, who have been doing this for much longer than me, are quite happy to deal with the bullshit that is handed down as part of the job. And others, like me, don’t like being treated like dirt and, at times, idiots in a situation that is a lot more different on paper than in reality.

As I said, my experience of Eikaiwa is limited to the one company, and discussions and reading on other companies, and how other teachers are treated in those. Like most things, some of what you hear is good, some bad. Though I think it’s fair to say that in the majority it borders on the bad. Eikaiwa is hardly regarded as ‘real teaching’ by people who have teaching experience in general. And in hindsight I must admit I can see why that is.

The industry in Japan reached saturation point a while back. Its primary appeal for many remains as an easy ticket into the country, an easy to make money while here and enjoy life in ‘another world’ of sorts. For others, the stereotypical western make who doesn’t get any at home for example, it’s an easy way to live the dream. For others yet, it’s a job that just needs to be done, nothing more nothing less. After that, Eikaiwa still serves a purpose of sorts in Japan too it seems, for people keen to expand their skills, parents who want children to have a better chance in the future, or be exposed to foreigners in a country that is still not so accustomed to ‘others’, business people who need to brush up their skills and practice or housewives who need a new hobby.

And admist all that, companies have to survive, big and small. And so it all pretty much boils down to money sometimes, and in my case it definitely did. Which makes it difficult when you’re trying to do the job right and have some sort of ideal of what teaching should be like. The reality is a lot different. The money is what really matters, in the big and smaller Eikaiwas alike. Which leads to all sorts of situations such as poor working conditions or the likes of what I mentioned earlier with asking, or in some cases forcing, teachers to work unpaid days. Through all this how you decide to teach English and how well you decide to do it may seem irrelevant to some, impossible to others or just something others yet can’t be bothered to do.

The experience remains though, and in hindsight it can still be a good one if you’re willing to work for it. I’ve no doubt that this situation may not be limited to the industry in Japan. But at the same time, Japan is in a unique situation as the Eikaiwa industry here is unlike many other places – socially, culturally and practically.

Yes I had a rough year, motivation was up and down and I still feel slightly pissed at the way I’ve been treated by the company and the reality of the Eikaiwa industry in my experience. But I had a great experience, which was the aim of doing this. As a teacher it was a fulfilling year, even though the reality of teaching in this country was miles from what I was taught, and told to expect, in my CELTA degree. It did however require work, trying not to be down and make the most of it even when things seem like they are pretty dire. Like for example, working for franchise schools where rules are even more bent and things can seem a lot more grim and difficult.

Eikaiwa teaching fits some people. Whether they are young and want some time off, living a gap year or two of sorts before getting back home. And the thing is, in my situation, it was hard not to feel like that is how the company tries to treat everyone. Unless you stand up and show that you’ve got half a clue, they’ll try and milk you for what it’s worth. But again I guess that’s the way the game is played. How people choose to play it is down to them.

In an ideal world, things would of course be different. But this world is far from ideal and the reality is that some people have good Eikaiwa experiences and others bad ones. Mine falls into a bit of both, though if I’m honest more bad than good.  Which makes my previous comments, and these too, a little biased to an extent. But knowing that I’m now leaving this behind, whether or not permanently, I feel it right to say that if you’re thinking of taking up Eikaiwa teaching in Japan you should be aware of what can happen, and more importantly think about what it is you want to do and why.

It’s not just the work and conditions that can be difficult. It’s also the move, coming to a country like Japan which is culturally still very different from the West, more so than other Asian countries, can be a shock and add to the stress and problems. In just one year I’ve seen enough people come here and within a few months realise that they can’t hack it, not just because of the job but because of the country, people and their surroundings.

In hindsight, teaching English in Japan can be really rewarding and a great experience, but it’s also one that can be full of traps and obstacles that, depending on where you stand, your experience and what you want, may well change the experience you thought you may have into one you wish you didn’t. It can also turn out to be a lot better or more interesting no matter the bullshit and hassles. That’s how it’s felt for me.