Yes, it’s finally time to travel. I have a bachelors degree in education as well as in music education, so I figure I have pretty good chances of landing a decent job. Has anyone here done this? What are your experiences? How should I look for a job and should I try to get some TeSol experience/classes behind me?
Well, not Japan, but I taught in Prague briefly until I discovered that the TESOL (or TEFL) industry is, for the most part, misrepresented, both to students and prospective teachers. I lasted about three months before landing a far better paying job as a proofreader. Ended up staying three years and loved it. Japan may be different, but I was pretty horrified by the standard of teacher I encountered. I have a degree in linguistics and come from a long line of teachers, and I still decided to go on a teacher training course before looking for work. My fellow trainees, however, didn’t have any such qualifications and were mostly there to drink cheap beer. They still passed the course and were sent out as ‘qualified’ teachers of English.
Now, take this with a grain of salt, because Japan could be totally different, and in fact you might even find teachers in Prague that won’t say a bad word about it. Just be prepared for low pay, unreliable employers and flaky colleagues. Some find it better to go freelance, avoiding the hassle of working through a school, but then you have to hustle up your own students, and if they flake out on a lesson at the last minute, you’re out the money (most schools will still pay you part of the lesson fee if there’s a cancellation). Teaching matters aside, the opportunity to live and work in another country is something I recommend wholeheartedly. I’ve made some great friends and had some fantastic experiences. There’s a website called something like Dave’s ESL Cafe (try googling it) that has loads of good information.
Good luck
This thread dealt recently with the subject.