If you work abroad, you may want to become a Japanese teacher. It is true that Japan is a physically small country, but it is a very strong country in terms of politics and economy, which is why Japanese is surprisingly important. It is said that there is a shortage of Japanese language teachers in some countries. If so, is it possible to become a Japanese teacher overseas?
What is important to be a Japanese teacher
You already live in that area
If you want to become a Japanese teacher in Japan, you may be surprised that your income is unexpectedly low. It is said that most Japanese teachers are part-time. Certainly there are full-time teachers, but due to the form of a Japanese language school, many Japanese language teachers are part-time workers who are paid on an hourly basis, so it is quite difficult to make a living from the work of a Japanese language teacher alone. It is also a thing.
This is the same overseas. Getting paid on an hourly basis does not mean that you have that much income, and you cannot get a visa when you are part-time. Therefore, if you want to become a Japanese teacher overseas, it may be more important that you actually live there.
Licenses
Depending on what kind of school you teach Japanese overseas, for example, if it is a Japanese language school, you may be required to have a Japanese language teacher’s license.
It is important for a Japanese teacher to have passed the Japanese Language Education Proficiency Test in Japan and to have taken a course of 420 hours or more at a Japanese language teacher training institution. Japanese language schools in Japan often hire people who meet these conditions, and even overseas, Japanese language schools place importance on these conditions.
Do you want to teach Japanese at schools or universities in other countries?
Government might send teachers already
Japanese language schools are not the only place to teach Japanese overseas. Depending on the country, Japanese language education may be provided at high schools or universities.
However, it is possible that the government has already dispatched instructors, especially in countries with Japanese language classes. For example, there are many people in China who want to study Japanese unexpectedly, but the Japanese government has dispatched specialized Japanese language teachers to Chinese schools, which is why at schools as Japanese language teachers in China. It’s hard to find a job even if you try to find one.
Teaching licenses
In some countries, you must graduate from a university in that country and have a teacher’s license in order to teach in that country. For example, in the United States, you absolutely need an American teacher’s license to teach in a public school. If you are a private school, you will not be asked for a teacher’s license.
For example, in a Catholic school, nuns may teach, but not all nuns have a license.
It’s good to have your own professional field
Japanese culture
If you want to teach Japanese abroad, it may be better to acquire some kind of Japanese culture that you are good at, rather than just teaching Japanese. This is because if you just teach Japanese, there is no problem even if you are a person from that country who was studying abroad in Japan. It is a good idea to acquire Japanese culture as something that can be taught only by Japanese people.
Also, if you like history, that’s fine. Experiences such as being fond of Japanese history and familiar with it, and having studied how words came about are important in finding a job.
If you speak that local language, that’s even better
When teaching Japanese to someone who does not speak Japanese, there is a teaching method in which classes are taught in Japanese, so even if you cannot use the local language, there is no particular problem in teaching Japanese.
However, considering that you will be teaming up with other colleagues and working together, it can be said that speaking the local language is still advantageous for job hunting. It will not be a problem if that person has a meeting, so if a Japanese who can speak the local language and a Japanese who cannot speak the local language apply at the same time, it is natural that the person who can speak the local language will be given preferential treatment.
Connection is also important
Actually, I don’t know where the job of a Japanese teacher is. Of course, expanding your network does not mean that you will receive offers from overseas, but if you already live overseas, you will hear a voice saying, “I want you to teach Japanese.” This is because it cannot be said that there is no such thing.
However, to do so, we need rumors that “there are Japanese people who may teach Japanese.” That is why we need to make friends with many people and expand our network of contacts.
Also, if you work locally, you may need a work visa, so if you have a job, check the visa as well. Even if you don’t have to think about anything in Japan, things will change if you go abroad.
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