Japan Expat Forum

I wish to teach english in Japan without a degree

6/9/2013 01:45 EST

I was wondering if any one has any comments, can share any experiences with myself on the above subject. I specifically would like to find out How to find work out in Japan as a english teacher at non degree level standard and What courses are best to prepare myself, i.e TEFL, CELTA TOSEL.. so on, so forth.

I am married to my wife who is Japanese, we are currently living in the UK. I know on this basis i can obtain a spousal visa, however i am nervous about giving up everything and moving to Japan as i am aware that on the above subject having read many posts that it is very difficult but not impossible. So i am unclear on the matter.

Would appreciate responses and experiences.

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thedean

10/20/2014 16:53 EST

I hate to tell you this but your desire to teach English in Japan without a degree is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible. You see, Japan is really big on education, and to be looking for a job in the education field without having an education yourself... they're more likely to laugh hysterically while tossing your resume in the shredder than to contact you for an interview.

The good thing is you're married to a Japanese national. This means that you get the wonderful option to apply for a spouse visa rather than a work visa, which also means that you are not limited to which types of jobs you apply to. I would, however, strongly suggest learning at least conversational Japanese and memorize hiragana and katakana characters (all of them) and about 500 Kanji before applying for these jobs. Why? because you'll need it. Employers outside of english teaching schools won't even bat an eye at someone who doesn't speak or read enough Japanese to do the job properly.

Here are some good resources for learning Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji, in case you want them.

http://quizlet.com/48773547/harigana-alphabet-flash-cards/
http://quizlet.com/45592000/katakana-flash-cards/
http://www.learn-japanese.info/firstgradekanji.html

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