Classes In Japanese High Schools

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Chencun Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Baoji Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. I am currently working as an Assistant Language Teacher in Izumo City, Japan. Before I began this job I assumed that because Japan has a largely homogeneous population, all of my classes would be monolingual. However, I was wrong in this assumption. In addition to my Japanese students I have many students who are Brazilian or Filipino. These students largely do not...  [Read more]

Etienne Van Rooyen TEFL Information Alumni Experiences There are three types of senior high schools in Japan. Each senior high school (grades 10, 11, and 12) has a different purpose and students attend it. Understanding this helps us learn how English language learning in Japan is differently yet similars each school. With this knowledge, as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) you can adapt your lessons plans, materials and style to fit your school/s. There are three main types of high schools in Japan with sub-categories: Note: There are also Special Needs schools, which teach students with physical and mental disabilities. These schools will be covered in another blog post. Purpose: These schools focus on intense academic excellence and scholarship. The school’s curriculum prepares...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas I am currently working as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan. Before I began this job I assumed that because Japan has a largely homogeneous population, all of my classes would be monolingual. However, I was wrong in this assumption. In addition to my Japanese students, I have many students who are Brazilian or Filipino. These students largely do not use Japanese as their mother tongue and have to learn both English and Japanese as a second language. This diverse student population, in addition to my work experiences and studies, has taught me a lot about working with both monolingual and multilingual classes. In the few monolingual classes that I teach, it is fairly easy to anticipate and resolve problems that students might have with...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Doneika D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I am currently an English teacher living in Japan. I teach both Elementary and Junior High School English Language. Japan’s government allows the students to start learning English sometimes as early as Kindergarten. Most Elementary schools have a designated ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) that possesses a native level of English. Even though English is a compulsory subject in Japanese Junior High and High Schools, these students struggle with achieving even daily conversational English. In this summative task, I would like to highlight the two problems that greatly affect learners of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences During my stay in Japan, Japanese people often told me how they can’t communicate in English despite studying the language for six or more years in school. In Japan, students in junior and senior high learn English grammar and vocabulary in compulsory formal English classes. English is also taught in elementary school as foreign language activities. Yet despite spending several hours in English classes, many Japanese people graduate high school with poor English communication skills. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rachel M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. One of the issues that hinder the Japanese people’s ability to communicate in English is the English...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Dachaidan Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Haixi Mengguzu Zangzu Zizhizhou? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Problems for Learners in a Country of your Choice Despite being one of the world's most developed nations, Japan lacks English fluency. According to the Education Testing Service, which administers English proficiency exams, out of the 30 Asian countries that took TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exams in 2015, Japan ranked fifth...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Bancheng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Linyi Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. I have been working as an Online English Teacher for Japanese students (both young learner and high school students) for almost a year at the time of writing this essay and I have come to understand the main issues each learner has when it comes to learning English. One of the things I have learned about the Japanese and the English subject is that it is taught to...  [Read more]

Asia Ridley TEFL Information Alumni Experiences English education in Japan has been prominent for decades and starts in elementary schools. It is in high demand as the relationship between the U.S. and Japan as well as the abundant amount of tourism. Last year straight after graduating from university in the United States, I moved to Japan and began teaching English. I was fortunate to pass the interviews and become part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme {JET}. Being an assistant language teacher {ALT} in the Japanese education system versus a conversation school has its differences. Therefore I will be diving into how one can contribute to the classroom as an ALT. In Japanese elementary schools, all the students have English classes, but the amount differs depending on the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas For the past four years, I have worked in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) of English. Before this, I had limited experience operating in a conventional classroom, teaching young learners. I trained adults who were self-motivated and designed curricula for vocation institutions. Now, outside of my expertise, here I am teaching at a junior high school – my base school and an elementary school. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Aeika P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The city in which I live is very rural, farming and fishing are traditional careers; and while there is an increase in tourists numbers, more international...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Chengwuxiannanluji Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Heze Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Learning English often has its challenges for students who have no other language that serves as a barrier, as a result, I can only assume it is doubly hard for students, of any age, who have a native language that’s sometimes extremely different in structure and usage. I am of the view that these problems can be dealt with if the teacher understands the...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Ciyao Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Tai'an Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. As an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Japan for the last 9 years, I worked in elementary, and junior high schools and it can be a lot of fun and great but also challenging. In the past, to teach English in Japan was a relatively simple affair – as long as you spoke English, you could often expect to get a job. These days, the Japanese education board are...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Formal English education first took root in Japan with the creation of the first English schools in 1865 and has since steamrolled into an aggressive effort by the government to produce an English-proficient population. The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) was established to introduce native speakers into English classrooms, and English instruction continues to become mandatory for increasingly younger students in primary schools. Despite these efforts, an English Proficiency Index conducted by the organization English First gave Japan a “low proficiency” score, with the island country lagging not just the multicultural countries of Singapore and Malaysia but also its East Asian neighbors China and South Korea. To explain this disparity...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Destinations TEFL Information The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program is not the only means to teach English in Japan, but it is one of the most popular programs out there both for aspiring teachers and those who wish to pursue other fields. I first joined this program a little over a year ago. In the short time since then, I've gained incredibly valuable experiences through my work as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). Local prefectural governments and larger government bodies, including Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, manage the JET Program. They hire ALTs from English-speaking countries all over the world to increase Japan's international understanding at the level of local communities. Japan is an attractive country to teach in because teachers hold a...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Songpanxian Muchang? Are you interested in teaching English in Aba Zangzu Qiangzu Zizhizhou —? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. After facing defeat in 1945, Japan’s value on English education grew exponentially. People began incorporating English words to daily speech, businesses adopted English words for names and slogans, Japanese people competed to learn English, and katakana (Japanese syllabary for words in foreign language) began appearing everyone one...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I am in my 3rd year of working in the countryside of Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in public elementary and junior high schools. An ALT's official job description is to be the assistant to a Japanese Teacher of Language (JTL). In my experience, especially in elementary schools, the ALT is not seen as an assistant but as "the English teacher" since the regular homeroom teacher has no training or experience with ESL. In most cases, the ALT has a degree in a field unrelated to teaching and has no qualifications. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Carl S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. At the moment, English in elementary schools in Japan is a class...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In the wake of the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Japan, there has been an increase in elementary school level English classes. As an assistant language teacher half into my fourth year, I have had the rare chance to work the entirety of my time in one elementary school where I have had many great memories. However, being present every day I began to notice that some students were struggling or in some cases, not even trying when it came to English class. Talking with my peers and colleagues from other elementary schools as well as my own, there are some common problems that many students seem to experience in an English class. These problems include learning in a counter-productive environment, inconsistent exposure to the language, and a lack of...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Anren Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Chengdu Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. I began learning the Japanese language when I was in middle school, around age twelve. Many of my peers thought it strange to decide to choose to learn a foreign language as a hobby; most of my peers at that age were interested in typical pre-teen things: going to the mall, visiting friends, going to local football and basketball games. Looking back, I think my choice...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As a young child, I was, for some reason, obsessed with the idea of learning French. I tried a couple of languages, including Finnish at some point, but kept going back to French. I have no idea why because I was never exposed to the culture or the language itself at that age. I doubt I even knew anything about the country itself. I think I assumed learning French would make me sound smarter but, the joke's on younger me, I have no skill in French and never have. I tend to struggle with romance languages in general. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nicole H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When I was in high school, my friends and I petitioned to get Japanese...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Haozhuang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Taiyuan Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. It is often said that both of Japanese students in school and adults are not possible to speak English or too reluctant to speak. They also have awareness of lack of their speaking abilities. Do they not have English classes in junior and high school? The answer for this is yes, they spend about 1.000 hours for English classes for 6 years. In spite of this fact,...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xinhe Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Qingdao Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Countries like The UK, The USA, and Canada are accustomed to a diverse society that encompasses various people groups and backgrounds. As an ESL teacher, there is a high probability that one will be living and working in a country that may be considered homogeneous. While living in a homogeneous nation can be considered courageous and adventuresome, it is not without...  [Read more]

Are you interested in teaching English in Japan? If so, there are certain requirements you must meet in order to be eligible for teaching positions in this country. In this guide, we will outline the key requirements for teaching English in Japan, including qualifications, visas, and other important considerations. Whether you're a seasoned educator or a recent graduate looking to start your teaching career, this information will help you navigate the process of teaching English in Japan. 1. Qualifications for Teaching English in Japan 2. Visa Requirements for Teaching English in Japan 3. Finding a Teaching Position in Japan 4. Other Considerations for Teaching English in Japan In order to teach English in Japan, you will typically need a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university....  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xiaoyun Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Jining Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. In order to discuss strategies for motivating young learners in rural Japan, I must first lay out the obstacles to motivation in the classroom. For the most part, the obstacles to young learners’ motivation to study English in Japan are the same as those for young learners studying in non-English speaking countries. English classes – or foreign language...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shengrenjian Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yuncheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. INTRODUCTION In order to learn a new language, a student should be exposed to it and understand the meaning of it. In addition, the learner should be able to practice and produce it (ITTT, p. 1). Japanese students deal with a variety of issues while learning English. To begin with, the Japanese language has a different writing system, grammar and syntax (FIS,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Ever since I was a little girl, education has been a huge part of my life. My mother was a teacher at the elementary school I attended and also taught me and my sisters Japanese after school in our home. I have always been inquisitive, constantly asking questions to my parents and teachers about topics I was interested in and about things I didn't quite understand. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kim S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I always enjoyed learning and loved the feeling of accomplishment when I received high scores on tests and other assignments. My favorite subjects were reading, writing, and spelling. Outside of school, you could always find me...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences I work in two schools. I am an assistant language teacher at one commercial (low-level English) high school, and an integrated (high-level English) academic junior high and high school. I have had experiences with different kinds of students, Japanese-English teachers, and classroom atmospheres. In Japan, students take an entrance exam to get into high school. If they scored low on the entrance exam, then they are placed in the lowest ranking class. Each school has a certain number of classrooms for each grade. Both of my high schools have six classes total for each grade. There are usually around forty to forty-two students in each class as well. Teaching forty plus students in a crowded classroom is difficult. And unlike many stereotypes of...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Chengwen Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yushu Zangzu Zizhizhou? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. I have been teaching some capacity since I was 13 years old. My first teaching experience comes from martial arts. I was spending many hours everyday in the dojo and my instructor asked me to be the person to lead warm ups and teach kata to the newer students. I have been actively teaching martial arts for the past 30 years. After I completed high...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is causing many problems in Asian countries which can be seen just by the high demand for English teachers - including ESL teachers. One of the countries is Japan, a country with a good economy and a society well known for their kindness and politeness, but unfortunately also for the low number of English speakers. There are many reasons why English is likely to pose problems in Japan but there are many possibilities to improve the English lessons to offer lessons that help Japanese students to achieve a higher English level. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Eileen Cathrin B. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. So why is it that Japanese students struggle...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In Japan, elementary schools typically employ an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) to provide support to homeroom teachers during English classes. I have been working in such a capacity for the past two and a half years, first through an international program and currently as a direct-hire via my local city hall. Until recently, mandatory English classes at the elementary school level have been limited to the fifth and sixth grades, but new national requirements are being rolled out that will require mandatory English classes as early as third grade while doubling English classroom hours for the fifth and sixth grades. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rodica C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Guoyingshanxihuashanqiye Gongsi? Are you interested in teaching English in Weinan Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. After completing my twenty units for TEFL certification, I am now equipped with the basic knowledge required to teach English as a foreign language. Currently studying Japanese as a second language at Tokyo International University, I have first hand experience with the struggles involved in language acquisition. This background knowledge helped me...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I first decided to take this TEFL course because I am currently teaching English in rural Japan. I plan and execute English lessons for Junior High School students, as well as serve as a cultural representative of my country and foster cultural exchange. Here's the catch though - I don't speak Japanese. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gwendolen J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I've had to think a lot about how to get students to like me and the subject I teach without relying on verbal communication. I don't know enough Japanese to convey my outgoing personality, or to make jokes, or to ask questions about their interests. They don't know enough English to be...  [Read more]