Do You Need To Speak Japanese To Go To Japan

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]

Georgia Payne Destinations Alumni Experiences Moving to one of the largest cities in the world is quite a daunting task, particularly when you have to find your own accommodation using another language. On the JET Programme, ALTs (assistant language teachers) are, in every prefecture except Tokyo, provided with accommodation by the school and will likely inherit all of the necessary furniture and kitchen appliances that they need and only pay a small amount of rent. In Tokyo, the freedom of choosing your own apartment is an exciting prospect. No hand-me-down furniture from 30 years ago, no scary, mouldy tatami mats to deal with, only pure freedom of choice. This means, however, that you have to tackle this task all by yourself, but the good news is that you have a few different options...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I have taught in a Japanese high school for the past four years as an assistant language teacher, which gives me a particular insight into the problems and advantages of EFL in that area. This will naturally require some generalizations. Individuals have very different problems from one another, but broader shared issues do crop up. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate William L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For context, I work in two Japanese high schools as an assistant language teacher in Toyama prefecture. I go to one school four days a week, which caters to students who can only study part-time. I also work at a farming school, where students have the opportunity...  [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]

  From Sumo wrestling, the most authentic Japanese cuisine you’ve ever tasted, ancient castles and Pagodas, skiing in the mountainous north and beach hopping in the tropical south, ancient and bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan caters for every type of traveller. Japan is unlike any country you’ve ever been to with the most bizarre but fascinating experiences available throughout the country, and a scenery like no other. A distinct balance between ancient and modern- Japan opens up a whole new world. Nagoya is an ideal destination for an in-class, immersive TESOL course experience in Japan. It is the fourth largest city in Japan, which means that as a TESOL student, you get the full experience of high paced life in Japan, but at a much lower cost than bigger cities like...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Dongkou 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. It was the last day of Japanese class and my teacher’s last day of teaching at our school. We were all standing up getting ready to bow him one last time. It was nearly dead quiet but I could still hear sniffles around me and felt the sadness of this moment. I never thought I would care so much about a teacher leaving. To this day, 8 years later the words and wisdom...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Destinations Japan is full of vibrant, world-famous cities that many people dream of living and working in. However, when I first decided to become an English teacher in Japan, I never held such a dream. I am an introvert who prefers quiet spaces, and being close to nature is especially important for me. This is why when my goal of teaching English in Japan came true, I was ecstatic that I could find a place to work in the inaka (countryside). Japan's inaka is full of small, rural towns and reasonably-populated, but little-known, cities. My living and working situation is in the latter. Since moving here, my little rural city has been everything I hoped it would be and more. Aside from my personal preferences I've noticed that there are several advantages to living in...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences With the end goal of working in a Japanese kindergarten or pre-school, I decided to take the Teaching English to Young Learners certification course to accompany the TEFL course I recently completed through ITTT. Even though I knew the skills necessary for teaching young learners would differ from teaching learners of other ages, I found a lot of useful information in this course specifically regarding the topic of classroom management. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Melissa M. For context, most teaching environments for entry-level teaching positions in Japan involve a foreign teacher working alongside a native Japanese teacher. That being said, with the proper certifications and experience, a foreign teacher may become fluent...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Japan is well known for its unique culture, and history. As an island nation, it was isolated from the rest of the world until the mid-19th century when the country had to open itself to trade with western powers of the time. It was then when the English language made its way into the Japanese educational system. English spread quite rapidly, as the government saw the new language a way to catch up with the west. And, in 1873 English became the language of instruction in universities. However, due to various political reasons including the establishment of a standardized Japanese language system the urge to learn English had declined. Today in modern Japan, English is widely spread throughout the country, and students must take English classes...  [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 Perhaps one of the most commonly used justifications for widespread English language education is "English is the global lingua franca." This statement seems to encapsulate the general sentiment towards the importance of English. With the recent advancements in technology, geographical and temporal barriers have greatly lessened and international relations are no longer restricted to certain fields such as politics and media. The average citizen can now commence personal and economic relationships with the world via the internet. And this, of course, highlights the need for a common language that will facilitate effective intercultural communication. In highly urbanized and globalized cities like Tokyo, this is apparent in the motley of languages...  [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]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Chisha 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. We naturally feel nervous when doing something new. Our confidence can dip even further when that something new involves a foreign language. I will tackle three questions related to students here in Japan. First, what can we do to create an environment in which students feel confident speaking in English? Second, how can we help students stop being afraid of English...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhongyuan Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Ankang 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. Observed teaching practice has many benefits for teachers. Three points I would like to focus on are that an experienced observer can give critical feedback, an observer can help identify and solve problems, and teachers -new and experienced alike- can get and share ideas. The first and most obvious thing teachers can gain from an observation is advice for what...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Cunliji Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yantai 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. If teaching English as a foreign language at home or abroad is you passion, then you know that getting (TEFL) certified is your first step in achieving your goal. Once you finished 120 required hours doing the coursework (and at least six hours getting teaching practice in a real classroom), you’re a newly groomed TEFL certified rock star. what's next? Here's what...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations Spring is the perfect time of the year to get out there and explore the world! These are the top 10 places to take your TEFL certification course in the springtime. What better place to experience spring than in beautiful Japan? During the spring season, the entire country is painted in pastel pink cherry blossoms and the capital of Tokyo is an especially great place to see them. Take a boat ride on a blossom-lined stream in a traditional Japanese boat or hike up to see Mt. Fuji surrounded by cherry trees. The choice is all yours how you want to spend your spring in Japan! Get started and take our in-class TEFL certification course in Tokyo and find out more about living and working in Japan in our country guide. Also read: Teaching English In Japan - The...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences As a speaker of 5 languages (French being my native one), I’ve been exposed to different ways of teaching how one particular language sounds and why it sounds that way, what kind of meaning is conveyed using what sounds in what order, and so on. Quite often, I’ve noticed that in the school system, not enough emphasis is put on studying the sounds that pertain to the language itself. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Luca D. When learning English in a French-speaking country, the main goal for the teachers and the students alike is generally “to be understood” by the English-speaking person one is having a conversation with. Almost no importance is given to pronouncing the English-specific sounds correctly and that quite...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Over the last month and a half, I have been completing a TEFL course. I am currently working as an assistant language teacher at a Japanese high school. Overall, I have found the experience to be very useful. The following reasons are why a TEFL course should be completed. Firstly, you gain a better understanding of how English grammar works. Secondly, from my perspective, it has reinforced and improved my current teaching strategies and practices. Thirdly, it gives teachers a structural theoretical framework to create lessons. Finally, completing a TEFL course gives you lesson ideas and activities. For these reasons, it is important to complete a TEFL course. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Gabriel A. From my experience...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Many people may think that the worst part of being an Uber driver are the belligerent midnight trips from downtown to the suburbs or the aggressive pre-coffee commuters or the fact that a five-minute drive can take thirty minutes because of gridlock. However, as an Uber driver of one year, I believe that the worst part about the job are trips to the airport. When I interacted with passengers going to the airport, I would think of all the new things they would get to try and the different cultures they would learn about. The problem with these trips was they were a constant reminder that the world is just waiting for us to explore it, but I was stuck leading a conventional and mundane life. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matthew...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Dongguan Zhen [incl. Qixian Jingji Kaifaqu]? Are you interested in teaching English in Jinzhong 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 important to be flexible in teaching styles especially as an Assistant Language Teacher. I have worked in eleven schools and with hundreds of teachers over the course of two years. As an assistant, I have to adjust my teaching styles based on the teacher, the grade, and the classroom’s attitude. Each teacher is different. Each...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Hi my name is Linda from ITTT, international TEFL and TESOL Training and I'm back again today for another live session. If you can hear me and see me please let me know as I'm trying out a new mic today so if that is working well it would be good to know. So please leave a quick comment to say hi and where you're watching from. I have been living in South Korea for five and a half years, so for me right now it's 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. Let me know where you are tuning in from and what time it is where you are. We can get started on today's topic which is the best government programs for teaching English abroad. If you're interested in teaching English abroad then you should definitely keep watching as there's a lot of good stuff coming...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences As more and more countries place a growing importance on its people to learn English as a secondary language, for work purposes or for general use, there is a growing debate about which is the better English to learn - British English or American English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Max E. The argument stems from the growing influence of America in the modern world. British English has a longer standing history, but in today's modern society, it is almost impossible to go through the day without hearing American English in use. We hear it in television programs and films, more businesses from the US are branching out to foreign soil, and many countries feel that American English may be the better choice, as in the future it is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Have you ever wondered why people all over the world are somehow curious about the English language? Or why does a country like Japan wherein the English language is not a requirement to get a job, is on-demand for more competent and effective English teachers? These kinds of questions make me remember my favorite quote, “Everything has a reason”; And yes somehow, English exists for a reason of course. You might be thinking why I entitled this essay “Connecting Dots Through English”, well you will find out why, as you read more on this essay. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Hanah M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I love strolling down the streets here...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Language acquisition often involves four skills. These skills are further divided into two groups receptive skills (reading and listening) and productive skills (writing and speaking). Not all languages have a corresponding writing system however, learners of English will have to learn all these skills to be proficient in their use of English. Reading is more than just calling words on paper, In this essay, the importance of reading in language acquisition will be discussed on the basis that reading influences vocabulary expansion, facilitates the practice of word pronunciation and finally sparks and improves the imagination. These concepts will be discussed from the standpoint of English language acquisition in Japanese senior high schools. This post...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas What comes to mind when one thinks of an English classroom? Is it organized rows of desks filled with students writing vocabulary and grammar into their notebooks while the teacher talks in the front? This is the classic image of a classroom. A student goes to school to learn what they don’t already know. When teaching English, it can be easy to fall into the trap of rote memorization and reliance on grammar and vocabulary. However, is this method effective? Does this way of learning motivate students to become lifelong learners of a foreign language? It is less useful to teach students many things than to teach them the skills needed to learn the things they don’t know. This essay will assess the current view of...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Hi everybody wherever you are right now. I'm in South Korea and it's 10 a.m. Friday, so good morning. I'm back here again today, my name is Linda from ITTT if you've been here before hi and if this is your first time watching thanks so much for tuning in and taking the time, we really appreciate it. If at any time during this live session you have any questions, feel free to drop your comments in the comment section from whichever platform you're watching from. We are streaming live on Facebook and on YouTube at the same time. If you can see me and hear me just leave a hi in the comment box, that would be highly appreciated so that I know that everything is working well. For the first couple of minutes let's just have a chat...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Hello everybody and welcome. We're actually also going live on Instagram today, so I'm going to check that out as well as the usual Facebook and YouTube. Hopefully everything will work fine. I hope everybody can hear me well and can see me. This is the first time that we're actually live on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube at the same time, so I have a lot of screens here in front of me. Hello there, I see somebody tuned in on Instagram and we have a few people here on Facebook and YouTube already. I hope everything is going well today. Unfortunately, if you're watching on Instagram you won't be able to see the screen and maybe some of the questions that I'm popping in there but that's all good, you can still drop your...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) working at an elementary school in Japan, I have to mainly work with seven different teachers and teams to teach the English lessons together. The number of teachers I work with more than doubles if I include the grades that I only teach occasionally and also the classes at the other school that I go to only once a week. It is no surprise that ‘flexibility’ is often mentioned as one of the most important traits to have to be an effective ALT. In this summative task, I would like to share some of my experiences and how I have learned to work with multiple teachers with different teaching styles. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Seong H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ [ {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh0","name": " How do I get a job teaching English in South Korea?","url": "https://www.tefl-certificate.net/faq/how-to-teach-english-in-asia/#nameh0"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh1","name": " What are the requirements for teaching English in South Korea?","url": "https://www.tefl-certificate.net/faq/how-to-teach-english-in-asia/#nameh1"},{"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "SiteNavigationElement","@id": "#nameh3","name": " What Kind of school will I work in teaching English in South Korea?","url":...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Hi everybody, thanks so much for tuning in. It’s Linda here from ITTT with my morning coffee, because if you've watched me before in one of our live sessions you will know that I am in South Korea and it's currently 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. So I'm having my morning coffee and I'm going to have a chat with you guys. If you can see me and hear me, please drop a hi or something into the comment box, I would really appreciate it. As you may or may not know, at ITTT we go live twice every week, me on Fridays or maybe Thursdays depending on where you're watching from, and my colleague Liza she goes live every Tuesday. Actually Liza went live on Tuesday and also on Saturday last week because she had a really interesting guest on. If you missed that you...  [Read more]