My dream is to teach English to children. Now I have a child of my own and I'm hoping to get her the best possible education as well. Looking up which countries had the best education systems brought forth a lot of possibilities, but Japan is my most preferable. Since I had to take a leave from my course due to my early pregnancy I wasn't able to finish or even really start my education. I want to know what kind of degree to aim for to make this dream of teaching/learning in Kyoto, Japan a reality.
What degree do I need to teach English at an Elementary School in Japan?
- Posted:
- 3+ months ago by Lightmemory
- Topics:
- school, japan, english, degrees, education, elementary, teach, schools, degree
Details:
Answers (2)
There are many english language courses taught by professional institutions in Japan and while they require a solid grasp of English Grammar, my understanding is that no formal language qualification is required. Similarly teaching qualifications transfer quite easily in Japanese schools if it is one's intention to teach English and you are a native speaker. Such people are in high demand. It is highly advisable to become fluent in Japanese however. This answer is based on my friends having been to Japan and taught English there.
Actually the situation concerning English education in Japan has been undergoing great changes in the last few years. As it is well-known that the Japanese's English is generally quite bad compared internationally, most schools and institutions have changed their requirements for English teachers. If you are a native speaker you can usually work without any background in education. You would most likely be working as a English conversation teacher. If you are not a native speaker however, you would require at least need to have studied English at university for 4 years. Mind you, there might stil be schools and institutions out there who do not care for these requirements, but they are few and hard to find. One thing that you do not need to teach in Japan is experience in teaching in education, though. Lesson plans are more or less provided and you will get trained on the job in most of the cases.