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Teaching languages in Tokyo

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Sherlock
New in Town
Posts: 2
Joined: January 21st, 2009 1:14 pm

Teaching languages in Tokyo

Postby Sherlock » June 22nd, 2010 7:28 am

Konnichiwa Minnasan,

Could any of you help me? I'm trying to compile a list of all the language schools I could apply for in Tokyo.

I can teach French and English - preferably to adults, but don't mind teaching kids too.

As far as I know, Nova has a pretty bad reputation - is that correct?

I would love to hear from you if you have any ideas!

Thanks,

Sherlock

binz
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 32
Joined: August 3rd, 2008 5:09 pm

Postby binz » July 12th, 2011 11:50 pm

I would also be interested in hearing what people feel are the tops choices for teaching in Japan. I am currently half way through my TEFL.

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niteelf8413
New in Town
Posts: 2
Joined: September 28th, 2010 9:12 am

Postby niteelf8413 » July 2nd, 2012 2:32 am

A bit late on this, but hopefully this will help:

Nova - no-go. Terrible reputation, money issues everywhere.
Gaba - mixed reviews. A lot of people complain, but mainly the complainers are those who just want a good-paying job and not passionate about teaching. There is a lot of complaints about having less lessons if the students like you less, but this is a no-brainer and not Gaba's fault. Gaba does do their contracts differently - you are not an employee, only a 'contractor'. So, no employee benefits like transport costs covered, no company health insurance, no paid time off. It's like a 'teacher-student' matchmaking service really.
Berlitz - Hearing nothing but good things about it, but not enough reviews to know if it's the best or not.
AEON - I keep hearing bad things.
Interac - Keep hearing worse things than AEON, but not as bad as Gaba.
JET - Seems to be the main one people go for. I haven't heard any raving reviews, but I haven't heard anything bad about it. I think it's the 'foot-in-the-door' sort of job placement.
ECC - Seen is recommended or at least suggested a few times, but no idea on what they're like. No bad reviews that I know of. I'm going to be looking into them later this year during their open employment seminar in my city.

I haven't got the full list on me, but these are the major ones I remember from the top of my head. Will post the rest a bit later.

Hope it helps!

team.relationships
Expert on Something
Posts: 222
Joined: June 18th, 2012 11:00 am

Postby team.relationships » July 2nd, 2012 7:54 am

Hello Sherlock,

thank you for your comment. There are so many schools here in Tokyo that you could apply, but there is a lot of competition here comparing to other parts of Japan.

Thank you niteelf8413 for sharing that list with us. I am sure that binz also finds this useful.

As I said, there are so many.... so many, but sooooo many teaching jobs here in Tokyo. For me the best website to look for one is this:
http://tokyo.craigslist.jp/

I personally don't know much about the particular schools mentioned, so I can't say anything. What you really need to pay attention though is whether they require visa or provide one, whether they offer accommodation or not and pay your transportation expenses. A medical insurance plan would be ideal, but you can always enroll to the NHI sceme and pay your own insurance.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Stefania/JapanesePod101.com

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