Looking to Study Japanese in Japan

[keiron]

Hi everyone! My names Keiron, 21, from Nottingham in the UK.
I would like to revisit Japan but this time not for a holiday but to study Japanese language. I really like Japan and Japanese culture and I am 100% serious about doing all of this but i am not sure how to get started.
Is there any future prospects for me out there? Could i possibly end up teaching English if i advanced my Japanese learning out there? I understand that this does not happen "overnight" but i'm willing to go all the way. I have a good record of work experience and i am a college student at the moment studying Music Tehcnology. My tutor says i will have no problem with my UCAS application for starting the degree next year. So that could be another advantage to me getting an English teaching job in Japan maybe..?
Please could somebody point me in the right direction because there does not seem to be any form of help where i live

I apologise if this all looks a little crazy, i'm just full of inspiration after learning from this Japanese pod and my Skype penpals who i practise speaking Japanese with.

[padrik]

There are Japanese language schools all over Japan, a lot being in the Tokyo area, but they are all over. I went to one a while back in Okazaki Japan, much more rural, but close enough to Nagoya, another big city. First you want to find/choose a school probably, and they will have info on requirements, Visa, etc.. I went to http://www.yamasa.org

To teach English in Japan, you honestly don't need any Japanese skill at all. A lot of the teaching companies actually forbid that you use any Japanese in class. To look at various teaching opportunities to get an idea, check out:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/

I only taught privately on the side for extra cash, so was able to use Japanese to get my point across. But I am sure there are people in the forums here who have more info about JET, NOVA, AEON, or any of those teaching companies.

good luck！

[JonB]

It is a lot easier to get a work visa for Japan if you have a degree...

As Padrik said speaking Japanese is not that necessary for teaching English unless you want to do it out in the countryside where you will learn Japanese much quicker.

I've been in Tokyo for 6 years and can honestly say that I don't really use much Japanese

[Ulver_684]

There are Japanese language schools all over Japan, a lot being in the Tokyo area, but they are all over. I went to one a while back in Okazaki Japan, much more rural, but close enough to Nagoya, another big city. First you want to find/choose a school probably, and they will have info on requirements, Visa, etc.. I went to http://www.yamasa.org

To teach English in Japan, you honestly don't need any Japanese skill at all. A lot of the teaching companies actually forbid that you use any Japanese in class. To look at various teaching opportunities to get an idea, check out:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/

I only taught privately on the side for extra cash, so was able to use Japanese to get my point across. But I am sure there are people in the forums here who have more info about JET, NOVA, AEON, or any of those teaching companies.

good luck！

Great Topic, links and Discussion!

[Javizy]

In my most recent graduate newsletter, there was an advertisement for Nova Group http://www.teachinjapan.com/. They say that they sort out your travel, visa, and set you up with accommodation. No prior knowledge of Japanese is required or any teaching experience, I think. I was almost tempted myself but the pay works out to about £14-15k per annum, so you could earn more working in Tesco, and the promotional prospects don't seem all that, but it does get you over to Japan if that's what you're after.

[annie]

Easy to find teaching jobs here in Japan, but if you're still a college student you'd need to come over on a Working Holiday visa (sorry Americans, you're not eligible for this), since you need a BA for a work visa.

Advanced Japanese will help you score a few of the better jobs, but luck and connections are necessary too. If you're goal is to improve your Japanese, I'd recommend working as an ALT, rather than at an eikaiwa. Working in a public school, you'd be exposed to Japanese everyday, but that's rare at eikaiwa.

Working in Japan, you pay very little tax. (though, it's a higher rate on a Working Holiday visa) And often you're not liable for any taxes at home. When I was earning what the NOVA starting salary is (about 255,000), I was still saving more than 100,000yen a month, going out to eat/drink almost every night, and going snowboarding weekly during the season.

[keiron]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the replies, they are all real helpfull so i've printed out this page I suppose i could do the degree then as it does seem like a good ticket to teaching English. The only worries for me are if i completed my degree then started to work for Nova then most of my money would go on paying my student loan off

[Javizy]

You start paying back student loans when you earn over 15k. They take 9% of your salary, and you have the option of paying more to speed up the process. I practically lived on my loan, so if you get a part-time job you should hardly need any of it (although getting as much as you can and maybe setting up a ISA account with the extra money could be of benefit).

I've also been told that if you live a broad for 10 years you can get out of paying it back altogether. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this though, but it might be something you should look into if you're planning on a permanent migration.