Good English School

What is a good school in Japan?

Good English School Japan

"Baby brains need personal interaction to soak in a new language―TV or CDs alone do not work. So researchers are improving the technology that adults tend to use for language learning, to make it more social and possibly tap brain circuitry that children would use."

--Associated Press

What is a good English school?

Probably everyone will have a different opinion on this; about what constitutes a good school. It really depends on what you feel is important. So again, I advise you to read all that you can about teaching in Japan, and to really research the schools that you apply to, to see if they will be a good match for you.

Some schools give you a lot of freedom and choice. Others basicly tell you what to teach, how to teach, what to wear, how to act and everything else. There is little freedom at these places of learning.

To start with, a good English school is one that cares about its` teachers and students. By that I mean, they put the good of their teachers and students ahead of making profits. They are smart enough to realize that by doing the above, the profits will come. The better they treat their emloyees and clients, the more money they make. These are the good schools.

They obey the Japanese labour laws. (Almost every company in Japan flaunts the labour laws by asking for unpaid overtime work, and/or work on national holidays for no extra pay). *If you refuse you are within your rights, but may be mysteriously looking for work due to a complaint or some other "reason."

They charge reasonable fees to students, and pay their teachers a reasonable-generous salary: 250,000 Yen and up for 20-28 hours of teaching per week, is a reasonable salary for a first year teacher. Of course more is okay right!

At the good English schools, the teachers tend to stay for a long time (three years or more), and reports are generally good about the school. Few schools will have a perfect reputation. No company is perfect.

I`m sure you can find some complaints about some of the schools listed at How to Teach English in Japan. You can probably find some libel about them too. Indeed libel is a big problem at the forums about teaching English in Japan. And as said elsewhere. I recommend avoiding the forums about teaching English in Japan, as they tend to be very negative. They will give you a false impression of what it is like to teach in Japan.

Overall I think you will agree that the schools listed here are good schools.

But if your favourite school is not listed and you know of a great school please let us know! We want to continue to listthe best English schools in Japan! We hope you will have a great experience teaching in this very interesting part of the world!

Interested in a good English school in Japan? Click here for a list of them! Get more answers to your questions at our Japan FAQ.

Learn more about the e-Quality Japan list of great schools here.