My name is Kevin R. Burns and I have taught English in Japan since
1989. I love it! Japan is a great place to live and raise a family in many, many ways. My Japanese wife Ikumi is also an
English teacher. We own a small chain of English schools, a small
boutique in the same building as one of our schools, and Ikumi
teaches at a junior high school. I teach English at Kevin`s English
Schools (my wife chose the name), and at Tokai University.
All articles here are by me, unless otherwise stated.
Previously I have taught at Nunoike/St, Mary`s College in Nagoya,
ECC, The YMCA, The Cultural Homestay Institute, and Keio SFC.
We imported all the materials and fixtures for this house from
Canada. It came pre-cut and was then built in our town in Japan.
I had done some ESL teaching in Vancouver, and in my twenties my brother encouraged me to think of teaching on the Jet Program or otherwise working as a TEFL teacher in Japan. I wondered though about how to get a working visa for Japan, about Japanese apartments, and how to find a good English school here. I read as much as
I could and had to buy many books back then. I wished there had been a site like mine in 1989.
I told my friends and family in Canada I would open an English school in Japan,....they laughed. I told my father I would go
to Japan, and if I stayed I would open a school. His response was:
We opened our first school in 1991 and it grew to 125 students within about 10 months. I was forced to hire two part-timers to teach everyone! We opened our second school two years later. Sometimes you have to go against the grain to do what you were meant to do.
I have taught all levels and ages from kindergarten on up!
Each level and age group is different of course and requires different skills.
If you are interested in teaching English in Japan, learn from my
hard-won experience. At this site I will guide you through the process of becoming an EFL teacher in this very exotic part of Asia. I will tell you which qualifications you need, how to get a good job, and about how to avoid some of the pitfalls that can befall a new teacher here.
Learn from the collective knowledge of my wife, myself and all of my
friends and colleagues who also teach in Japan!
The ESL Teaching Blog
esl teaching blog,teach in japan,
teach english in japan,teaching english in japan,teach english overseas
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First Steps
First steps to teaching English in Japan, what do new teachers need to do before they come?
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Interview Tips
Interview tips: how to land a good teaching position in Japan.
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Working visa japan
Working visa japan: Which visa to get and how? Also about how to get a working holiday visa. The situation for Americans is more complex as they cannot get a working holiday visa.
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International Teaching Jobs: teach in Japan
International Teaching Jobs: employers post yours for free. Teachers check out all the jobs available now throughout Japan.
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Post your Resume
Post your resume for teaching positions in Japan.
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Teach in Japan at a Big School
Teach in Japan: Information about some of the big English schools in Japan.
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All about teaching English in Japan
All about teaching English in Japan
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English Teacher Jobs in Japan
English Teacher Jobs in Japan: lesson plans, TEFL resources and articles about teaching. Plus best and worst experiences teaching in Japan.
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Teach English Jobs
Teach English Jobs, RANT! or RAVE! about a School you have taught for in Japan!
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ESL News: News about teaching English in Japan.
ESL News: The News on ELT teaching in Japan.
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Good English Schools Japan
Good English Schools Japan --a comprehensive list.
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English School Japan
English school Japan: a list of good schools to teach for. English School Japan, if you want to teach in Japan, be sure to check all of our lists of English schools. Teaching English in Japan ca
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Teaching Jobs Japan: English Schools in Japan: Q-Z
Teaching Jobs Japan: a List of English Schools in Japan
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TEFL International
TEFL International, where to find jobs abroad? Want to teach in London, Madrid, Taiwan, Thailand, China, the USA, Canada, Korea, or Japan? You can if you can teach English! Having the ability to teac
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Seoul Subway Map
Seoul Subway Map, it is a huge city, so it is best to get a great map and follow it. Otherwise you will get lost. If the directions say to take Exit A6 from such and such a station, follow those di
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Cheap Flight Thailand
Cheap Flight Thailand, how can you get there cheaply? I bought my ticket in Chinatown in Vancouver, and it was a great ticket. I flew on Korean air. It was an open ticket that allowed me to fly t
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Teach English Online: various ways to teach English on the internet
Teach English Online: the benefits, the challenges and the joys of teaching from the comfort of your own home.
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english teaching in japan universities
About english teaching in japan universities, "Many of these places (universities) have overtly discriminatory hiring practices towards their full-time (joukin) educators/staff on the basis of extran
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Peace Boat learn more about this great ship and trip around the world!
Peace Boat: Teach on the peace boat and travel the world for free!
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JET Program
A page about the jet program of teaching english in japan.
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Japan FAQ
Japan FAQ: Questions about working and living in Japan
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Japan Living
Japan Living is all about living and working in Japan. Learn about living and working here from those that do!
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Living in Japan
Living in Japan: information and advice about living here. To make living in Japan fun and not unbearable, you need a decent if not a nice place to live. Where you live of course, makes a huge differ
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Travel in Japan
Travel in Japan: all about travel in Japan
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Travel Resources
Travel Resources, great resources for travel.
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Teaching English in Japan: some of the different kinds of teaching you can do.
Teaching English in Japan: all about teaching English in Japan.
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TEFL Young Children
TEFL Young Children: teaching english to young children
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Teaching English to Kids
Teaching English to Kids, there are many challenges and things to watch out for. Many have chosen to teach English in Japan, and many have gone before you. So luckily there is a wealth of shared acti
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Methods in Teaching English
Methods in Teaching English: almost no prep activities, how to use graded readers,reading circles,where to get training,movie projects,getting students talking without textbooks,Liar,Liar Pants on Fir
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Teaching English to Junior High
Advice on teaching English to junior high school students in Japan.
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Methods in teaching English introductory questions
Methods in teaching English introductory questions: a sample lesson plan to teach students how to ask questions to someone they`ve just met.
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Classroom Management
Classroom management for novice teachers: advice for new teachers
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Motivating Japanese Students
Motivating Japanese Students: articles about how to motivate Japanese to learn English.
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Teaching English in Japan
Teaching English in Japan: Associations you can Join
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Teaching Vocabulary
Teaching Vocabulary, What are some effective strategies for teaching vocabulary to our ESL/EFL students?
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Vocabulary Lessons
Vocabulary Lessons, see our collection of worksheets and lessons or upload yours and share.
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Vocabulary Exercises
Vocabulary Exercises, exercises to get your students using their vocabulary
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Vocabulary Flashcards
Vocabulary Flashcards, help in teaching vocabulary in Japan.
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Vocabulary Games
Vocabulary games, Vocabulary games online can enhance the experience of your students, while helping them to learn English in a fun way. by K. Ali If you want to improve your English vocabulary and
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Vocabulary Quizzes
Vocabulary Quizzes, some websites where you can get some good vocabulary quizzes for yourself of your students.
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English Grammar Lessons
English Grammar Lessons, easy English grammar - basic English is not difficult or shouldn`t be. It is just a case of learning some basic rules of this language, this system for communication, we cal
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English Grammar Exercises
English Grammar Exercises, What is grammar? Grammar is simply the rules or system of a language. The sub-parts of grammar include things like: syntax, phonetics,morphology and semantics. English t
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Grammar Worksheets
Grammar Worksheets that will help in your English classes.
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Grammar Practice
Grammar Practice, how can we help our students to improve their English grammar in Japan?
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Grammar Quizzes
Grammar Quizzes, with the advent and popularity of the internet, students and teachers are now blessed with many educational resources, including grammar tests that they can access and even take onli
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Spelling Lessons
Spelling Lessons, classes that will get your students spelling correctly and in a fun way.
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Spelling Worksheets
Spelling Worksheets, where to find them and how to use them in your English classes.
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Spelling Test
Spelling Test, helping your students to learn to spell. How to conduct spelling lessons, spelling tests, and improve our students spelling? Spelling skills vary from person to person, but for an
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Correct Spelling of Words
Correct Spelling of Words, Spelling Reform - Spelling Quizzes Weak spelling is not a problem only ESL students face. Even native English speakers have trouble with spelling. The best way to impr
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Spelling Games
Spelling Games, find games and activities that will help you to teach your ESL/EFL classes here.
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TESOL Certification
TESOL Certification, what can it do for you?
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TESOL Jobs
TESOL Jobs, learn more about TESOL and find a great job! TESOL is a great association and active too. They have conventions, a few journals, and of course, great members! Have you ever thought
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TEFL Certification
TEFL Certification, there is no international, accredited organization governing all TEFL certificates and which institutions accept them or not. Indeed, no certificate will be accepted by all instit
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Teaching English TEFL
Teaching English TEFL: teaching English from children to adults.indeed the Grammar Translation Method doesn`t work, unless perhaps you are trying to teach translators, but not teach people to speak En
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EFL Books
EFL Books: Read or add your review of EFL textbooks.
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ESL Teaching
ESL Teaching: about teaching English in Japan
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ESL Activities
ESL Activities, and ideas that will help in your teaching in Japan, and have your students shouting for more!
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ESL Conversation
ESL Conversation, how to teach it, where to get jobs, and more about ESL Japan.
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ESL Listening
ESL Listening, Japanese are often surprised that they cannot understand English. One reason is that they watch movies with Japanese subtitles. If Japanese can slowly, little by little, watc
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ESL Lessons
ESL Lessons, some advice and methodologies to help you teach English well to your students.
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ESL Lesson Plans
ESL Lesson Plans: ESL Communication Circles
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ESL Games
ESL Games: When you teach in Japan, you need some games to liven up your English class.
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ESL Teaching Resources
ESL Teaching Resources: free resources for teaching ESL/EFL.
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esl books
ESL Books, reviews of books, plus you can add your own. An open secret for teachers is that they can approach publishers of ELT (English language teaching) books and ask for a free copy. You just Ema
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ESL Worksheets
ESL Worksheets and ideas that will help you teach your students at home or abroad.
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ESL Writing
ESL Writing, In order to help your students to be better writers, it is essential to first understand your students and the writing process. There is a maxim: "Writing that can be postponed, will be.
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Education Resources
Education Resources: links to great educational sites
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Free English Course
Free English Course: study English for free online
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Forum
Forum: teach English in Japan forum
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Live the Japan Adventure
Live the Japan Adventure: subscribe to our free newsletter
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Japan Life
Japan Living: our magazine about living and working in Japan.
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Burns Brick Country
Burns Brick Country our site about lego.
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Kevs Twisted Humor
Kevs Twisted Humor, some laughs and the humor of Kevin R Burns.
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Ready to Soar
Ready to Soar, is all about finding ourselves and personal growth. It is another of our sites.
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Site Map1
Site Map1 find what you are looking for at our site.
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Search
Search: search our site.
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Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy: the privacy policy of How to Teach English in Japan
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Contact Us
Contact Us: if you have any questions or have a comment.
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Teach English Children
Teach English children: Fred Stuhr talks about his experiences of teaching English to kids in Japan.
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E Quality Japan
E Quality Japan dies a slow death. JINES takes up the cause. JINES developers Brian Dentry and Peter Carter believe that it is time for accountabilty and quality in English education in Japan. I
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Teach English Asia
Teach English Asia: how to teach English some opinions on L1 usage in the English classroom.
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Teach Business English
Teach Business English: both teachers and students should have a plan.
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Teach English in Asia
Teach English in Asia: YOUR stories about university teaching in Asia
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Spoken English Lesson
Spoken English Lesson: ask your questions about teaching English in Japan! No question is silly. We will answer you!
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About Me
About Me: about me and this site, and how I will retire from making a few websites.
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2nd Grade Vocabulary
2nd Grade Vocabulary, here is a list of words your 2nd grade ESL student should know.
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TEFL Thailand
TEFL Thailand, As there is a shortage of English teachers in both Thailand and throughout Asia, there is a great demand for native English speaking EFL teachers in Thailand. If you have a dream of te
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Scientific Vocabulary
Scientific Vocabulary, How to increase your Science Vocabulary Various strategies that help students quickly connect to new words are used to increase scientific vocabulary. Using rote memorizatio
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Daves ESL
Daves ESL, Do you know of a good school to teach for in Japan? Tell Dave Johnson, he wants to know! Tell us why this institution is a good place to work. What do they teach? Where is it?
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Teachers Games for Vocabulary
Teachers Games for Vocabulary, Teachers Games for Vocabulary (for teaching vocabulary) Who said that learning new words is boring and daunting? Kids need to learn thousands of words so
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How to teach Vocabulary
How to teach Vocabulary, in a Nutshell Having a wide range of vocabulary is a must in understanding and using a certain language, and this holds true with the Universal language- English. Vocabulary
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Tips Effective Resume Writing
Tips Effective Resume Writing, you have about 30 seconds to a minute to make an impression on the personnel manager. Make the first impression a great one! Have a great looking resume. Either make i
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Bangkok Time
Bangkok Time, The imposing domed National Assembly building or Throne Hall was commissioned by King Chulalongkorn. Faced in marble imported from Italy, this impressive building is today used for cer
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Bangkok Thailand Map
Bangkok Thailand Map, Walking Tours - walking is not a popular form of activity in Bangkok. The weather is usually too hot, sidewalks are crowded and crossing a street is positively lethal. It sho
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A Passage to Bangkok
A Passage to Bangkok, was and to some extent still is, a city of waterways. Many of its canals (locally called klongs) are still in use, especially on the Thonburi side, and all are connected with th
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Bangkok Dangerous
Bangkok Dangerous, one of the oldest snake farms in the world is operating in the very heart of Bangkok and actively encourages visitors to come and see its show. If you are brave enough, it is si
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Provinces of Thailand
Provinces of Thailand, sandwiched between the converging frontiers of Laos, Burma, and Thailand is an area known to the world as the Golden Triangle. Populated by hilltribes, the region has enjoyed t
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Bangkok Night Life
Bangkok Night Life, is exotic & can range from a very nice dinner to dancing, karaoke, or to the sexy variety. Like many major cities, the choices for your nighttime entertainment is wide and
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ESL in Korea
ESL in Korea, you can post your resume for free at our site, for ESL jobs in Korea. We have hundreds of employers reading our huge website every week. Post your resume for free now if you want to l
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Korea Visa Waiver
Korea Visa Waiver, visa free entry ranges from 30 days to up to 6 months for Canadians. It depends on your nationality. Teachers often get an E-2 Visa, or professors an E-1. Korea also has a
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