Jobs in Tokyo

ESL Teaching: Teaching at an English School versus teaching at a University

Check out our list of jobs in Tokyo and throughout Japan. I think teaching is teaching whether you do it at an English school or a university. Don`t be swayed by some of the academic types who might tell you otherwise. (Pictured: Tokyo scene by Richard Baladad)

Some of the best teaching you will get to do is at an English school in Japan, where the students are motivated and pay good money to learn.

I think the change you`ll find from going from an English school to a university is dealing with discipline issues more (unless you have been teaching children at an English school).

The university students in Japan tend to be more immature than what you will find back home, and I was told before I started to teach at a university to, "think junior high," as opposed to thinking university.

That said, I enjoy both university teaching and teaching at English schools in Japan.

Teaching at an English school is certainly not a way to get rich quick. But neither is teaching at a university.

You should want to be a teacher to teach in Japan. If you want to get rich, look elsewhere. And stay away from teaching!

I think teaching at an English school affords you the opportunity to learn what you can at the school you work for, then you can open your own school, or use the English school experience as a stepping stone to working at a public school or a university.

Teaching at an English school is a great stepping stone. While it is not a career in itself, (in my humble opinion) it is one path along the career path of "educator" and that is how it should be regarded.

Learn more about ESL teaching in Tokyo and the rest of Japan.

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