Teaching English TEFL

by Thomas Anderson
(Kanto, Japan)

Part-Time Teachers: The Unsung Heroes Of EFL Teaching in Japan

As a language teacher for nine years and a university instructor for sixteen years, I’ve noticed that the image of the part-time instructor here has been tainted by “exposes” which have painted a very bad picture of us. For example, we’re doing our job to make money for living expenses while we pursue the martial arts, Japanese traditional culture, sports and so on. We don’t care about what goes on in our classes as long as we’re paid. There are instructors whose reason for teaching is to hit on female students and so on. It’s no wonder that part-time faculty have a bad image.


But is this really what we are like? It’s true that there are rotten apples in our profession, just as there are in any profession. On the other hand, most part-time staff show professionalism in what they do. They are teachers who help students make the transition from high school into the university system. They are teachers who care about their students and work hard to make their classes work-even with large classes of unmotivated students. They are teachers who do professional reading and writing in their free time. Finally, they are teachers who attend national conferences and pay fees, accommodation, meals, and other expenses out of their pockets.


Why do we do this? We do it because we want our classes to be the best possible. We do it because we want to see our students develop self-confidence and belief in themselves. Finally, we do it because we care about our students as people and want to see them succeed
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Teaching English TEFL: Conclusion


I think it’s high time that part-time faculty be given credit and recognition for all that we do as caring professionals in Japan.



Teaching English TEFL Author:

Thomas Anderson is a university English instructor in Japan.