Quote:
Originally Posted by Toastyzeus
Interesting, I will have to talk to my Japanese teacher some more, ask her about it too  |
It's quite a ways down the road for you, but if you do continue to learn Japanese a letter of recommendation from your Japanese teacher (who is hopefully Japanese) should really help.
Regarding the whole "they prefer no knowlege of Japaense bit" I've heard that quite often but I'm not so certain. I can say that most of the JETs I know have studied Japanese for at least a year in college. Some people really do have no Japanese skills at all though. I get the impression that most people who "know Japanese" can't communicate in Japanese anyways when it gets down to business... so whether you've studied it or not wont take away from the fact that you will be a foreigner in a Japanese classroom, thus exposing the students (and teachers/staff) to your foreign ways. It's not just about teaching English, in my opinion. You're looking to exchange culture and junk like that too. I think if you ever do end up getting a JET position, you will discover that the English you speak and the English tehy are learning are two very different beasts. (No offense, but they seems mostly interested in American English, closelsy followed by English English... that's not to say that there aren't a ton of JETs from Australia or other countries though). Regardless, they teach a very bastardized version of American English, which focuses too much on the written part of it. Therefore, it is my humble opinion that while you are there to teach English, you will mostly spend time talking about your country and assisting the teachers with class activities and things like that. You might also get to work with the city to promote different events or participate in things with the community (or you may do that on your own accord as many JETs do).
The pay is great (by Japanese standards... especially considering the hours). The pay is also very good when compared with America (my home country). Unless you were born rich and are accustomed to really nice accomodations your whole life, the living conditions wont get to you much.
There are some things that are worse and some things that are better. If you focus on the crappy things, you'll have a crappy experience. If you focus on the good things, you'll have a good experience (albeit a little artificial). If you take it as it is, I'm sure you'll still have a good time. Such is life, when you really think about it.