oh ok i was sure that i read that somewhere. i plan to visit japan plenty of times before i just up and decide to up and get plans together to just flat out move there. how can u want to move to a place that you have never even been to before. who knows i could go there and change my mind, its doubtful, but it happens.

MMM what is your job? i'm under the impression that the career field i have chosen isn't whats needed in japan. i wouldn't mind teaching english, but just because i can speak english doesn't make me qualified to teach it.

I couldn't say if it is or isn't. I am a Japanese-English translator. Sadly, just because you can speak English does make you qualified to teach in Japan.

hahahaha, are you serious???? learn something new everyday...
so then you must have taught english at some point???
that only makes sense, if you can in fact get a job teaching english even though you didnt go to school and have no qualifications to be a teacher and can still land a job teaching english, then if the opportunity comes across that u can teach english in japan then why no take it? and then try and use that time to open some doors and network with ppl to find a job that your actually qualified to do?
but since any english speaking person is qualified shouldnt teaching english be pretty hard to get.

It is a hard job to get now...wasn't that way 10 years ago, but with population decline, poor economy, and the Nova bankruptcy (a chain of English schools that closed a large %...putting thousands of English teachers already in Japan into the pool of job-seekers) you will find it is harder.

So basically graduating from college does not promise you a life in Japan...

Not everyone who can speak English, even natively, can teach English. It's true that some level of learning can be accomplished through conversation with any speaker of English, but for older students there is a point where mere internalisation ceases to work. For adults, especially, the need for grammar structure to be explained in the native language of the student is absolutely critical. By the time we enter adulthood, generally, our worldview is so dependent on our language that internalisation simply no longer works. This is why children have such an easier time with language acquisition; they have yet to see the world primarily or entirely via one language. The ability to actually instruct individuals on the parts of speech and linguistic structure of English takes years of study. A college degree at an English speaking university at least gives you the tools to recognise mistakes, and a degree in English specifically gives you the ability to know why they are mistakes and how to correct them. Adding on education courses allows you to instruct others as to why they are mistakes and how to correct them.

Native level fluency alone does not, and will never, a teacher make.

No one said it ever promised anything. It's just the bare bone minimum to even get there. MMM never said graduate from college as an English major either.
By the way, how d'you plan on going and living there? (No sarcasm, I seriously
am just curious.)

im well aware of all of that, which is why i said that just because i can speak english doesn't mean i can teach it to someone. right now i know a some a few years older than me that graduated from the same school i went to (the university of georgia) that has a degree in international business and now she teaches english in korea. so years of study doesn't necessarily have to take place at all. i was just shocked that they'll allow any english-japanese speaking joe blow off the streets of japan to teach english.

Why do you say 'lower myself' to teach english? Do you believe that teaching is a lesser profession or do you say it that way because you disagree with the stigma?

I never said he said it promised anything...lol :confused: :confused: :confused:
...just making a statement.

I'm going in December 2010. Long story, I'll PM you later if you really want me to.

Seriously?

He was quoting the people that say that.....