Teaching Hours in Japan

[ozfraggle]

Hi all,

My fiance and I are looking at working in Japan as of late March/early April next year. However, we have a few concerns.

We have heard that in Japan, most of the work is not in blocks (not a standard 9 - 5 day). We have heard that we can expect to work a few hours in the morning then there will be a break, then be expected to work in the afternoons and then maybe need to work at night as a part of a normal working day. Is this the case in the majority of situations?

Does anyone know if newly accredited teachers (with limited Japanese language skills) would be given the opportunity of working from 9 - 5? Are these jobs at all common or are we being a tad idealistic? We are happy to discuss opportunities outside of major metropolitan areas (it's even preferable for us) so long as the flexibility to work a 'normal' business day is offered.

Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Sean

[gfell]

Hello Sean,

Your assumptions about teaching in Japan are fairly correct. There are many positions that offer long hours with breaks throughout the day. Obviously though, these type of teaching jobs attract fewer teachers due to the long interrupted hours required.

This does not mean all teaching jobs in Japan are along these lines. There are still plenty of 1 block teaching jobs that have only 1 hour unpaid break throughout the day. You just have to keep an eye out for them.

A normal teaching day in Japan is from late morning to about 8pm. Many shops and businesses don't open til 10am, yet close somewhat later than shops in Australia. A typical teacher would teach about 25 hours per week. That is, 5 hours per day. So you may only be required at the school from 2pm til 7pm. This is the ideal.

Very few teachers in Japan are required to be at their school during non-teaching hours.

[ozfraggle]

Thankyou for your help.

Would you have any idea of whether there are any schools where the teaching block is the norm as opposed to the exception? We would be very interested in approaching these schools directly before we arrive in Japan.

Thanks again,

Sean

[gfell]

Try looking at www.kfm.to. KFM (Kansai Flea Market) is a classifieds magazine that is published weekly and distributed throughout the Kansai area. A pdf document is also available for download from their site.