Is it impossible for a Japanese person to teach Japanese in America?

[Brooker]

A former student of mine (a Japanese gal) really wants to teach Japanese in America. I've been trying to help her find a place to do so, but it just seems like there really aren't many options out there. There aren't that many places that teach Japanese and the places that do only have teachers with Master's degrees and very impressive resumes. She has studied teaching Japanese and has experience teaching Japanese in Australia. It seems ironic that it's so easy for Americans to teach English in Japan, but so impossible for Japanese to teach Japanese in America. Is it just that Americans aren't interested in learning Japanese? I thought there would be more people interested in learning Japanese in Seattle. What's the deal? Is teaching Japanese in America just an impossible dream? Any thoughts?

Good point. It seems in most schools across America students can only learn German, French, and Spanish. Maybe it's a conspiracy

[Colin]

I took Japanese in high school (early-mid 90's) and my sensei was native Japanese. Have you checked with the school districts in the Seattle area? I've got to believe that many of them offer Japanese. It also may be worthwhile to check with local private high schools and junior high schools (Catholic, etc.).

Regardless, I guess the hardest part is going to be dealing with visa issues. Good luck to your friend!!!

[lexico]

Has she tried posting language tutoring fliers around the Univeristy of Washington area ? It might be competitive; but the ALL Asian Languages and Literature department should have a fair number of students either majoring in the language or from other majors taking Japanese who might want private lessons in addition to the regular Japanese classes. Outside of school, I'm not sure the average US citizen would be motivated enough to take Japanese in private although Seattle might be different. If she has an exceptionally strong curriculum, she might be able to teach. Also does the city have an Open University program ? I don't know for sure, so I'm just throwing some random possibilities. Are there any Japanese-American families who might want to impart the language to their children although they might not speak it any more ?

[misa.j]

The demands of Japanese language in the US in general seem low. Even in a place like NY, I think the opportunities are very limited because people don't really need to use it.
It seems like people should be able to speak some Japanese when they deal with their Japanese business partners, but I think the most cases, English is the dominant language.

However, if she has an experience teaching Japanese in Australia, it should definitely help her in the US as well.

Here is the site I found.
http://www.sealang.com/flp/flp_instructors_7.asp

[Brooker]

Thanks for the help guys.

Originally Posted by misa.j

Here is the site I found.
http://www.sealang.com/flp/flp_instructors_7.asp

I've actually attended Japanese classes at this school. This was my teacher...

Keiko Nakamura - Japanese
Keiko Nakamura was born in Nara, Japan. She earned a Bachelor's degree and Japanese pedagogy certification at the International Christian University in Tokyo. She studied at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and earned a Master's degree in East Asian languages and cultures, specializing in Japanese literature and linguistics. After graduation, she taught for four and a half years in the Japanese Program for Professionals, University of Washington, as a full-time faculty member and chief instructor. She has been teaching Japanese language and culture since 1992.

Pretty impressive resume, ne? My friend's qualifications are nowhere near this. All of the Japanese teachers I've come across have university professor level credentials. Also the school only has three Japanese teachers who have all been there forever. It just seems like such a hard career to get into.

It just seems so strange that someone like me who only has a four year degree and no teaching experience could so easily become an English teacher in Japan, but the flipside of that isn't true at all.

[nice gaijin]

interesting point, now that I think about it my current professor's credentials are similarly impressive, Brooker.

EDUCATION

* Ph.D. Foreign/second language teaching, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2002.
* M. A. Asian Studies, concentrating on Japanese language pedagogy, University of Oregon, 1992.
* B. A. University of Oregon, 1990.
* Currently, I am working on my second MA in Educational Technology


ACADEMIC POSITIONS (Japanese language teaching & research)

* Fall 2003 ~
Assistant Professor, California State University at Sacramento
* Spring 2002 - Spring 2003
Instructor, California State University at Sacramento
* Summer 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004
Instructor, Summer Japanese Language Program, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan
* Fall 1999 - Fall, 2000
Assistant director, Mary Tsukamoto California Japanese Language Academy, Elk Grove, California
Japanese language teacher credentialing program
* Fall 1993 - Spring 1999
Coordinator& Instructor, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
* September 1992 - June 1993
Instructor, University of California at Davis, Davis, California
* September 1990 - August 1992 & Summer 1993
Instructor, TA, & research assistant, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

Perhaps if your friend would like some guidance I could get her in touch with my teacher. She is very involved in academia and her passion is teaching Japanese, I'm sure she'd be happy to help.

[Brooker]

Originally Posted by nice gaijin

Perhaps if your friend would like some guidance I could get her in touch with my teacher. She is very involved in academia and her passion is teaching Japanese, I'm sure she'd be happy to help.

Thanks, but I think the answer is that she would need at least a Master's degree in Japanese language to become a Japanese teacher, which seems kind of lame to me. I don't really think it's neccesary to be such an "expert" in order to be an effective teacher. But I guess since there are so few positions available, they can be as selective as they wish in choosing their teachers.

[misa.j]

Originally Posted by Brooker

It just seems so strange that someone like me who only has a four year degree and no teaching experience could so easily become an English teacher in Japan, but the flipside of that isn't true at all.

I've gotten the impression that having a degree is really important to get a job in the US, much more than how it is in Japan. Especially if you want to get a teaching job in a foreign language, it seems that the requirements include at least a master's.

In Japan, more people are learning English, so I think they care more about quantity than quality, that's not to say that a bachelor's degree is not adequate.

[nice gaijin]

What level does she wish to teach? thanks to "No Child Left Behind," a degree is required even for assistant teachers and aides, but I don't think more than a bachelors would be necessary for teaching lower level Japanese... The main problem then becomes the lack of demand for teachers at those lower levels.

[pipokun]

When she needs just her casual teaching experience outside Japan, I guess a voluntary teaching assistant position would be one of her easy choice. It is indeed a voluntary job; he/she must pay hundreds of thousands of money, actually a friend of mine joined a program after paying much money. It is like a paying volunteer.
She regrets now that she should have simply entered a college for her degree in the North America, though she says it was a good experience.

[blade_bltz]

I was taught in high school by a native Japanese. This was at a private school in the Boston area. The local public school also has very good Japanese classes, which I believe are also taught by a Japanese person. Also, I participated in this Japanese "language competition" called the Japan Bowl (New England regionals and then nationals in DC), and I noticed that a majority of the teams were taught by native speakers. Of course, it's still a very small world. My team traveled with two other New England teams to Washington, and all three sensei were actually good friends who met, I assume, at various teacher conferences or whatever other Japanese related goings-on occur in this area.

I agree with Colin, unless she is interested in teaching something higher level, I'd advise her to check out private schools. During my short exchange with a local high school in Sapporo, I found out from one of the English teachers there that he had actually spent a few years teaching Japanese at a Boston area private school very close to mine. I might have actually played baseball against him....he assisted coaching the JV team at that school. ^_^

[kirei_na_me]

Gosh, even in Hicktown, USA, there are native Japanese who teach Japanese in regular public high schools. One of my mom's really good friends is a native Japanese and she has been teaching at the same high school, where my mom was also a teacher, for years. This is in a small milltown in North Carolina, mind you. She's never short on students, either. Interesting...

[budd]

was thinking that also
i don't know how much they are paid (and too scared to ask), but i know some friends teach japanese to company employees children so they won't be so far behind when they return to japan

[lexico]

Budd gets scared, too ? Is that possible ?

[Pararousia]

Originally Posted by kirei_na_me

Gosh, even in Hicktown, USA, there are native Japanese who teach Japanese in regular public high schools. One of my mom's really good friends is a native Japanese and she has been teaching at the same high school, where my mom was also a teacher, for years. This is in a small milltown in North Carolina, mind you. She's never short on students, either. Interesting...

Are you referring to Kernersville, by any chance?? When Deere-Hitachi moved there, Japanese became a subject in the high school there primarily for the Japanese children of the parents of that company.

Small world, in deed...even in Hicktown, USA.

[WHEATTHlNS]

If youre going to teach JAPANESE in the states (and there IS a demand for it - even if its not to receive a degree - as many colleges are now upping their foreign language requirements) yes you need a MASTERS.

And there is only one non-native JAPANESE instructor that I've come across at the two schools I'm attending.

It seems in most schools across America students can only learn German, French, and Spanish.

Thats a pretty dismissive comment. As someone above said - presently whats the advantage of learning JAPANESE? At least with SPANISH (which is still the most taken language with FRENCH) your employment opportunities are pretty much garunteed. With JAPANESE you can do what exactly -

When I applied for tuition reimbursement for classes - I had to fight for my JAP class to be included simply because "Japanese people will never use our services". I eventually got their thinking overtunred, but not for lack of trying.

[Brooker]

I think a big part of the problem is America's lack of interest in learning foreign languages. It's a big disincentive to learn another language when most foreign nationals can speak English.

[WHEATTHlNS]

I think a big part of the problem is America's lack of interest in learning foreign languages.

I dont think its a "lack of interest" so much as it is a "what use is it for me?". And what use is it for an American? In the UK for example - its not uncommon for someone to at least speak some foreign language. . .because its impossible to go a great distance without being in another country. Here - its highly unlikely someone is going to NEED to speak another language to a "profecient" comfortable level. . .so its just not going to weigh on their minds when they are deciding what to do with their free time to actually study another language.

It's a big disincentive to learn another language when most foreign nationals can speak English.

Of course they do - because its ADVANTAGEOUS to. But if there are folks out there who sit back and say - "Hey I want to learn ENGLISH - its quite sexy. . ." Id love to meet them for dinner and maybe some light petting. . .chicks only please.

[Silverpoint]

Japanese is the official language of exactly ONE country in the world. Compare that with French and Spanish (each officially spoken in over 25 countries) and it's not a level playing field. There's very little point in learning Japanese, unless you have a penchant for Japanese movies/books, or want to work/live in the country itself.

Like anything else in the modern world, it's about supply and demand. There are more teaching jobs in Japan than there are people to fill them, so naturally the standards required are very low. Hence most teachers over here get given just a few days training before they are let loose on paying customers, when they wouldn't be allowed near a classroom in their home country.

Very few people want to learn Japanese, so naturally there are very few jobs, and employers can afford to be very selective, going for only the most qualified or experienced candidates.

[lexico]

That is so strange; there used to be so many Japanese classes compared to Mandarin classes which wasn't a lot but still, so packed with people I practically had to swim across the hallway. Where did they go ?

[Silverpoint]

It could be that you were studying back during the bubble economy when western businesses misguidedly obsessed about copying "the Japanese way". I believe a lot more people wanted to learn Japanese back then.