You speak as though you’ve never taught here. While there is a lot of dogma about how English should be taught ( translation, Katakana for MISpronunciation and grammar with a lack of practice which doesn’t work ) your statement about a lack of freedom and flexibility while teaching couldn’t be further from the truth. In most cases, in my 7 years teaching here I can tell you most schools and owners leave the materials and method of teaching entirely up to the teacher to do as they see fit.

Business classes always have a text and some schools do to, but how you teach it is up to you. I never hesitate to correct bad English whether it’s written in the text or not, or spontaneously teach the same topic off the top of my head using proper English, and I have yet to be chastised for doing so.

It’s actually very rare that the school, even business classes check to see how the class is taught, they just want to get paid, so as long as the customer is happy they don’t really care.

The stereotype you are espousing does apply to some of the larger chain schools ( or so I’m told as I’ve never worked for any of them ) but the biggest barrier to Japanese students becoming proficient at English is Japanese students and the cultural beliefs that they carry about learning and studying English.

The system is messed up and ineffective, but even those outside the system maintain the same limiting beliefs that perpetuate the problem. There is a contradiction in that most students seem to believe they should be able to learn English in one hour a week, then feel like they, their teacher, or the school has failed when once a week isn’t enough. Most just take comfort in the statement “English is difficult” ( a perpetually overused statement EVERY English student knows how to say BTW ) and continue to make little or no real progress.

I like teaching in Japan and I have COMPLETE autonomy as to how I teach so I’m recognized as an unusually good teacher by some and a defiant arrogant foreigner by others.

Until students practice frequently or daily and believe that they CAN become good at English, the system won’t change and students will continue to fail to learn English well.

Teaching English is a great experience, and there are many options. Truthfully, most students and schools will never produce good English speakers, mostly because NOBODY learns a language practicing and studying it only one hour once a week.

The students who do succeed ( practice and believe they can get better ) are the one who make it worth teaching.

Tim

If you are not from a native English speaking country, then you would need to pass the highest level of TOEIC I believe.

Many eikaiwa do not give their teachers much leeway either, because eikaiwa teachers often do not have any formal training before they are hired. (most ALT teachers also have no formal training)

The only way to have control over your class would be to get a master’s degree in teaching from your native country and then apply for a full fledged teacher’s position.