Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Some Questions Answered

I have been contacted by someone who wants to do the same thing as me, and will face the same obstacles as I did because of their age.

This post will hopefully answer their questions, and help anyone else in a similar position.

1. Is Gaba a weekend training course?

Gaba is a conversation school (eikaiwa) where I teach students. The training I was referring to in my previous posts was the school's training. It may be confusing as they refer to their teachers (like me) as 'instructors'. The busiest times at conversation schools are weekdays evenings and weekends, and you decide your own schedule at Gaba, so that's when I work.

2. How did you go about finding private students and then tutoring them? Is GABA essential to do this?

I found my private students through a company called the Foreign Instructor Centre (unfortunately I can't find their website). I found that company on GaijinPot.com and applied to them through it, and now they send me the details of prospective students usually around five times a day. When you reply to them saying you're interested in a student, you suggest a time and place for the lessons, they ask the student if they're interested too. Then they arrange an unpaid thirty-minute demo lesson between you and the student. If the student likes you, they arrange with both you and the company to meet a certain amount of times every week.

Gaba is not essential to do this. In effect, I have two jobs. I work at Gaba on weekends and weekday evenings, and meet private students at different times spread throughout weekdays.

3. Also, I did read on your blog about another job interview?

I have had several other job offers from other schools, I've lost count but it's probably close to fifteen. All of these schools found me via my 50-word advert on Jobs In Japan.com.

4. What other types of jobs would it be POSSIBLE for someone like me to get? The only one I'm aware of at the moment is working in a restaurant.

I think the best option for any native-English speaker coming to Japan is teaching English. I am 18 and started work a month after arriving, and, two weeks later I've earned around Y30,000 (£150). Gaijinpot.com advertises for all types of jobs, but the most common is definitely teaching.

5. I didn't find anything on your blog about homestays, so I'm guessing you completely scrapped it, or ignored it?

That's true, in my blog post on Accommodation I didn't mention homestays.

Honestly, this is because I had forgotten about it being a viable option. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay with a family for 10 months or so, because I would want more privacy and freedom than might be offered. However, it might be a good idea to organise one for the first few nights as they can meet you at the airport, and introduce you to the Japanese language and culture with less of a shock.

My recommendation is definitely a guesthouse, or gaijinhouse. This means you live with other foreigners and share your kitchen, bathroom and living room with them. You might have your own rooms (like me), or stay in a dormitory. I am staying with Sakura House. There is more information on how to organise monthly (it is minimum stay of one month) accommodation with them on an earlier post.

If your heart is set on a homestay, here are a few websites I've found that might be useful.

Go Japan's Homestay page (follow the links on the page)

Go Japan's Homestay advice page

Homestayweb.com (helpfully split up into area/city)

Homestay Program Index

6. I'm just wondering how you got your apartment? In terms of coming to Japan, and having that apartment already rented? (Or arranged?). Did you have that done through a website like Gaijinpot?

I arranged my guesthouse through Sakura's House website. There's more information about the best way to find what you want with them on my Accommodation post.

7. I do meet the requirements for the Working Holiday Visa, and I'm just wondering when I should apply for it?

Basically, you should apply for the visa somewhere between six months and three weeks before you want to enter Japan and enter Japan within six months of receiving the visa. It takes about one week for the visa to be issued after application. There's more information on my Visa post.

8. About the language. My Japanese is worse than shocking.

Don't worry about language ability. English is everywhere, and although I have knowledge of Japanese, none of it was practical experience, so think of what I have done so far as using English only. Ask for someone who speaks English at banks, or shops or wherever you need help, and 90% of the time, someone with be able to help you, at least in Tokyo. I have made improvements in my language ability, but have encountered difficulties and frustration, as I mentioned last week.

9. How should I set up a bank account? Is there a specific bank I can go to that will do it? (Being under 20 years old.)

The bank account was difficult, I must admit. Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Bank was recommended to me by Gaba, who said that I would be able to open an account there being under 20, because I would be working with them. If a company like Gaba asks you to open an account, they might be able to help you open one, like Gaba did for me. If you work with private students (not arranged through the Foreign Instructor Centre as they require a bank account) then you will be paid in cash so you don't need to worry. More information here.

10. Finally, about the mobile phone. I read on one of your blogs about needing a 20 year old to buy a mobile phone over there. Is this in every case?

As far as I know, this is in every case. Also, most phone companies are shutting down pre-paid (pay-as-you-go) services in the next few months because of crime. This is unfortunate, as the service is almost perfect for foreigners staying for a few months. I'm not sure exactly when they are being phased out totally, but they are no longer available at big-chain electronic stores or even the phone company branch shops. I had to buy mine from a convenience store.

With regard to finding someone over 20, I just asked a housemate if he knew anyone over 20 who could help me out, and I had a phone by the following evening! Sum0 (from Sum0's Japan Blog) found someone at Mickey House in Shinjuku (a language exchange cafe) who bought one for him, so maybe you could take a trip there when you arrive. Maybe my earlier post on Mobile Phones will be helpful too.

Books I recommend are 'Japan: A Working Holiday Guide', by Louise Southerden (this has been my bible for the last few years). In terms of teaching, I think 'How to Teach English', by Jeremy Harmer is very good.

I hope this has been helpful, and has answered any questions you have. If there are still some problems, let me know and I'll try to help you sort them out!

Some follow-up questions have been asked, so I will try to answer them as best I can.

1. I would want to stay by myself and rent my own apartment. I definitely want an apartment where I have my own kitchen etc, and not shared facilities. I checked the Sakura House website, and noticed they had apartments, as well as guesthouses and dorms. Do the apartments have shared bathroom, kitchen and living room? (I wasn't too sure from the website).

I have had a look at Sakura House's website and apartments do seem very appealing. I can't speak for all the apartment premises they offer, but the first one I checked was Nakano Heights. It includes a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom in a 17 sq metre space. The washing facilities are located outside the room so may be shared. The monthly rent is Y115,000 (£575) so it's more expensive than dormitories and guesthouses, but the cheapest apartment Sakura House offers is Y80,000 (£400). Some other apartments do have shared bathroom and kitchen facilities, and may be at the cheaper end.

2. I'll have a look on Google for other websites with apartments in Tokyo and see if I have any luck. I'll hope for finding one with no key money required and a small deposit. Any ideas?

I had a look online and found this website which offers apartments all over Tokyo. In most cases, you will need a guarantor, someone who lives in Japan and has a stable income, among other requirements, which is difficult to do! But they also offer 'Serviced Apartments', which sound easier to get into. You can choose a 'Long-stay apartment' and have a hunt through what you want. Prices seem to start at around Y80,000 (£400).

3. Also, about your answers to you teaching English. You stated you have two jobs. Gaba and private tutoring? Just wondering - how much money do you make through both of these, and how many students you have taken on / how many lessons you average out a week?

I have two private students, one I see once a week for a two hour lesson (Y2,000/hour) and the other I see three times a week for hour-long lessons (also Y2,000/hour). This comes out as Y10,000 (£50)/week from private students. On top of that, I work at Gaba for 1,400/40-minute lesson (soon to be 1,500/lesson). I aim to do 20 lessons a week at Gaba but at the moment it's more like 15. So, I suppose on average I aim to earn about Y30,000/week (£150).

For more information on money and living costs, see my post on Budgets.

A couple more questions:

1. Did you go to Gaba when you arrived in Japan for a 'certificate' ? ie. to get a job with them? Just wondering how it was, and what it involved?

Yes, what they call 'Certification' is actually just their in-house training. Once you complete the three 9-hour days of training and get at least 70% on the test at the end, you can start working for them. The test was very simple and you can use any textbooks or internet resources in the room to help you. I applied to Gaba through Gaijinpot.com and that's how I found the job.

The training basically involved sitting there for a hours on end taking notes, and then practising teaching each other, with one pretending to be a Japanese student, the other teaching them a lesson from the textbook. On the third day, we taught real Japanese people, which was more interesting.

2. I read that you do 15 lessons a week - do you get an email from Gaba with details of a student who wants lessons, then you just have to respond and confirm if you can or cannot do it? (I read something like that on one of your blog entries - was that with Gaba or your own private teaching?)

That system works for my private students. The way Gaba works is that I submit the schedule I want to work in, for example, March, on February 10th and then students book lessons online. The students do choose their teachers but I've already said that I'm okay to work that lesson, so no confirmation is needed.

3. Also, you said you aim to do 20 lessons a week. Does this mean that you get the opportunity to do more lessons? How many do you think on average you could do each week?

I can do as little or as much work as I want to. I could put myself down for every available lesson under the sun - although that would be stupid. I work the busiest times, weekday evenings and weekends, and that adds up to around 15 a week. If I worked longer hours at these times, or worked during weekdays (not much chance of getting booked here because everyone's at work!) then I could work 50-60 lessons a week. You would have to be pretty lucky to actually get booked for these times though, as you only get paid for the lessons you teach.

4. Is it completely random where a student contacts Gaba and is assigned to a random teacher, or can they choose? - can a student 'pick you' in the sense that once you teach them, they can decide if they want to have future lessons with you?

Most of the time they choose, but sometimes they are assigned to a particular teacher because the managers think they would work well together, and sometimes they say 'I don't mind' and they get put with whoever's available. And yes, in order to become popular with students at Gaba, you need to do good lessons so students come back and book your lessons!

13 comments:

ben409 said...

Thanks a lot :)

ThePenguin said...

About the prepaid phones: I haven't heard anything about them being "phased out" altogether. The only phasing-out seems to be happening to the older models (one of which I was planning on getting); SoftBank at least appears now only to be offering 3G models (or just the one model in different colors). I was able to get hold of one a couple of weeks ago at their store in Shibuya, nothing other than my passport (and being a little way over 20) necessary.

There was a change two or three years back, when phone companies were required to verify the identification of anyone buying a prepaid phone because of various misuse issues. The new rules require proof of identity *and* official proof of a Japanese address, which for non-Japanese basically means the Alien Registration Card - which technically disqualifies non-resident visitors from buying
a prepaid.

BTW are you in the Harajuku / Sendagaya area?

Unknown said...

Another question that hasn't been asked yet:

Do you need a TEFL to teach with a company like gaba or just show you speak native english?

might have to get one if you need one >.<

Unknown said...

I'll answer this one: No, you do not need a TEFL to teach at Gaba or most other eikaiwa in Japan as they prefer to train you in their own method. You don't even to be a native English speaker, just a competent English speaker. The most important thing at Gaba is to appear fairly well-presented, motivated and articulate at the interview.

Miles said...

Hey everyone.

Thank you very much for your comments, it's nice to see that someone reads this!!

I will check my source on the "phasing-out" but it did come from a worker at a Softbank shop so I thought it was pretty reliable. Thank you for letting me know!

No, I live in Chuo-ku, but not far from Harajuku. Why do you ask?

Thanks for your question Jamie, it's a good one. And thank you for your reply Jennifer, I completely agree with it.

Hope you're all well!

Miles

ThePenguin said...

> No, I live in Chuo-ku, but not far from Harajuku. Why do you ask?

I got the impression from reading some of your entries... if it was the case it would make us almost neighbours ;). Not sure whether I'd describe Chuo-ku as being not far from Harajuku, if my geography serves me correctly Chuo is the Ginza / Nihonbashi / Tsukiji area.

I'd bet you a beer the "phased out" means the 2G service, viz this press release from Softbank, which states "...2G携帯電話サービス(プリペイド含む)の新規契約申し込み受付を、かねてからご案内しておりましたとおり、2008年3月31日(月)をもって終了します" (i.e. "New applications for 2G mobile phone service (including prepaid) will as previously announced no longer be accepted after March 31, 2008"), and the 3rd paragraph explicitly says 3G prepaid service will be introduced from February. Fortunately for all short-term Japan visitors who need a mobile at sane prices :).

Miles said...

Oh that's great! Phones for all then!!

I mean "not far from Harajuku" as in Japan-terms. It's 20 minutes on the subway and then a 5 minute walk so I think that's fairly reasonable.

You may have thought I lived near Harajuku because I work in Omotesando? Lots of my posts are based in that area!

Miles

ThePenguin said...

Aha, that would be it.

Unknown said...

Wow. Reading this blog has been extremely helpful. I'm set to go to Tokyo this September for roughly a year. The way you methodically explain the steps you need to go through to do something is exactly the kind of rescource that I need. Your diligence and generosity are truly appreciated. I do have a couple questions about jobs.

I have been accepted to Gaba by an overseas recruiter and I'm wondering about hours. Specifically you said that in order to get booked you mostly had to do evenings and weekend. How late in the day do you have to offer a lesson before it's likely to be booked? Five? Six? Seven? If you offer lessons during these times periods, is it likely that most of your lessons will be booked, even when you are just starting out? What about early morning lessons? I don't mind showing up at 7:45 if I can get students at these hours. Are the lessons that are early on weekdays likely to get booked? Also, as you develop a client base does it become possible to get lessons at the more competitive hours? After a few months would a popular teacher be able to fill lessons in the middle of a weekday?

Also, in an early post you mentioned joining an association for people who have the working holiday visa. Did you get any good job help out of them? What about jobsinjapan.com? In your earlier posts you mentioned getting a lot of leads through them, and even an offer for a Saturday class. Did the leads fizzle out, or did you just prefer your situation at Gaba?

OK, that was quite a long list of questions. Sorry for the bother. Once again, I really appreciate all your help.

AGin said...

I have a question about private tutoring while working for Gaba. Their contract mentioned 'no subcontracting', but is there any way Gaba could find out? If I teach students privately at a coffee shop through an agency, is that considered subcontracting? I don't want to be sued by Gaba :P Thanks for your help!

Miles said...

Hi! Thanks for your question.

Virtually everyone at the Gaba Learning Studio I worked at was doing private teaching on the side, and it was never a problem. I think the managers knew, but either it wasn't a problem, or they just didn't care! So I think you'll be absolutely fine doing that. Just maybe don't mention it at the headquarters when you go for an interview if you're concerned..

Hope that helps!

Miles

AGin said...

Thank you, Miles. I'm relieved now :) I know most instructors tutor on the side, I just wasn't sure if there was any way schools like Gaba knew about it. Thank again!

Miles said...

You're very welcome! Let me know if you any other questions :)

Miles