People who enjoy teaching others and are interested in not only the Japanese language but also the languages and cultures of various countries. Since you will be working with foreigners from different cultures, you should have an open personality, receptiveness, and patience.

Teaching Japanese to foreigners in Japan or abroad, including reading, writing, and speaking Japanese. In addition, they often teach Japanese culture and customs in order to help people better understand the Japanese language. The fields of activity range from universities and Japanese language schools to corporate training centers and international relief centers. They teach a variety of people, including international students, working people who have come to Japan to acquire skills, and people who are already working in Japan and their families. The teachers must respond differently depending on the purpose of learning Japanese, the age of the students, and other factors. For foreigners, Japanese language instructors are, so to speak, a window to Japanese culture. It is a meaningful role with a great deal of responsibility.

If you teach at a public university or a national institution, you need a teaching license (or a teaching license in your country if you are overseas). If you are teaching at other private Japanese language schools, you do not need any special qualifications. However, it is advisable to take a Japanese language teacher training course at a university or vocational school to acquire knowledge of the Japanese language and teaching skills. In addition, many Japanese-language schools require their students to pass the Japanese Language Teaching Proficiency Test sponsored by the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES). The passing rate for the test is around 25%, making it a difficult test to pass, but it is worth the challenge.

English is now the lingua franca of the world, and you should at least master it. If you want to teach abroad, especially in a specific country, you will need to study the language of that country beforehand. Also, since you will have to teach them about life in Japan, you will need to be prepared with common sense as a Japanese person.

Teaching Japanese is an indispensable profession in this age of internationalization. As the number of foreign visitors to Japan increases, so does the demand for highly qualified Japanese language teachers. The government is in the process of establishing a new national certification for "certified teachers of the Japanese language. There are also many foreigners studying Japanese overseas. According to statistics, about 80% of Japanese language teachers who teach Japanese to these people are not native speakers of Japanese (Japan Foundation, 2018 Survey of Overseas Japanese-Language Education Institutions). There is a need for Japanese language teachers who are active overseas.

The average annual salary for teaching at Japanese language schools in Japan is approximately 4.62 million yen.

Most workplaces have one or two days off per week. There is not much overtime work.

Japanese language schools in Japan and abroad, as well as vocational schools, universities, and junior colleges in Japan, and elementary, junior high, and higher education institutions overseas that offer "Japanese language education courses". Japanese language institutes for foreign diplomats living in Japan, training centers (Japan International Cooperation Agency) for technical trainees from foreign universities and companies, and international relief centers to care for refugees and others.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as a Japanese language teacher!

日本語教師の仕事につくために役立つ資格を紹介しているよ。