Teach in Japan

Japan is a cultural standalone in many ways among its Asian counterparts – a unique experience for tourists, travellers and TEFL graduates. Consisting of a string of densely populated islands, most of the landmass is mountainous (including 200 volcanoes – Mount Fuji being the most famous), surrounded by a beautiful coastline and opportunities for outdoors activities abound. If skiing is your thing, then Japan in winter is hard to beat, with some excellent ski resorts making the most of thick powdery snows. There are also numerous hot springs in Japan thanks to the volcanic landscape.

Japan is a highly developed and sophisticated country, very clean and cultured, though the cost of living is higher than in Southeast Asia and Indochina.  Japan is also known for an almost 100% literacy rate, a proud but exceptionally hospitable populace, thousands of temples and shrines, cherry blossoms in the springtime and undeniably superb cuisine – including sushi of course!

NOVA is one of the leading English conversation schools in Japan with over 300 branches throughout the country. Most of the branches operated directly by NOVA are in central Japan and Hokkaido. Schools in Northern and Southern Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa are run by affiliated companies.

The NOVA brand delivers high-quality instruction and language services to those who wish to improve their communicative proficiency in foreign languages. Students of a wide range of ages and ability levels, from complete beginner to very advanced, can choose to take small group or private lessons face-to-face in one of the many NOVA school branches throughout Japan, over a video-conferencing system or online from the comfort of their own homes, or a combination.

In addition to conversation skills-based lessons, test preparation courses are offered to students studying for specific English tests such as TOEIC or TOEFL. Also popular is their range of NOVA Plus courses. Some of these courses focus on specific skills (such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.,) and some are geared towards specific purposes (such as business or travel).

LOCATION

Positions are available nationwide, including Hokkaido (Sapporo), Tohoku (Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima), Niigata, Ibaraki, Tochigi (Utsunomiya), Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Saitama (Gunma), Shizuoka (Hamamatsu, Fuji), Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Nagano, Hokuriku (Kanazawa), Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Osaka, Hyogo (Kobe, Himeji), Chugoku (Hiroshima, Okayama), Shikoku (Takamatsu), Kyushu, (Fukuoka), and Okinawa (Naha).

SALARY

£7 – £12 per lesson (GBP)
$9 – $15 per lesson (USD)

CONTRACT LENGTH

12 months

AGE GROUP

3 years to adults

START DATE

All year round

NOVA is perfect for candidates of all levels of experience, whether completely new to teaching or already accomplished in the teaching field and seeking a new challenge.

NOVA’s network of schools extends across Japan and enrolled NOVA students have access to all NOVA schools and instructors. To ensure satisfaction and the same high-quality lessons every time, much care has been taken over many years to use the know-how acquired through experience to develop a core curriculum that has the right balance of structure and flexibility. Lessons are structured and fully-supported with all the materials and resources you need, ensuring that even on your first day of teaching after the initial training week, with any level of prior experience you will be well-equipped to teach well-structured and valuable lessons. At the same time, within the structure provided by the textbooks and training there is ample scope to tailor each lesson to the needs and interests of each client, adding value to your lessons, and allowing you to continue to refine your teaching skills, and build your own brand and base under the umbrella of the NOVA brand.

Career advancement opportunities are available to all, regardless of length of experience.

  • They offer a lesson remuneration rate of 1,200-1,700 JPY per 40-minute lesson with generous additional amounts for working on weekends and special lessons, between 200-500 JPY extra per 45-minute lesson (You can check the current exchange rate here: xe.com)
  • Visa assistance
  • Help finding suitable accommodation
  • Signing bonus
  • Transportation allowance
  • Monthly incentives
  • End of contract bonus

Those who commit to a 34 lesson per week schedule for 1 year will also receive:

  • 50,000-100,000 JPY flight costs to Japan
  • 20,000-30,000 JYP Christmas bonus

In addition, those who commit to a 40 lesson per week schedule for 1 year will receive:

  • Housing allowance of 10,000 JPY per month

  • Age groups:3 to adults.
  • Class size: No more than 8 students.
  • Work hours and schedules:On average, you’ll be expected to work five days a week and have two days off (most likely weekdays). Schedules are normally between 13:00-21:30 on weekdays, and 10:00-18:30 on weekends and national holidays.
  • Locations:Positions are available nationwide, including Hokkaido (Sapporo), Tohoku (Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima), Niigata, Ibaraki, Tochigi (Utsunomiya), Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Saitama (Gunma), Shizuoka (Hamamatsu, Fuji), Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Nagano, Hokuriku (Kanazawa), Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Osaka, Hyogo (Kobe, Himeji), Chugoku (Hiroshima, Okayama), Shikoku (Takamatsu), Kyushu, (Fukuoka), and Okinawa (Naha).
  • Start dates:Year-round.
  • Contract length: 12-month contracts available.

Due to work visa requirements, applicants must:

  • Be native English speakers from the USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand.
  • Hold a fully completed bachelor’s degree (or higher).
  • Hold a clean national criminal background check.

Teacher Testimonials! What our teachers say about us and their experience in Asia.