Teaching in Japan: Does It Matter Where You're From?

One of the most common questions I've received since starting the Tubes is whether origin, language, and appearance will matter when you're looking for a job in Japan. Here are my thoughts on the matter. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks for watching :)

Music info:

Social media and whatnot:
Snapchat: Kazenouta
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About me:
My name is Charlie. I'm a 29 year old writer and teacher living in Japan.

This title of this channel is "Charlie no Seikatsu (チャーリーの生活)," which means "Charlie's Daily Life." On this channel, you'll get a look at life as a teacher in Japan, not to mention my struggles to become a successful travel and fiction writer. Hiking, food, manga -- anything interesting I come across in my day-to-day will be featured here, and I hope you'll come along for the ride.

[rasal-ghul]

Love the new intro! Nonbiri's music fits it perfectly.

[InstantTofu]

I really appreciate how mindful and sincere you are when taking on these subjects. One my favorite parts about this channel has been the level of openness and authenticity that you've maintained with your viewers. Thanks for existing.

[GTV-Japan]

I found your channel through Twitter and I say I enjoy the topics you cover.

In this video you really hit the point home about selling a product and there are places that are not into selling a product and are trying to sell an actual education. At places like that I've worked alongside people from Poland, Nigeria, and Japanese-Americans too. So those places are out there to be found.

[japanda]

Hey There! I'm Mexican, and I got a job teaching English in Japan. In my future channel, I'll make a video about the process and tips for non native speakers to get a job in Japan as English teachers.

[MikeyHansen]

This was super legit, probably one of the best videos covering that particular topic. I'm a non-native English speaker myself and it often feels like some of the native speakers in Japan dismisses the idea of someone like me teaching without proper reasoning. I think the approach you took here was down to earth and realistic, thank you for that.

I know that you can't possibly comment on my chances, so I won't ask. But thank you for the video and I hope to see more like this moving forward.

[brianjanssen]

Thank you for answering these questions, fits with my expectations though, although a bit sad it makes sense. Luckily teaching isn't my first choice as a job in Japan, but for those that have been asking about this info this definitely answer it I'd think. Good that you asked around instead of just instantly giving an answer without attempting to get the fact out there instead of only an opinion.

[josephmeetstravel]

I have met English teachers here that are from Germany and France that had English as their second language. I have also met Asian American English teachers here in Japan. Now, I am Puerto Rican and not white Puerto Rican either. It is true what you say, some schools prefer that certain look and it is sad. That goes for a lot of things in Japan and not just teaching.

[gerganam]

Yay! Finally, this video is up! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and observations. I guess I have a chance after all. :D

[HideinOsaka]

I see a theme to the flags that you chose for the cover of this vid :p

Thanks for putting this out there Charlie. Speaking from firsthand experience, it really is frustrating to apply for English teaching jobs as a Nikkei. But as Charlie and many have mentioned here, just soldier on, and you'll find a good place that is genuinely looking for an able educator, and not a foreign display doll.

[PigglesDiGaijin]

Interesting....HMMMMN lots of nuggets here... visual stimulation is really a thing too

[saltyp]

The truth of this video is so out there is hard to not accept what you that it is hard to accept, Demo you have so many things that people want no to look at and this is one such thing. good video and true to self as always i have a few questions i want to as but thats for another time great video as always.

[peanutrunnerjelly]

Yo!! That Sora figure reminds me an awful lot of that KH2 Sora figure you got me many years back! Think I only opened it once...must be worth quite a bit now!

[AlKameido]

Interesting topic. I can say as an Asian American I was able to find an English Teaching job in Japan many moons ago. Although not as an ALT. I tried to get into JET, but was rejected. And I hate to say it but that year the candidates that were chosen were mostly Caucasian. I learned from some of the Japanese professors at my university that at the time, the image of an English speaking native was bluntly white skinned blond and blue eyed. And since JET was associated with the public schools in Japan, those were the ones mostly chosen. I am sure there were other candidates chosen that were non Caucasian. I am only stating what I experienced and was told. But the morale of the story was as you said, you just have to keep going. I wanted to go to Japan and found a way there. Once I was there, I believe the students and staff thought I was a great teacher. It did not matter what I looked like to them. Now, outside in the wilds of Japan, that is a different story. Sorry for the long post.

[HigginsInJapan]

Great video! At the end of the day you have to realize that some people will judge you based on your appearance but I have found that 9 times out of 10 most people will be shocked and then just not care once they find out you are a good teacher...if you are a good teacher that is haha.

Also, I was told I was pronouncing the word "music" incorrectly. Me...a native speaker. I was told it was supposed to be pronounced "musick". So, just remember that for future reference. From someone that claimed to have English as their first language.

[MichelGarciaH]

I know of cases like the ones you mention of people from India and of Japanese descent that can't find jobs teaching English precisely because their potential bosses either don't really think they can't speak English at a native level, or because they think they wouldn't "sell" as native English speakers.

What I don't get, what I just can't process is, how can they limit it to native speakers that come from specific countries when there are people in those countries that speak the language terribly? The native language of my country is Spanish, and some people speak it really nice and all, but there are some that just trash the language. I've always thought that the elimination process shouldn't be the country of origin, but passing a language ability test, in this case it could be either one of the 2 most popular ones (TOEFL and IELTS).

I know my limitations; I can read, write, and listen at a native level, but I can't speak it as fluently (accent and lack of practice, mainly because I don't use the language and have no-one to practice with), but I though that, maybe, because of the upcoming Olympic Games, the demand for teachers of other languages would increase, but that hasn't been the case, sadly.

[utooz]

Red Dragon Diaries on youtube is an American Asian recently moved to Japan to teach English.

[lulhoofd]

Would tattoos matter? I am able to cover them but they are quite big.

[klaudia]

I lived in the UK since I was 10 and I can speak English nearly better than Polish (which is my first language) do you think I would be able to find a English teaching job in Japan?

[Vysegast]

Hey man I have a question about looks while teaching in Japan. I have long shoulder length hair ( as a guy ), would it be acceptable to teach as long as I have the hair under control or is just a plain out no. P.S. I love your videos man! Keep it up!

[mai]

Pretty disappointing to hear... but not totally unexpected. English is my first language, but I'm from a bilingual Asian country (I don't speak my own native language very well, sadly) and I'm sure that's not exactly going to work in my favour when I actually get around to applying for jobs over there. :( Thank you for the informative and honest video, though!

Do you have any tips for increasing your chances of getting accepted despite the obstacles you mentioned? :)