Xplore Japan TEFL Program with Guaranteed Placement

Nestled in the outskirts of Tokyo in a little town called Ryugasaki in Japan, I would come to flourish in my community and change in ways I did not anticipate. After university I had found a desk job in New Zealand. I settled in and gained 50 kilograms becoming overweight. In my first year in Japan I lost those 50 kilograms and returned to my natural weight. I noticed no big difference in my lifestyle except a half walk to work and delicious Japanese food. I picked up the language, I made friends in the neighbourhood. They’d invite me for dinner. Lastly I was privileged to connect with my students. I’d answer their questions about life outside Japan and give advice on decisions to make moving on from high school. A truly transformative experience.

I had the most amazing time teaching English, learning more about a culture I have always loved and improving my own language skills I didn’t know I had, I miss my students and urge you to try it out!

I am an introvert. If someone had told high school me that I would become a teacher, I would have rolled my eyes in disbelief. Yet, here I am, growing, becoming a better teacher than I was last year and looking forward to becoming even better a year from now. By no means was it a piece of cake, or even a piece of pumpkin pie. The turning point was taking this course with XploreAsia. This course gave me a structure to base lessons on, a structure that I still use and adapt to any subject. More importantly, my teacher was very encouraging. There are still low times but during so I remember her words: 'Your persistence shines through. Good luck and never give up on teaching. You are great.'