Teaching Jobs in Japan

I had a disappointing experience with the placement process. I completed significant preparation, maintained a strong academic record, and obtained medical clearance from my doctor regarding concerns in my medical history. Despite that, I ultimately felt that older documentation and medical-history concerns were weighed more heavily than my actual qualifications, communication skills, and ability to succeed abroad. Communication throughout the process was generally professional, but I left feeling discouraged after investing substantial time and effort into preparing for teaching abroad. From my perspective, the process felt more focused on avoiding potential complications than evaluating applicants holistically as individuals. I understand organizations have policies and screening standards, but I would encourage future applicants to also explore direct-hire opportunities with Japanese schools and companies rather than relying only on placement/recruitment programs.

I am coming up on 6 months into my placement as an English teacher in Japan and could not be happier that I chose to work with TravelBud! TravelBud makes it extremely easy to begin the process of moving your life abroad, from facilitating a TESOL certification course, setting up interviews with prospective schools, and even connecting you with incredible people making up an in-country support team. Every staff member I have spoken with from this company has been incredibly kind, patient, and more than willing to answer any and all questions I had about teaching, living abroad, and the entire process of doing so. If you are thinking about teaching abroad, I cannot recommend TravelBud enough - they are a perfect resource to make the process of moving your entire life to another country as seamless as possible, whether it's your first or tenth time doing so!

TravelBud responded to this reviewSeptember 03, 2024

Hi Lilah, Thank you so much for your glowing review and kind recommendation. We're thrilled to hear that your time with our team has been so positive and that their expertise and support have made your teaching journey in Japan such a smooth and enjoyable experience over the past six months. Your encouraging words inspire us to keep delivering outstanding experiences for all our future teachers. We also love seeing your incredible posts on social media, showcasing all the amazing adventures you've had. Wishing you even more fantastic experiences ahead! Best regards, Ben & The TravelBud Team

Sometimes you are faced with a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Paid Teaching in Japan and Lifetime Placement is one of those opportunities. At first, I was skeptical about the program. The website and overall atmosphere I got from the Job source seemed to me to resemble a scam. After the first interview, I realized I was completely wrong. The interviewer and all other employees were in fact very professional. And within 4 months of a relatively expensive and time-consuming effort, I made it to Japan. All the hard work immediately paid off. The course was fast and easy, although it was thorough. I felt well equipped to be a teacher in Japan after going through all of it. A special benefit to this course specifically was the exposure to real teaching opportunities where we were thrown into language schools or even International Schools and replaced teachers for a lesson. This led me to my placement. I had a couple options for my placement, but the one that sounded the best was a position near Osaka, Japan. The Job itself is fine, I have enjoyed it so far, but the location is amazing. Being on the outside of Osaka just fit me personally and I would have never chosen it before going through with this program. I haven't utilized the lifetime placement but maybe down the road I will and can review that another time. The pay for the jobs offered is very low, especially from a western background. but have no fear, as the cost of living is also significantly lower. I have been truly enjoying this experience and would recommend it to anyone who wishes to make a change in their life for the better.

I can not talk more highly of Georgie and recommend her enough. I had the pleasure of having Georgie as my trainer while doing the TEFL course. I can not thank Georgie enough for everything. She is more then just a trainer. She is a mentor a friend and someone who is always there to help. Georgie has an abundance of knowledge, teaching experience and travel experience so I can promise you, you are certainly in the best hands, for completing the TEFL course and having fun at the same time - her teaching technique is something special!! While finding your feet when completing the course, settling into a new country and dealing with different changes Georgie makes it a million times easier for you. As well as her training you to become the best teacher and guiding you along the way she will also encourage you and give you confidence and always there to help in any situation. Georgie will also go above and beyond which makes her stand out from any other trainer. She believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and I am now living my best life on the other side of the world thanks to Georgie.

TEFL Pros has given me the knowledge and the self esteem to believe in myself and that I can become a fantastic teacher. For context I am a 40 year British person seeking to up skill and change career. I chose to teach English as a foreign language and after thorough online research I discovered the TEFL Pros course. The introductory discussion I had with Whitney before I signed up to the course really helped me manage my own expectations about what I could do. The course itself involves being a student yourself whilst listening and watching online videos delivered by Whitney. There are worksheets to complete whilst learning from the videos. There are then videos of actual classes being taught which really helped me to see what I was learning being put into practice. The opportunity to share highlights of the study and see what others are achieving is brilliantly available by joining the Facebook group. Weekly video Q & A's also help with any questions or concerns that you may have. Throughout the course I felt fully supported. I had a couple of queries and my emails were promptly responded to with the answers I hoped to get. I will recommend this course to anyone I hear that is wanting to do a TEFL course.

Since I have just started the course, I cannot really give a complete review yet. So far it's been quite challenging, but in a good way. Lessons are clear and have options for all types of learners. Instructions are thorough and easy to understand. During assessments there are question amplifiers which are a great help in answering the questions. It is easy to focus since you can do it at any time that is convenient for you. I just wish that there were more options for people living in different countries in terms of the time schedules of the Zoom meetings. I live in Asia, and the time schedule of the Zoom meeting are at around 2am in my time, so it will be impossible for me to attend since I also have a full time day job. Other than that, great course! I am excited to continue and get to my goal!

I did the 180 hour TEFL course and a few other little important courses with the TEFL Institute before going on my very interesting internship in Spain. The experience of these courses and the Volunteering contract in a Spanish school was an amazing opportunity and a great experience for me. Since doing these courses, I would like to thank the TEFL team for their serious attitude and professionalism during the course and program. I can only be positif and advise people to use this TEFL Institute to do their work placements or interships or even doing any type of course that they may need for their future. It was amazing, thank you again. I would recommend you anytime to anybody.

Taking the decision to enroll in the TEFL level 5 course with the TEFL Institute was one of the best decisions to take because it not only provided me with the knowledge that I needed but also enabled me to get that knowledge at my own pace while being supported and assisted by the team throughout the course and after it. What I appreciate the most about the TEFL Institute how responsive and supportive the team is; even though my course ended, I still have all my questions answered in no time. Thank you for existing!

The program was well laid out and it was nice to have videos attached to the work. I have a chance to try out the program for free. I learned a lot from the examples and from the reviews. Support was always there when I needed it.

When I decided to work on my TEFL Certification, I spent hours researching different programs and I even did some of the free classes which were offered by some companies. None compared to TEFL Pros. The way Whitney has designed the entire course is very user-friendly and thorough. The way each module is presented is precise and to the point. I enjoyed watching the teaching videos and seeing the creative lesson plans put into practice. I have 35 years of teaching experience, but was still able to learn from this program - organizationizational skills, classrom and time management, what to expect in a different country, and a many more things!!! I cannot say enough positive things about Whitney's attention to relevant details, the support given when I reached out to TEFL Pros, and how good it felt to be excited to see what each module was going to cover.

I had a great experience. Signing up was extremely easy. Support was always available. The website was easy to navigate. After finishing, I felt fully prepared and began a job abroad teaching English!

I learned a lot from this job and it secured me a Teaching Assistant job in a school in El Salvador. I used many of the skills I learned from the course and I've now been given a promotion to a role in the SEN department. I'm so glad I took the leap and signed up!

TEFL Pros, simply put, allowed me to pursue my dreams! Since completing the well-constructed and highly-preparatory 120 Hour Accredited TEFL Certification, I have travelled to and taught English in five countries over the past two years including Portugal, Estonia, and Martinique! I completed my online 120-Hour Accredited Certification from home during the 2020 pandemic and it catapulted me into international travel and English teaching. Whitney and her amazing team at TEFL Pros were even there to respond to a flurry of questions right before my travels began and well after the course was complete! Thank you, TEFL Pros!

Honestly, amidst the entire COVID craze and when the japan borders were closed, the on-the-ground team did great with being as supportive as possible with its limitations. And I mean many limitations such as most of the schools not interviewing until the end of the year, or when borders opened. The support team was especially great, as they check in with you very thoughtfully. The program does listen to your specific preferences (such as age group, location, etc) but as I said, it was limited due to borders closed. I think if it weren’t COVID, if I had applied in another time, my experience would’ve been even more great due to more school options and an in-person cultural immersion. People think it’s sketchy at first, which is fair paying so much money, but when you think about it’s worth it as they do the hard work for you with their connections to schools and prioritized getting into the country.

TravelBud responded to this reviewSeptember 28, 2022

Denise, thank you so much for your informative, honest and lovely feedback. We are thrilled to hear that you're enjoying your time in Japan. I remember when we first spoke on the phone, I knew you would make an excellent addition to our team of teachers with your passion for Japan and your love of new cultures- and I was right! Taking the leap of faith to teach English abroad can be daunting at the best of times- let alone in a world pandemic. We are so impressed by your positive attitude, resilience and adaptability and we can't wait to follow the rest of your journey, as a TravelBud Alumni and beyond. We appreciate your trust in us and we're sending you all the positive vibes from across the globe all the way to Japan! Warmest Regards, Grace

TEFL Pros was a great choice for me. The written assignments are good for both reinforcing the material taught and being accumulated in a Portfolio suitable for presentation to potential employers. The grammar lessons were good in that they gave enough, but not too much, English "nitty gritty" that can be shared with future students. The many videos are good because they allow the TEFL Pros student to see veteran teachers actually employing the instructional techniques being taught. But for me two features really made me especially glad I chose TEFL Pros: 1) The scheduling flexibility built in to the program. I had to take two months off due to issues related to my small publishing company. When I returned to my studies, it was easy to get back in stride. And, 2) the personal support and "hand holding" that my advisor Abby provided. Thank you Joss, Whitney, and (of course!) Abby

I would 10/10 recommend TEFL Pros to anyone looking to teach English abroad. Their primary focus is teaching in-person, student-centered classes. I was able to connect with other TEFL teachers and other alumni to help me along my way as well as make connections for my future. Whitney is an incredibly kind and knowledgable teacher who has become a role model to me. I finished my course in less than a month and it was more than worth it. Thank you TEFL Pros and Whitney!!

When I was searching the Tefl options, my criteria was the quality of the course. Not the cost, not the certificate. Those were also important for me but I didn’t want to regret my decision because of cost related concerns. When I had my first interview with Whitney, I immediately realized that she was a true professional. Because she didn’t try to sell me anything. Reading the reviews in the end I decided to go with Teflpros and I am glad I did. Not only the quality of the material but also the easy access to my instructor made the process very easy for me. Also I believe Tuesday coaching sessions are very beneficial if you can reserve an hour per week. It added great value to my overall experience. Lastly, I thank Teflpros, especially Whitney, for the professionalism and dedication. Cheers, Mert

This course made learning fun and easy. Both Whitney and Jos gave me personal stories and experiences that helped me learn what to do and what not to do. They also incorporated a variety of ways to learn the information such as visual and auditory learning. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in learning how to teach in an engaging and encouraging way!

It’s sometimes difficult to choose among different internet sites when it comes to invest money in your future ; As an English teacher for 4 years, I was still lacking elements to become a great teacher and I wanted also to be able to get a certificate allowing me to teach to kids, teens or adults anywhere in the world. Teflpros was my solution even if I didn’t know anything about them. When speaking for the 1st time with Whitney my teacher, I realized right away that Teflpros is a reliable and serious company because as a professional you can feel when someone knows what he/she is talking about. I always got an aswer ASAP to all my requests, the program was very helpful and well structured. The people are open, approachable, (always a good atmosphere during the live sessions). I was able to advance at my own path with all the advices I needed, with no pressure and assistance whenever I wanted. After getting the certificate, I still got suggestions, advices and directions to get a job. So, it’s very reassuring that once the training period is over, you find support. I am very confident that anyone who follows the program, the guidance, methods and methodology of Teflpros will succeed in being a good teacher and finding a job without a shadow of a doubt. Special thanks to Whitney who is a very nice teacher full of goodwill and attention and very efficient. I wish her team the very best because it was a very fulfilling experience studying at Teflpros.

This course is very useful when teaching abroad especially for non-native English speakers. The course has very clear lessons divided in different modules. I appreciated all the classroom observations. The fact that it is an online course makes it easy to take the lessons wherever you want and where you want. You can take the lessons at your own pace so that was a plus for me!