The JET Program
The JET Program
The JET Program is currently suffering some financial setbacks, but it is still by far considered by the Japanese to be the best English teaching program in Japan. Having JET on your resume looks better than having taught at an English conversation school; the selection process is the strictest of the large-scale "teaching English in Japan" programs. That's not to say that getting into JET is terribly difficult; it's just a little harder than some of the others.
JET has two types of positions: teachers and CIRs. Teachers serve as assistants for Japanese native English teachers in elementary, junior, and senior high schools. CIRs generally work in city offices and help with translation and local cultural activities; they also may function as teachers when there aren't enough teachers to go around. As a result, being a CIR requires some Japanese ability, and these positions are more competitive. The salary is also higher.
Unfortunately, if your Japanese is really good, you are unlikely to be hired as a CIR. I have several friends who are fluent in Japanese and were rejected, apparently because the program coordinators did not think that my friends would be able to get anything from the program.
JET contracts are for two years, and generally you can renew for up to three more years if you're enjoying it. The worst part about JET is that you have no control over your placement; once you accept the offer, the organization will tell you where you're going.
Still, it's a great two-year program, and it's the most respected of such programs in Japan, as it is more or less run by the Japanese government.
Full disclosure: I was not on JET, but I participated in a similar, smaller-scale program.
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I have a very hard time
I have a very hard time believing that the JET Programme coordinators would turn someone away solely because of Japanese fluency. "[they] did not think that my friends would be able to get anything from the program," to me, sounds like a generic excuse to cover up a real reason, whatever that may be. Some Japanese ability is only one criterion for CIR selection, and in some situations near-native fluency is an absolute must.
I can imagine, given the current economic client, the hiring pool for JET is quite large. The competition must be tough these days, and for the CIR position, quite international as well.
In any case, I enjoyed the article. Keep up the great work!
That may be, but I have heard
That may be, but I have heard this from multiple Japanese/Asian studies majors, who were 1) nearly or fluent in Japanese 2) in the top 10% of their class with 3) the extracurriculars that would suggest they are a strong candidate. In my friends' case, they were all rejected before the current economic crisis.
Talking to members of some of the local board members here, they also suggested that perhaps JET selection is biased against those who speak Japanese the best.
It's a cynical way of putting it, but those who can speak Japanese are able to cause problems in the schools and communities that are the hardest for local officials to correct.
Kaeru