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Madison Huson is a 2017 English graduate from Southern Oregon University. She is in the JET program in in Miyoshi, Japan.

Ed Battistella: Tell us about the JET program you teach in? How did you find it? What was the application and training process like?

Madison Huson: I found this program while I was attending my local community college in California. I was always interested in other cultures and a majority of my free time was devoted to researching the best and easiest way I could go abroad after community college. I stumbled upon the website of the Japan and Exchange Program (JET). JET program participants are appointed an assistant teaching position in any of the 47 prefectures for a period of one to five years.

The application itself is a lengthy process. Applications open every year in October, are submitted in November, and the email notification for an interview comes in January (I received mine in January from the Portland consulate, but some consulates vary on the specific timeline). Interview results come in March or April. Great, you’ve been accepted! However, you still don’t know where you’ll be living, that comes between May and June. I was notified of my placement in Miyoshi-shi (city), Tokushima-ken (prefecture), Shikoku in May.

After all of that waiting, you are sent to Tokyo for a three day orientation. The consensus from all of the fellow Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) was that the seminars and the crash course approach to teaching English as a second language was not very helpful, but instead, it was the networking that was worthwhile. We were able to meet people from all 40 participating countries in the JET program. I met the only Danish participant from this year and met many people from Trinidad and Tobago. I was promised a spot on the bedroom floor of a woman from New Zealand if I ever wanted to visit the region in Japan that was about to become her new home.

EB: How did you get interested in teaching abroad? You previously taught in Korea, right?

MH: Initially, I was not interested in teaching. I have known ever since I was an elementary school student that I would major in English in college, so the question I grew up hearing was: “Oh, so you are going to be an English teacher then?” I wanted so badly to prove to everyone that English majors can do so much more than be confined to the path of becoming a teacher. However, teaching English as a second language was the gateway to going abroad. My university, Southern Oregon University, had a two month summer program in South Korea. It was part English teaching and part study abroad. I taught a beginning and an advanced class for one month at the university. I was nineteen years old and I didn’t know anything about Korea or teaching. Luckily, the students were more concerned with going out for meals and drinks after class than they were with my teaching ability. After my experience there, however, I wanted to continue teaching abroad.

EB: Did you experience any sort of culture shock teaching abroad?

MH: Most things I experience, I wouldn’t call a “shock.” Things just happen and I say “Huh, that is different.” Recently, I was at an enkai with the teachers at my school. An enkai is essentially an “eat and drink as much as you want” party with your coworkers. They are very common in Japan and usually, my school has them to welcome a new teacher or celebrate big events at the school. Various types of food are ordered and shared between everyone and the teachers usually tell me the names of the dish if they think I have never tried that specific thing before. This time, a small plate is set down in front of me by the server and I know I have never seen that food before. The teacher across from me says “That’s….. Shirako. Do you know what it is? Do you want to eat it?” Her tone was a bit hesitant and she doesn’t speak any English, so I thought I’d better Google shirako for curiosity sake. I found out that shirako is “milt,” or fish semen. I said, to myself, “Yeah, I’ll pass on that one.”

The only thing I can honestly call culture shock is how discipline is handled in Japan. It is not uncommon to hear teachers screaming at the top of their lungs at students. I was teaching a class for the 7th graders when a few boys decided to giggle and tease some of the girls when they stood up to share what they wrote. The teacher heard their laughter and immediately exploded. She threw all of the student’s belongings on the floor and got directly in his face to scream louder than I have ever heard a teacher yell before. I was asked to leave the classroom for the rest of the period. Another teacher heard the screaming and she very softly told me she was sorry for what happened. I had to rush to the bathroom because I couldn’t sit at my desk like nothing had happened. I was very shaken and in tears over the whole event. However, for the boys, that type of behavior is sadly fairly normal, so they didn’t even flinch or seem visibly shaken like I was.

EB: Had you studied Japanese and Korean before you travelled? Were you able to acquire the languages?

MH: When I went to Korea, I did not know any Korean. I had just finished one year of learning Japanese. I was only there for two months, so I mostly only learned how to say the basics: good morning, hello, please, thank you, and water.

Coming to Japan was different because by the time I arrived here, I had taken two years of college level Japanese, but had a year gap between graduating and arriving here. I definitely lost a majority of my vocabulary and realized I had never had a natural conversation in Japanese until I was in an izakaya in Tokyo and a full table of drunk salarymen started a conversation with my friends and I. After living here for a month, I felt like I was rapidly improving. I am still better at listening than speaking, but I can usually convey what I mean. These days, I’ll have a conversation with someone and only realize later that it went as smoothly as it did.

EB: What was the experience of managing a class like?

MH: On the JET Program, I am an Assistant Language Teacher, so I am always accompanied by a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) in class. I have three JTE’s that I teach with. As far as lesson planning, it varies between JTE. For the 3rd year students (freshman), I plan and teach the entire 50 minute lesson with the teacher there to provide translation help. For the 2nd year (8th grade) classes, I help with the normal classroom routine of singing a song and doing a word test, and then I am responsible for a 25 minute activity. For the 1st year classes (7th grade), I only plan lessons when the teacher asks me to prepare something specific, otherwise I just participate in her lesson.

EB: What has been the most fun?

MH: The best part about this entire experience is interacting with the students. When I first arrived, they were very shy and scared to talk to me. I began very enthusiastically waving at every student until slowly, they all started waving back. Now, I even have what I call “waving wars” with students in which both of us try to out wave the other, always very enthusiastically and with smiles. I also roam around through the halls during lunch time and talk to as many students as I can. This is my favorite time all day.

Recently, I have started playing sports with the students during lunch. I convinced a group of girls to let me teach them to play soccer and they told me that there are no junior high girls soccer teams in all of Tokushima prefecture. After playing a small game, lunch was ending and they decided we should race back into school. After our race, we were changing back into our indoor shoes and one of the girls said “We thought you were a very beautiful girl before, but now you’re cool!” I jumped on the chance to express to them that girls can be beautiful AND cool. Girls can play soccer. Girls can do anything. I got a big, enthusiastic “thank you” and a wave goodbye as they ran back to class. I am grateful for my chance to expose these students to not only native English and American culture, but hopefully act as a role model for these young girls in a society that is far too concerned with beauty standards and gender roles.

EB: Is there anything you wish you had known or known more about before you started?

I did extensive research on teaching abroad and this program in particular, so I don’t feel there is anything that made me say “I wish I had known that before now.” I also exist in an almost constant state of confusion anyway because I am surrounded by a language I am not fluent in and certain cultural differences in the workplace are difficult.

EB: How has the experience of teaching abroad influenced your career plans?

MH: I definitely want to become a teacher when I return home. Teaching abroad hasn’t influenced my teaching plans, rather it has influenced how I plan to teach. Teaching abroad is both extremely rewarding and challenging. Being a teacher at a school where every single student is Japanese and they share the same culture made me realize how important it is for students in the U.S to acknowledge their everyday opportunities at school to learn about other cultures.

Students at schools in rural areas have to actively seek out cultural exchange, or in the case of my job, they have it come to their school. I have made a point of teaching the students about “American culture” and what that means to me. To me, the “American culture” I can identify with is exclusively West Coast based. I taught an entire lesson on Hispanic Heritage Month and explained all of the ways that my life in California was shaped by being surrounded by Mexican culture. I told them that California, and many of our cities names, comes from Spanish. I asked the students if they thought anything in Japan came from a Hispanic or Latin language. Most of them said no, so I showed them a list of words that originated from Portuguese and some of their desserts that came from Spain and Mexico. I ended the lesson by playing some music in Spanish and I heard them humming the songs in the halls for the rest of the day. This lesson, almost entirely about Spanish, remains my best received lesson as an English teacher at this school.

Being in a school environment that has little opportunity to be exposed to various cultures during the school day has made me believe it is very important that my future students in the U.S realize their chance to learn about many cultures from their classmates. My hope is to teach tolerance and empathy along with the normal school subjects.

EB: Any suggestions for others?

MH: Do your research on finding a teaching program that sounds right for you, in any country. Say yes to things you would never do in your home country. Saying yes has gotten me to eat fantastic meals at hidden places, go to a weekly karate class, practice Japanese archery with my students, and many more things. My last piece of advice is that it is perfectly acceptable to commit to teaching abroad for a short time. The JET program is up to five years, but you can spend an incredible, life changing year teaching English in Japan and when the year is up, you will go home. Do not be fooled by those who say you won’t get the full experience in one year because you are the person who decides how you will spend your time in your new home.

EB: Thanks for talking with us.

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Kevin Boringot teaches at Jeomdong Middle School in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. He graduated from Southern Oregon University in 2016 with a degree in English Education.

Ed Battistella: How did you get interested in teaching abroad?

Kevin Boringot: I became interested in teaching abroad because I thought it would be a wonderful way to combine my passion for teaching with the opportunity to travel and explore new places and cultures.

EB: Tell us about the program teach in? How did you find it?

KB: I currently teach with the English Program in Korea (EPIK). It is a government funded program, and I found out about it on Google when I was searching for teaching jobs overseas.

EB: What was the application and training process like?

KB: The application process was quite lengthy and competitive. I had to get an application form from their website and fill it with a lot of information about myself, my education history, work history, etc. I also had to attach a sample lesson plan about a topic of my choosing. Afterwards, I had to do a Skype interview with a person from the program. The interviewer asked me questions such as why I wanted to go to Korea, why I wanted to teach English, what my teaching philosophy is like, and how I would handle living overseas and deal with culture shock. I then had to get a comprehensive background check from the FBI and prepare a lot of documents for my recruiter such as an apostilled copy of my diploma, recommendation letters and a set of sealed college transcripts. After months of waiting, keeping in touch with my recruiter, and sending documents, I eventually got approved and had the opportunity to apply for my Korean work visa. The application process took almost half a year, so it’s important to try and apply early and be on top of all the required documents. The list of required documents is clearly detailed on their website, so all that is required is for the applicant to be proactive with the application process.

If everything goes well and the applicant finally arrives in Korea, EPIK kindly provides an orientation program that lasts for about a week and a half to ease the new teachers into their new lives in Korea and the expectations required of their new positions as Native English Teachers (NETs) in Korea. The orientation program includes lessons that go over working conditions, contract stipulations, Korean culture and basic Korean language lessons. There are also some cultural days and field trip events during the orientation to allow the new teachers to relax and get a taste of Korean culture and life. I found the orientation program to be very valuable, and it helped me ease into my new job. I felt very prepared afterwards, ready to take on day one of my teaching career.

EB: Did you experience any sort of culture shock teaching abroad?

KB: Definitely. I think working overseas come with its fair share of culture shock. Korean culture is quite collectivist, so my individualist American tendencies were out of place; however, as time goes by, I’m becoming more accustomed with Korean culture, so living here is becoming more comfortable.

EB: Had you studied Korean before you travelled? Have you been able to learn much about the language?

KB: Prior to my going to Korea, I have briefly touched Korean. I wasn’t conversational by any means; I just knew very basic elementary phrases to help me get by.

Nowadays, I would say I’m nearing lower intermediate level. I’m able to express myself more freely, but my lack of vocabulary still renders me unable to fully express my mind and feelings. I usually take Korean classes every weekend, so I’m making some progress.

EB: What’s been the most interesting experience so far?

KB: My most interesting experience so far is just surviving alone in a completely different culture and environment. It’s tough, and at times, I want to give up and go back to the comforts of home and the familiar. However, for some reason, I keep sticking it out, and I just signed a renewal contract for another year here, making the next school year my third school year here in Korea. Living overseas definitely makes you think, makes you more open-minded, and makes you more understanding of the bigger picture of the world and what it means to truly be a global citizen. There are just some things you can never experience living in the comforts of your own country.

EB: What are you learning about why people want to study English?

KB: With the interactions I’ve had with my students ranging from elementary, middle, high, and all the way to adults and seniors, I’ve come to understand that it differs from person to person. Learning English is highly valued here in Korea, for it means that more doors will be opened for them. Some of the big companies here such as Samsung and LG require its employees to have a certain score on English ability tests such as the IELTS or the TOEFL in order for them to be hired. Understanding of English gives people here a competitive edge in university admissions and in the job market. If it’s not for school or job purposes, many Koreans enjoy traveling overseas, so they learn English in order to have a more convenient time during their travels.

EB: How has the experience of teaching abroad influenced your career plans?

KB: Currently, I enjoy the career path that I’m in. I’ve come to understand that teaching non-native speakers is totally different from teaching native speakers, and this fact comes with its challenges, but it makes me happy to know that I’m here helping and making a difference in the lives of students who truly want to embrace English and how it can help their lives. With this in mind, I’m currently planning to pursue higher education, acquire a master’s in Applied Linguistics, and eventually teach at the university level.

EB: Any suggestions for others thinking about teaching abroad?

KB: I say do it. Even if you don’t plan on sticking it out and making it a lifelong career, just one year teaching and living overseas can greatly benefit and impact your life. You will experience many things. There will be positives and negatives, but I believe that at the end of the day, you will look back during your time doing it and you will say that it did make a difference, not just for you, but for the students that you’ve helped along the way.

EB: Thanks for talking with us.

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San Mouy is a 2017 graduate of Southern Oregon University. He teaches English in Daegu, south Korea.

Ed Battistella: Tell us about the program you’re teaching?

San Mouy: So right now I am a foreign English teacher at a private school (Hagwon) in Daegu, South Korea. I signed a one-year contract with the school to teach students between 1st-8th grade, and sometimes teach adult classes at night. The lessons are relatively simple. They are taken directly out of English workbooks designed for young learners, with the main focus on short sentences and new vocabulary. The higher-level classes are essentially the same, however, there is more reading and a higher level of comprehension required. As for the adult classes, there is a workbook, but it is mainly used to keep a conversation going between the students and the teacher. My goal for the adult class is to help them become comfortable speaking English and help them learn new words and slang that they may not know already. The young learner and middle school classes take spelling tests and listening tests every week, and after each lesson I have to set up a game that covers the lesson for that particular day. That basically covers everything haha

EB: How did you find it/ What was the application and training process like?

SM: I found a teaching abroad website searching on Google. While teaching in Korea wasn’t my first choice (I applied to teach in Cambodia with Peace Corps,) after seeing some of my other classmates on Facebook teaching abroad in countries like Japan or Korea, I decided that I should try applying to those places as well. With numerous websites looking for English teachers abroad, I didn’t have as much trouble finding one, more so finding a location that I felt would be most comfortable living in for a year or so. Also, most overseas public English teaching jobs require additional documents (such as a TEFL certification) to be considered. And while I didn’t have that when I was looking for potential jobs in Korea or Japan, the positions available to me were further narrowed down. In the end, I got in contact with a recruiter after applying at travelandteachrecruiting.com, and I am very grateful with the job that I have.

The application process was fairly easy. After reaching out to travel and teach, I was guided by a couple recruiters that made the whole process less stressful. While there was a list of requirements that I had to have in order to continue with the hiring process, I knew that I would have to obtain everything on the list on time in order to truly be considered for the position.

Of course, though, obtaining everything meant spending a lot of money. I had to pay off a certain about of student loan debt in order to receive my Bachelors degree in the mail, I had to get a passport, fingerprint scan, FBI background check, Sign up for an online TEFL class, official notary to notarize all of my documents, extra passport photos, etc, which in total was upwards of 3k before even signing my contract. Getting everything took me almost ten months, but once all that was done, and as the deadlines for available positions came nearer and nearer, my recruiter set up three interviews for me to work in Korea; one in Daegu, one in Pohang, and one in Dejong. While two of the three wished to have me sign a contract, I felt Daegu would suit me best and decided to work there. Once I arrived in Korea, I met up with my Foreign Manager for the Hagwon and he helped me get set up in my apartment. I started training the next day.
Training was fairly simple, I would observe the other foreign teachers teach in class, take notes, and prepare to do what they have shown me for one or two classes while they observe and take notes on me. After the week of training, I was assigned my own teaching schedule for the semester and sent on my way. I still feel like I am learning how to be a better teacher everyday, so training for me is to be a better teacher than I was yesterday.

EB: How did you get interested in teaching abroad?

SM: I love traveling and thought teaching abroad would be a great opportunity for me to use my degree and to travel both at the same time. And after seeing how much fun my friends and classmates were having teaching abroad, it really made me decide that there wouldn’t be another chance like this than now.

EB: Did you experience any sort of culture shock teaching abroad?

SM: So far, the hardest part for me is to confidently order something on the menu or talking to anyone else in Korean. Haha Not really culture shock, its more a being aware that I am the foreigner in their country and need to accept that.

EB: Had you studied Korean before you travelled?

SM: Not a single day. In fact, I have yet to study any Korean seriously other than a couple of words since I have been here (about three months). Only because I plan on taking a Korean class that will show me everything I need to know about reading, writing, and speaking Korean soon.

EB: Have you been able to learn much Korean?

SM: I literally know less than 10 phrases and/or words

EB: Is there anything you wish you had known or known more about before you started?

SM: I wish I knew exactly how much money everything was going to cost me before taking that plunge. I knew that if I started to complete the requirements, but didn’t go through with everything, then I would have wasted a lot of money for nothing. At the same time, moving to another country takes a lot of money to get settled in. I’d say that in total, getting everything set up to sign a contract and getting situated in Korea cost me almost 5k (including paying off bills back in the united states). Other than that, I am truly loving every day knowing that I am an English teacher in another country. I feel like a tourist exploring the world, while at the same time saving money and doing a job that I am happy doing.

EB: How has the experience of teaching abroad influenced your career plans?

SM: I knew that teaching abroad would be a huge career change for me and feel like I will be doing things like this for at least the next 5-10 years. Its very rewarding to be able to travel and teach haha.

EB: Any suggestions for others thinking about teaching abroad?

SM: Honestly, the best advice I would give is to plan out where you want to teach, and then dig deeper to see what that place is like, and then save save save money. Be prepared to jump through a lot of hoops, sign a lot of papers, and follow a lot of orders.

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Laura Payne, a 2017 graduate of Southern Oregon University, is an Assistant Language Teacher in the JET Programme in Shimane, Japan.

You can follow her blog at Ms. Payne In Shimane

Ed Battistella: Tell us about the program you teach in? How did you find it? What was the application and training process like?

Laura Payne: I work with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. I first heard about it through a brochure I found at a Japanese cultural event in Portland, and I applied for it during the senior year of my undergraduate studies. The application process took about six months from when I first applied to when I was accepted. It included sending in a paper application, letters of recommendation, and a written essay. In addition, I had to go to an interview at the Japanese Consulate in Portland. My first month or so in Japan was spent settling in and preparing for the job. I spent two days in Tokyo at a general orientation and participated in another two day orientation once I arrived at the prefecture I had been assigned to. I also met with the teachers and principals of the schools I was going to work with.

EB: How did you get interested in teaching abroad?

LP: In my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Japan for six months. During that time, I took on a part-time tutoring job and volunteered with the university’s English Salon. I really enjoyed the experiences of meeting new people and helping them learn a new language. I had already realized by that time that I wanted to be a teacher, but after studying abroad, I could see myself teaching English in Japan. I thought I could learn so much from the experience, and after I went back to the U.S., I immediately wanted to go back to Japan. From there, I remembered the JET Program and decided to apply.

EB: Did you experience any sort of culture shock?

LP: Nothing related to a difference in culture, but definitely something related to a difference of language. One of my favorite things to do in the U.S. is browse around a library and check out whatever book happens to catch my eye. I can’t do that in Japan, though. Most of the books at the library closest to my apartment are, of course, in Japanese. I use Japanese books as language study tools sometimes, but I don’t know enough Japanese yet to just relax into a story like I do when I read a book in English. There are some English books at the library as well, but that section is only made up of one set of shelves. None of the books in this section are current, and those books that belong to a series are often missing a volume. Experiences like this are difficult for me because in the U.S. I read so much, but in Japan, I’m partially illiterate. I’m trying to learn more Japanese to work past this.

EB: You had studied Japanese before. Did that help? What new things have your learned?

LP: Yes, knowing Japanese has helped me a lot. The JET Program doesn’t require you to know Japanese, but having a basic knowledge of it has helped me to be much more present in my everyday life. I can have conversations with staff members other than the English teachers at my schools. If my students don’t understand when I try explain something in English, I can switch to Japanese. Moreover, I can explore the area I live in knowing that I can handle all of the basic interactions I’ll run in to. In short, knowing Japanese has helped me to get more out of the experience of teaching abroad than I ever could have only knowing English.

EB: What was the experience of managing a class like?

Interesting because I’m actually not in charge of managing a class. I team teach classes with Japanese teachers of English, and they’re the main teachers in charge of the classroom. Also, I don’t go to the same classes every day, so most of what I do in the way of managing classes involves matching the style of the class and the teacher I’m currently with. In quieter classes, this might mean just following the lesson plan. In noisier classes, this might mean encouraging students to stay on task. In every situation, I try to get to know the English teacher and the students I’m working with as best as I can so that I can play whatever support role they need me to.

EB: What was been your most rewarding experience?

LP: Just getting to know my students day by day and helping them with their goals has been a great experience. So many of my students are funny, charming, upbeat individuals who can light up a room just by being present. Sometimes, I get the opportunity to help with extracurricular activities like coaching students who want to participate in English speech or recitation contests. I always love opportunities like these, because I’m so proud of the time and effort students put in to practicing, and I’m so happy for them when their hard work pays off. Now that I’ve started my second year teaching in Japan, I’m starting to see some of my students grow as they move on to different grade levels. All of this is incredibly rewarding because I know that every one of my students has their own dreams for the future, and I love seeing them try to figure out how they can get closer to those dreams through school.

EB: How has the experience of teaching abroad influenced your career plans?

LP: Since coming to Japan, I’ve decided that I want to earn a graduate degree in teaching English as a second language as well as a Secondary Education Language Arts degree. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy teaching English as a second language, and I want to keep doing it. I also think that the fact that I have experience learning a second language in a foreign country will help me serve students in ESL classes well. In addition, because of the experiences I’ve had here and the people I’ve met here, I want to keep a connection with Japan for the rest of my life. My ultimate dream is to work in a school with a Japanese sister city so that I can continue helping with international education programs.

EB: Any suggestions for others considering teaching abroad?

LP: If you think teaching abroad is something you would like to do, I can’t recommend it enough! Do some research on different programs and countries and find a way that’s a good fit for you. I’m sure you can find one.

EB: Thanks for talking with us.