I’m English School was formed in 1989 in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture. I’m English School is the leading local Children’s English language school in the Gunma Prefecture area of Japan. We presently have a staff of 3 native English speakers and 5 Japanese. We are a section within a larger company, the USUI GROUP. The USUI GROUP is involved in the education field, catering to students of all ages, in a broad spectrum of subjects. The USUI GROUP is one of the top educational companies in the Gunma Prefecture area.

I’m English School is dedicated to the education of children from the age of 3 to 15. The vast majority of children’s English schools in Japan are dedicated to producing a product that their customers will pay for, i.e. the appearance that the child can speak English. In most cases the reality is that the child can do little more than reproduce the sounds that they have been made to remember through repetitive training. The consequences of this are to say the least, horrific. Our mission at I’m English School is to encourage communication, understanding and interest. The result is the gradual growth of an ability to communicate in English.

At I'm English School we have both Native English speaking Staff and Japanese Staff. The native English speaking position is a full time position on a one year contract with the possibility to extend. At present interviews for this position are conducted in Brisbane, Australia and Japan.

At I'm English School we are looking for people who have the energy, motivation and discipline to work with children. The position is a full time position. You will have your own students that you will teach every week. You will fine tune your lessons from the base lesson plans taken from the year curriculum to produce a lesson to match your students. In general, you will have 3 hours of lesson time per day and you will use the rest of your day preparing for lessons or working on preparation for events etc at our head office. You will drive to the school that you will be teaching at each day in the car provided by the company. Your working week will be Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday are off except in the case where we have an event( a fishing day with the students and their families or an apple picking day in the mountains nearby) on the weekend. These days will then be grouped together as a holiday sometime in the year. Including this week we have a total of 4 weeks holiday throughout the year. One week in spring (in conjunction with the Golden Week holidays), one week in the summer, one week in the winter and one other week generally in Autumn.

I'm English School is located in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. We are 100km North of Tokyo on the Kanto Plain. We are on the SHINKANSEN line which connects us with Tokyo in about 50 minutes. I have found that most people who come to Japan like a location like Takasaki. We are close enough to Tokyo as well as being close enough to the countryside. I think Takasaki is a very pleasant place to live.

Gunma Prefecture HomePage Takasaki City Homepage

The only language spoken by any I'm English School staff member in the classroom is English. There are 2 main styles of lessons at I'm English School, EPC and REGULAR.

EPC stands for English Play Club and is for Kindergarten age children. This lesson is a 30 minute lesson conducted on a carpet with a maximum of 7 students. The native English speaking teacher teaches the class with a Japanese assistant. As the name implies, this class involves playing with the students. Of course there is a set curriculum and the students have text books but the lesson itself is full of action, songs, activities and the like. Your Japanese assistant helps in an indirect way, at times joining in as a student or at times escorting students to the toilet. There are 2 varieties of EPC class based on experience.

REGULAR lessons are for primary school age children. These lessons are taught by one teacher. The native English speaking teacher teaches new work that is followed up the next week by the Japanese teacher. Of course the Japanese teacher uses only English in the classroom. This lesson is a 40 minute lesson conducted in a classroom setup with a maximum of 12 students. There are a variety of REGULAR classes with varying age groups and experience.

You do not need to have an education degree or experience with children to be able to be a good teacher, but there is obviously a lot to learn before anyone can be expected to step into the classroom unassisted and consistently produce good lessons. When you start at I'm English School you will go through training program to prepare you for the job ahead. This entails OTJ training as well as formal training. Outside of your training program you will have experienced workmates, both native English speakers and Japanese staff members who will share their experience with you.

The monthly salary at I’m English School is between \255000 and \265000. At the end of your one year contract you will receive a COMPLETION BONUS of 1 month’s pay if you have fulfilled all of the requirements of your contract. You will also receive a PERFORMANCE BONUS of up to 1 month’s pay. Yes, that’s right, a chance of up to 2 month’s salary. Throughout the year there are opportunities to receive monthly bonuses of up to \15000. This salary agreement is revised in accordance with performance in the case of a second or third year contract.

The company has apartments for the native English speaking staff in close proximity to the head office. The apartments are clean and comfortable and are reasonably spacious by Japanese standards. All of the general necessities i.e. fridge, microwave, TV, video, phone, washing machine, heater and air conditioner are provided along with other living needs. The apartment is near enough ready to live in. The rent for the apartment is 55000yen per month and this is paid by the employee. All utilities i.e. water, electricity, gas and phone are to be paid for by the employee.

It is necessary to drive from your accommodation to the head office and also to drive to the schools that you will teach at each day. A company car is provided for this. You will require an International License to drive in Japan. This can be obtained easily before coming to Japan. Japanese drive on the left hand side of the road. The roads are narrower in places than Australia but most people are very polite on the road and in general people drive accordingly slower.

To work in Japan it is necessary to have a working visa. The most straight forward way of applying for a working visa is to apply on the basis that you are a native English speaker and that you have been educated to University bachelor level in an English speaking country. Of course you must produce paperwork to satisfy the Japanese authorities. This paperwork along with the company's paperwork and signed Employment agreement will be presented to the Japanese authorities by the company. If all goes well some 2 to 4 weeks after the application, a visa authorization will be issued. It is necessary to then present this with your passport to the Japanese authorities from outside of Japan e.g. Japanese consulate in Brisbane Australia. Within a few days a working visa will be stamped into your passport. This will then allow you to enter Japan with the intention of working.

Hello

My name is Sarah, and I have been a teacher at I'm English School for the last year and a half. I ' m is an English school that is called a “juku” in Japanese which basically means an after school tutoring company. So the majority of the children who come to I'm English School are actually really interested in learning (so it makes my job a lot easier). I have grown attached to my students and am now able to have really good communication with them. Basically we start the day in the office, talk about our lessons, do some lesson planning and so on. Afterwards we have lunch and then head off to our schools. We are finished by 7:15 and then head home. We only work Monday to Friday unless we have a special school event like the fishing day, apple picking day or the Christmas party.

I really enjoy teaching for a small company, mostly because I get to use my own creativity and initiative when teaching the children. When I first started at I'm I knew that we would be communicating only in English and I was a bit worried whether I would be understood by the children. I thought if someone talked at me for 40 minutes in Swahili I would freak out and have no clue what was going on, so I thought the children would feel the same. But the thing I learnt first was that you don't need to speak the same language to have meaningful communication. Just think of Mr Bean!!

At first we are given very set guidelines to follow in the lesson and ways of teaching the set language. This was helpful for me because I've never taught ESL before but as I grew more comfortable and confident at teaching I was able to start using my own ideas and methods of teaching in the classroom. At I'm English School we use a text book, have set curriculum and materials that form the base of what we teach. From this solid base I can adapt my ideas and make additional materials to create a better lesson for my students. In this way I can add my special flair to the lessons so they are fun, enjoyable and hopefully unforgettable. Each month we have lesson idea talks which is like a think tank for everyone's ideas. I find it really helpful to talk as a group because it facilitates a better understanding of the actual meaning of the language we are teaching and the way you build the language from scratch. For example how do you teach “can” and “can not” ？ I know the meaning is clear to me but how do I communicate this idea without telling them in their native language? Working as a group means that I don't only have my ideas but everybody's ideas to build up on.

There are many companies to work with in Japan, big and small. Our company has a staff of 5 native teachers and 5 Japanese staff. I have found working for a small company has a lot of benefits. Perhaps the most important is the way we are looked after. If ever I am sick, need help at the bank or with joining a gym, one of the Japanese staff will help me. Going to the doctor in a foreign country can be a harrowing experience but is much less daunting to have someone to go with you who understands everything the Doctor is saying. While living in Japan, I have met many other foreigners who have worked for big companies and it's not unusual for them to be sent to the hospital on their own. Another benefit of working for I'm English School is having the use of a company car. Having a car has made my experience of Japan more authentic, because I am able to visit some out of the way places. It is also much easier to buy groceries with a car rather than a bicycle!!

All the native staff live in Takasaki, which is on the Shinkansen line from Tokyo.

I had heard that Japan was very expensive to live however I have found it to be comparable to my home town ? Brisbane. After paying rent, living expenses and utilities I still have enough money to live comfortably and travel during the holidays and on weekends. I never have any worries about when the next pay day is.

I love teaching and the best part about the job is the relationships I can build over time with my students. I find teaching children to be very satisfying and the environment in which we teach facilitates this. I enjoy the level of autonomy that I have in making my own planning decisions but also the level of support offered if I need help. I can honestly say that this is the most rewarding and fun job I have ever had.

Hi, I’m Jill and I worked as an I’m English teacher for four years.

During my time there I’ve grown as a teacher and established lifelong friendships. Before taking the job I completed a diploma of education, but despite my qualification I had very little confidence in teaching children. At first it was difficult for me to teach kindergarten students. I remember some of them would cry during my lesson or wander aimlessly around the classroom. Teachers at ‘I’m’ genuinely care about their students and are passionate about teaching. It helped me a lot that I could openly discuss the difficulties I was experiencing in my classes and I was able to receive useful advice. At the end, I gained a better understanding of how children behave and learn. My favorite classes turned out to be my kindergarten students.

Living in a foreign country without family and friends can be an isolating experience. At I’m English school the native teachers are partnered with Japanese teachers. From my experience I’ve really enjoyed working with all of my Japanese partners. They were all friendly and it was a great comfort to have someone to talk to about lesson difficulties or life in Japan. To this day, I’ve remained good friends with the Japanese teachers I’ve worked with. Looking back, I could honestly say that I was really lucky to have worked at I’m English School for I have gained a lot from my experience.