(upbeat dubstep music)
(speaks in foreign language)
- Hi my name's Amber; I live in Tokyo, Japan.
And today I'm taking over the International TEFL Academy
Instagram story, let's go!
(funky guitar music)
(train humming quietly)
(upbeat dubstep music)
Whew, okay guys (panting), I survived the train.
Yeah, the morning commute in Tokyo can be a bit crazy,
but I have about a 10-minute walk to school,
so I'll tell you about the job application process.
Change of scenery.
So, I took the online TEFL certification;
I finished August of 2015, and I came over to Japan
in October of 2015.
For me online TEFL certification was the most viable option;
I was working and saving for the move.
You definitely want to have money saved up
before you come over to Japan;
I had about $3,000 saved up and I was okay.
As for the job, I was hired overseas,
so I had two Skype interviews.
I applied online with an eikaiwa originally;
they sponsored my Visa and everything
was pretty easy and smooth.
For those of you that don't know what an eikaiwa is,
in Japan, or in Asia, eikaiwas are popular;
they are tutoring centers, so native English speakers
work at the eikaiwa and students come in for tutoring
after school, on the--
Most people really like eikaiwas;
the pay is really good, you get 10 days paid holiday,
and you're guaranteed hours, so you know
how much you'll make every month.
But I really wanted to work in a public school;
I wanted to experience--
So yeah, after a year of working at the eikaiwa in Japan,
I transitioned to work at a public elementary school
and junior high school.
And I still work at the eikaiwa part time
because I love to travel and it helps me to save up for my--
So, this is a typical Japanese elementary school classroom;
you have the board in the back.
This is where they store their bags.
And each student has the desk and the front blackboard and--
So my school's graduation was on Friday;
that means this week there's no sixth-grade glasses,
and grades one through five have half a day,
so they go home and each lunch.
So, the Japanese school year is a bit different
than what we're used to in Western countries.
The school year starts in April and finishes in March.
Students have about one week of no school
between the last year and the new year.
A typical day for me in elementary school,
on Mondays I teach four classes of sixth graders
and on Tuesday I teach four classes of fifth graders,
and sometimes I teach fourth graders.
So in the morning it's busy
but after lunch it's pretty relaxed.
This is a fifth grade class;
it looks about the same as sixth grade.
This is where students put all of their things.
On the back of their chairs everyone keeps
books for the day; and outside they also have bags
for like, gym clothes and stuff like--
And my favorite Japanese word
is (speaks in foreign language).
It means it's okay, or it's all right, or no worries.
You'll hear it all the time,
and eventually you'll say it all the time;
it's really useful.
(upbeat dubstep music)
Okay I'm home now and my brownie's in the oven for tomorrow,
and I'm just going to relax at home
for the rest of the night,
so thank you so much for watching,
and if you have any questions, hit me up on my Instagram.
Bye!
(moderate dubstep music)