As the ESL market matures in Japan and throughout the rest of the world, there is a growing demand for professionally qualified teachers. As a teacher or someone interested in becoming one, you will find a teaching qualification is not simply requested by employers; it is expected.

Whether you are looking to develop your career by moving into a higher education or corporate training position or you want to move up into a management, training or course design role, it is clear that possession of an internationally recognized teaching qualification can make a tremendous difference to getting the job you want.

For teachers looking to move into a completely different ESL field, a qualification will show potential employers that you are committed to your chosen career, while allowing you to gain valuable experience outside of your current position.

At present, there is a bewildering range of different teaching qualifications available to choose from. Many are not offered in Japan and require students to get a visa and travel to a different country in order to study; others are very demanding of your time and are geared more for full-time students, while others lack the recognition factor to make a difference when added to your resume. So it is very important to find a course that is suitable for your needs.

• Internationally Recognized Qualification
• Keep Working While You Study
• Reasonably Priced
• Available in Japan

Established in 1977, Shane English School Japan (SESJ), with 200 schools nationwide employing over 400 teachers teaching more than 30,000 students, has built up a tremendous reputation for the quality of the training offered to its staff. In response to requests from people from outside of the company, SESJ decided to make this in-house expertise widely available by providing courses offering the internationally recognized Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Cert. TESOL) and the Trinity College London Licentiate Diploma for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (LTCL Dip.)

■ Cert. TESOL

Offered in Japan since 2006, the course covers all areas of teaching English as a second or foreign language and provides an excellent opportunity for all teachers to hone their skills, learn fantastic new teaching techniques that are grounded in the methodologies of the profession, gain a clearer insight into just what works in the classroom and further build on that knowledge to become a much more complete teacher.

Areas covered during the course include:

• teaching approaches and methodology
• grammatical and phonological features of English
• planning effective language-learning lessons
• placing language in appropriate contexts
• checking understanding and correcting errors
• evaluation and adaptation of materials
• managing groups of learners
• teaching the meaning behind simple words and more complex sentences
• planning lessons with clear objectives appropriate to the needs of the learners
• identifying and responding to the needs of learners in group and 1-1 lessons

Courses are part-time and run four times a year, with the next starting in January 2009. While the course requires 100% commitment, it is far less stressful than its intensive equivalents. Furthermore, holding courses on Sundays allows participants to gain a valuable professional qualification without disruptions to their schedule or having to leave the country.

Applicants for the course are welcome from any background. No prior teaching experience is necessary.

■ LTCL Dip.

Building on the success of the Cert. TESOL course, the Licentiate Diploma is scheduled to be offered from early 2009. Internationally recognized as an advanced award in the TESOL field, the diploma is an invaluable qualification for those who are looking to work in an area or organization that requires a diploma-level qualification, such as management, training or working in the higher education sector. It is also ideal for experienced teachers who are looking to build on their skills and knowledge both to further their personal development and to enable them to better support and guide less experienced colleagues.

The LTCL Dip. covers subjects such as:

• Phonology
• Grammar and Linguistics
• Language Acquisition
• Discourse Analysis
• Classroom Dynamics
• Syllabus Design
• Contemporary Approaches to Language Teaching
• Classroom Based Research

The LTCL Dip. is a blended learning course taking between 11 months and 2 years to complete, with the majority of work done via online reading, writing and research tasks with a 10-week teaching practice period. Candidates are expected to be highly motivated and be able to work independently on some tasks and collaboratively, with peers, on other tasks.

Applicants for the course will normally have a degree, certificate-level TESOL qualification and at least two years’ teaching experience. Applications from candidates who might not meet these requirements are also welcome - all candidates are considered based on their individual merits.

Now is the time to seriously consider studying for a qualification that will help you achieve your career goals

Getting qualified will certainly greatly enhance your career prospects, putting previously unobtainable jobs within reach and helping you become an even better teacher. Achieving these goals no longer means you have to break the bank, travel to another country or give up your source of income.

For more details on the Cert. TESOL or the LTCL Dip., please contact david.busby@shane.co.jp, marking your correspondence 'Certificate' or 'Diploma' depending on which course you are interested in.

Shane English School Japan
Phone: 03-3675-7721
Email: d.hansen@shane.co.jp (Recruitment)
Email: david.busby@shane.co.jp (Training)
Web: http://www.tefljobsinjapan.com/