English in Japan: The Blind Teaching the Blind


This attitude among English school managers was especially prevalent in the late '80s, during Japan's economic boom. Back then, English schools were spreading faster than mold during the rainy season, and Caucasians, I mean, native English speakers were in hot demand.

When I arrived in April 1989, I found that the rumors were indeed true, and I could as easily get an English teaching job here as breathe (maybe more easily, considering the air pollution). A B.A. degree in English was gold in the qualifications department (never mind that it was English literature), and schools may also have been impressed that I didn't see English teaching simply as a way to make a living here--I actually wanted to teach!

The challenge, though, was for me to find a school that felt the same way.

(to be continued)

The copyright of the article English in Japan: The Blind Teaching the Blind in Living in Japan is owned by Timothy Joseph Young. Permission to republish English in Japan: The Blind Teaching the Blind in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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