Teaching English in Japan: How Much Japanese Do You Need?

You can usually get a job teaching English in Japan without speaking Japanese. The JET Programme does not require Japanese for its Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) positions, and many dispatch companies and conversation schools hire beginners too. But some Japanese makes a huge difference: in the staff room, with students, and in the town where you live. It also matters if you want to move into other work in Japan later. Here is what to expect on each route and what to learn first.

The main routes and their Japanese requirements

Requirements differ by employer and change over time, so always check the current conditions on each organisation's official site. As a general picture:

Most routes also have their own conditions on degrees, nationality or native-level English and visas, so read the eligibility details carefully. Our guide to finding a job in Japan explains how work visas generally tie to a job offer.

Japanese in the staff room

As an ALT, you sit in the teachers' room (職員室, shokuinshitsu) with Japanese teachers, many of whom are busy and not all comfortable in English. Meetings, announcements and the whiteboard schedule are in Japanese. Even a little Japanese lets you:

• Greet colleagues properly in the morning and when you leave.
• Check the day's schedule changes, such as a cancelled lesson or a school event.
• Plan lessons with your Japanese teacher of English (JTE) more smoothly.
• Join in at school events and staff parties, which is often how relationships build.

Teachers notice effort. Trying to use Japanese, even imperfectly, usually earns a lot of goodwill. Our guide to Japanese workplace culture covers the unwritten rules.

Japanese with students

In class, you are there for English, and many schools want you to stay in English. Outside class it is different. Younger students will talk to you in Japanese in the corridor, at lunch and during club activities. Understanding them, even if you answer in simple English, makes it much easier to connect. With elementary school children especially, a few words of Japanese for classroom management can save a lesson.

Japanese in your town

Many ALTs are placed in small towns or rural areas where little English is spoken. That is where Japanese matters most: at the town hall, the bank, the clinic, the supermarket and with neighbours. Our guides to living in a Japanese neighbourhood and Japanese at the doctor cover the everyday situations.

Phrases for school life

• おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu): good morning. Said to everyone when you arrive.
• お先に失礼します (osaki ni shitsurei shimasu): said when leaving before others.
• お疲れさまです (otsukaresama desu): a greeting to colleagues during and after work.
• 今日の授業は何時間目ですか？ (Kyō no jugyō wa nan-jikanme desu ka?): which periods are my lessons today?
• 次の授業について相談してもいいですか？ (Tsugi no jugyō ni tsuite sōdan shite mo ii desu ka?): can we talk about the next lesson?
• 静かにしてください (shizuka ni shite kudasai) and 座ってください (suwatte kudasai): please be quiet; please sit down.
• よくできました！ (yoku dekimashita!): well done!

Start with a short self-introduction in Japanese. You will give it at the first staff meeting, at every school you visit and probably at a town event too.

Keep learning so you can move on later

Many people teach English for a few years, then want to move into other work in Japan: translation, tourism, education companies, international sales, recruitment or IT. Most of those roles ask for much stronger Japanese, often around N2 or above. See the Japanese level for jobs in Japan for typical levels.

Teaching gives you a real advantage here: you live in Japanese every day and often have quiet periods in the school timetable. A few habits make the most of it:

• Set a JLPT goal for each year so your study has a deadline. Our JLPT levels guide explains what each level means.
• Study kanji steadily, since reading is what holds most ALTs back from office jobs later.
• Practise speaking with real feedback, not only with friendly colleagues who are too polite to correct you.
• Learn some business Japanese in your last year, so interviews and emails in Japanese are not a shock.

Common questions

Should I learn Japanese before I arrive?

If you can, yes. Kana and survival phrases before you arrive make the first months far less stressful. See learning hiragana and katakana.

Will speaking Japanese in class get me in trouble?

It depends on the school and your contract. Ask your supervisor or JTE what they prefer, and follow their lead.

If you want structured Japanese practice that fits around the school timetable, an online Japanese tutor can work with your schedule and help you build towards the job you want next.