Why are there so many bad English teachers in Japan?
There are only five possible reasons why there are more bad English teachers in Japan than elsewhere, and as is usually the case when there are several explanations it is probably a combination of all of them. The possible reasons are: • Worse teachers come to Japan • The good teachers leave Japan • The worst teachers stay in Japan • People who are bad teachers and stay in Japan continue teaching instead of getting another job • People actually get worse at teaching due to being in Japan I’ll deal with number one here and the rest will have to wait until it’s less hot and my brain starts working. Why do worse teachers come to Japan? • People who go to European countries and Latin America often do it because of an interest in learning languages and so are more likely to be suitable language teachers. This is rarely the case in Japan. • Conversely, people who are interested in things like Japanese language and cultural things like haiku and calligraphy can tend to be over-intellectual an
