Teaching at Berkeley House Language Center

Classes

Berkeley House Language Center teachers are afforded the unique opportunity to interact with almost every walk of life in Japan. Unlike other language schools, Berkeley House is privileged to provide language instruction to just about every type of Japanese student imaginable. After completing our 20 hour (approx.) training course the new Berkeley house teacher will get right into teaching, and earning money. There are generally four types of classes at Berkeley House Language Center. Below is a brief description of each:

1. Year Course:	Berkeley House Language Center (BHLC) runs a "Year Course" in which students study English in BHLC classrooms everyday as full time students. These are group lessons with 6-8 students in each class.
2. Business/Government:	Usually a small group lesson taught at the client's/student's business office.
3. Schools:	BHLC provides both public and private general education schools with native English speakers to assist Japanese English teachers in the classroom.
4. Private:	A number of classes at BHLC are "private" lessons where one teacher teaches one student. The student could be a high school student, housewife, businessmen or almost anyone.

As a teacher at BHLC you will probably have the opportunity to teach all of the above type classes.

Remuneration

Full time teachers at BHLC are required to teach 23 hours per week. In exchange Berkeley House offers a guaranteed minimum monthly salary of 250,000 yen per month. This amount could vary depending on the experience or education level of the applicant.

Vacation

In addition to the 13 national holidays in Japan, teachers also receive 10 paid vacation days per year.

Teaching Methods

Berkeley House provides approximately 20 hours training to all new teachers. This training is meant to instill in the new teachers the Berkeley House Method of teaching. What is the Berkeley House Method? There are many different teaching styles but Berkeley has found that the most effective method of teaching is the type where the students are given the opportunity to "see" English, not just being exposed to an instructor's monologue or a dry text book.

At Berkeley House we try (especially for those who have yet to master all English grammar structures) to demonstrate grammar points and then give the students ample opportunity to practice using these structures under the watchful eye of the teacher. We strongly believe in giving the students as much speaking time as possible. Further more we try to avoid the traditional method of teaching grammar where an instructor writes rules on the board and the students take notes. We encourage the students to actively participate in class through such activities as roleplays.

Of course teachers are required to teach a wide variety of students. Students with varying degrees of English communication ability. For this reason teachers need to be flexible and imaginative when teaching. However, we do our best to train the teacher how to effectively use a variety of text books and of course we thoroughly go over basic, effective teaching principles.

Classrooms

BHlLC classrooms are spread out over three floors in three buildings. The classrooms on the second floor of the AK building, are primarily used for private and semi-private lessons. As the students are mostly business men and women, the decor and the atmosphere is formal and professional. The rooms tend be a bit 'cozy', but each is equipped with a small white board and a cassette recorder. A video recorder and TV/VCR are available if your lesson plan includes video taping speeches. The sixth floor of the adjacent building, the Toupure Building, is where you will find three large, modern classrooms. Much more comfortable and brightly lit, these larger rooms are more conducive to activities in which the students have to get up a walk around. But, you will have to make arrangements to have video equipment brought in if you want to use it. The sixth floor is also a popular student hangout. You can find our younger Year Course students in the spacious lounge joking and talking long after the lessons have ended. Teacher and students can also use the computer space on the sixth floor the create and print documents. Finally, on the fourth floor of the Tankaka building is one large classroom equipped with a TV/VCR. You may to compete with the sound of lively discussion or playful debates coming form the teacher's break room, right next door. You'll definitely want to sit in here a while and get the whole scoop on living in Tokyo. BHLC's well-appointed classroom's and facilities will make your teaching experience easier and more enjoyable.


Reception	Classroom	Lobby

Berkeley House Teachers

One of the main strengths of Berkeley House Language Center, and clearly one if its attractive points is the variety of instructors that work here. This variety comes in many forms. BHLC teachers come from various countries. The student will be able to meet foreigners from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada and others. Even among the American teachers, for example, one will find natives of such different areas as New York, Texas, Virginia and California, plus diverse ethnic backgrounds, age groups, and so forth. An unifying factor, however, is the teachers' eagerness to teach others their native language (English) and perhaps at times to learn from their students! Most of the teaching programs available at BHLC provide the student with the opportunity to meet several of these instructors, and thus to enrich their learning experience.

BHLC uses its interview process to screen candidates on the basis of past teaching experience and evidence of success. After hiring an instructor, the school provides him or her with a thorough training program for its instructors, and there is a well-defined Berkeley "method of teaching" that everyone must be acquainted with before the working contract comes into effect. In that way the school ensures there is a standard quality level of teaching and that each client will "get their money's worth". At the same time, of course, the school encourages and relies on each instructor to make use of their individuality and personal life experiences to help enrich the classroom. This interplay contributes to BHLC's attractiveness as an English language school.

Work at BHLC can be quite demanding at times for the instructors. They do not specialize in one particular type of course (say international business, flight attendant, high school) but rather are expected to be constantly broadening their skills by teaching different types of courses to a diverse array of students. In this manner, although demanding, teaching at BHLC can also be a rewarding, and hardly ever a monotonous or boring, endeavor.