A Life-Changing Experience - Teach English in Japan with Interac

I have been working for Interac for the past year, and my experience has been remarkable. The human-centered management style enables a greater sense of trust and teamwork within the company. The support is outstanding, whatever the issue at hand.

For me, after our baby was born, my wife and I decided to take a step back from the daily career hustle. At the same time, I was pursuing my PhD and wanted to focus on my research. My recruiter understood my needs, and I was matched with the right school. Working at Interac allowed me to focus on the well-being of our new addition, spend much-appreciated time with my family, do research, and still make a decent living with a contributing job. I have been welcomed and embraced by the community since joining my current school. The working hours are set solidly, which means one can always have the rest of the afternoon to pursue whatever side hustle/hobby/exploration one fancies. Weekends are off, and there is a nice, long summer vacation, not to mention Golden Weeks and other frequent national holidays. This is truly precious for me in this new chapter of my life. I plan to work for Interac for a long time.

I've been working with Interac for a few years now. The company has always treated me quite fairly and they've always been helpful with the few issues that pop up with being a foreigner in a foreign land. When you need them, the support staff can help you resolve issues almost immediately. Working with the students is one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. You have one job and that's to make English fun. This can be particularly difficult at times, especially with the big exams for schools that pop up. You want students to see English as a game, something fun to do between their history and math classes. I think the most important thing is to love English itself. English is such a funny language and we have so many fun little expressions that can really liven up the experience for students. "I like dogs" vs "I like dog" and the like can really make students perk up.

I’ve been working with Interac for almost three years and my experience overall has been very positive. Moving to Japan in the height of the pandemic, not knowing the language and totally on my own, I was a little nervous and not sure what to expect. The staff helped me to transition seamlessly, helping me with housing, training, settling in and making sure I had everything I needed to get my job done.

I was placed in schools with very nice teachers and good facilities, and there was a plethora of material made available to me. Given that this was my first time teaching and interacting with students in this way, having everything available really made it easier for me to perform at my best.

The office staff really try hard to support teachers and they check in every now and then to see how you are doing. If you have issues they will try to deal with it as soon as possible. Whatever you may need, they’re only one email away.

While there have been challenges and ups and downs, overall I truly value my experience working with Interac. I am glad they were apart of my journey to Japan, and would encourage anyone to take that initial step with them as well.

This program is a fun way to grow social and professional skills! Honestly, I never thought I would have the confidence to talk to (let alone teach) so many strangers, but the more I took the leap, the easier it got to try new experiences.

Being completely new to the country, I felt I had the support I needed if I had questions for the company, and the teaching environment was perfect for honing relationship skills, even without adequate Japanese language proficiency.

English is a rapidly growing subject in all Japanese schools, so staying on your toes and being flexible is very important. At the end of the day, my Japanese coworkers are always grateful and lovely, no matter how our joint lessons went. It's reassuring to know that everyone is learning and growing together. And the kids are so much fun! English time is full of games and songs, so your reputation for fun proceeds you wherever you go.

I feel like I've grown more capable of handling unknown situations and coming into new ones with self confidence. Try this program if you want to see what you're capable of, and grow to the next level for your dream career.

I was placed in a very rural part of Japan. While it's not the most "exciting" place, I have very much enjoyed the slow pace of life and great nature during my soon-to-be three years here.

As for the company (Interac West), my experience has been overall good. They generally respect my time, and provide a lot of freedom both in and out of work, but also provide a lot of optional support. First settling in was a breeze, with thorough help with housing, car rental, setting up bills, taxes, and insurance, etc. Interac also provides a rather large amount of teaching resources and materials, though I personally almost always make my own. The only trouble I've really had is with mistakes made by the (in my opinion understaffed) scheduling team, but even then I'd consider them moderate inconveniences.

Regarding pay, I'm single but I don't imagine it'd be easy to raise a family, especially in a city. There's also virtually no pay progression if you want to stay a teacher (like me) rather than moving up into more managerial roles, assuming you can. That said, my rural town is rather cheap living, and I'm single, so I have no issues living within my paycheck and can save some.

Overall I'd say being an ALT with Interac isn't the best for long-term, "career" teaching, but can be a great way to have an adventure or a stepping stone into office positions or other work in Japan.

I was placed in a very rural part of Japan. While it's not the most "exciting" place, I have very much enjoyed the slow pace of life and great nature during my soon-to-be three years here.

As for the company (Interac West), my experience has been overall good. They generally respect my time, and provide a lot of freedom both in and out of work, but also provide a lot of optional support. First settling in was a breeze, with thorough help with housing, car rental, setting up bills, taxes, and insurance, etc. Interac also provides a rather large amount of teaching resources and materials, though I personally almost always make my own. The only trouble I've really had is with mistakes made by the (in my opinion understaffed) scheduling team, but even then I'd consider them moderate inconveniences.

Regarding pay, I'm single but I don't imagine it'd be easy to raise a family, especially in a city. There's also virtually no pay progression if you want to stay a teacher (like me) rather than moving up into more managerial roles, assuming you can. That said, my rural town is rather cheap living, and I'm single, so I have no issues living within my paycheck and can save some.

Overall I'd say being an ALT with Interac isn't the best for long-term, "career" teaching, but can be a great way to have an adventure or a stepping stone into office positions or other work in Japan.

If you’ve always wanted to experience a piece of another culture, teaching for Interac is a great way to do so!

I have been working for Interac since 2020. I was already living in Japan, and they worked with me to allow me to keep living in the same city with my partner and have been very flexible in making my life work the way I have wanted and needed. Of course, if you can be flexible with where you live in Japan, it is much easier to be hired (and frankly, the potential to be more exciting exists too!)

From my own experiences, and those of the friends I’ve made, Interac offers a ton of assistance that makes getting by in Japan as easy as possible, even if you can’t speak Japanese. My branch even provides resources and training to help you with your career, whether that is continued with Interac, somewhere else in Japan, and of course even back home. This includes training sessions as a company, as well as things like discounts to Japanese language courses and lessons.

I do highly recommend studying in your spare time, as it’s a perfect opportunity to practice. Even better, everyone you work with will be VERY appreciative, and it definitely makes team teaching much easier.

I’ve taught at both a middle school and an elementary school, which are the most common places you can end up. The truth about the schools is that a lot will depend on the school itself, the teachers you work with, and of course on you. My experience has been entirely positive, full of students and teachers that were and are excited to work with me, but I have heard more than a few horror stories. In the end, if you yourself are someone who can go with the flow and improvise well, then you are probably ready for the majority of curve balls that may come your way!

Outside of school and work life, you will luckily have ample time for traveling, exploring wherever you live, and even participating in events around town or in classes or clubs.
Like dancing? Dance schools are often easy to find! Like to play an instrument? Also pretty common to find people to play with and places to practice (some for free, some with a fee, all depending on the place you live and what you’re doing). As with living anywhere, a lot of life outside of work is only as good as you make it, and if you are willing to put yourself out there often, you’re more likely to have a pretty good time.

I’m glad I got to work with my desired company. Working hours vary depending on the BOE. I enjoyed shorter working hours😊
It was a challenge adapting to longer working hours with change in BOE.
Having the staff assist me at the hospital, city office, documentation and getting an apartment has been so much relief for me.
It’s joyful knowing that I’m on holidays (summer/winter) yet get paid.
I was awarded an Instructor motivation certificate which made me realize that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.