Teach English in Japan with the JET programme – Rondell’s story

Teach English in Japan: Rondell’s story

Moving halfway around the world used to seem like a far-off dream–especially to Rondell, a 25-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago. However, after getting a Bachelor’s degree in theatre arts with a double minor in music and psychology, he decided to take a leap of faith and teach English in Japan. He recalls the pressure he felt while he was in university.

“I think when I was in university, the biggest thing I felt was that I was running out of time. I felt like I had to get these things done…I needed to accomplish these things…I needed to get a job by a certain age. “

Though many young people become a slave to this pressure, Rondell did something different. Instead of going with the mundane route, he decided to do the unexpected.

Teach English in Japan: What made you decide to get into TEFL?

“When I graduated from university, I figured I just needed a break from school,” Rondell shares. “The plan was to go on to do my master’s and it still is. But I wanted a break, I wanted an adventure, and I stumbled upon the JET programme.” For those who don’t know, the JET programme is a highly competitive English teaching programme in Japan. Many EBC Trinity CertTESOL graduates have successfully gotten into the programme. “When I saw it, it struck me, because I always wanted to visit Japan. And although my degree was in theatre arts, teaching has always been an undercurrent in my degree. A lot of the courses that I did in university were focused on teaching through theatre–so, theatre and education. So having that bit of a background in education, I thought, ‘Maybe I can give this a go. Maybe I can use this as an opportunity to have an adventure.’

And of course, the JET programme…is still a job. So I was like ‘Okay, I need to make sure that I can actually teach English.’ And so the first step for me logically was to get certified. So that put me down the road of the TESOL course.”

Teach English in Japan: How did the course meet your expectations?

Rondell shares what made him choose to get certified with EBC. “Of course, like anything, once I had decided that I wanted to get certified, I started shopping around for schools looking at what programs were out there and really I sort of decided on EBC’s Trinity CertTESOL course.

There are so many schools out there offering TEFL courses but really, what made me decide on EBC was how well-structured the programme was, how planned out everything was, and how affordable it was as well. And when I actually enrolled, I was super satisfied…it felt like…okay, I’m certainly getting what I paid for. The teachers were exceptional. They really knew what they were doing, everything was so personalised and tailor-made to where I was at as a teacher.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t an experienced teacher. I didn’t have years of experience. So the teachers at EBC were able to meet me where I was at in my journey and helped to elevate me to a higher standard. And I really really appreciated that. So I was very satisfied with the quality of the course.

Teach English in Japan: Rondell’s EBC Trinity CertTESOL course highlights

Rondell also recalls some of his course highlights, especially as he didn’t have much experience teaching English prior to taking the EBC Trinity CertTESOL course. “So again, this was my first time teaching. When we started the teaching practicum in the course, I remember…the first session went really well and I was really confident after that. And then, by the second and third sessions, I was like…oh wait. Maybe that was a fluke. So I felt like I started to lose my footing a little. And I remember specifically with this class, there were fewer students, and I had planned these activities that weren’t well-designed for a smaller group and I was trying to think. I made it through the lesson, but in the post-discussion briefing, I remember Iza helping me and showing me “This is how you could tweak your activities while you’re in the classroom because you have to be able to adapt.”

And that stuck with me–how she was able to show me how to adapt a lesson, sort of in the moment, because, you know…we come up with a lesson plan, but things aren’t always going to go so plan. You have to teach the students who are in front of you more so than you have to follow a lesson plan. So, her guidance in being able to show me how to tweak small things in an exercise to make it work for the students that are there…yeah, that really was very, very helpful and still helps me.”

Teach English in Japan: What was one of the most rewarding things about the course?

When talking about the personal sense of fulfillment with regard to the course, Rondell shares that it’s twofold. “One, since it was very much a classroom and it was all online, I was in contact with students from all over the world. We all came in with our own experiences…we all came with our own strengths and weaknesses…and we were able to sort of help each other.

I think that connection that we got in the classroom–that was really, really important and special…and something that transcended the classrooms. I actually was just speaking to someone that I did the course with. A few days ago, we were catching up, and I did the course maybe a year ago. Most of us–we still kept in contact. So that was pretty great.”

As for the second thing, Rondell says that it was the amount of resources provided by EBC. “The second thing is that EBC gave us so many resources. When we left the programme, we left with a full set of lesson plans, and we had resources that we could pull from even after the programme. As I mentioned, now, I am on the JET programme. And even as I’m working in junior high schools and elementary schools right now, I still go back to my resources that I got from EBC. I still open up the digital textbooks, and flip through my lesson plans. They’re still really great resources that I have that I can pull from even now.”

Teach English in Japan: How did EBC help with your application to the JET programme?

Rondell also tells us about the role EBC played in his JET programme application. “As you mentioned, it is a super competitive programme. Lots of people are applying, so anything that can give you an edge–you kind of want to take that opportunity to give yourself a better shot at getting into the programme. So while I was at EBC, I was in the middle of applying for the JET programme, and Tita was really, really helpful with providing me with information. She even provided me with a recommendation letter that I was able to give to my embassy. As I mentioned, I was in the middle of the training, so I hadn’t finished the course yet. So I didn’t actually have the certificate to say “Oh, I have the certificate along with my name.” But they were able to give me this provisional letter saying that this is when I’m expected to complete the programme, and that was such a big help showing that I was in the programme taking the course, getting experience to be able to do the job that I was going to be doing on JET. So EBC was a big support during the application process.

Teach English in Japan: Would you recommend the course?

Rondell shares that he definitely would recommend the course and why. “I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who’s interested in education and wants to get to know about the world of teaching English as a second language. It’s for anyone. It’s for beginners as well as advanced and intermediate students.

I think the great thing about this course is because of how personalised it is, the teachers will meet you where you’re at and help to bring you up to a higher standard.”

Teach English in Japan: Life advice from Rondell

Rondell shares some insights that he has gained from his journey so far, and tells us a little more about his personal growth process as a young adult. Despite the pressure he had felt in university, he says that he eventually had a change of perspective. “It took me a while to figure out that you know…you can slow down….you can take your time to figure things out…you don’t have to have it all figured out…you can take the path that is unconventional. And it’s not going to throw your whole life off-course. Just because you decide to take time off and go adventure in Japan doesn’t mean that your life’s going to fall apart…that you’re not going to have a good career or anything like that.

Be patient with yourself. It opens opportunities. So the thing I would say is, one…be patient with yourself because you have time to explore and figure it out. And two…sometimes that unconventional path–the path that you think isn’t the one for you…sometimes it really might be the one for you. And all the opportunities that you think aren’t there, somehow they’ll start presenting themselves.

These things have a way of working out in the end. The things that you think are for you, sometimes they aren’t. And you might discover new things along this unconventional journey. So I would say, be patient with yourself. Give yourself time and don’t be afraid to take the less-traveled road.

Teach English in Japan: How happy are you living your dreams in Japan?

EBC couldn’t be happier to know that Rondell is living out his dreams in Japan. He tells us that despite going through the normal ups and downs of living abroad, he is very content. “I am really really happy,” he says. “It’s been an incredible experience and journey. Of course, I don’t want to sell that it’s all sunshine and rainbows–there are good times, there are bad times…of course–once you’re going into this journey of the unknown, there will be times of loneliness, and all those things, but the fact that you know–I’m here, standing on my own two feet–adventuring, doing it on my own–it makes it all worth it. There’s so much to see and do and I get to experience a world that is so different from my own. I come from a very small island in the Caribbean that is literally 13 hours behind Japan’s time. So it’s like night and day between Trinidad and Japan. So coming here–it was literally like traveling to a whole new world, a whole new culture. So being able to immerse myself in all of that–and experience this new world, it’s been amazing.

Teach English in Japan: What’s one interesting fact about yourself?

To leave us with a fun fact, Rondell shares that he discovered an interesting thing about himself that he didn’t know until he moved to Japan. “An interesting fact about myself…this is actually something that I discovered in Japan,” he tells us. ” Apparently, I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I have become obsessed with roller coasters. While I’ve been here, every opportunity I’ve gotten to go on a roller coaster, I’ve taken it. I live really close to Universal Studios Japan, so I’ve been probably six or seven times in the past like five months. So I had no idea, but apparently, I’m an adrenaline junkie for roller coasters. I thought I would absolutely hate them. I mean, I’m absolutely terrified of them–like once I get on one, I’m like ‘Oh God…’ and I start regretting my life choices. “Why’d I get on this thing?” But somewhere in it, I just start enjoying…like “Okay cool, I want to do that again.” And then it’s like a little cycle of “I’m going to regret this” and then I have fun. Inspired to go after your TEFL dreams like Rondell? Enroling in the EBC Trinity CertTESOL course is the perfect place to start. It’s accepted and recognised by the British Council and can serve as your ticket to getting TEFL jobs in over 100 countries around the world. Contact us today and we’ll get you started.

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