Hey! I'm British! Don't make me pay International Student rates!

That's right - you might be born and bred in the UK; you might have a UK passport; you might have lived in the UK for almost all your life; but if you've been abroad for the last 3 years you're at risk of losing entitlement to funding and in danger of paying international student fees.

Find out why and how you can avoid this financially disastrous situation - see the tab 'Applying for a PGCE' above.

Daikichi

New Content: Taking the QTS and taking the PGCE interview.

Hi. It's been a long time since I worked on this site. Doing a PGCE in English has turned out to be everything people say it is - an awful lot of work! It hasn't left me with much spare time at all. However, it is half term now and I'm half way through the course. Actually, my half term is only 2 days - university sessions continued from Monday to Wednesday.

I've noticed a few brave souls have attempted to blog about their PGCE experience as it happens but gave up soon with the workload bearing down on them. I'm not even going to attempt it. But when I have time I would like to write something about the experience.

Today, I decided to continue where I left off and added two new sections:

• My experience of taking the QTS tests.
• Taking PGCE Interviews.

You can locate them at the bottom of the tabbed page, 'Applying for a PGCE'.

Daikichi

Applying for a PGCE from abroad: preparing your application, flying back for interviews, and the QTS tests.

Hello people.

If you are considering applying for a PGCE from abroad then you've come to the right place.

I live in Japan but I applied for a PGCE and have an unconditional offer.

If you click on the tab above entitled 'Applying for a PGCE' you will be directed to a page with lots of information about how to achieve this goal. Hopefully, it has some handy tips for people who are applying from abroad which you won't find anywhere else on the net.

Recently, I added some new content:

• How to prepare your application before the application process opens.
• What to do after you've submitted your application and when you are offered an interview by universities.
• Preparing for your QTS tests.

These are listed as numbers 6 - 10 on the before-mentioned page. 

These all need some extra consideration if you are applying from abroad:

How are you going to maximise your chances of getting offered interviews all within a few days of each other, thus making it possible to travel back to the UK once and take 3 interviews during the trip?

When are you going to take the QTS tests if you live abroad?

Will you have enough time to book your flight back to the UK after being offered an interview?

All of these questions are relevant to your situation if you want to apply for a PGCE from abroad.

Click on the tab and browse the content!

Hello people and greetings from Japan.

Here is some new content I have posted on the 'Applying for a PGCE' page. To view all the information I have written regarding the subject, click on the tab above.

The new content is regarding taking observations in British state schools which is a requirement that must be fulfilled prior to application.

These are the subheadings of the content that I have posted on the before-mentioned page:

OBSERVING LESSONS BEFORE APPLYING - WHERE, WHEN AND FOR HOW LONG?

MY EXPERIENCE OF OBSERVING LESSONS.

GETTING READY TO APPLY - REFEREES.

GETTING READY TO APPLY - YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT.

I hope that, if you are thinking about applying for a PGCE, this page will give you some tips and things to consider that you won't find anywhere else. Although it is useful to anyone thinking about applying for a PGCE, it also has some extra tips for those people who are thinking about applying from abroad, as I did. Click on the tab above!

Are you thinking about working in Japan?

Hello everyone.

If you are thinking about working in Japan as an English language teacher then you've come to the right place.

I've just added new content to the page with the tab above entitled 'Finding a Job in Japan'. Just click on it and read on.

The content that I've added on this page recently is regarding the following:

• Taking a TEFL course and getting a CELTA certificate.
• Applying for the JET Program and taking an interview.
• Working for an English conversation school chain.

Hopefully you'll find some information there that will help you.

I'll be adding more and more content regularly, so keep checking back!

New Information for PGCE Applicants.

Hello people, and greetings from wintry Japan.

If you are thinking about applying for a PGCE course and you'd like to know more about the process of applying, then my page entitled 'Applying for a PGCE' might give you some clarification, useful information and something to think about.

If you are a British expat, living abroad, and you are thinking about returning to the UK to take a PGCE, then this information will be particularly relevant to you.

Click on the tab above - 'Applying for a PGCE'.

I've just added new content regarding one of the basic requirements for PGCE applicants - undertaking a period of observations in a UK state school.

At the top of the page you'll also find out why I chose to take a PGCE course, rather than another form of initial teacher training.

All the best,

Daikichi

HOME

Welcome

Hi. Thanks for dropping by. I'll be adding new content to the bottom of my pages so always scroll down! But now, I think I’d better introduce myself.

I am a guy in his thirties, married, from England, currently living in London. I was living in Saitama Prefecture in Japan, teaching English as a second language to Japanese kids for almost 10 years when I started this site. When I started adding content I was preparing to move back to England, and to take a PGCE – a UK teacher’s license – in English for teaching secondary school kids.

So, what do I feature on this site?

I guess I may comment on many things. But I’d like to focus on 4 things in particular:

1. Life in Japan as a foreigner.
2. Working in Japan as an English teacher.
3. The process of applying for my wife’s UK spouse visa.
4. Applying for and taking a PGCE.

I hope that I’ll be able to provide people in a similar position to me with some valuable information… and, hopefully, some entertainment along the way too.

A Blow Fish. Taken at The Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan.