Program Reviews

It's a great teaching job with a lot of schedule flexibility. I have been able to travel and do amazing things in Japan and around the world with this job because of the open schedule. You do get what you put in, and if you want to work hard and save a lot of money it is definitely possible. I have built great relationships with fellow instructors and the Japanese staff. My clients have been great people too. There are a few strange and or difficult clients that you get, but that has not been to much of a problem.

The positive things that appreciate about GABA are the following:

* great systems
* good professional development
* very good working conditions
* great design of the program

In saying that, the challenges are as follows:

* cleanliness of the booths
* the system, from time to time, booting you out of the system
* When instructors get an R and that slot gets re-booked, it is difficult to understand why the instructor does not get paid for the double book.

I was initially concerned with bookings and teaching enough lessons each month to meet my visa requirements, however after my first month I haven't experienced any trouble with this.
Gaba allows for a lot of flexibility with schedules, but instructors need to make themselves available enough so that they can make enough money.
Clients are generally quite friendly and eager to learn which makes teaching them much easier and more enjoyable.

The lessons can be pretty good as you have a lot of leeway in what you teach. Can take a lot of energy as the lessons are one on one. Overall though very rewarding.

The downside though. You are technically not an employee. The company does this to scam you out of paid holidays, health insurance etc. You aren't even enrolled in worker's accient insurance. So if you get hurt on the job (like the glass smashing in your booth and cutting you) you aren't insured!

GABA is the kind of program that's not going to hold your hand. Some people, especially those coming to Japan for the first time, may find that daunting but for a certain type of person it works very well. I liked that GABA didn't tell me what flight to take to Japan, where to live, or when my days off were going to be.

So if you're independent and motivated, this kind of program would suit you.

The pay is based on how many lessons you teach in a month, so you can make quite a bit of money once you're established as an instructor. The flexibility of the schedule also means you can plan time to travel / go on vacation / entertain friends visiting Japan, or work on side projects: a lot of other instructors I know are musicians, artists, freelancers, etc.

I really enjoyed the one-to-one teaching style, which I personally find less stressful than a classroom environment. It gives you more opportunity to strike up a meaningful conversation, get to know your students (or as we call them, "clients"), and meet interesting people.

For me, Gaba was great. I was working part time at a university and also freelance with several other companies. However, I still ended up having a lot of "dead" space in my schedule. I wanted a place that was flexible with hours, and really there is no better place when it comes to that. I booked only the times I wanted to and was able to make a nice side income. As an unexpected bonus, my LS was in a very suave location and outfitted appropriately. It was a more pleasant working conditions than a lot of Tokyo eikaiwas. I'd say that Gaba suits you if you consider yourself more of a professional, and definitely personally motivated.