Why is teaching English getting such a bad 'rap' in Japan?

If you look at Nova, I think your answer will become clear. Japan has turned English education into a commercial industry. Because of that, most institutions do not care who they hire. As you pointed out, teaching take a lot of experience and most of the people the schools hire have none. (I can say this because I have a master's in TESOL) It takes a long time to get used to the grammar rules of English, you can't just assume that you can speak it and that is enough. You have to learn how to teach something you inherently know. That is hard. But I assume you know that.

So, people go over to Japan because they want to. They assume that they can teach English because they can speak it. The Japanese companies reinforce this assumption. The result is that teachers in Japan all get a bad rap.

You're right. People with a well thought out plan are not on here asking stupid questions. People who have experience are not using teaching as a means, they are doing their job. But unfortunately, that is not most of the English teachers in Japan.

Going back to Nova: when they went bankrupt, there were thousands and thousands of foreigners suddenly out of work. Most of them ended up going back to their respective countries because they really were not worth that much. They had no training and all they did for Nova was read from a script. No one wanted them.

If you are going to do a job, you should learn how. That is true of every type of work. However, most people ignore that when it comes to teaching English. So, kudos to you for figuring it out and putting time and effort towards your craft. As for the rest, they will continue to do what they will and unless Japan makes tighter restrictions, there is no stopping them.

The reason why teaching English in Japan has such a bad rep is because some people have no interest whatsoever in teaching English and are just doing it for the visa to stay in Japan. Because, if they don't teach English it is near impossible to get any other job if you're not fluent in Japanese. I'm sure there are dedicated English teachers out there but I'm sure there are a lot just doing it for the visa and just want to have a good time in Japan (and get a Japanese girlfriend) and can't care less about teaching English.

This is why English teachers in Japan have such a bad rep.

A great majority of English teachers aren't looking for a career, just to make some more money before moving on to some other country. We always looked for teachers who would commit for at least a year, but many would skip out before that. Lack of reliability. Inability, or lack of desire, to follow instructions. Failure to follow school rules. This is not to say that all English teachers are like that, but there are enough of the bad type to give the others a bad rep.

As for encouraging people to become English teachers, that's about their only hope of getting into Japan. Just stating facts. No, it doesn't do anything to help the bad rep situation, but reality is reality.

I myself plan on moving to Japan to become an English teacher not because my life goal is to be a teacher but it is to be in Japan. Its extremely hard for foreigners to get jobs in Japan so this is one of the easiest way. I do look forward to teaching and it is at least one goal I do want to accomplish among my many. Sometimes you just have to take different routes to get to the field you are passionate about. I in no way feel that me becoming a teacher is giving them a bad I highly respect the position and who knows I may love it so much it may be what I do for the rest of my life but at the moment that is not my intention. Most people that are not really serious will give up the idea during school and go into something else so I wouldn't worry about it anyway not to mention the Japanese are very picky about their teachers they hire so its no exactly a easy thing to do anyway. I don't think people really mean to be disrespectful.

Probably just to answer their question and not sincerely meant. I don't recall suggesting someone to be an English teacher to work and live here in Japan here in yahoo answers. Like you said it's the easiest way. But it's not like, they're getting hired when they applied. They have to passed some interviews and tests from their employers or company to be one, right? I mean they won't just throw a random native english speaker with 4 year degree to be an English teacher. If I recall, some requires teaching experiences to be one.

My English teacher for 6 years, is an English and life coach. And he told me it wasn't easy to be one. He was an English professor in a university before working here in Japan.