Hi! My name is Annette Lee. I am the sole content creator of Eigo Ganbare. 
If you have an interest teaching English in Japanese schools, I will share my story of how I made my dream of coming to Japan a reality. It actually started in the early 2000s when I was a university intern student, working for a startup IT company. This was through the Hyogo Business & Cultural Center, and I was placed to work for Sohatsu Systems, located in Kobe city. I helped design their website because of my love for technology.
On the other hand, I was also curious about teaching English in a Japanese school. What was it like and will it be fun? I’m Asian American and I had always wondered what it would be like to be with other Asians who looked just like me and shared similar Asian culture and customs. Although, Japan is uniquely different, I had learned a lot! I used to be fascinated in watching Japanese TV dramas and became interested in reading Doraemon manga.
I applied for the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) program several times and was finally accepted on JET in 2004 and was employed at Kasai City Board of Education in Hyogo Prefecture. My first year of teaching in a Japanese school was rough! I was young and inexperienced, expecting my JTEs to lead and not me. JET is notoriously famous for every situation is different (ESID).
Other than JET, I had the opportunity to work for Interac. I was first hired domestically and later, internationally. The early days of Interac, they seemed to be a pretty good company to work for. There were also other dispatch companies I had worked for. Now, I prefer the return on “JET-vestment” and advise newcomers to go this route because of its two-way merits.
After working for dispatch companies, I landed several direct hire ALT jobs, including a private JHS/HS, in Osaka Prefecture from 2012 to 2020. My role switched from assisting to leading the class. It was also the time when I started my Eigo Ganbare website, but technically it was established in 2010. Eigo Ganbare has evolved throughout the years, but the vision remains the same. Japanese schools have unique challenges like the lack of quality educational resources that focus on team-teaching and ALTs having restrictions to be able to plan effective lessons. The root of Eigo Ganbare’s vision was all about bridging an equitable English education to all students + ALTs who can share their country’ culture/customs. Basically, I have a similar concept as the NPO of eboard!!
I returned to the U.S. in 2020 and I still have the passion to work on Eigo Ganbare to develop quality innovative team-teaching ideas! I also encourage you to advocate for “Getting your BOE to Say Yes” on investing the benefits of team-teaching English in Japan. Together let’s bring hope, confidence, and happiness! 全員参加で楽しくガンバロウ。