Applying to Language schools, NOVA GEOS etc

[tdashwor]

Hi, I’m a university graduate and am looking at applying to teach in Japan, I’ve visited Japan before and speak some basic Japanese (I’m confident with the JPod101 beginner lessens up to about lesson 60 and understand parts/the general idea of some of the more advanced lessons and am enthusiastic to continue learning). What i really want to know is whether this level of Japanese is enough to get by, i know all the schools I’ve looked at say no Japanese is required but the time i spent in Japan made me realise the language barrier is quite significant. This said i am learning at a fairly fast rate so by the time I’m over there i should be more confident with Japanese. My main question is about people’s opinions on the big private language schools, i have written applications (but not sent them yet) for NOVA, GEO's and AEON but looking at this forum I’ve noticed a lot of people saying vague warnings about NOVA and some of the other big companies. Most of these comments however seem to go along the line of 'i have a friend who says NOVA etc is bad news'. I was just wondering if anyone knew of any specific grievances. I am a 22 year old recent graduate who worked bar shifts throughout my uni years so I’m used to living on a tight budget and working long/strange hours i just wanted to know if there were other things i should be careful to watch out for.
Thank you very much for your time.

[annie]

Honestly, the people who seem to be most dissatisfied with the language schools here are the 22 year old recent college grads who are working their first jobs and have nothing to compare it to.

If you want to teach in Japan and are applying from overseas there are 2 routes: English Conversation School or Assistant Language Teacher.

Nova/Geos/Aeon are all essentially the same. Geos is a bit more corporate, and you're expected to do more with sales. Nova has fewer vacation days, but you can shift swap, and there are better overtime options. Aeon has cheaper (and smaller) apartments. The branch school you end up at is far more important then the actual company. Teaching at a language school in Japan is not an avenue for improving your Japanese. And if you're living in Tokyo, you'll have no need to speak anymore then you already know.

I have friends/acquaintances who were really happy with their experiences at the big schools, and others who started searching for other jobs within 3 months.

I worked at a smaller language school.
My specific grievances were:
-a constantly changing schedule, so I could never plan to do things before work.
-days where i taught 6 or 7 classes back to back
-long commutes
-too much paperwork
-a company that took the contract fairly loosely

Honestly, you're safer going with one of the big schools; the small ones are pretty hit-or-miss. I know just as many people who have had issues with the small schools as the big ones.

[TheProfessorOne]

Let me say, as an American that is 30 working in Japan, that you might want to stay clear of those big companies like NOVA and AEON. I say this not from personal experience but from the experience of those I know working here. The complaints of those I know include late or no pay, fired for nearly no reason, and switching of schedules. I can not speak to those situations, but I just thought I would list them here as you asked. I have yet to met a person that has positive things to say about working for either company.

I jumped in with another company that is not as large as these listed above. I worked as an AET (or ALT) teaching basic English conversation in the greater Kanagawa area. My only complaint was the long commutes and the large amount of paper work. If you enjoy helping people learn and can handle a class room setting, I say aim for this type of a route teaching in a class. It was really fun!

Some people here really seem to enjoy the private lesson route though. They enjoy having funny schedules with flexing class bases and people groups. Whatever floats your boat I guess...

[tdashwor]

Thank you both for your posts, i appreciate you taking time to help me out.