G.Education Nova

[Taurus]

Does anyone know anything about G.Education Nova? They seem to be the company that picked up the pieces after Nova imploded last year or whenever. I was just wondering if they have a good reputation.

The reason I ask is that I'm thinking of applying for English teaching positions in Japan so that I can move out there some time next year. I'm hoping from there to either improve my Japanese language skills sufficiently to get a job in another sector, or, if I enjoy the teaching, to stick with it.

Any information would be really useful.

Cheers!

[arrowisland]

I worked there for about eight or nine months and I really wouldn't recommend them. There are of course small differences depending on which school you work in (some are much better than others), but the general conditions are the same across the board. If you're after continually deteriorating conditions, go for it! Pay cuts, days off changed without consultation (usually not even together), forced transfers, very little time off, the list goes on.

I'd definitely leave them as a very last resort, if you HAVE to.

[Taurus]

That's really interesting - thanks for that information. So did you work with them while they were G.Education Nova ie. after the takeover?

Are there any other schools that you'd recommend? Several of my wife's friends use GEOS, but I heard a rumour that their financial position might not be that great at the moment for some reason...

[arrowisland]

I worked for both old Nova and new Nova. Sadly, old Nova turned out to be much better...

A lot of schools are going into problems right now, so it would be best to do a lot of research. I'm no longer in Eikaiwa, but from what I hear Geos is slashing across the board. GABA is also restructuring over the new year. Not really a good situation for anyone right now

[Taurus]

So does anyone have any other recommendations for English-teaching positions that accept applications from the UK?

I've been offered a position with Nova, I've interviewed with Gaba, and I've applied for AEON and hope to attend an interview day in London in February. I'm also waiting to hear about my JET application, but I'm not optimistic.

[jkid]

Best of luck Taurus-san! I wouldn't mind doing some part time English teaching but most positions understandably require some prior experience.

[MaMiMuMeMo]

Hello Taurus,
I have worked for both old and new Nova, and to keep it simple; avoid them like the plague.
Part 1.
Your average day;
4 lessons (up to five students in each) Usually 5 because of the huge teacher shortage and the fact that student have maNY POINTS THEY WISH TO BURN.
Break (40-50 minutes)
4 lessons (as above)
Looks easy, doesn't it? In reality. it anything but easy.

[MaMiMuMeMo]

Part 2.
reality
1. the teachers' room is TINY. Not enough room to sit. 8 or so people in a room not much bigger than a closet.
2. Up to 20 students before your break(if you only have 4 lessons)
2. The class rooms are tiny too (upto 1.5m x 1.5m) . My school used to be a 3 student school. A small round table with foldable chairs surrounding it. G.Comm decided to make it 5 students plus a teacher. 2 extra people in the same room....
3. Voice.A.K.A the chamber of horrors to many teachers. Free conversation room for ALL levels. Open from 2PM-9Pm. (each session is 40 minutes) Some students will stay there ALL day and bring lunch, so they don't miss a period. Nowadays, not all schools have it, so it is often full. Expect double digits. People are willing to commute for 1 hour for it.
3.2 We have voice jumpers, who like to visit VOICE all over Japan. they like to brag about how many schools they've visited
3.3 We have regulars who come almost everyday. How sweet you say, but after a month it is difficult to come up with things to do with them. I had the same old lady EVERY DAY; her husband would drop her off at our school then clear off. On the rare day she didn't come, the staff rang her house to check she was ok...
3.4 In large groups (which it usually is now) people get shy and don't want to talk. Expect to see lots of weeds blowing across the room.
Teacher: " what did you do on the weekend"
student: "nothing special"
T: "okay, so what would you like to talk about?"
S: "anything ok", "nothing special" or " ....silence"
T: "so, what do you think about X"
S: " nothing special" or " i'm not interested in that"

[MaMiMuMeMo]

Part 3.
Reality: Classes/students.
1. With the large number of bankrupcies in this industry, new studnets are hard to attract. So are low levels, or beginners. This means that the core base of Nova students are high level students (level 4 or 3) who have been at NOVA for a LONG time. They don't want to go to other schoold beacuse in most cases they would be put in lower level classes.
I have had many days were I have had; L3, L3, l4, L3, V, Break,L4,L3,L3.
Many have 3, 4 or 5 lessons in one day. They get so tired after one or two, that they struggle in the remaining classes. It makes it difficult for the teacher and other students..
-Also, many don't review at home so retention isn't great.
-Like Voice, a lot of students come for their daily fix.
- There are only 50 lessons in each level sadly most students have done the lessons at least 3 times. I've had some students who have done lessons 15 or so times. Believe me, it is hard choosing lessons.
Nova students are notorious claimers. When it went bankrupt, some companies were turned off because of this.

[MaMiMuMeMo]

The final part
The management/company
1. Recent salary reductions.
2. Forced transfers
3. Reduction of paid days off. Previously, NY was a paid break for most, approximately, Dec 28-Jan 4th. Now, people have to use their limited 10 day holidays, or take unpaid days which are penalized with a firther reduction
4. Unsympathetic management who has no interest in teacher or student complaints.
5. Days off that aren't consecutive.
6. Help shifts in inconveninet locations. I had one with 3 train changes. More than 1 hour one-way , in my own time
7. Continual contract changes...

One more thing. Why do you want to come to Japan? If you've just done a TEFL type qualification, and want to earn $$$, Japan isn't the place to come, since the bubble economy burst. There are more profitable places if that is your goal.
If you want to experience Japan, it is a great place.
If you want to study Japanese, working FT at an Eikaiwa makes it a little hard, but working PT may make it financially difficult to do so.
Anyway, goodluck with whatever you decide to do.

[Taurus]

That's all really interesting. Do you have any other recommendations then? My first choice would be the JET scheme, but like I say, for various reasons I'm not too optimistic about my chances of qualifying for a place.

The reason I intend to take up teaching English is because my wife and I want to relocate to be nearer her family and so we can start our own, and so that I can learn sufficient Japanese to function in a work environment. I'm hoping that if I learn enough Japanese I will, at some point in the future, be able to look for jobs outside the teaching sector if I find that it isn't where my long-term future lies. And I feel that if we don't make the move this year we'll just end up putting it off indefinitely.

At the moment I work in the videogame industry, and I guess I'd like to do that in Japan too, but there is a ready supply of experienced bilingual candidates in that industry for many reasons. I do intend to continue to freelance while teaching, but obviously a lot will depend on the hours.

[MaMiMuMeMo]

Part 1.Fewer BoE(boards of Education) seem to be hiring JETs. Despite a desire by the national Govt to improve and expand the English curriculum in schools, there seems to be limited funds allocated. Many local Governments are in the red, and have cut costs by using dispatch companies such as Interac(avoid them too). It is cheaper for them than hiring JETS, although there many be some illegaility to this and things my improve.

I have heard, that whilst JET can be great, you may end up in a very remote place. That being said, living in such a place would force you to study harder by immersing yourself in Japanese.
I have spent most of my time in large cities, so there are enough people who speak English. It makes one lazy, in terms of studying Japanese though.

Some BoE hire direct. This is the way to go if possible. The conditions and salary are much better than Eikaiwa and dispatch. I take it that your wife is Japanese? Perhaps she could help you approach them?

[MaMiMuMeMo]

I'm sure I met a gamer, whose Japanese wasn't great... it may be possible. Have you checked out Namco and Konami?
The ONLY good point about Eikaiwa is that it gets you a working Visa. Once you get to Japan you can search for other employment, Some people use it as a stepping stone.
Go for JET first, Nova as a last option if you really want to come here.

Some websites that may be useful;

1. www.letsjapan.org/
An open forum, much like this one. Usually people who are or have lived here contribute. Can be helpful and honest.
2. www.gaijinpot.com/
I only put this here because it has jobs, although few of them are good... be careful. Since many companies such as Interac, and G.Com Nova advertise with them, the forums here are HEAVILY CENSORED by the administrators, so the forums here are useless. That's why Let's Japan is popular.
3.www.generalunion.org/
No, i'm not a unionist, however, they have some useful info about Labor law in English that you should know. Also, they have warnings about some shady schools out there and they inform you about unlawful practices by schools such as NOVA, Goes, Aeon etc.
4. FOR BILINGUAL JOBS
4.1 www.careercross.com/en
4.2 www.daijob.com/en/

5 www.costco.co.jp/eng/index.htm
If you have retail experience, maybe this is possible. I'll assume you know this US company.Whenever I go there, I see lots of non-Japanese working. I have heard that conditions are good. I'm not sure how much japanese you need though.

Hope this helps a bit.

[untmdsprt]

Many local Governments are in the red, and have cut costs by using dispatch companies such as Interac(avoid them too).

I currently work for them and am neutral toward them. They're having to renew my visa just for one day, and more than likely tell me to hit the road and find someplace to work. Talked to them and they said all 4 schools are claiming I'm a bad teacher. Shocking since I've actually enjoyed working at two of them. Even thought relationships were improving after summer break. WTF?

Anyway, it's a hit or miss at any of these places. Go for it for a year and then see how you feel about working as an English teacher.

[Taurus]

I really wouldn't mind being stationed somewhere remote, actually, but like I say, I'm not banking on JET.

At the moment it seems to me that conditions at pretty much all of the large English schools are far from ideal - everything I read online is basically a horror story of one sort or another. But, again, I feel that if I keep putting off this move we'll end up postponing it indefinitely, which is why I'm inclined to accept any job that I'm offered, stick it out for a year or so and see how it goes. I think I'll be in a stronger position to apply for other stuff when I'm actually in Japan - in fact a lot of the jobs on those sites you linked to require applicants to apply from within Japan. And I can't really afford to move over there without a job.

Still, it would be great if there was some sort of fairytale English school that would hire me and provide perfect conditions...