working with NOVA

[choj81]

Well, as the subject indicates, I'm interested in hearing your opinions about working for this ESL school. Was it a good experience, why or why not?

They were recruiting at my uni. today, and it sounds a lot better than JET - although apparently they don't pay for your airfare.

If you have any experiences (or know someone who worked with NOVA), please feel free to share! Seems like a lot of OP9's members are in Japan right now, or were there before, so I definitely appreciate any insights or suggestions you may have.

Thanks!

[PopCulturePooka]

I worked for NOVA
Give me a few hours to write something out ok?

[hapacheese]

My fiance spent a year in Japan at NOVA, as well as a coworker of mine. Seems like the overall experience was pretty piss poor in that it wasn't really a teaching position, as it was a sales position.

Oh, they were teaching English, alright, but were given almost no direction. My fiance wasn't even given an orientation booklet or folder (though, apparently, most people are given at least that much). She was constantly reminded to try and get people to sign up for more classes and whatnot...

Granted, she simply wanted to teach, so she had a pretty bad experience, but a few others have had better experiences.

[Pierrot le Fou]

It's a working holiday for people who don't want to join the real world of working yet. If you keep yourself shaved and reasonably dressed, all you have to do is follow your little lesson guide that they provide, and speak only in English. It pays reasonably well, though the accomodations are something they screw you on hardcore, so it may pay to move somewhere else. You'll need a bunch of money for startup. If you can tolerate it long enough, there is room for forward advancement, and eventually you're getting 30 days/year of vacation with good pay and you don't have to teach.

You'd have to be a lazy sack of shit to make it that far though ;)

[hapacheese]

Actually, my fiance got pretty lucky with accomodations. She was assigned to one of the company apartments, which was a three bedroom apartment, when she was out in Chiba.

Nobody else moved in for about 3 months (was only in Chiba for about 4 months), so she had the whole place to herself for a while. Was pretty sweet :D

But yeah, not a whole lot of teaching, but the pay ain't that great, either =\

[choj81]

Thanks for the responses so far! I'm looking forward to your response PopCulturePooka!
It didn't seem like that great a deal, but I just wanted to know how it compared with other programs that send you to Japan to teach english.

The recruiter there kept saying how adult classes only have max. 4, which is a lot better than some places in Korea (where I was teaching).

If NOVA's not the best idea, what would you consider being a good program where you don't have to teach large classrooms?

Thanks in advance.

[Pierrot le Fou]

It's heads and tails above Korea from what I know of Korea. And if you don't want large classrooms, avoid JET/other public school teaching like the plague. Over at dave's ESL cafe (www.daveseslcafe.com perhaps? Search on the net), they have a list of the major eikaiwa chains and their pros and cons. You could alternatively apply to a private school (if you have certification of some sort it'd help) or to be a teacher for a public school somewhere (in the middle of nowhere for smaller class sizes).

And hapacheese, they screw you on accomodations, because all novas, regardless of their place, have to pay almost 70,000 yen on their room, which it is NEVER actually costing Nova. So they make a profit off of that too.

[hapacheese]

Yeah. She paid the 70,000 yen for the entire place. I'm sure that was pissing off NOVA to no end :D

She ended up moving to Fukushima to be with family and taught there, but she was glad to get out of NOVA. She said it was bad enough being so up close and personal with the students, but a couple of her middle-aged businessmen students would constantly make lewd remarks to her in English. I offered to gaijin smash them (though I didn't quite use that terminology back then ;) ), but being Japanese herself, she refused and simply dealt with it by ignoring it :rolleyes:

[nice gaijin]

From what I've heard from people who worked there, it's pretty hit-or-miss; some schools aren't too bad, and others are an absolute nightmare. Personally I wouldn't take the gamble and try NOVA; I'd prefer a large homogenous group of students than a small group of mixed ages (especially the middle-aged salarymen that spend half the class lamenting that i'm not a hot blonde chick)

[Kustom]

One way to screw Nova is to have your gf/friends move over. I used to live in a 3 room appartment in Tokyo, but throughout the year very often one or even 2 of the rooms were unoccupied... If it's cool with your roommate, you can have people over or get 50 square meters to yourself for 70 000 yens. Pretty good deal in Tokyo.

Will write more about Nova, I also need a few hours... I'm sure Pooka will do a good job explaining though.

[seijihuzz01]

Know several people @ Nova around Tokyo & they had a range of experiences depending on the specific location where they worked, typically not the greatest, but they had a blast outside of work.

-Worked mostly evenings & weekends (cuz that's when Japanese people have the freetime to pursue English classes)
- Hardly made any money, so going out & doing stuff was difficult.

- Ridiculous rules for classes (don't remember specifics) & the way asshole management (dudes who went to Japan in 1980 to avoid 'real' work & are still there not working) went on powertrips trying to enforce stuff.

- Don't so much 'teach' as follow a set lesson plan, which is the case in lots of Eikaiwa and certain JET spots across Japan, so people set on 'teaching' and innovating might be disappointed.

- No socializing w/students (well, that's the 'rule' anyway),

- Very little time off, bizarre hours, difficulty moving locations if your boss hates you or won't quit trying to sleep w/you, and poor medical coverage.

- Housing ranges from cramped studio apartments to 'gaijin house' cramped slum housing. Several NOVA friends lived in an ancient 8-bedroom house w/holes in every wall, no hot water, and which had actually been condemned but not yet demolished. I think they moved there to get away from the gaijin house though :eek:

- 'Private' one-on-one lessons supplement income from regular classes. Downside is you're contracted to teach a certain # of classes a day, so you could be stuck there all day.

- They know somebody else is always willing to come work there, so they have little incentive to keep people around longer than their 1-year contract or treat people better. You're disposable.

+ Work with a range of moderately attractive Australian/Kiwi/American/Canadian/UK/Japanese girls

If you want to spend a year or so in Japan working somewhat crappy hours but partying a lot, and if making tons of cash isn't your primary motivation, go for it. Some of the other schools like GEOS(?) might be better, but I doubt it, and the Nova guys will make fun of you :)

[PopCulturePooka]

1st part is up
http://www.popculturepooka.com/?page_id=6

[Kustom]

Everything PopCulturePooka said is accurate. Don't buy all the negative comments: Nova teachers naturally rant against the company, but urban legends are as common as facts. You won't get an appartment full of rats without running water, for instance, and Nova's foreign personnel office is pretty helpful for everyday life details and accomodation problems (as they should, since they milk you on the rent).

A few comments:

Know several people @ Nova around Tokyo & they had a range of experiences depending on the specific location where they worked, typically not the greatest, but they had a blast outside of work.

-Worked mostly evenings & weekends (cuz that's when Japanese people have the freetime to pursue English classes)

True, often when recruiting they mirror some possibilities of working morning shifts but it really only happens on sat or sun.

One comment though:
Part-timers usually have saturday and sunday off, which makes a BIG difference. Full-timers typically never do, unless they are married with children or have a lot of anciennety.

- Hardly made any money, so going out & doing stuff was difficult.

Not really. It's true part-timers don't earn a lot, but they have more than enought time off to give private lessons which are ridiculously easy to find and make good money out of it. If I had to start over I would go part-time. Full-timers get a pretty decent starting pay, I really don't think we can complain here.

- Ridiculous rules for classes (don't remember specifics) & the way asshole management (dudes who went to Japan in 1980 to avoid 'real' work & are still there not working) went on powertrips trying to enforce stuff.

Everything depends a lot on your trainer and how tight an ass he is. Keep in mind that usually, nobody is watching you, and with most students anything goes as long as you keep speaking in English... So a little experimenting is not impossible. But in the English section you do have those pre-digested lessons that look like you've got no leeway. Don't know much about those, we didn't have them in French.

- Don't so much 'teach' as follow a set lesson plan, which is the case in lots of Eikaiwa and certain JET spots across Japan, so people set on 'teaching' and innovating might be disappointed.

- No socializing w/students (well, that's the 'rule' anyway),

That rule is focused on a lot more than necessary. I do not know a single Nova teacher who didn't hang out with some of his/her students, and easily half the teachers went out with a student at some point. All you have to do is to stay clear of your bosses when you do, which is not difficult to pull out if you have half a brain (some people still fail that though... A colleague was stupid enought to tell his Area manager that the girl he married was his student! Still didn't get fired, of course)

- Very little time off


Not true. A 38 hour week is hardly something to complain about in Japan

bizarre hours

True. Typically a full-timer starts at 1:20 pm and finishes at 9 pm

difficulty moving locations if your boss hates you or won't quit trying to sleep w/you, and poor medical coverage.

Changing locations can be a bitch, and teachers with poor records (a lot of student complaints and poor attendency) are usually sent to fuckholes in the far subburbs; however sexual harassment is dealt with pretty seriously, and in a much better and faster way than in any other Japanese company I could think of.


- Housing ranges from cramped studio apartments to 'gaijin house' cramped slum housing. Several NOVA friends lived in an ancient 8-bedroom house w/holes in every wall, no hot water, and which had actually been condemned but not yet demolished. I think they moved there to get away from the gaijin house though :eek:

Never heard anything like that. Typically appartments are decent and conveniently located, although you don't get to pick your roommate and you are getting screwed on the rent (but it is not more expensive than if you had had to look for an appartment from the start as a lone gaijin)

- 'Private' one-on-one lessons supplement income from regular classes. Downside is you're contracted to teach a certain # of classes a day, so you could be stuck there all day.

I had no problem with that. If you're full time, you really get more money than you can spend on your free time unless you have very expensive hobbies. Nova teachers are usually not into hostess clubs so they're ok (it's more like we are hostesses). Being "stuck" doing nothing for 50 minutes knowing you are getting paid is not the worst feeling in the world.

- They know somebody else is always willing to come work there, so they have little incentive to keep people around longer than their 1-year contract or treat people better. You're disposable.

Very true. This is what wears teachers out the most, and why you'll leave after one or two years. Also keep in mind that you have to suck an awful number of cocks and demonstrate superior lack of imagination and self-esteem to get a promotion, so most of your trainers will be part of the system and won't dare say a word against it or stand up for the teachers... The few exceptional people who slipped through the net are being removed as we speak.

That said, they won't ever fire you unless you do a serious criminal offense, because it costs them money. So if you're determined to stay, they can't do much about it except trying to drive you to quit, even if you never take baths of fuck every one of your female students (both cases happen)

+ Work with a range of moderately attractive Australian/Kiwi/American/Canadian/UK/Japanese girls

You can either work with a 200 pound cow or a sexy half-japanese, it usually varies wildly from one branch to another.

If you want to spend a year or so in Japan working somewhat crappy hours but partying a lot, and if making tons of cash isn't your primary motivation, go for it. Some of the other schools like GEOS(?) might be better, but I doubt it, and the Nova guys will make fun of you :)

Well put.

[hapacheese]

And besides, if you work for NOVA, your mascot is this dude!

http://furima.rakuten.co.jp/image/p_item/46/19/44619-1.jpg

I got a big plush keychain of him for my fiance when she got back. :D

[Jon885]

i don't know anything about nova.


but where can i get that big plush keychain?

[EIJI]

You can get those here,
http://www.nova.ne.jp/shop/novausagi/index.html
But you could't get those form outside of Japan, methink.

and also, NOVA USAGI CM
http://www.nova.ne.jp/novausagi/cm/index.html

[Pierrot le Fou]

They actually got a new mascot (or two actually), shabeeru, and kiku.

Now on the train posters, this is hilarious, because 喋る (shaberu) means 'to talk' and 聞く (kiku) means 'to listen,' yet shaberu has no mouth, and kiku does. Found it funny.

[B MacD]

I worked for Nova for 2 years, so thought I'd add my 2 cents. I left about a year ago, and I was GLAD to get out.

"If you can tolerate it long enough, there is room for forward advancement, and eventually you're getting 30 days/year of vacation with good pay and you don't have to teach."

Advance to what? Branch AT, if you're lucky? Hardly a career move. The true brown nosers make it to AAM, that's pretty much the best a gaijin can do in Nova.

Nova gives you 10 days off a year, the minimum required by Japanese law. Each year you re-new your contract, you get an extra day. So, unless you want to work there for 20 YEARS, don't put too much stock in the 30 days/year vacation comment.

Most of the other comments are fairly accurate. I will say, you get a minimum of 250,000 yen as a full timer, with a regional allowance if you're somewhere expensive like Tokyo. You can live comfortably on this salary. Supplement it with a few private students (if you feel you must) and you'll do fine.

Your branch will make or break the experience. Have good teachers, and a competent staff? You'll do fine. Work with a bunch of wankers, or Japanese staff or can't even make a simple schedule properly, and it can be VERY stressful.

With the new text (which came out shortly before I left), Nova "teaching" has really become a no-brainer. You don't have to come up with ideas, or figure out a way to make the horribly outdated and useless Quest book relevant to your lesson. So there's really no teaching skill at all. (Not that there was much before).

On the apartment issue, privacy can be a problem. In my Nova apartment, the "wall" between my room and the next was simply a sliding cardboard-esque door. I can't quite remember the name at the moment, having been out of the country a year or so. Suffice to say, it was no better than a curtain for blocking the sound. Between me and my girlfriend, him and his girlfriend, and his general drunken snoring..you get the idea. It could have been worse I guess, my neighbour had the same problem, except his "wall" didn't even extend all the way to the ceiling.

Having less students is not necessairly better. They can often be very quiet, leaving you to do most (read: all) of the talking. Larger groups can be better, as you can often pair them up, leaving you to bask in the rare pleasure this will afford you. I used to enjoy large groups in Voice, as I could make them do an assortment of group activities, meaning I could daydream in the corner.
Try speaking NON-STOP for 8 hours a day and you will see what I mean.

You can also get horrible mis-matches, as they are assigned by level, not age. A 40 year old business man and a 13 year old junior high school, as the only 2 people in a 7B lesson. They wouldn't be comfortable talking in Japanese, let alone English. And you expect me to have them do a role-play?? Torture doesn't seem quite the fitting word..

JET, in my opinion, is a better bet. You will make more money for less work. The downside, you can't transfer. Nova is quite good about transferring, especially when you're still relatively new. You are still of value to the company, so they want to keep you around for a year or so. It's in their financial interests to do so.

Check out this website:

http://vocaro.com/trevor/japan/nova/level_up.html

It might be a bit outdated but will give you a bit more insight into working at Nova. Ultimately it depends on why you're going. You will be a cog in the machine, not an individual. You will not be recognized for your teaching contributions/ability, or lack thereof. Show up on time everday, put on a good show, and you will be fine. If you're late, you will incur a hefty fine (3 lessons? I can't quite remember). Do some reading on the General Union website, as well as a few other eikaiwa sites. Your questions have been asked many times. Hope this helps.

B

[Kustom]

They actually got a new mascot (or two actually), shabeeru, and kiku.

Now on the train posters, this is hilarious, because 喋る (shaberu) means 'to talk' and 聞く (kiku) means 'to listen,' yet shaberu has no mouth, and kiku does. Found it funny.

It's pretty funny if you think about the symbolic aspect of the new mascots, because it's obvious that "shaberu" is the gaijin (tall, light hair and big eyes) and Kiku is the Japanese (short with dark hair). What Nova is basically saying is "we talk, you shut up and listen". Sure, it's exactly how it actually works, but I'm not sure it's such a smart move to advertise it!

[Jon885]

wow..now to figure out how to order this.

[Beebs]

PopCulturePooka was pretty bang on with his description of NOVA. And, I totally agree about the PT comment that was made. I worked PT for a year and it was awesome. Do the odd overtime shift (or get private students) and be semi-intelligent with your spending and $$$ won't be a problem.

If you can get the PT Type-B contract, it'll be even sweeter. The downside is that you MUST work Saturdays (and it will be a full 8-hour day at that - the cruel bastards ;) ). There is no way around this (I've tried many, many times). The only way to get out of working Saturday is to do a shift swap (could be very difficult since Saturdays are the busiest and, depending on your branch, almost no one except management has Saturdays off), or just call in "sick".

The upside is you get a ~5000yen/Satuday night you work bonus. After taxes, rent and getting paid for transportation, I'd take home ~160,000yen a month for working 24 hours a week. Nothing spectacular, but when you factor in the new books (they have those new books for ALL levels now btw - just started this month), the minimal effort required to "teach" a lesson, it's a slacker's dream.

Speaking of contracts, NOVA recently created a whole bunch of new contract options. Besides the two PT contracts (A and B), you can work 34 to 40 hours per week on a FT contract. You take a hefty pay cut going from 40 to 39, 38, etc. so it really depends on your situation if it's worth it.

All in all, luck is a big factor in your experience. I lucked out HUGE! I work at a large school so enough diversity in co-workers that there is at least one person who doesn't piss me off. All of the upper management for my area work at my school so getting requests and other paperwork looked at happens very quickly. We have a large Japanese staff that we talk to all time and have a good rapport with. The fact there are several lookers certainly doesn't hurt. I have cool roommates and live in a nice area. The apartment is nothing special, but it does its purpose. But, as others have said, you can just as easily get hooped. I've heard horror stories from the teachers who experienced it.

The part about being punctual and professionally dressed cannot be stressed enough. Don't be late, don't call in late, and don’t take many sick days or non-paid holidays. Learn that rule very quickly and you'll be the last on your boss' list to get the sh*tty assignments.

[choj81]

Just wanted to say all the replies were quite useful, even the links were quite "informative" (NOVA bashing seems quite common online...)

No doubt I'd rather teach in some Eikaiwa in a big city but the only problem is the housing... unless I could arrange it somehow beforehand.

Well now that I've got some food for thought, I won't be falling in the same traps as other naive english teachers (and I've met tons in Korea, thinking they could have their easy schedule and tons of money... only they end up spending it all drinking soju every night! :D so funny...)

Btw, I'm a girl, not sure if everyone knew that already! So thanks to everyone who replied :)

[Pierrot le Fou]

There is no way that Nova provides 40 hours/week of work, because if they do they are obligated to treat you as a full-time employee which means bi-yearly bonuses. And I sincerely doubt they'd shell that out. Almost all foreigner jobs in this country are part-time in the sense that they come to 35-39 hours a week, but never go over that 40 hour break point to avoid having to pay bonuses.

[koku]

Wait someone just said more money and less work with JET.

Yes...from what I've been reading, NOVA seems like the perfect slacker job if all you want to do is Live in Japan for a couple years.

For someone who DOESN'T want a career with teaching english, who just wants to be able to experience Japan for a year or two/see other prospects, is NOVA as compatable as it seems?

If I did JET or NOVA it's only going to be so I can once again immerse myself in the language and learn it better. Also to see what other kinds of education can benefit me the most.

Is the pay really that different? I imagine I woudln't need much. Be able to enjoy the night/city life and still pay off some college loans.

NOVA? JET? It seems like NOVA seems easier but perhaps "too good to be true" might be an appropriate term to quote here.

[B MacD]

Wait someone just said more money and less work with JET.

Yes...from what I've been reading, NOVA seems like the perfect slacker job if all you want to do is Live in Japan for a couple years.

For someone who DOESN'T want a career with teaching english, who just wants to be able to experience Japan for a year or two/see other prospects, is NOVA as compatable as it seems?

If I did JET or NOVA it's only going to be so I can once again immerse myself in the language and learn it better. Also to see what other kinds of education can benefit me the most.

Is the pay really that different? I imagine I woudln't need much. Be able to enjoy the night/city life and still pay off some college loans.

NOVA? JET? It seems like NOVA seems easier but perhaps "too good to be true" might be an appropriate term to quote here.

Arrgh..I just wrote you a huge reply and it froze after I submitted it..and apparently, it's not here. Curses. Anyways I really can't be bothered to re-type all what I wrote, but JET is 300,000 yen a month. Nova base is 250,000. Overall you will work much harder at Nova. The time spent there will be busy. Not so at JET..you will have lots more slacking time. Neither is a real career move, most people do it for a while then move on.

B

[Beebs]

There is no way that Nova provides 40 hours/week of work, because if they do they are obligated to treat you as a full-time employee which means bi-yearly bonuses. And I sincerely doubt they'd shell that out. Almost all foreigner jobs in this country are part-time in the sense that they come to 35-39 hours a week, but never go over that 40 hour break point to avoid having to pay bonuses.
Very true. They make you physically stay at your job for that long, but they are only paying you for 40min lessons at a time. The time between lessons (for regular teachers) is not paid for. A FT-40hr/week worker maybe actually works 320min a day. Then throw in cancellations, students not showing up and free slots (all of which you still get paid for) and you can see the slacker's dream that it is. :)

[Kustom]

I wouldn't call ten minutes breaks where you have to fill 4 files then prepare the next files and the next lesson, possibly running to the bathroom for 30 seconds, "slacking time". "unpaid time" unfortunately doesn't mean "slacking"...

The job at Nova is easy as punching the shit out of a 3 year old, but unlike the later it is psychologically exhausting. When you come back home after eight lessons you are mentally brainwashed, can only use basic 7b (beginner) words and wish your girlfriend would just shut the fuck up and go away for the next 2 hours because now you're only in the mood for collapsing on the couch and watching TV without the sound. It's a fucked up state to be in and Nova teachers experience it more often than not. Add to this the pleasure of waking up in the morning and wishing your entire day away because you know it's gonna be just as dull and meaningless as yesterday, and you'll understand why a full-time job at Nova is not a "slacker's dream". How is it slacking if you don't control anything and have no free time until 9 pm? It's just EASY. No one can screw this job. But no one full-time would describe it as fun if they do it for a few months, unless they are mad as an inbred dingo.

[Beebs]

I wouldn't call ten minutes breaks where you have to fill 4 files then prepare the next files and the next lesson, possibly running to the bathroom for 30 seconds, "slacking time". "unpaid time" unfortunately doesn't mean "slacking"...Yeah, you're right, I'll agree with you there. Although with the new forms they have for students files, 4 files can easily be filled out in less than 2 minutes. Regardless, you are usually not simply sitting on your arse doing nothing between classes.


When you come back home after eight lessons you are mentally brainwashed, can only use basic 7b (beginner) words and wish your girlfriend would just shut the fuck up and go away for the next 2 hours because now you're only in the mood for collapsing on the couch and watching TV without the sound. It's a fucked up state to be in and Nova teachers experience it more often than not. Add to this the pleasure of waking up in the morning and wishing your entire day away because you know it's gonna be just as dull and meaningless as yesterday, and you'll understand why a full-time job at Nova is not a "slacker's dream".Somedays it is this bad, yes. You get a string of bad students or whatnot, and you get the desire to show what "going postal" really is to your students.

However, I don't believe "slacking" automatically means "fun". I say it to mean something that requires minimal effort to be satisfactory. I certainly enjoy myself every now and then at work, but not enough to ignore the brain-dulling aspects of it and stay for 4-5+ years. The point is, if you're just plain lazy and can only be bothered to do what is minimally required to keep your job and still get paid more than you deserve for it, then yes, NOVA is for you. :)

[Godon]

Nova sounds pretty bad.. x.o


What about AEON? I've heard that ones pretty good, but I don't know anyone that has actually been through it.

[B MacD]

Yeah, you're right, I'll agree with you there. Although with the new forms they have for students files, 4 files can easily be filled out in less than 2 minutes. Regardless, you are usually not simply sitting on your arse doing nothing between classes.


Somedays it is this bad, yes. You get a string of bad students or whatnot, and you get the desire to show what "going postal" really is to your students.

However, I don't believe "slacking" automatically means "fun". I say it to mean something that requires minimal effort to be satisfactory. I certainly enjoy myself every now and then at work, but not enough to ignore the brain-dulling aspects of it and stay for 4-5+ years. The point is, if you're just plain lazy and can only be bothered to do what is minimally required to keep your job and still get paid more than you deserve for it, then yes, NOVA is for you. :)

True. But that minimal effort can be quite tiring and stressful at times.
However as for your comments about frees, no-shows and cancellations..This all depends on your branch. My school was extremely busy, almost NEVER any frees..and when they came, the AT would always snag them. Same as for cancellations and no-shows. Not much good if one student no-shows but the other 3 show up! When almost all your classes have 3 or 4 students, expect to be busy all day.

Then, throw in staff incompetence. Very few Japanese staff members could do their job properly. Remember, they are hired primairly to sell packages to the students. Everything else is an afterthought. How many times did I have a new booking that they didn't bother to tell me about? or if I were actually lucky enough to get a free..someone would book in, and they wouldn't tell me! What a terrible thing to do to someone. Or random children just showing up half way through my TOPIC class for their first lesson..WTF?? Thanks for telling me! or finding out, YET AGAIN, that I've been scheduled my co-worker's Kinder class..despite the master schedule clearly stating otherwise. Or letting level 4's come in to Club 7 Voice?? Seriously, the list is endless. These type of things would happen on a DAILY basis, and it's very stressful because it's completely out of your control, and impacts you (and only you) so directly. I won't even get started on the politics of making the schedule, and the blatant favortism that went on there..

How long have you been at Nova?

B

P.S. Kustom: You are right on the money in your description.

[Beebs]

How long have you been at Nova?A little over one year.

True. But that minimal effort can be quite tiring and stressful at times.
However as for your comments about frees, no-shows and cancellations..This all depends on your branch. My school was extremely busy, almost NEVER any frees..and when they came, the AT would always snag them. Same as for cancellations and no-shows. Not much good if one student no-shows but the other 3 show up! When almost all your classes have 3 or 4 students, expect to be busy all day.

Then, throw in staff incompetence. Very few Japanese staff members could do their job properly. Remember, they are hired primairly to sell packages to the students. Everything else is an afterthought. How many times did I have a new booking that they didn't bother to tell me about? or if I were actually lucky enough to get a free..someone would book in, and they wouldn't tell me! What a terrible thing to do to someone. Or random children just showing up half way through my TOPIC class for their first lesson..WTF?? Thanks for telling me! or finding out, YET AGAIN, that I've been scheduled my co-worker's Kinder class..despite the master schedule clearly stating otherwise. Or letting level 4's come in to Club 7 Voice?? Seriously, the list is endless. These type of things would happen on a DAILY basis, and it's very stressful because it's completely out of your control, and impacts you (and only you) so directly. I won't even get started on the politics of making the schedule, and the blatant favortism that went on there.Every example you mention I have experienced and I fully agree on how frustrating it is.
As I mentioned before, I have been lucky enough to be blessed with a competent staff, a big enough teacher pool that it's not crazy busy all day and a decent number of students so you usually don't get the "bad" ones on regular basis.
Looking back on my posts, I realize I made the impression that EVERY posting you can be sent to by NOVA is an easy one. My fault for not being clearer. :o As you and Kustom have said, it can be a terrible and stressful job that makes you want to quit before you finish your first contract. The fact that the average stay of a NOVA teacher is barely over six months is testament to that.

[stsparky]

Nova expected me to have my diploma available for their inspection when I applied in country. Heh. I can deal with the ebb and flow. Maybe after our baby girl comes into the world I'll try working with them once more.

There's GEOS, AEON, BERLITZ and smaller schools ... it's going to be the same thing.

[Kaji]

I had a frat brother who went to NOVA right after he graduated. I was in Japan the following year spending my final year abroad at Daitou Bunka out in Saitama, and towards the end of my stay I managed to track him down via NOVA's personnel search once I heard from a friend which location he was in (he told people he was going to be in Osaka, turns out he ended up in Harajuku). Got a call from him, and the first thing out of his mouth once I asked him how he's been doing was "Don't work at NOVA. Ever." After that he launched into a litany of complaints not unlike what's already been covered.

I figure JET's the way to go. Less work, less risk of a bad assignment, and more freedom. Hard to see where you can go wrong on it (especially since I'm one of those people who would be just as comfortable out in the country as in the big city, frankly).

[B MacD]

Nova expected me to have my diploma available for their inspection when I applied in country. Heh. I can deal with the ebb and flow. Maybe after our baby girl comes into the world I'll try working with them once more.

There's GEOS, AEON, BERLITZ and smaller schools ... it's going to be the same thing.

For what it's worth, I've heard ECC and Berlitz are the better of the big schools. This was from former Nova teachers mind you, so they really had nowhere to go but up :)

B

[B MacD]

A little over one year.

Every example you mention I have experienced and I fully agree on how frustrating it is.
As I mentioned before, I have been lucky enough to be blessed with a competent staff, a big enough teacher pool that it's not crazy busy all day and a decent number of students so you usually don't get the "bad" ones on regular basis.
Looking back on my posts, I realize I made the impression that EVERY posting you can be sent to by NOVA is an easy one. My fault for not being clearer. :o As you and Kustom have said, it can be a terrible and stressful job that makes you want to quit before you finish your first contract. The fact that the average stay of a NOVA teacher is barely over six months is testament to that.

Indeed you are among the fortunate. It's also worth noting that good branches can change. For a brief period (2 months or so?) things were actually good at my branch..or as good as Nova can get. But, being Nova, they couldn't leave well enough alone. Our manager got transferred, and they brought in an absolute BITCH of a woman, who till this day, I am filled with hatred for. Other new staff followed, and they ruled with an iron fist. This manager would try and stir shit up, and play teachers against each other to breed resentment and to try and get people to suck up to her. Nice. Seeing your buddy get 3 free lessons when you get none..goes a long way for morale.

Also don't know how much this happened to you, but we also started getting deluged with cover forms for help shifts. Random shite to faaaaar schools from where I lived, on a regular basis. These places sucked, and only a few select teachers from our school were chosen, despite several all living in the same area. While at the help school, we got the crappy schedule, being the help teacher. This really seemed consistent everywhere, except..my branch! When WE got help teachers, the staff would go out of there way to give them frees. "So they can prepare". Ok, the guy's been here 9 months already, I think he's as "prepared" as he's ever going to be.
(It's interesting to note, you are NOT actually obligated to actually sign those help forms. I found this out from the union after it was too late).
It's indeed impressive that you are into your 2nd contract, and good on you for scoring one of the better branches. Just be warned, a few sudden changes and things can go to hell quite quickly.

B

[Kaji]

For what it's worth, I've heard ECC and Berlitz are the better of the big schools. This was from former Nova teachers mind you, so they really had nowhere to go but up :)

B

I wouldn't be too surprised, there. While Berlitz's total immersion approach is similar to that of NOVA, ultimately they're an American company, and that means that they operate differently (and that Americans have more available recourse). The only real downside is that Berlitz isn't seeking teachers as actively as NOVA. Comparatively speaking, you could say that Berlitz is your local diner while NOVA is McDonald's, when it comes to personnel...

[Kustom]

This manager would try and stir shit up, and play teachers against each other to breed resentment and to try and get people to suck up to her. Nice. Seeing your buddy get 3 free lessons when you get none..goes a long way for morale.

Crazy as it may sound, same thing happened at my branch, and I am paranoid enought to believe it has something to do with an actual NOVA internal policy. Backstabbing your colleagues is one of the best way to get promoted fast in Nova.

We used to have a was good trainer for the first year... But he was eliminated (I cannot think of a more appropriate word), on account of being too friendly to teachers. The next guy was sent straight from hell.

[Jimmy]

At least one would expect NOVA offers a workplace where the odds of suffering a Kancho attack are significantly lower. One would expect :p

I'm considering a year in Japan once I finally graduate at the end of next year, and the net is certainly a minefield of heresay regarding the options available.

[metqa]

I worked for Nova. I had an nice apartment with two other girls. Halfway through the year one moved out, and my friend got her own apartment so I had the place to myself for several months.
I'm convinced nova was pretty pissed about this especially when they were making 100% profit off the rent ( I asked my japanese neighbors what they were paying for rent)

Plus other Nova teachers were moving out so they had 1's and 2' in 3 BR apts. and nobody wanted to move out of their place.

So nova started getting slick. They told some teachers that they had to move ( so they could put 3 newbies in the apt) They never asked me to move, but when I signed up I told them "NO MIXED GENDER" They even asked me personally and I said I would not live with guys. Sooooo. . . they eventually have a newbie to move in. the name was gender neutral . . .
I called the staff office, and they assure me from here to New York that the person is in fact female. So I did a little detective work (and got some paperwork I wasn't supposed to have) and found out is was indeed a guy.

My informant told me that they planned to dump this guy on me, then move another guy in and hope that I would get fed up and move out, so they could eventually make it a guys only apt building. :mad:

I wasn't going to renew my contract anyway cause of the shit going down at my "used to be such a nice place" branch.

The best part was when the guy showed up. I was waiting at the entrance. My Mom was visiting me too, but she was sleeping. So the door clicks and swings open and it's the new guy. I say "Hi, Welcom to Japan, I'm your Roomie! " the Look on the guys face was classic. Then the Nova Staff comes in behind him and looks like just got caught on America's most wanted. The new guy looks at the staff guy then back at me and says " Um, they told me the apartment was empty . . ." :eek:

"Yeah, and they told me you were a girl, ;) Isn't that funny! "

[koku]

So people would agree JET is less work? With a class of 20+? I guess it's hard to imagine that a class of 3-4 even with the unpredictabality and disorganization of the scenerio is 'more work' than a class of 20-30 students. A structured actual school with more teachers than just you.


The way I imagine Nova is you in a room with 4 other students blabbing away at something that perhaps 1 out of the 4 is actually listening to. It just screams easy and slacker but It's true I do not know the stress and psychological strain the variables and errors of the job can force on someone.

If most people here will actually testify that JET has less work and more freedom, then it's a clear winner. JET already seems a lot more consistant and organized; it pays more too :P

Good read, it's nice to know these things ahead of time instead of "picking the one that hires you the quickest."

[Kustom]

You don' have to personally attend to each of the 20+ students now, do you? If one of them snaps, it won't fuck up your entire class either. I've teached one-on-one lessons, and I've teached classes with 10+ students, I'll take the later over the former anytime...

The way I understand Jet, not only are you assisted by a Japanese teacher, but you are also not expected to suck up to every single one of your students so that they won't complain to the staff and get you moved to a fuckhole school next week...
JET might be more work, but it doesn't seem like as stressful and mindless.

[B MacD]

Hell yes. I've often found bigger is better. You can pair them up, give them something to do, and sit daydreaming in the corner while they do it. After a while.."Ok! Switch partners." I loved big Voice lessons, because it meant I had to do very little talking.

From what my JET friends have told me, there is a significant amount of "down time" while working. That is, you are getting paid but have nothing to do, and can surf the net for hours, smoke, nap, etc. Pretty regularly. How often did that happen at Nova! Also, your actual teaching time isn't as high as at Nova. You are given more time to prepare lessons, etc. While that is "work" per se, I'd definately take it over actually teaching. One day, by the grace of God, I got sent to a school that had recently opened on a cover shift. I ended up getting 5 free lessons!! Unfortunately the AT was there in the afternoon, so I had to act busy and spent my time making flash cards for the kids lessons. Getting paid to color and cut things out is nice :)

Kokujin: "The way I imagine Nova is you in a room with 4 other students blabbing away at something that perhaps 1 out of the 4 is actually listening to".

Not exactly. You will be doing basically situtation-based lessons. I only saw the Diplomat book for 7C-7A, but all of them were like that. For example, "Returning something at the store." or "Going through customs." You don't really lecture, you're supposed to take them through this kind of situtation, the language involved, do role plays, phrases, blended sounds, etc. Usually they will all be trying to listen to you. However, they often do not speak, or not very much. They are hesitant to initate conversations, and ask almost no follow-up questions. i.e.:

Student A: (after much prompting from me): "What did you do this weekend?"
Student B: "I went to Osaka."
Student A: ".....".

It gets very tiring to constantly prompt someone at every step of the lesson to get them to interact. Seriously, it's like pulling teeth. A colleague of mine once remarked, "I'd rather punch myself in the balls for 45 minutes than teach a class of 7B's." Anyways, I digress. My point is, if they aren't listening/not getting it, the lesson really can't proceed until they do. So you often have to go through things very slowly. Oh, and you have to be genki and entertaining as hell. Why? Because that's why the students are there, to be entertained by a real live gaijin. So in addition to the above, you have to put on a really good show, and make them all like you. After all, they're the customers.

[Beebs]

I've teached one-on-one lessons, and I've teached classes with 10+ students, I'll take the later over the former anytime...Sorry, I'm not trying to be prick or anything. But I couldn't resist pointing out evidence that teaching English to ESL students really takes a toll on your own English skill.
I wish I could say that saying "teached" instead of "taught" is the worst mistake I've made. I swear if I hear myself say, "I'm going to shopping" one more time, I'm gonna jab my neck with a used chopstick. :mad:

==========================

One thing you should be aware of is the possibility you'll be dealing with Japanese students with moderate to severe depression. They are a small minority at best, but some teachers who've never had any experience talking to people like that get very annoyed/frustrated/uncomfortable. These students, usually men, have next to zero interest in learning English. They're being sent to NOVA as part of a recommendation by their doctors. They'll appear interested for the first few lessons, but they can (and have) come right out and casually talk about their problems in the middle of the lesson.

I once noticed a small scratch just below the sleeve of a students' forearm. After asking what had happened, he rolled up his sleeve to show at least a dozen thick scars, each about an inch in length, up his arm. "I like to cut myself sometimes." was the answer I got. I have experience with dealing with mental illness sufferers, so it wasn't a total shock. Still surprising to say the least. I found out later another teacher before me had the same experience with him, but the ordeal really bothered her; not the kind of stuff she was used to.

Don't get me wrong, I can count on one hand how many students like this I've actually taught over the year I've been here. Certainly not enough to make me worry about getting them on my schedule every time I show up at work.

[PopCulturePooka]

Kustom teaches French I think.

[koku]

So JET pays more.

Less work

Is more organized

You get off of work early enough to enjoy a complete night life.

Isn't as mentaly stressfull and doesn't have a high turnover rate.


NOVA loses ^^. But hey, they do hire year round and they are easier to get accepted to. So perhaps somethign to consider if JET doesn't work out ^^. Alf rules.

[Intense]

yes but with jet you dont have the option of specifying where you want to be and getting a transfer is quite difficult. So odds are you could be dumped in the middle of nowhere and stuck their untill your contract is up

[Kustom]

Actually Pooka is right, I'm French so I taught french... Sorry.

Alf rocks.

[koku]

yes but with jet you dont have the option of specifying where you want to be and getting a transfer is quite difficult. So odds are you could be dumped in the middle of nowhere and stuck their untill your contract is up


ah JET 4 Nova 1 ;)