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Thread: The Unbiased Truth About Nova

  1. #51
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    Thank for the tip, Brooker.
    I think they have an office in Paris, so I will call them there.
    Let' s see if I have any chance to be hired even not being a native English-speaker.
    I will let you know.

  2. #52
    Anjin Brooker's Avatar
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    Yeah, keep us posted on your progress.

    When I worked for Nova in Yokohama, I knew a couple guys who were native speakers of German and French who taught at another branch. I think they had a much more impressive list of qualifications than most of us English teachers, since there are fewer availabilities for non-English teachers. But, you might want to also look into teaching Italian.

    Non-English foreign teachers usually only teach in the big cities. If you don't mind teaching on live video (personally, I'd mind) they teach every language imaginable in Osaka.
    For information on the pros and cons of teaching at Nova English schools in Japan, check out

  3. #53
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    Brooker,
    thanks for your informative answer !!
    I plan to move to Tokyo so, hopefully, there might be language schools who need Italian-speaking teachers.
    Let' s hope !!
    Last edited by Brooker; Dec 29, 2004 at 13:45. Reason: double post

  4. #54
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    about the whole english qualification bit - it's a japanese requirement for the type of visa you get to be a language instructor to have 12 years pre-college education in the language you want to teach, i'm afraid. and in the true spirit of bureaucracy, i'm thinking it's not flexible.
    don't think nova themselves would care except that their teachers do have to have visas. so i'd look into italian instead (i'm guessing that's your education)
    but good luck - hope it works out for you one way or another!
    there's a certain pair of tea-tongs that need to calm down now...

  5. #55
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    Too bad that they do not accept non-English native English-teaching teachers.
    Do you know if there might be any different job for me, since I am graduated in Mechanical Engineering ?
    unfortunately, I do not speak one word of Japanese.
    I do not think there are many language schools which look after Italian teachers ..

  6. #56
    Go to shopping PopCulturePooka's Avatar
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    http://teachinjapan.com/ is Nova's recruitment site.
    They actually have an option there for Italians. Its in flash though so cant directly link you.

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brooker
    You MUST apply to Nova before you arrive in Japan. I don't think Nova will hire people who are already in Japan. Not sure why.
    While in Japan I went to my local to try and get just information about being hired, go told to ring some number, no thanks. So I went to the HQ and asked if they had any papers or brochures, I was basically told that if you want to work there you have to apply through an overseas office. Definite apply BEFORE you go, but theres other companies that may hire you (GEOS, AEON, etc etc)

  8. #58
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    Ewok85 and FirstHousePooka,
    thanks very much for your answers and suggestions !!
    It has been a great to ask for help in this forum.
    It seems that I am learning many important things !!
    Thanks again,
    Matteo

  9. #59
    Anjin Brooker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by matteo72
    Do you know if there might be any different job for me, since I am graduated in Mechanical Engineering ?
    What a coincidence. I'm starting school next week for a second degree in Mechanical Engineering. I don't know if you'd have much luck finding a job in that field in Japan though. There are many teaching opportunities for foreigners in Japan, but there aren't very many other opportunities.

  10. #60
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    Second ?
    You mean you are already graduated and you want to be graduated another time ?
    I do not understand ..
    Or you have a " bachelor " degree and you now want a " master " ??
    Yes, I read in many places that Japan working environment is " closed " to foreigners ..
    That' s too bad !!
    But I will see, until now when I wanted to work somewhere I more or less made it.
    Japan will probably prove to be more difficult, but I am willing to work as a waiter, as a dish-cleaner, at evry honest job I can find if there is no job available for Italian-speaking teachers.

  11. #61
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    Quote Originally Posted by matteo72
    Second ?
    You mean you are already graduated and you want to be graduated another time ?
    Yes.

    I know, I must be crazy. I'm starting again from the beginning. Some of my classmates will be like ten years younger than me.

  12. #62
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    Regarding the "No Socializing!" policy, while I don't agree with it I would like to point out that it does have one positive side to it.

    At the first school I worked for, a small privately-owned school, they insisted that we socialize with the students outside working hours. If the students invited us out for parties, drinkathons, whatever....we were to go. The school viewed this as being the same as the sort of after-hours socializing that businessmen are expected to engage in for the good of the company.

    It was fine for the teacher who was single. But my wife didn't care much for it, and neither did I. Not that I'm anti-social, but because I'm a tight ba5tard. All that socializing was running into a fair bit of money.

    I eventually had to butt heads with the manager over it. The manager insisted that we have to socialize with the students for the good of company (even though we were just contract employees). I said if that is the case then we should be paid overtime and have our expenses reimbursed.

    She quit insisting that we had to socialize with the students.

  13. #63
    Regular Member misa.j's Avatar
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    I went to NOVA Shimokitazawa-kou in Tokyo, and I liked it a lot. It was a good stepping stone before I came to America and took ESL course.

    I especially liked how they kept no more than 3 students at most for each class, and the schedule was flexible which worked out great for me since I had irregular time off. The teachers were from many countries, so I got to practice listening to different accents; they were also very helpful with me when I was having setbacks to go to the next level, had a private conference and tried to listen to my problems.

    I think teachers can feel as professinal as they want to at NOVA, or at least they seemed so to me.
    Last edited by misa.j; Jan 3, 2005 at 09:22.

  14. #64
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    Something like a year ago Nova was pulled in to court for their "no socializing" rules. They lost.

    The policy is still in all the papers, but they can't *legaly* tell you to "not socialize or you'll get fired".
    –é˜IŽ€‹ê!

    www.orz.eu
    I find affence at your post as I ware eyeglass and have lmited site.
    Sankyuu~!
    http://japan.orz.eu - A site for my trip to Japan.

  15. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by TwistedMac
    Something like a year ago Nova was pulled in to court for their "no socializing" rules. They lost.

    The policy is still in all the papers, but they can't *legaly* tell you to "not socialize or you'll get fired".
    Basically yeah.
    but NOVA management, right to to the top with Monkey Bridge and Lundqist are... jerks.

  16. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by FirstHousePooka
    NOVA management, right to to the top with Monkey Bridge and Lundqist are... jerks.
    and that, I take it, is the "unbiased truth about NOVA"? ;)

  17. #67
    Banned Mike Cash's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by misa.j
    I went to NOVA Shimokitazawa-kou in Tokyo, and I liked it a lot. It was a good stepping stone before I came to America and took ESL course.

    I especially liked how they kept no more than 3 students at most for each class, and the schedule was flexible which worked out great for me since I had irregular time off. The teachers were from many countries, so I got to practice listening to different accents; they were also very helpful with me when I was having setbacks to go to the next level, had a private conference and tried to listen to my problems.

    I think teachers can feel as professinal as they want to at NOVA, or at least they seemed so to me.

    You were one of the rare students who is actually serious about learning English and who (obviously) put a lot of time and effort into it outside Nova. And that is the most important part. Good teachers can't make a lousy student good. Bad teachers can't make a good student lousy.

    There are a few students who utilize Nova and become very proficient at English....but it is because of how those students use Nova, and not because of anything Nova inherently does well, because they do nothing well except advertise.

    Smart students study outside class. They review what they learned. They prepare for future lessons. They spot points they need help understanding and the next time they go, they have several good focussed questions for the teacher. They go to the voice room and actually talk. They do well even with bad teachers. Why? Because they are taking responsibility for their own progress.

    The vast majority of the students, however, never study outside class. They never review what they learned. They forget practically everything new from one lesson to the next. They don't often go to the voice room, and when they do, they don't speak. They do poorly even with good teachers. Why? Because they've been led to believe they'll learn English by osmosis, effortlessly. And because they expect the teacher to care more about their English than they do.

    If anyone wants to know why I left the exciting world of Eikaiwa to be a truck driver, with longer hours, lower pay, and zero prestige....the above paragraph is part of the reason.
    Last edited by Mike Cash; Jan 3, 2005 at 19:50.

  18. #68
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    And there is one reason why eikaiwa, for a big company, is a dead end job.

    Bravo MC! Bravo!
    Last edited by Brooker; Jan 8, 2005 at 16:48. Reason: remove long quote

  19. #69
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    Brooker,
    may I dare to ask you why you do this ??
    I mean, it took me six years to finish my University education and I would not go back to it for one million dollars.
    Well, I would go back to it for one million dollars, that is a way of saying that I did not like it.
    However, I can not apply to any position at Nova, for teaching English they require you to be native, and to teach Italian you must go to Osaka, while I need to stay in Tokyo.
    Let' s see if I can contact other schools.

  20. #70
    Regular Member myrrhine's Avatar
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    matteo - i ran into the same problem that you're having when i applied to nova, they turned down my app because of my address in sweden (without asking about my schooling, mind you. anyways, annoyance aside...)
    well i was pretty frustrated and really looked into the whole thing and unfortunatly the problem is not with nova here, it's with japanese policy.
    in other words, to go and work (at least legally) you need a work visa. and to get a work visa to be a language teacher, you need 12 years pre-college education with the language of instruction being the same language you're going to be teaching.
    i hate to be squelching hope here, just figure you might as well know before spending alot of time figuring it out. in other words, to work legally, contacting other schools won't help unless you can get letters saying that all your schooling was in english. in which case you might as well go with nova, or whatever.
    that's bureaucracy - caring more about documents than documented ability. blah.

    http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/03.html
    this site sums it up pretty well.
    now, that said, there are other options out there - perhaps some kind of cultural visa? or is italy one of the countries that can get working holiday visas?
    and (i'm not sure about this) it might be possible to get some work on the side as an english or italian tutor...
    whatever happens, good luck!

  21. #71
    Regular Member misa.j's Avatar
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    by mikecash: The vast majority of the students, however, never study outside class. They never review what they learned. They forget practically everything new from one lesson to the next. They don't often go to the voice room, and when they do, they don't speak. They do poorly even with good teachers. Why? Because they've been led to believe they'll learn English by osmosis, effortlessly. And because they expect the teacher to care more about their English than they do.
    Then, why do those barely-there students want to even waste their money on NOVA?
    Oh well, I guess it's not very important to discuss about what their intentions are, and I can totally understand how it is frustrating for instructors to wait until they break the ridiculously thick ice.

    Back to my experience if I may, I had a funny luck to win six months free lesson at another Eikaiwa school, where most teachers were Japanese; their teaching method wasn't good at all, plus the teachers spoke Japanese to the students often. It was as bad as taking the English class at a high school. Compared to that, I got a lot more from NOVA.

  22. #72
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    Quote Originally Posted by misa.j
    Then, why do those barely-there students want to even waste their money on NOVA?
    Their work makes them, its a hobby to escape the drudgery of house wifedom, they are school kids wanting to 'study' (of course they never do), they are young girls who want foreign guys, because its 'fun' etc. A myriad of reasons, yet many act exactly like mike said.

  23. #73
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    myrrhine,
    still I have not given up all hopes, maybe somebody needs an Italian teacher, after all ..

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by matteo72
    Brooker,
    may I dare to ask you why you do this ??
    I mean, it took me six years to finish my University education and I would not go back to it for one million dollars.
    It's a long story, but the short answer is that I've decided I don't want to be stuck in my current field for the rest of my days. And I don't want to have just any old "Joe job," so I've got to go back to school so that I can do well in a new field. Basically, I decided that I'd rather be the guy making "the plan" than be the guy carrying out "the plan". In the field I'm in now, I'll always be a "worker bee". When I got out of school I said I'd never go back. But for a long time now, my mind has been stagnating and I'm enjoying being stimulated again and (surprisingly enough) I grew to miss the school environment.

    However, I can not apply to any position at Nova, for teaching English they require you to be native, and to teach Italian you must go to Osaka, while I need to stay in Tokyo.
    Sorry to hear things aren't going as you'd hoped. Keep looking. I'm sure you'll find something.

  25. #75
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    Well, good luck to you Brooker !!

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