The Unbiased Truth About Nova

[Mike Cash]

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.