The CEO said he wasn't thinking about stepping down. He may not be under any heat to do so yet, but who knows, the media and executives are old hands at the attack and save-face game. He may be packing up his bearer bonds and heading for the back door as I type this, you just can't tell.

I don't think the market for Eikaiwas is necessarily going anywhere. It's not as if thousands of really busy people have time to undertake a serious curriculum and start seeing a private teacher. The whole concept of being able to sign into a class and practice what you already know or just keep up your skills is still desirable.

It's a trade-off though, if you want convenient lessons (let's say Nova's anytime/anywhere policy did work) what degree of personalization could you expect if you were seeing a different teacher all the time and coming in last minute? Many times I've planned a lesson to the T only to have some bloody sign-in who's already done the lesson screw everything up. All my quick-thinking goes out the window and I have to do something less interesting to accomodate this individual who can't commit to a schedule in advance.

NOVA has to do a lot to improve its customer service first of all, and then its curriculum and teaching standards, etc. but I think sometimes the whole concept of some Japanese people taking English as a hobby and 'accessorizing' their life with it also plays a role in creating the problems. Learning is a serious undertaking that requires home-study and practice, many students at Eikaiwas don't do this.