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AdrianaBanana
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 9
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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| PaulH would you recommend NOVA as a possible option? |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:52 am Post subject: |
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| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| PaulH would you recommend NOVA as a possible option? |
Well if you ask a general question you will get a general answer. The answer that I give people is rather than throw mud at a wall, or play pin the tail on the donkey when choosing a language school, and hope some sticks, is to sit down and write down a list of what you are looking for and see how many of the schools satisfy your list of needs. Write down what is important to you and what is not. Then look at NOVA and decide if you can live with what they offer. If not then you can cross it off the list.
It becomes an option if you are prepared to accept what they offer as they are not going to change to suit you. What they offer is well known and the contract offers is fairly standard and in accordance with japanese law. The biggest and only variable is YOU. I dont know anything about you, what your background is, your goals for coming to Japan and what is important to you. Do you want to make a teaching career in Japan or do you just want to party and meet girls?
Have you developed work ethic e.g. are you punctual, can you handle 6-8 classes a day? How do you feel about doing what can become a routine and monotonous job? What are your goals and priorities for working here? What do you want to get out of the experience, working one year for a school like NOVA? What am I prepared to put into it, i.e. do for them? Do my images and expectations of what I want match what NOVA is actually like once I get there? Does image meet reality or have I imagined something that is not realistic?
i'm not you and cant tell what you like and don't like and what your hot buttons are and what your bottom line will be. All i do is put the information out there so people can make their minds up and decide their own comfort levels based on information they have in front of them.
Lastly. Its just a job. NOVA is not rocket science, but its a full time paying office/teaching job in a foreign country. its not glamorous and its physically hard work. You will get tired and may even yawn in class. You will sometimes wish you were somewhere else. People leave NOVA not because teaching is difficult but perhaps because its too easy. Switch off mind, go into auto-pilot, repeat after me. You dont have to think and simply switch off. People quit after six months for many reasons: Novelty has worn off. Boredom. Problems with co-workers. Problems with bosses. lack of upward mobilty. office politics. Low pay for long hours. Anal-retentive managers.
Like i say, I cant tell if its an option or not as i dont know your tolerance for BS. Its a job, you go to work, you teach your classes you get paid. You get paid for turning up everyday and not rocking the boat and being a warm body and giving the student a 45 minute lesson, day in and day out. Nothing more than that.
I found you get out of what you put into it. For me the students were the best part of working there and thats why people stay as you meet some great and fun people, The company is just like one big bureaucracy. You are just a number on a spreadsheet.
Sit down NOW and write a list of what your main priorities are and what you are looking for in a job. Name your best 5 and best 10. here are some to get you started: (NOVA in brackets where known)
Work hours (8 hour day, 45 minute lessons, back to back. 5 day work week late shift finishes at 9pm)
paid holidays & time off (legally up to 11 paid holidays in one year, work on national holidays and Christmas day)
sick days & illness (no paid sick days to speak of, you use your paid holidays)
training (initial training of several days before you start work, baptism of fire)
housing ( shared housing available)
health insurance (private NOVA insurance. JMA, 6,000 yen a month)
job satisfaction/interest in your job (depends on your attitude and personality)
location: city country? small or big branch?
relations with co-workers (can vary, depends on you and depend on co-workers, most were people I would not have socialised with at home. Some were people you would have bullied at high school and you always wonder where "nobodies" at high school end up. Now you know.)
salary (entry level 230-270,000 yen a month based on job and location, works out to about 1500 yen an hour per class)
overtime( available but you dont want to spend 10 hours a day churning out lessons. Overtime is 1.25 times regukar pay over 40 hours a week)
job security (on a one year contract, virtually none. 75% turnover at some branches. NOVA is not a career job and most NOVA teachers are gone within 6 months)
Job advancement (become an AAM, trainer and wear color coded badges for seniority. whatever rocks your boat. Being a manager is nothing to rave about or be proud of. To Japanese bosses, gaijins will always be gaijins in Japan, even with a badge or a fancy job title. AAMs are just a higher life form than the grunts)
Job 'status' (how do you feel telling people, your J-girl sweetheart, you work at a language chain. for example?) Like you would telling people you work for Walmart or Pizza Hut. Working at NOVA pays the rent but its considered a fairly low status teaching job among the students. Its definitely entry-level.)
socialise with Japanese people & students outside work (antifraternisation clause but spotty enforcement. depends on branch and manager. Want to date and meet Japanese? Learn Japanese and find people to meet with apart from your students who only want to know you so they can speak English anyway)
meet and socialise with foreigners and English speakers (gaijin ghetto? why did you come to Japan, to mix and go out drinking with other gaijin?)
chances for promotion ( depends on how well you brown nose and how many people you step over to get promoted)
time & opportunities for pursuing outside interests e.g. learning Japanese (lack of time main problem, NOVA teachers tend to be party animals, not academics)
job mobility
learning about Japanese culture (living in a gaijin NOVA bubble with other foreigners and gaijin bars vs immersing yourself in society with non-English speakers. Personally I avoided mixing with NOVA teachers after work)
chances for learning Japanese (you make your own fun & time for study, they dont pay you to study Japanese, nor do they expect you to speak any)
professional development e.g getting CELTA, Masters etc (not encouraged, do it on your own time and money)
Mental stimulation: do you need a job where you have to think, or do you just want to 'switch off' and go into auto-pilot? (you'll know the lessons backwards after three weeks)
union & labor rights (chance to get unionised if thats your thing, several outstanding labor issues against NOVA).
Last edited by PAULH on Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:09 am; edited 9 times in total |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Have you read thisyet about NOVA? |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| PaulH would you recommend NOVA as a possible option? |
Adriana,
Just to confuse things further, I'm going to give you different advice from just about everyone else. Keep in mind as you read this that I have never been a JET--however, I've known a number of them, and have a pretty good idea about some of the challenges they face. Furthermore, while I did teach eikaiwa for two years, this was between 1988-1990...i.e., a long while ago. This said, if given the choice between teaching eikaiwa at one of the Big Four or going to Japan as a JET, I'd choose the latter every time.
One, the amount of "classroom management" experience you'll get working at a major eikaiwa is very questionable--indeed, I'd argue that you have a better chance of getting such experience in JET, where most people I knew eventually became responsible for a set number of weekly class sessions, lesson planning and grading. (Of course, they had to negotiate this with the JTE, not to mention prove themselves over and over and over again, which was a royal pain, apparently....)
Two, if your ultimate goal is returning to NZ, then neither experience will be valued more than the other. However, while Japan-based universities and international schools are divided in how they evaluate JET experience (some recognize it while others do not), they are united (in my opinion unfairly) in their chilly reception of eikaiwa experience...nobody that I've heard of values it. Certainly, people make the jump from eikaiwa to university/international schools all the time. However, with two otherwise equal candidates, if given the choice between someone with "teaching" experience in a Japanese junior/senior high school and someone with "teaching" experience in eikaiwa, every single committee I've been on has gone with the former. Again, probably unfair, but I've seen it happen time and again.
Three, and perhaps the best reason, JET salaries are significantly higher than eikaiwa salaries, and your amount of vacation time is more than double as well. What you do with that free time is up to you--I've known people to study Japanese, complete a distance Masters, write articles, etc.
So, personally, I'd strongly consider the JET position as well. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| people make the jump from eikaiwa to university/international schools all the time. |
Just remember that to work for an international school, you must have a teaching license from your home country first. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:51 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| people make the jump from eikaiwa to university/international schools all the time. |
Just remember that to work for an international school, you must have a teaching license from your home country first. |
They dont seem to value "JET" and language teaching as teaching experience either, most international school teachers have certifiable teaching experience in their own countries ( a minimum of 3 to 5 years), teaching subjects other than ELT and ESL.
Last edited by PAULH on Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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AdrianaBanana
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:06 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks PaulH you posted some very useful information, my month teaching here in NZ will definitely determine how I plan to proceed with my job. An option I could take is to become a secondary school teacher (the topic that I'll most likely be teaching is English as it is my major). I think having the experience of teaching in a classroom before I undertake such a qualification would be beneficial. I have been thinking about postgraduate study and I was considering an honours year which would then lead on to masters. I realise in some countries/schools a teaching license and/or a masters degree are required to teach there. The only thing that bothers me is the cost of postgraduate study here in NZ. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:44 am Post subject: |
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| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| The only thing that bothers me is the cost of postgraduate study here in NZ. |
Just try going to any other English speaking country or check out their tuition fees, and you will be thanking your lucky stars you're in NZ. |
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AdrianaBanana
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:11 am Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
| Just try going to any other English speaking country or check out their tuition fees, and you will be thanking your lucky stars you're in NZ. |
It may be cheap when compared with other countries but for me personally, I had to take out a student loan to pay my tuition fees and I now have a $12000 loan that I really need to pay off. Thankfully the govenment here are bringing in legislation which will ensure students don't have to pay interest on their loans anymore. There are many students for whom the interest on their loan is more than what their tuition fees were to begin with, but in some cases it is through stupidity. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:03 am Post subject: |
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| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| Gordon wrote: |
| Just try going to any other English speaking country or check out their tuition fees, and you will be thanking your lucky stars you're in NZ. |
It may be cheap when compared with other countries but for me personally, I had to take out a student loan to pay my tuition fees and I now have a $12000 loan that I really need to pay off. Thankfully the govenment here are bringing in legislation which will ensure students don't have to pay interest on their loans anymore. There are many students for whom the interest on their loan is more than what their tuition fees were to begin with, but in some cases it is through stupidity. |
Adriana, a small heads up here:
Being a conversation teacher in a classroom is a far cry from being the main teacher in an English classroom back home. Here you are an assistant and simply calling on your native language skills. You are paid to speak English to non-native speakers. Students here for the most part are pretty docile, non-responsive and you will work with a trained certified Japanese teacher of English. I wont go into the dynamics of team teaching here but the bottom line is the Japanese teacher is THE teacher in the clasrrom and you are the assistant. You might front a class as the English speaker. tape recorder and role model but your main role is the be the western foreigner/English speaker.
If you work at NOVA you will work in little cubicles about 6-9 square meters, about the size of your average walk-in closet. Enough for a table and 3-4 chairs. You sit around a table with 1-3 students and teach out of the textbook. NO video or VCR. No blackboard. NO teaching lectern. Theres not enough room to swing a cat in it.
You are paid to to 'instruct' at NOVA but essentially you are a paid conversationalist. I equate it to being like a basketball coach who teaches students how to throw hoops and dribble and improve their game. You are the expert becuase you are the native speaker and speak English. Students pay to sit in a room for 45 minutes and speak with a foreigner.
In a high school in New Zealand you are paid to transfer knowledge to students. I have been out of New Zealand since 1987 but closely follow the NCEA and exam system and see the debacle and mess it has become in NZ schools. Im simply glad i dont have to teach in high schools in New Zealand. vague and waffly assessment, no real measurable standards and huge gaps in standardisation between schools. I read of students who were winning national competitions in Art and Music but were failing their classes at school becuase of bias and uneven assessment standards
Yes you will get some experience in a classroom but i dont actually know how much good it will do as classroom teaching in an NZ high school is not the same as what you experience here.
I can not help you with your loan problem I went to uni when it was virtually free) but a big problem in NZ now is user pays and you graduate wiht a Masters $20,000 in debt and no way of paying it off. My only suggestion may be even to think about coming here for a year or two, bite the bullet pay off student loans and then go back and do a Masters. In my case I did both at once, worked and did my Masters at the same time. No debt by the time I graduated. im now doing the same with a PhD. problem is now I work to pay the fees but have no time to study and do research. Can pay the fees but dissertation is moving like molasses.
I would avoid getting too deeply into debt as it will take you years to pay off and it just keeps getting bigger. Canadians have the same problem and some are working here 5 years to pay off student loans. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:10 am Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| The only thing that bothers me is the cost of postgraduate study here in NZ. |
Just try going to any other English speaking country or check out their tuition fees, and you will be thanking your lucky stars you're in NZ. |
Adriana,
Im doing a distance PhD degree while working full time in Japan. No lectures, 100% research and an 80,000 word dissertation.
Fees are 3,000 pounds a year which is about 600,000 yen. In $NZ thats about $8500 a year. thats with NO lectures and fees,. It also doesnt include airfares to the UK every year to do residency.
A Masters in Australia (which Gordon is doing) will set you back about $AUS 15-20,000 if you do it by distance. Go to Australia add in living costs, rents etc and it will cost as much as doing by distance. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:10 am Post subject: |
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| AdrianaBanana wrote: |
| I now have a $12000 loan that I really need to pay off. |
You are not going to pay off such a loan easily as an eikaiwa instructor. However, on JET, you should be able to handle even a loan of that amount. (The salary is about 100,000 yen more a month, if I remember correctly.)
What happened to all the pro-JET veterans on this forum? Yeah, there were frustrations, but many of the people who used to post here seemed pretty darn positive about the overall experience. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| on JET, you should be able to handle even a loan of that amount. (The salary is about 100,000 yen more a month, if I remember correctly.) |
Not quite so much. Average eikaiwa salary is 250,000-270,000 yen/month, while JET ALTs get 300,000.
Of course, if you are one of the lucky JET ALTs who gets his rent practically (or completely) paid for, you will automatically be ahead of the game even more, which might amount to that 100,000 that taikibansei mentioned. But, not all ALTs get that luxury. One more point... living as an ALT for JET, you are likely to be placed in a very rural area, so unless you jaunt to the nearest big city for certain amenities, you should save a bit more than someone on the same salary in a big city. |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:27 am Post subject: |
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| Oops--Glenski, you're right! |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:32 am Post subject: |
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Taikibansei
3.6 million a year divided by 12 months is 300,000 yen a month GROSS. Take out health and pension and rent and NET you are left with a little more than an eikaiwa teacher makes GROSS.
I have heard in extreme cases, of JETs saving half their salaries (150,000 yen a month) over 3 years which is about 5.4 million yen. In New Zealand thats about 70 grand in 3 years. thats exceptional but it can be done. I think on JET saving 100,000 yen a month after all expenses out of a 300,000 yen salary if you are single is doable
Dont forget also the 700,000 yen you get back in pension refund at the end of 3 years. thats $NZ 10,000 right there. |
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