Job Discussion Forums

kowlooner · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 230 Location: HK, BCC (former)

Hi all,

I worked with ASA Community Salon (fairly big language outfit at the time, in Tokyo, apparently went bust a few years later) for half a year back in 1991. I was in the Shibuya school.

I'm just wondering if there are any other former ASA types out there who know exactly what happened to cause the place to go bust. When did it happen?

Also, assuming you worked in ASA and one of its competitors, how do you compare them? What were the differences? What made ASA better or worse than the others? Any interesting experiences to share?

Maybe this will also be of interest for those interested in the ongoing Nova etc debate.

Cheers!

Sherri · Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 1:15 pm Post subject:

I remember ASA but I didn't work there. I also remember Christine sensei's smiling face on almost every train. They went bust like a lot of schools did when the bubble burst--too much money to tied up in advertising. They kept their school in Shibuya/Harajuku for a while but I think it is gone too now. I often mixed up ASA and Plady House (Plady=play/study) remember that school? They also went bust at about the same time.
Sherri

kowlooner · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 230 Location: HK, BCC (former)

Thanks Sherri! I guess not many remember the school. It wasn't a bad place to work, though of course at the time folks liked to complain about it, and its methods sound similar to that of other schools (50-minute classes, 10 minutes to plan the next class, different mix of students each time, etc etc). At the time it was just one of many. Others of the same type (I seem to remember a Kensington and a White House, among others) also appear to have fallen by the wayside. I wonder how close Nova came to meeting the same fate. I believe that property investment gone bad was the main culprit for most of them. Cheers!

tomi · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 1 Location: New York, USA

Hi, Kowlooner,

I worked for ASA in 1990 and 1991, mostly at their Shinjuku school. I'd be happy to share some of what I know if you're still interested. I still had friends working there when the school went under, so I heard a fair amount about it.

We may actually have met--I did teach at the Shibuya school once or twice.

I have lost touch with a few people from those days and would like to contact them again. If you're agreeable, I'd like to send you an private message with a few names on the slim chance that you may know them.

kowlooner · Joined: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 230 Location: HK, BCC (former)

Hi Tomi,

Sure, go ahead and PM me. It's a chance we met, depending on the time frame. I didn't start until Summer / Fall of '91 - I think it was July or August. I'd love to get back in touch with some of the old folk, but I've lost touch with all but one, who was actually at Shinjuku (I believe - he was my roommate) and so you probably know him.

Thinking back, it wasn't a bad gig there and the people were pretty nice.

Cheers!