Job Discussion Forums

[Omeo]

I've got another "brilliant plan". Would anyone who knows be good enough to give an example of a typical lesson from each of the Big 4? I realize there vare different lessons for different classes from eikaiwa to eikaiwa, but I'm looking for as many examples as I can get or directions to where I can find them. So, how does a typical NOVA lesson go, for example? I think I've already seen one quick example of an AEON lesson, but there's gotta be more than just that. If someone could expound on what those lessons are like, I and many other hopeful newbies would be grateful. Thank you.

[womblingfree]

All eikaiwa lessons are based on the audio-lingual method. It's been outdated for at least 40 years and you would be hard pressed to find a psychologist or linguist that still endorses it.

�versions of the audiolingual method are still very common in language teaching. It�s critics point out that isolated practice in drilling language patterns bears no resemblance to the interactional nature of actual use. Moreover it can be incredibly boring.
(Yule, 1985: 193)

Eikaiwa's differ in how they structure the lessons but really it's all the same old rubbish.

A typical lesson? Repeatrepeatrepeatrepeatrepeatrepeatrepeat...

This Wikipedia entry gives a reasonable history and compares it to methods more commonly used outside of eikaiwa:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_language_teaching

[Omeo]

How 'bout a typical NOVA lesson? That's the one I'm most interested in at this point. I know they're gonna want me to teach one of their lessons at the interview but I haven't been able to find a description of how a typical NOVA lesson goes. Can anyone tell me or perhaps give me a link to one? Thank you.

[Inflames]

The lesson Nova wants you to teach during the interview is simple. Literally just read the instructions and then do whatever you have to do. They show you a demo lesson earlier in the interview and pay attention to it and the teacher's technique there and copy it. I wouldn't worry about the lesson as it is easy and isn't very important.

[Atlas*]

i would say from my interview with nova a few months ago, just do what they ask, speak slowly, look confident and watch the demo lesson before your individual interview. be punctual! seriously get there early, it shows that you are keen and punctuality is a serious thing in japan.

[Firestarter]

[Omeo]

Thanx for the help, guys. I really appreciate it.

[zignut]

When I taught with Nova about 3 years ago, the method they encouraged (required?) teachers to employ went roughly like this:

1. Warm-up, hellos, introductions, etc.
2. Concept introduction, usually facilitated with some task or game.
3. Drilling the concept (the horrid "listen & repeat" portion of the lesson)
4. Application of the concept. Hopefully the students have cottoned on to what you're trying to teach them, whether it's the past perfect or restaurant vocabulary, and are ready to apply it with minimal prompting.

Nova won't like to hear that you're actually introducing your lesson as being on a particular grammar concept though, even if that's what the lesson's reading material revolves around. If you're interviewing, my advice would be to consider a practical application of the concept and work backwards in your lesson planning. If it's past perfect you're teaching, you could try to get your students to relate a story from a trip they took:

"I had already drunk three martinis before my girlfriend met me at the bar."

Consider what you want them to do by the end of the 40/45 minutes, and then think about the drills and games you could employ to get them there. I think that's probably what Nova will be looking for in an interview and on the job. If nothing else, they're very consistent in their theories of pedagogy and language acquisition - they've been the same since the late eighties by most accounts.