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Which is the best Big 4 school?

 
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Which is the best Big 4 school?
NOVA
16%
 16%  [ 2 ]
GEOS
16%
 16%  [ 2 ]
ECC
41%
 41%  [ 5 ]
AEON
25%
 25%  [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 12

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viddy



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 50
Location: London, England

PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:14 pm    Post subject: Which is the best Big 4 school? Reply with quote

In your opinion (from personal experience or accounts of others), which do you think is the best of the Big 4 schools?
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shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I put GEOS because they have less advertising and signage (in our area at least).
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avahanian



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 123

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This might be unfair to say but I think that after reading forums (on this website as well as others), I doubt that many people would say NOVA is the best...

I havent heard too many negatives about AEON, they seem to be the most professional one but I could be wrong.

I have heard horror stories about GEOS' paperwork and having to be a salesman.

I am sure all of these schools have their good and bad points however.
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PAULH



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

avahanian wrote:
This might be unfair to say but I think that after reading forums (on this website as well as others), I doubt that many people would say NOVA is the best...


I dont think anyone did say its the best, but they seem to make your baby steps the easiest by providing you with an apartment, medical insurance and a phone as soon as you step off the plane.

The actual teaching, your supervisor you get may be a different story...

they still manage to find hundreds of teachers every year though.


avahanian wrote:
I havent heard too many negatives about AEON, they seem to be the most professional one but I could be wrong.


How do you define professional? NOVA has big glitzy classrooms, fancy media labs, glossy TV advertisements costing millions of yen a month. Listed on the Tokyo Stock exchange as a public company.
Does professional mean the professional training of its managers and trainers? The one that has the least sharks and scoundrels working for it? Enron and Worldcom were professional too (professional crooks that is)


avahanian wrote:

I have heard horror stories about GEOS' paperwork and having to be a salesman.


teaching GOOD
Paperwork BAD.

Being a teacher is not just about standing in front of students all day and talking your head off. writing reports, doing assessments, level checks. Making sure other teachers know what you have been doing and what students are up to. What is so bad about sitting in an office filling reports and keeping tabs on students progress? Try marking exam papers for 400-500 students.

avahanian wrote:
I have heard horror stories about GEOS' paperwork and having to be a salesman.


Excuse me, but you are in the business of selling English and the allure of what can happen for students if they can speak English and talk to foreigners etc. Your very presence and the media image of AEON and NOVA with foreign teachers etc is what brings students into a language school, gets them to part with their hard earned cash (or sign up for a one million yen loan). Your etaching ability, or lack of it determines whether they continue with you or sign up for more lessons. If they dont buy lessons you don't get paid.

Your salary doesnt fall out of the sky.

You dont have to be a salesman but what you have to do is teach and please your bosses in such a way that your students come back for more, and not take your lesson for granted.
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PAULH



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 8:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just curious- this word 'professional' gets bandied about when referring to language schools but I'd just be curious to know what the professional training and background and training is of the managers, the foreign instructors that break in the new staff. Who trains the trainers and what are their qualifications?

BY definition professional people should be those with CELTAs, Trinity diplomas, professional qualifications. Do they work in positions of responsibility at AEON, GEOS, and NOVA, or are they just obsequious lackeys that have their noses in the company trough?

How is AEON deemed professional but NOVA is not? Last i heard most of their teachers got paid for a living, which does make anyone working there, a professional teacher of sorts. Is there any other kind?
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BuddhaRhubarb



Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hi new poster here, i've (btw i tend to eschew capital letters online, so i hope no one minds that) been teaching for a while at aeon, and will be there until next december.

i dont know that aeon is "more professional" than nova or anyone else. we do have to wear a suit (not just a tie and dockers) everyday...there is a definite "appearance of professionalism"...but as far as atmosphere goes, it has much less to do with the mother corporation and more to do with individual schools as far as aeon goes...

some branches are more professional seeming (notice how i keep using seem, appearance...hmm) i like aeon in terms of my school, my apartments okay. (the less contact i have with honbu ((head office)), the better) i teach a lot of classes - 28 usually, but i get a decent lunch hour most days, and aside from the usual petty squabbles between management and some teachers, things are very pleasant at work...

the students are great, sometimes i hang out with various students, but most of them are too busy to hang with, so its left at the school, which is fine. in fact i am signing today for another six months when i finish my 2nd year in July.(ooh a capital letter) well, thats my two cents...thanks buddha
Very Happy
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Nando-X



Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you really have to wear a suit every day at Aeon? Wow, I didn't see that in their web site though I did notice the photographs of the male teachers wearing them. I thought they were just dressed up for the sake of the photograph. Good to know!

BTW, how many suits do you own? How many do you recommend for daily work? Is dry cleaning expensive? This is kind of a turn off actually as I only own one suit. I suppose I could by some cheap ones here in Toronto if I were to get hired on at Aeon (I just applied their recently) but in my usual fashion I'm counting chickens before they've hatched. Thanks again for pointing this out!

Buddha, do you mind if I PM you with some questions about Aeon?
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Buddha, do you mind if I PM you with some questions about Aeon?


I can't speak for Buddha, but I encourage you NOT to ask these questions privately when they would benefit others here.
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Nando-X



Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2004 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:


I can't speak for Buddha, but I encourage you NOT to ask these questions privately when they would benefit others here.


Will do! Smile
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BuddhaRhubarb



Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 11:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nando, yeah you have to wear a suit everyday, but you dont have to wear the jacket all the time at most schools, just when you are in the lobby, doing interviews with prospective students...you can take it off while teaching, planning etc....i wear mine all the time, but thats just me.

they recommend you bring 3 suits(or at least 3 jackets that can go with black dress pants...you are in Canada? head to a value village or some other second hand store, and you will be able to pickup 2 or 3 nice suits for less than 100 bucks...thats what i did, in Vancouver...people here are always commenting on how nice my suits are!

good luck
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