Know good/bad points about working at a big Eikaiwa school such as Geos, Nova, Aeon, ECC, etc in Japan. Bad points I've heard: Nova--Share a place with a room mate. No prep time, just teach and wing it. Lots of classes. Lots of paper work to be done in between classes. Geos--Slow to change, they don't even have computerized attendance sheet as of July 25th 2006. They also jam as many classes as they can in a schedule for tha $$$. Sometimes the teacher will prep at home to be on time for the next day's classes right at 12pm when the day starts. Aeon--foreigners are all equal and none can speak or are able to learn how to read road signs, which means no car and no driving whatsoever because it's dangerous. But they will make you go to work and send you home in a typhoon though. They also try to control your outside life as well. ECC--split days off, eg Tues and Fri off. ALSO, you start at 9am-12pm, 3 hr break, 4pm to 9pm.
Teaching - 2 Answers
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1 :
I'm ok with big english schools in Japan, as long as they build them in Tokyo. That way I'd have more stuff to stomp.
2 :
Pretty much all of the big schools are in it for the money, and the students be damned. They will pay you the minimum going rate per month (or lesson) and will often try to cut corners in many other aspects of teaching (cookie cutter lessons, dodgy textbooks, fill-the-empty-seat mentality). They might well place you in a school off in the middle of nowhere (because other teachers have transferred and/or bailed). Most of these schools will also load on the kids classes, which is great if you love kids (and have a lot of patience), but sucks if you don't. Also, don't expect great things from your supervisors...for the most part, they'll be company-blinded social rejects with delusions of grandeur and noses permanently glued to their bosses' hindquarters (with a few exceptions here and there). That being said, they will get you a visa, they will put you up in an apartment (not a bad deal if you are only staying in Japan for a year, but a total ripoff if you are going to stay longer), they will find the students, it's a guaranteed paycheck, and the expectations of both the schools and the students are pretty low (which means that they'll love you if you are anything more than merely competent, and they will be slow to catch on if you are a crap teacher). In all, they are ok if you just want to get to Japan and get a feel for the place for a year or two before you find a better job at a smaller school (or can float yourself with private lessons). Hope it helps.
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