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GEOS, AEON Throw Hats into the Ring

GEOS, AEON, and other English conversations have offered to offer to accept Nova students. According to the Asahi Shimbun, GEOS will waive the sign up fee and offer a 10% discount for Nova students.

A whole 10%! Better jump on that one like a squirrel with the last peanut on earth. The students are getting absolutely shafted. This is how other eikaiwas show that they are helping out--we'll take you in, just fork out some more money. No sane individual would pay more after being robbed by Nova.

The Japan Times sums it all up and underscores the fears that the failure of Nova will be the largest consumer disaster since the end of the Pacific War:

All the tickets will probably be deemed invalid. The trustees say there are "no prospects of refunds" since the liability is Nova Corp.'s.

This isn't going to end well for eikaiwa. Three hundred thousand angry students are going to tell their friends how they got ripped off by Nova. Four thousand Nova teachers are going to do the same thing.

Japan: 
nova
Eikaiwa: 
Naked Theft

Comments

25% of the old price!! 10% discounts on lesson costs and no sign-up fees! These companies are just missing the point altogether, aren't they? Why do they think current NOVA students are going to sign away more money if they're not going to get what they're owed?

Typical Japanese Discount which is not real discount. No value.
FUCKERS!

The students still want to study English! Some not. For the ones that do, what are the choices? The students who have paid a lump sum are rich enough, the ones who didn't, would cancel/terminate the remaining loan payment. They have two choices, go cheap with NOVA reincarnation or pay a little more for what they might think as, getting back at NOVA/better quality/safer choice, and go with another school. Life doesn't stop! Life carries on...It only stops for the ones that quit, and that goes for teachers, too.

why should the other eikaiwas like AEON and GEOS eat NOVA's shit? those stupid cheap ass students made a bad choice to go with NOVA because it was the cheapest game in town and they lost. the other eikaiewas owe NOVA student's nothing.

I've worked for both Nova and GEOS and can say that as a company GEOS is the worst. I don't mean to slag the teachers there, they have to put up with a lot. The company and it's management are the same breed as your typical shafty sales person. They don't give a damn about the teachers OR the students. Every month or so a new campaign is fought to leach money from the unwary.
GEOS is about the profits, the latest campaign, the number of books sold.
Students be warned.

Those poor students- here they are being baited to part with more large sums of money, just with a small discount. So much for them getting back their investment, which has gone up in smoke Sara Hashi style. Oh well, they lost some money, like an investment that went bad. As Bloodhound says, this is the way the cookie crumbles.

I don't think it'll spell the end for Eikaiwa, though- there is just too much of a market for it. It may well cause a 'downturn' of scepticism though. My view- the likes of Nova were exploiting teachers by giving them insufficient paid time off, so the seemingly cheap price of Nova has long carried the risk of the whole thing going belly-up. The same goes for other Eikawas where the price for students really is too good to be true- in the long term.

Going to post these comments again from a previous thread as they are actually USEFUL. I hope Robert, 'Anonymous', and John don't mind. I find their contributions quite good.

POTENTIAL WORK

Submitted by Robert Adam (not verified) on Wed, 11/07/2007 - 20:47.

eigoTown.com Limited (the parent of ELT News) has just announced that SenseiBank.com, the teacher/student matching service is now free for students.

Normally such services cost students around 3,000 yen to get the details of teachers they are interested in having lessons with. eigoTown hopes that this will create a strong surge in traffic to the site so that teachers will be able to easily find private students, especially those teachers currently without work due to NOVA's collapse.

http://www.senseibank.com/sensei

----

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 15:23.

This isn't abou the current Nova news. However, I hope it's hopeful.

I work for ILS (www.ilsgaigo.com) - a small and foreign-run language school based in Hachioji (Western Tokyo) on the Keio and Chuo lines.

The school wants to do something to help NOVA teachers who are having bad times right now (though I know that's almost everyone). We're a small school, but we're hoping to make a difference, particularly with teachers who are running out of time, money, or options.

We have set up a program to try and get teachers who are in desperate straits some immediate cash. We're using our school's classroom space to offer English lessons to NOVA students. Each point a NOVA student has can be used with a small 'donation' (500 yen). We are placing students in classes by level with the NOVA system in mind. We plan to put up to 4 students per class (with the possibility of more if the program really takes off).

The 'donation' for lessons is given to teachers the day they teach. Lessons are already prepared using a format that ex-NOVA teachers can easily use. This isn't a contracted job, but something we're putting together to try and help people who are coming up against some really bleak options.

We're looking for Nova teachers to come and teach. Particularly, we're looking for people in the Western Tokyo area, and specifically those from NOVA who are in absolutely dire need and those who have only been teaching in Japan for a short time. If you're running out of money for food, we want to help.

We're desperately looking for people to come and hand out our fliers promoting the program in a few train stations in Western Tokyo. Unfortunately we can't cover an hourly wage for this; in the end, we're still a moderately small school. However, we'll happily cover your transportation costs and provide a meal for your time.

Anyone who comes to help hand out information about the program gets first priority in being booked into classes!

Unfortunately we can't help everyone, despite how much we'd like to. But the situation out there is dire right now, especially for a lot of teachers who just don't know what to do. We're trying to help close that gap a little, and at least give people who truly have nothing a bit of security.

We are also offering resume assistance for NOVA teachers who participate in the program and wish to stay in Japan for the intermediate future. For people with uncertain housing situations in the area, we may also be able to provide some assistance as well.

If you are interested, please email me at

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Submitted by HowToTeachEngli... on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 17:10.
Hey Everyone!

Here are some other sites you might want to sign-up at:

http://www.my-sensei.com/sensei/info/howto_e.php?PHPSESSID=469cea233255f...
http://www.121sensei.com/index.html
http://findateacher.net/
http://www.orangutanenglish.com/privatelessonjapan.htm
http://www.bestsensei.com/indext.php
http://www.abckara.com/teachers/
http://www.getstudentsjapan.com/index.php

Good luck!!!

Just An Online English Teacher,
John Buchanan

http://HowToTeachEnglishOnline.com

----

Besides those, consider these websites for jobs:

http://www.gaijinpot.com/job_search.php

http://www.jobsinjapan.com/jobs/teaching.html

http://www.japanenglishteacher.com/Jobs.php?type=0&prefecture=13&keyword...

Some schools have offered to take on NOVA students. These schools MIGHT perhaps/may be/could be hiring (I have no idea):

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071102TDY02202.htm

http://news.tbs.co.jp/20071102/newseye/tbs_newseye3697787.html

Surely there are more. Can people help out and find others?

READY TO LEAVE JAPAN? Try these:

http://www.gaijinpot.com/js_companyspotlight.php?id=71

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420959

http://www.gaijinpot.com/nova_jobs.php

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/
(scroll down)

HOUSING? Check these:

http://www.gaijinpot.com/nova_housing.php

Also at that link, there is information on "legal issues", "flights", and "special deals".

There are many websites out there to help you out. Move your butt and get on it! If you've got some useful information to post (leads, tips, job opportunities, cheap housing...) why not post it and assist these people? This board could be put to WAY better use than some of the comments I see flying around. Come on, people!!

'...A whole 10%! Better jump on that one like a squirrel with the last peanut on earth. The students are getting absolutely shafted.This is how other eikaiwas show that they are helping out--we'll take you in, just fork out some more money....'

What are you suggesting they do? 20% ? 50%? more?

GEOS and AEON don't have to offer ANY discount, and the fact that they're only making a token gesture should tell you that they aren't really all that serious about scooping up ex-Nova students. Why would they care ?

Might be wrong,but it made me think.
("Upturn" of scepticism) or ("downturn" of optimism)?
Excuse me if I'm wrong.
Sincerely.

"GEOS is about the profits, the latest campaign, the number of books sold.
What's wrong with profits? How do you get paid? Profit pays rent/bills/salaries!
If Japanese students read more, they might speak better English! Doing a good thing!
Got a better way of selling? Tell us about it.
It's either they come to you or they go to them. "It's dog eat dog!" It's all the same. Which do you want?
NOVA went bankrupt from lack of new students. Could happen to any other business.
Nothing wrong with a good ol' campaign or a discount sale! What makes you buy?

What are you suggesting they do? 20% ? 50%? more?

That was sarcasm. The point is that after getting screwed by Nova and left with hundreds of thousands of yen in unused lessons, students are told they can study at GEOS and AEON if they pay some more money. It's hardly a deal and it's not a solution. Student might be more accepting of the offer if they got their refunds first.

The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.
-Albert Einstein

—

Shawn

"I've worked for both Nova and GEOS and can say that as a company GEOS is the worst. I don't mean to slag the teachers there, they have to put up with a lot. The company and it's management are the same breed as your typical shafty sales person. They don't give a damn about the teachers OR the students. Every month or so a new campaign is fought to leach money from the unwary.
GEOS is about the profits, the latest campaign, the number of books sold."

Of course it is, just like every other company worth a damn. If you're teaching English you have two choices.. work in a public institution and spend your days getting frustrated trying to motivate muppets who really don't want to be in a class with you, or bite the bullet and work at a private institution. The money has to come from somewhere. I've lost track of the number of people I've met in Japan who've quit their eikaiwa job to strike out on their own only to find that it's not as easy as they first thought when there's rent and bills to pay and the students who were oh-so-friendly in class five minutes ago suddenly aren't so interested in talking to you when you're asking for a couple of thousand yen. Idiot.

friend of mine just had a real bad time.
You see, his life was shattered and he lost his mind.
His girl ran off along with his best friend,
And through emotional stress he brought his life to an end.
It was such a tragedy,
But that's the way it's got to be.
Life goes on.

Life goes on.
It happens ev'ry day.
So appreciate what you got
Before it's taken away.
Life will hit you
When you're unprepared,
So be grateful and take all
That you can while you're there.
Get that frown off your head,
'Cause you're a long time dead.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

No use runnin' 'round lookin' scared,
Life could get you when you're unaware.
One day it's gonna come, so you better accept it.
Life will hit you when you least expect it.
And one day when you are gone,
You know that life will still go on.
But no one'll care if you've been good, bad, right or wrong.
Life will still go on.

My bank went broke and my well ran dry.
It was almost enough to contemplate suicide.
I turned on the gas, but I soon realized
I hadn't settled my bill so they cut off my supply.
No matter how I try, it seems I'm too young to die.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

Tornado, cyclone and hurricane
Can batter the houses with the thunder and rain.
Blizzards can blow; the waves hit the shore,
But the people recover and come back for more.
Somehow the people fight back, even when the future looks black.
Life goes on and on and on.
Life goes on and on and on.

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