Why Teaching English in Japan Just Got Harder |
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
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IF YOU'VE had a negative teaching experience in Japan, let us know!
Alternatively, tell us about your good experiences and lift our spirits!
My acquaintance went to Japan to teach, and found out that good looks play a pretty big part on how full your schedule is
I imagine all Gaba instructors are grateful for you bringing attention to the deplorable policies being introduced in April of 2024. However, it should be noted that the policies outlined on the flyer pertain specifically to Gaba instructors. The Tozen Gaba Workers Union is currently in dispute with the company and striking over many of the terrible policies they are introducing. I recommend reaching out to them if you're interested in learning more.
Their members have been featured on a podcast and on TV, so I'm sure they'd be more than happy to speak with you.
Former Nova teacher here who quit in 2018. I got a kidney stone at the start of a shift once and at that time contractors, not employees, were fined 500 per lesson missed. So I lost an entire days pay plus fines which added up to around 13,000 yen. Nova is the blackest of black, but still manage to survive.
My teaching experience so far was mostly positive (going from decent in my first job to really good in the current workplace). However, I have never worked for a dispatch company. To those truly interested in teaching English I would say: opt for a direct hire and small, family run company in rural Japan. #faxmachine
Worked as an English trainer for Inte*#c in the early 2000s. Was 4 days a week at otis elevator company teaching freshmen to the company. Suddenly moved to another client one day, no notice, no goodbyes to people I had been teaching for 6 months or so. Unusual but ok. Six months later I was sent back to the elevator company. Was expecting a happy greeting from my old students. First woman walked in, went white, screamed and ran out. Rest came in and freaked out also. Turns out my manager had told them I was dead , car accident apparently, hence the replacement teacher. Then the genius forgot he told them that, and sent me back. I lost it at the manager, company lost the contract, manager kept his job. I quit soon after.
As someone that works for GABA right now, I can confirm that what they are saying is 1000% true. DO NOT JOIN GABA
Hope you make it out of there soon
Do they want only young good-looking teachers dressed neatly in business attire?
I worked for Nova for about 10 months back around 2014. The verbal abuse I received destroyed my confidence still years later. Being told we would have more students if they had more attractive teachers and towards the end at a meeting the Japanese staff called me fat instead of using my name. It was horrible. It was a personally owned branch of the franchise and ran like the hostess club the owner also ran. I was so thankful I got out of there before my mental state got too bad.
That's terrible. I'm glad you're in a better place now. But being fat in Japan is a def no no. The Japanese take their health and weight in Japan very seriously here. And regular foreigners have a great deal of difficulty fitting in, let alone fat foreigners.
Especially as being fat is a choice and not a medical issue.
Best of luck with that Michele. .
best teachers or people in general dont rely on looks. It just shows how bad of an educators this company is.
@@adambane1719 Wow, well I guess you tried to leave a nice comment.
@@adambane1719you don't even know how they look, she could be a little chubby without and threat to her personal health and they could still be calling her fat.
@@adambane1719 you tried to be nice
Any industry where they fine employees - especially low wage employees - is just borderline criminal.
Borderline?
@@joepiekl well apparently it’s technically legal or they couldn’t do it?
@@paulwalther5237 I don't know, but honestly, I wouldn't put it past them to just break the law and rely on the fact that most foreigners will be ignorant of it and never take legal action.
@@paulwalther5237this would be illegal if they were employees. The trick these companies use is to have the people they work with contracted as “contractors.”
@@paulwalther5237 it is illegal...if you're an employee. The loophole is that for Gaba you're an independent contractor which you have next to zero rights.
Used to work at Nova years ago and remember we had an older guy that'd been working there at least 20 years. He came in with a bad cough one day and suddenly went into cardiac arrest mid-lesson. They got a random sub to take over the class while he was sent off in the ambulance and pronounced dead later that day. Never heard a word about it from the company other than a post-it note in the teacher's room a week later.
Imagine having to live the last weeks to months of your life working for Nova
For anybody, thinking of moving to Japan to teach English, remember that not all schools are like nova. The small family run and independent schools put a lot of time and energy into finding apartments and signing contracts, working to get the visa, and providing healthcare. Unfortunately, they then sometimes have to deal with teachers not turning up to teach or turning up hung over, and eventually just leaving to go and live in Tokyo resulting in the school, having to turn away students and losing income. Treat them with kindness and respect, and they will look after you.
Very true.
bullcrap, I worked for a private school in Asakusa 2010,. It was called ILS ACcademy. After 6 months the managers wife said I dont like him, Find somebody else. They started interviewing native speakers while I was teaching and could hear what they were saying. This went om for many weeks till I got fired, Moral of the story dont trust a domesticated, homogenous, Xenophopic Japanese. Peace. lol.
@@jinhandavis9064 True ja nai yo.
@@TravelAbventuresUnbound It's mostly true.
where. can search for such indie schools?
I did JET for a couple years and overall it was a pretty decent experience. The real nice thing about JET is that you're technically considered a government employee so you get offered all the perks that come with that including getting paid during summer/winter break. The classes themselves really depended on the teacher and how they wanted to utilize you so some days were really fun and other days you just sat in a corner and barked a few lines out of a textbook and that was it. Even so it was still totally worth it. The food was pretty good, too.
I'd say the worst parts were the yearly health checkups all government people had to attend, including me. While honestly this is a pretty good idea, it included a blood test and I was and still am deathly afraid of needles. Fortunately it was only one or two times a year and over fairly quickly.
Just returned from 2 years on JET. GREAT PROGRAM!!!! I lived and traveled to 25 prefectures on my salary.❤
Oh man that's awesome, would love to hear more of your thoughts. Did you manage to save any money during your time?
Love the podcast Chris! As someone who was born in Japan and lived there for a year, you really keep me updated on the Japanese news as now I live in the far north of Yukon Canada. You are my go to and favourite CZcamsr and I appreciate the effort you put in your videos. Keep up the good work and I wish you all the best. Can't wait for the next episode!
🎉 1:53 1:59 2:02
Hi there, previous Gaba instructor here. Fortunately, left just at the right time. It's a little sad that Nova became the new owner of Gaba. It wasn't the best paying job. But it was a comfy option to kickstart life in Japan. I loved my coworkers and also loved many of my clients. However, with the new rules things will become completely inhuman! Imagine people coming here, starting from zero, with no friends, no family around, in a completely new culture, climate, whatever to adopt to. In a nutshell, like you were born today, but don't have 20 years to grow up'. And then you suddenly get sick. Or like me, you get hospitalized. You're alone, barely conscious, don't know the language enough yet to understand the medical explanations given to you. It's already pretty terrifying. But to have the cherry on top, you can pay your pants off instead of getting payed. So you can pay your medical bills. Food? What food? This story might be more on the rare side. But I think it's a good one to represent how ridiculous things could get in the future. And the level of insanity Nova represent. First, I was naively asking myself, how come Nova, as a language school has no clue about handling foreign employees? And have no clue about the challenges of working here as a foreigner? We pay tax like everyone else, so shouldn't it be better to have more of us instead of scaring people away? Then it slowly downed upon me. 'Oh, they just don't freakin' care. Crap'. However, there are other language schools out there that could still be a good starting point for new potential teachers.🙂 So I strongly encourage everyone who's thinking about coming to teach English here.😉Just avoid that 'Nova' creature.
additionally it introduces the "new interested person" moving to japan, to a great reason to abandon that plan and leave again
I'm actually interested because I wanna teach serious adults. And I only wanna work short term. Do they give teachers decent freedom with regard to how classes are conducted? And how does housing work? Thanks in advance.
@@goyam2981 Hi there!👋 As far as the lessons go, you are allowed to open lesson slots whenever you want. According to the contract, you kinda work like a ‘self-employed’ individual.
It’s more about how much money you need to earn to be able to maintain an everyday life. This position doesn’t pay much. Since you’ll be also responsible for paying your taxes and being your own bookkeeper, that’s quite a lot of hassle if you ask me. But if you’re planning to be here on a short term this might be a good experience.🙂 Please try to build a good relationship with your fellow instructors and the Japanese stuff. Most of them are really kind and helpful. Support here is ‘key’ to be able to enjoy your stay. Not just stress and suffer through it. Having ambitions clients won’t be a problem, for sure.😉
@@adriennrigo5022 Thanks so much.😃 Appreciate the info and advice. 🙏 Are you still teaching there?
@@goyam2981 You’re welcome.😊 No, I stopped working there as of September this year. Would like to avoid all the paperwork hassle and punishment fees.😅
Thanks for reading my story Chris and Pete! Happy to see some laughs coming out of a story burned into my memory lol. I can confirm I eventually got my sweet revenge in the form of a free box of Koala March.
I worked for Berlitz in Japan for 8 years. It was pretty good with a variety of students ranging from kids to salarymen. My fave was being sent to give lessons to the head of a car company along with his wife every Saturday for a couple of years. I got paid for my travel time, tickets and the 90 minute lesson by the company. On top of that the guy (who was a sweetheart) would hand me an envelope containing ¥10,000 "for my lunch". Then his lovely wife would take me out for lunch and wouldn't ever let me pay. Sometimes I would arrive at the company and his wife wouldn't be able to make it and he would say "Kyashi-San, I am tired today so let's listen to Elvis Presley and so his secretary would bring in the tea and snacks and the pair of us would sit in his office rocking out to Elvis! I invited them to my wedding in 1996 in Australia, but they couldn't come because they were at the Olympics in Atlanta.the best experience 😊
What an experience! So cool Catherine! x
I had a couple of friends work for Westgate, which was supposed to be good (and both of them worked for pretty reputable schools before that to compare it to). But I think they tend to expect a little experience first. Another friend said that Shane's English School was alright. But this was about 10 years ago now, and these things can go downhill fast. Another friend ended up getting a big payout from the Japanese government about 2-3 years after Nova went bust because they failed to pay final salaries. My basic rule is if they don't require at least a CELTA or equivalent, don't go anywhere near them. And get qualified before you start teaching. If you try to teach English and you have literally zero training (and no, the week's training in the school's "method" delivered by someone who's also unqualified to teach doesn't count), and end up at a dodgy school as a result, it's very difficult to claim that you're hard done by.
its important to note nova (the eikaiwa school, not Gaba) has two kinds of contracts, employee and independent contractor (maybe that's changed post-covid though?).
they'll try to persuade you to go independent because you'll technically make more money, but that's where all the absence hassles come in. I worked there several years as an employee and had a generally great, easy time-- low pay, low effort. Anytime i missed work i had the option to make it unpaid, paid holiday, or make up up later in the month, and they covered everything for me. My advice- if you're planning to work there 6-12 months while looking for another job, take the independent. If you want an easy job to subsidize a low-key life in japan, go employee.
I will admit though, i pretty much just fit the bill of what they were looking for- got along well with students and staff, even difficult ones, generally high marks. If you feel like its not a good fit for you, jump ship. they wont adapt and its not worth the hassle, its easier to find a smaller company that will appreciate you for you.
As a future exchange student in Japan, this podcast helps a lot so thanks! BTW can't wait for the start of your next series next week!
"Can wait" ... soooo rude !!!
Fixed it lol@@adambane1719
@@adambane1719Imagine calling someone rude, because he is showing his excitement.
I taught at NOVA a few years ago, during Covid, and even then, it was shockingly bad. If you were sick, you had to pay for a substitute to teach any classes you missed, and the AMOUNT you had to pay varied depending on how quickly you managed to advise your manager you'd be missing work. The maximum amount was 800 yen per missed class, if you informed your manager last-minute. It was 400 yen if you managed to inform the manager 24 hours in advance. And you didn't have to pay anything at all... if you informed your manager 21 DAYS in advance.
Even when you weren't sick, though, you were making very little money per class -- and depending on your contract, you might have to pay 100 yen back for every class you taught, as a "room rental fee" for the classroom you were teaching in.
Wow that's ridiculous
Actually, the new rules were announced at Gaba, not Nova. It’s easy to confuse the English school Nova with the holdings company Nova Holdings.
Nova Holdings is the parent company of both Nova and Gaba.
NOVA also has these rules in place, though, and their HR are effectively the same. In some respects, they're virtually interchangeable, and I don't think it's much of a reach to think GABA as a brand will all but vanish within the next year or so.
Love the podcast my favorite one while working!
There used to be small schools in Japan that actually pushed the idea that you can teach all manner of subjects to babies in the womb, including English. I'm sure there are probably still some of these schools around, but it was big in the 80s in Japan. So much so that a popular TV show that ran for 5 or 6 seasons on Japanese TV, had a character who ran one of these schools and was featured prominently in many episodes.
I moved to Japan in 2000 as a cultural ambassador through my university in Indiana, USA. I lived in Kuji, Iwate. I had a free car, free gasoline, free apartment, lived tax free (the city hall paid my taxes), got bonuses and five months paid vacation a year where I went to 40 countries during my four years in Iwate. I also had US military base privileges because my friends were down at the Navy base in Yokosuka and my boyfriend at the time was at the Air Force Base in Misawa, Aomori. Needless to say, the local JET program teachers despised me and my coworker, because of the cushy deal that we had. There was one private ALT through a different company, but other than that, it was JET program. I thought they had a pretty good, but they were mostly pretty miserable and very isolated in their villages and they didn’t get paid very much 23 years ago so most of them couldn’t afford vehicles and they barely got any time off. I learned about the other language schools when several of them moved to Tokyo and Osaka after their JET program stints were done, and they were even more miserable working for Nova. There was an American guy ex-military that ran a language school in Morioka and he was a total sleazebag.
Thanks for sharing your story, but why is that foreigners who owns business in japan are mostly slezebag and have a bad rep? I have read it many times.
Berltiz sendai😮
These episodes are great
I worked for Nova from 1994 till its first death-spiral in 2007. The teachers I met at that time are still friends today and contrary to belief, the training there was better than at any other school at the time (in that you actually GOT training, LOL). In that incarnation, I don't remember Nova being dodgy financially (except for when they went into the death spiral and our pay didn't appear in our bank accounts), but they were very controlling of their teachers, and students were able to choose us like you would choose a bar host or hostess - "I want a young, blue-eyed Canadian", etc. I joined just around the time of the infamous drug-testing letter. A teacher had been arrested for possession of cannabis, and Nova made every foreign teacher sign a letter consenting to be drug tested (we wrote "under duress" next to our signatures). We were told that if we didn't sign, we'd be fired on the spot. They also sent out a press release that said they didn't want foreigners bringing their crimes into the country with them. This prompted a media outcry, the company tried to calm it by saying they'd decided that Japanese staff would be tested too, then very quietly forgot about it and none of us ended up being tested. Students could also complain about ANYTHING and the staff would take it seriously. They once disciplined one of my friends because one of his eyes looked to the side instead of straight ahead, telling him that it upset students and he should have surgery.
I have a million student anecdotes just as good as your friend's. I also remember the teach-your-fetus craze that lasted about 6 months (thankfully). I had a demo class and went into the booth to find a pregnant woman with a tube through which I had to speak to her belly. I thought I was on Candid Camera, but no - it was true. The Voice Room (conversation lounge) was always full of interesting people. At the Kanda branch, there was a man who used to sit with his knees tied together to help him concentrate. Then there was "Pink Lady" who toured the Voice Rooms in a bright pink Channel suit and would wander around the school pausing outside teaching booths with her nose pressed up against the glass looking in at us (I'd tell my students to just pretend they didn't see her). There was a guy at Nishi Shinjuku who would bring kids' story books and ask for female teachers to read them to him. There was a woman at Shinjuku Honko that would bring her pet ferret in a bag and you'd have fleas jumping round the room. There was a guy who went to several schools with a backpack full of women's tights and would be wearing them himself under his trousers. He invited my colleague to go tight shopping with him (for some reason, she declined). At one school, a women developed an obsession for a male teacher and used to sit in a fast food restaurant opposite the teachers' room, watching him through binoculars. He had to leave via the central fire stairs that led to the basement in order to avoid her. In fact, a large number of male and female teachers had stalkers. I had a woman who wanted my classes twice a day, every day, and became totally obsessed with me. In the end, I had to pretend I'd gone back to my home country to get rid of her. I could go on and on. Regarding the contract, I'll always remember one line, "In the event of a major earthquake, do not assume the school will be closed". I had visions of us teaching bandaged students atop piles of smoking rubble.
Nova has been through so many other companies and franchises since I left that I've lost track, but one of my friends still works for them and says the experience very much depends on the owner of your branch. His was a really great guy who cared about his teachers, gave them bonuses and took them for meals. Then he died, his son took over, and everything turned bad. For teaching nowadays, I'd say ECC was probably the best company to work for. You need a teaching qualification to work there.
Thank you for sharing this. What's ecc?
Love me some NOVA 😅
I've been teaching in Japan for the past 15 years, mostly at Eikaiwas. I've worked alongside former NOVA and Interact teachers. Only nightmare stories heard about NOVA. Just as many complaints about Interact. If you can snag a JET gig, grab it! But keep in mind that they only recruit people from high academic universities, people who can create a strong business connection between your home country and corporate Japan. Good luck regardless!
👉 From my early 20s to early 30s I taught at Berlitz in Tokyo and Yokohama, I was at the tail-end of what was considered a "good contract", I had weekends off, taught only in the afternoons, except for one day where I taught just mornings, paid for canceled students, decent pay etc...
During my time there, the contract offered to new teachers was getting worse and worse every year. They had moving work hours so from 8am to 9pm the new teachers had to be around the office, and their days off were rarely ever consecutive, plus reduced pay.
Luckily they couldn't alter my contract, this was both a curse and a blessing, a blessing for obvious reasons, but a curse because I stayed in that company for FAR TOO LONG without any advancement... Kind of an 'island of the lotus eaters' situation, I was rocking out in Tokyo for over a decade but had no real financial prospects.
Anyways, I gave a day's notice when I quit for an opportunity that presented itself, they were happy to get rid of my old contract so I got no arguments from them. I still live in Japan (in the south), self employed.
I look back fondly at those days.
Thanks for the story, what do you do as self employed now?
Yeah really interesting, what are you up to now?
@@Suedeash haha same.
I worked for NOVA for just over a year in 2006-2007. I feel this was the tail-end of the golden years, just before they went bust. The first 12 months, no complaints, however, alarm-bells rang when the Leo-Palace property managers knocked on our door and politely let us know we were 3 months behind in rent!
"Maggie Thatcher the milk snatcher" was a well known song within my household for many years haha! When Chris said "50!?" it reminded me of that "four naan Jeremy?!" meme from Peep Show lol!
Hey Chris, I watched a youtube video of you made by Japanese Reporter, It was lovely. When are you going to post an Abroad in Japan episode?
Back in 2017 there was a KitKat chocolaterie at the Haneda International departures terminal. But yeah, Donki was the best - go to a big one and you'll get most flavours.
Hi! I just got back to my home country after doing a year teaching for Interac in Japan. While I would say they are maybe one level above Nova and Gaba, anyone interested in working for them should still be very cautious! They pay extremely low, so if you can't budget well you'll really struggle! (half my monthly wage went to pension/rent/social insurance/phone bills which usually meant surviving the month on 120,000yen only).
I would say a good pro are that the company really helps you move in well to the country, but the moment you send in your resignation notice they tell you to handle everything at city hall yourself, which ended up super stressful for me. Also the management right before I left was VERY messy, all the experienced staff were leaving the company so the office seemed like a hot mess. The housing team were very evasive about answering my questions about moving out fees and the like (they also made me pay key money for a Leopalace which is insane because Leopalace's motto is literally no key money wtf).
Not the worst company but not that great either so watch out and do your research please!!! 🙏🙏🙏
Apart from JET, other ALTs can take side jobs, so there’s that.
Anyway, well done with the book! Waterstones is so hugely well respected.
I’m was an 80s child 🧒 and therefore a teenager in the 90s. The 90s were amazing.
At this point its morally acceptable to get a work visa from Nova/Gabba and then just eff off without working a single day. Find literally any other job elsewhere
You'll be stuck in the qualified invoice system for two years though. That means you'll have to file consumption tax payments with the tax office.
@ajvlog2023 so just taking your payslips in in February. Not too difficult.
Forgot the name but that famous sakura tree road where everything is blooming is perfect for proposing
Corporate English teaching was always good for me prior to starting my export business, decent enough pay and training, and very manageable hours. I was with a company called Simul and also Phoenix, I think they got bought out by benesse though. There are some decent Eikaiwa businesses around too, you just need to look around, interview alot and see what fits you best. Anyway, I had mostly good experiences, with only a sprinkling of bad or difficult clients here and there. Good luck to all entering the market!
benesse, I worked for them under the Berlitz banner back in the day
Saw the very nice piece on you in The Japan Reporter yt channel, Chris.
I don't know if it's coincidence, because I asked for it in a suggestion over on Spotify, but Pete or whoever's responsible, thank you so much for disabling localized ads on Spotify! Now hoping no one complains about the little change.
They also made it harder to get into Japan with a Student Visa as well :(
I am about to go to Japan on a Student Visa and now the School said I am required to have at least 150 hours of Japanese lessons done in my country before going to Japan for a Beginner course on a Student Visa (I guess you can still go to school on a tourist visa but then only like 3 month with an option to get the tourist visa prolonged for another 3 month.
As I only got 80 hours that I can prove the Organisation that helps me just said to lie .... got in contact with other people going to the same school trough another organisation who also told them to lie and just say they have the 150+ hours as there is no need for proof ... still sucks a lot that you need to lie for this.
Also they want to know what I am about to do after school and I said "I hope I can get a job and stay in Japan" .... big mistake, the organisation and the school told me to write I want to go back home and only want to learn Japanese because I can use it in my country to get a job -.-V complete bullshit but they said If I write I want to stay its highly possible that they won't give me the Visa.
I worked for Interac. for 2 years 2020-2022. Had a good time during the pandemic, salary was a bit low for paying my own rent and 50% of car, (2.2 mill JPY a year salary) though I lived across the street from my HS in Morioka. I had a car for that year but 2nd year I moved to another town (Tono) and I needed to take my drivers test for Japanese drivers license but they would not accept my proof of home address in the USA that for some reason I needed to submit with them. So year two I could not drive which left me with a 20 min walk to the train, 50 min train ride and another 20 min walk to my assigned school. Was a good 12 hour day 5 days a week. Twice a wek I had a 50 min bike ride as the train would not go near one of my assigned school. I was assigned to 5 different schools. I didn't mind riding my bike but I feel that miss management put me in a driving position where I really needed a car but the issue with getting the license was unexpected. I went back to the USA in 2022. Really missed Japan, but i needed a better job after... I still go back every year to meet with new friends though and I bought an Akia hous really for cheap in Nara. Curently working in finance now. I went from an easy job teaching english to going back to study finance and I have to say that the jobs that don't pay much and are easy/ maybe a bit boring are much more enjoyable at times compared to a to tough finance job doing math all day in a call center for a bank for people for 60-100 hours a week. Atleast the pay is better. Thats life I guess haha
@AbroadInJapanPodcast My Scottish mum was involved with Nova during the early 80's in Osaka when they begun. Her and her pals all worked for them. But my Japanese dad was already sceptical of their business practices. He confronted the founder Nozomu Sahashi & his colleague (Swedish guy?) but fell on deaf ears. Years later, my parents were shocked to see them both in the news getting arrested for fraud but not surprised. Karma! (my mum has many other "Gaijin" stories from the 70's and the 80's - she should've written a book haha 😅)
i'd like to read that.
Sadohashi got let off and quietly went on his way. He really only screwed the gaijin,after all.
For anyone reading this, Nova and Gaba are terrible. Their teachers aren't actually considered 'employees' but are 'contractors' so then they don't have to pay any kind of insurance and good salary. Right now (as of Nov. 2023) their employees are currently doing demonstrations against Gaba and Nova. Don't join their companies unless you are desperate. Chris also mentions that Interac is good, it's not. Interac and Borderlink are both black companies. I had a friend who worked for Interac and took them to court because they didn't give him his final paycheck. Another friend who worked for Hearts English or Amity (sorry I forget which one) had to clean the toilets and if she was sick or wanted to take a day off she had to make sure to make up for those lessons. So everyone new working in the dying eikawa world: Do your research, read the fine print (make sure about health insurance, pension, unemployment insurance, etc), check the reviews on glassdoor and reddit, and get everything in writing and communicate via email so you have documentation. Double check the contract too. English teachers are being treated like crap, so everyone please be careful.
I would guess your friend worked for Amity, not Heart -- unless Heart has changed a lot in the last four years. I worked for Heart four years ago, and while I definitely had my issues with them, they were MOSTLY pretty reasonable. The pay was fine, aside from there being no pay whatsoever during summer break (which is also true of Interac), and they never gave me any guff when I got sick. They were definitely no JET, but based on my experience, at least, I think any newcomer to Japan looking to teach English could do a lot worse than Heart. Heart was a perfectly acceptable, if occasionally trying, first step into English teaching in Japan.
Glad to hear Heart isn't that bad @@Wyrdwad
I worked for Interac and had no problems with them - until I broke my foot and they expected me to continue to teach in 4 story buildings with no lift (possibly more a Japan expectation than an Interac expectation though). I couldn’t walk without crutches and getting up/downstairs was a major hazard. I also lived in a four story building and had to take buses/trams to my schools, one of which included a 15 minute walk (30 mins with crutches) and part of the route was unpaved so involved dirt and stones.
I did it for a week and then handed in my resignation. I might have put up with it but I was advised by my doctor not to especially considering my EDS. I even asked if I could use my holidays to give myself a few days to adapt to using crutches but they refused.
Every prefecture sells their own specific Kit Kat but you usually have to go to that prefecture to get them unless you live near them.
NOVA X Gaba ( these two have teamed up now) hire instructors as ‘independent instructors’ so technically you’d not be a company employee, you only get paid for the lessons you teach , perhaps also the odd free unhealthy sugary snack might be left in the staff room.
Right now (November 2023) Gaba announced that they plan to enforce many ‘NOVA’ style rules on its instructors from April 2024 as well as an additional tax that used to be paid by Gaba .
Things are definitely not looking good .
Why did you change the word in the flyer from GABA to NOVA?
Ikebukuro station Seibu has a Kit Kat store at B1. There are other locations I think but I don’t remember.
For a proposal place, Enoshima bridge facing Mt Fuji right before the sunset. You’ll need some weather cooperation.
You just know exactly who Chris is talking about in the intro snippet. There’s only one man in Japan who attracts that much crazy
Who? Tea please
I taught at the old Nova (pre-vanishing owner, pre-bankruptcy) in 1991 and 1992. The huge expansion funded by student fees hadn't started yet. I actually got paid on time. When I heard what happened after I left, I was not surprised. When I was there, Yakuza that looked like they came straight from central casting would come into the schools and sell drugs to the teachers. Or to collect unpaid drug debts. I knew several Nova teachers with questionable English skills. A couple of non-native speakers who really couldn't speak English and a US college football player who had a four year degree on a football scholarship but could not read or write. I always thought the dumb jock was a comedic trope, but this guy was the genuine article. Wages crashed after I left.
My son is in Japan as an ALT through Borderlink.
Speaking from my personal experience as a teacher in the private sector here in Japan (I have been teaching for five years). You do have to be careful about choosing your company, especially if you are applying from oversees. I got lucky and got accepted at a private preschool that not only pays a decently good wage (in comparison to other places), but also treats you like a human being. Yes, I do have to work like crazy at this place (six days a week), but at least they do understand the importance of time off and relaxation and various emergencies. When I got sick they allowed me to take (unpaid) significant time off with no repercussions.
Per standardized Japanese work law, a worker gets only 10 days off in a year (this is excluding any type of national holidays and obviously Sundays), so regardless of where you work at, the vacation days here in Japan are, in my knowledge, on the lower count, especially when you compare to the month to two month long time off that you can get in Europe. Think really carefully before even applying to teach here in Japan. If you feel like you have a passion for teaching than there is no point being an ALT, for all you are is a glorified tape recorder in a classroom. But, then again, the private sector can be very dangerous and you could also work for someone like the people in this story. If you want to experience Japan I would advice to just come here as a student. Best choice ever.
as someone who partied from Tuesday, went to work at an eikaiwa after all night clubbing on zero hours sleep several times, freestyled lessons with zero preparations and had to go spew on at least two occasions, I believe the eikaiwa in question may just have some grounds for tightening up its system.....lol
You worked for Nova too?
Me 2😅
I know a bunch of people who work for Nova. Teachers, area managers, working for corporate. Things are going rapidly down hill. Teachers burning out and leaving. Area managers being sent all over to fill in working 60 plus hour weeks on 300k per month. Hiring literally anyone from abroad including people that are too young and thrown in the deep end where they often quit within 6 months. Epion, an eikaiwa for kids, worse than Nova, went bust recently. Nova looks like a sinking ship. The Japanese economy isn't doing well, no one has any money. The cash cow classes, kids classes, are a shrinking population. Adult working age students are just exhausted... the whole eikaiwa industry is collapsing. Even uni jobs are getting worse. The future is grim.
My Grandmother had a silver Chrismas tree - it was aluminum - not sure if it was flammable.....The tree was from the 50's, I think. 😅😋
The best way to help emaciated feral animals is to give them an dewormer (tucked into some food), apparently. A vet I knew told me after I got back from Costa Rica and heard my stories about skinny, hungry dogs. Like obviously food is good to give but if they're skinny because of worms (and this is really common) you're basically feeding the worms which can actually hurt the animal, because the worms live in their gut and steal the nutrients from their food. So if there are too many and the animal suddenly gets a bunch of food the worms will multiply and the animal will get even sicker. So if you're an animal lover carry dewormer when you travel 👍
Worked for the original Nova over 15 years ago. Pay was fine for the actual work you did. Could grumble about things once in a while, but hardly any stress. Teachers always complaining about how they were being screwed, which was their justification for not giving a sh!t about the job. Teachers had it good compared to the Japanese staff. That's who were really getting screwed by the company.
Ahh, open gas fires and highly flammable plastic, passing out with the fumes, the secret to a really toasty 80s British Christmas! Greetings Pete and Chris from another free milk and school dinners recipient!
Gaba teacher here. All’s true. :)
1. I will say working for Jet is not perfect. Could be better. Could be worse. Japan's work culture is what it is.
2. There are actually kitkat stores in Japan. I live next to one. Don Quixote is good too but yeah they have rarer flavors at the kitkat store.
I miss the good ole Nova Usagi days. It was an easy ticket abroad and an extension to university parties. Imposing an absence fee? Nova went to the dumpers long ago, why did they even bother trying to revive the company?
#faxmachine
I work for Australia Post and am curious about how the postal network operates in other countries. Excluding courier services like Amazon, how is the postal network in Japan in general? What is the usual turn around for standard deliveries within the country and have you ever had anything go missing?
All the best!
John
I once worked for the “Welcome home!” man. 😅 One of my friends (who also knew him) describes him as a snake oil salesman, and it was true!
11:24 for the ESL bit
I would rank ALTIA ahead of Interac, but definitely a step down from JET. They’re smaller than Interac though, mostly in Central and a little bit of Western Japan. They’re not in Tokyo or up North either. I will admit they have taken a step down in recent years. I think I got out at the perfect time.
I think so everyone has gone down the shitter in terms of pay p, management and quality
I've been in Japan teaching for over 10 years and worked in just about every kind of teaching position imaginable. I also teach an in-depth topic discussion course for a high school and I went super hard into researching the education funding problem in Japan. If you ever want to make a video going into any of the history or current background of the English problem in Japan I would love to help or record something.
I would love to also talk about all the tricks eikawas use to steal money from workers. And all the wonderful legalese they use to make workers afraid of them and steal even more money lol. A company cannot legally penalize you from taking sick leave. Ever.
There is a KitKat shop near ueno station where you can get the special craft ones and make your own.
I love the 80s Iran contra, reaganomics, real music, aids, hiv, roller skating rinks, and loads of intravenous drugs. One good thing I can remember WAS "made in america" was authenticity made in the US, 90's, and on its all made in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, or made in Japan.
Did you list real music as a negative?
@Weatherman4Eva nope not negative it's just a list, but I made one specific positive point at the end of the list. Made in america stuff was way better quality and made to last. Now everything is like 99 cent store crap. You'll be lucky if the items last for a year.
#Faxmachine when will you do a book tour or signing in The Netherlands Mr.Affable? We would love to have you!
Battlebots is still a thing. Hacksmith Industries just did a video on it where they made an AI robot (though they still controlled it a lot)
I moved to Japan over 8 years ago and that is wild. Its probably more for the foreign teachers if I had to guess because I thought when I first got here that it would be very uptight about missing work etc and I worked at a big company and you would legit Have people say oh I have a headache and get off work.. lol Any reason at all, Sure see you tomorrow. I was surprised! The most BS excuses and it was fine
on the other side of things tho work here can be so shady. That same company I worked at was a well known company in the area and I worked there for over 3 years. The shady part was they where paying people based on their country of origin. I shit you not. All the southeast asians got paid scraps but because I'm American I got paid way more.
It was so bad they actually had me sign paperwork along with my contract renewel each time. It was literally a NDA and said I wouldn't tell any of the other staff how much they where paying me. So on my first day at a new job in Japan with no experience I was getting paid more than the Japanese staff that had been there over 10 years and the managers simply because I'm american. I also got raises every 6 months and vacation time that stacked up. The other staff where not getting all that.
I never taught english with a company but me and my wife tutor sometimes and If you already live here that is amazing. People will pay 5k-6k yen per hour for english lessons because I'm American . So if you already live here just tutor! but if you are using english job as a way to move here then its probably going to be rough
Chip pan fires must have been so bad because I was born in '98 and during my school years they STILL warned us about chip pans and how to put them out!
I believe NOVA's collapse in 2007 centered around student complaints of the company, i.e. NOVA putting impossible restrictions on vouchers used for lessons. The government couldn't have cared less about the treatment of foreign English teachers.
I applied to NOVA back then. I forget what happened, but I felt something wasn't right so I didn't go through with it. Then all of a sudden the company collapsed not long after. So I was happy I didn't go with them.
Uhh.... Nova's collapse was due to the owner absconding with all of the money owed to the teachers at the time. Quite a few of my friends had to fight to get back what was owed to them.
Money was definitely owed to the teachers, but what prompted the investigation was Japanese students issuing complaints about the company's voucher system, e.g. paying in cash for coupons to be used for classes, which ended up being difficult or impossible for most people. Teachers' pay was just incidental@@davoid1208
@@davoid1208 It was a run on the bank. They were loaning money to students in the form of vouchers. When the government said that they had to return the money to students in the form of cash instead of lessons it collapsed.
I remember having a Fila fleece in 89 and was out drinking and this girl accidently caught my sleeve with her cigarette, and I suddenly had a sleeve melting around my arm...lol
Westgate is another good option.
I won't mention the name of the outfit, but I worked for an outfit that was late with with pay more than once. Not me, but a colleague ended up literallly had nothing to eat because of this. The branch manager ended up buying him groceries.
Thank you so much for the very useful information! My daughter wants to teach English in Japan. I know NoVA is the one of the most reputable school for over 40 years (I grew up in Japan). It is very interesting to hear the inside experiences from nonJapanese teachers)
We need Alex Murphy playing Rogue City!
As a reminder, Hershey makes KitKat in the USA. So it's even an inferior product to the Nestlé version
It's still the 80s in Japan
#26 part two
1990? That makes me sad. I knew you were a lot younger than me, but bloody hell
Worst impression of American Pete by British Pete 😂😂
Next episode should be called “Kit KATastrophe”
There’s a tv program called battlebots.
The notice is from GABA NOT NOVA. although they are basically the same company's
As someone who just got a job with Nova & is waiting for my coe before getting my visa to move in the next couple of months, this has me a bit nervous. Japan has been my dream & I’ve already started the process of moving. 😅
I worked at NOVA for about 2 and a half years and I really think your experience depends greatly on your schools, students and managers. Yeah, you’re underpaid and get fined and rated out of 10 by students, but the job is pretty easy most of the time and it can be really fun talking to Japanese people about places to visit, foods to eat, cultural events etc. I’d complete a year contract and maybe think about something else after that
@@jessie8900 thank you, I’m gonna do my best & I hope I get a good location. I’m hoping to stay for the long haul, so I’ll be looking at more permanent jobs once I get there.
Don't stress mate, a lot of us used nova as a stepping stone into Japan for visa sponsorship, you'll be fine. Just do 6 months there to get your bearings and look for something better. If you have half a brain, you'll be completely fine.
For what it's worth I did exactly that, NOVA was shit but I still was so enamoured by being in a new environment the first 6 months I couldn't care less.
There are other, better companies that will likely happily poach you if you go through their application processes. Eikaiwas are a dime a dozen, so it's worth being choosy. I worked with iTTTi Japan Peppy Kids Club and had a great experience, only heard horror stories about Nova.
@matthewdgeisel one possibility is look for 2 or 3 part time jobs as soon as u settle down. They usually par more per hour, 3k per hour, Nova is basically 1,250 per hour. Once you've got them lined up just leave Nova. They can't and won't do anything legally. Just tell them you've lost a leg or have gone back home. Tell immigration about your new employers. It's fine to have multiple ones. Then keep looking and replace your worst pt job with a better paying one.
I loved this episode, as a current sophomore in high school looking to teach English in Japan preferably Aomori prefecture it was interesting to hear about this black company. I was wondering what are your top 3 underrated prefectures are? #faxmachine
👉 Prefecture(s)
@@natalian.1320 tyty i didnt know if its x or s
@@Kiyoku_Thy_Man ❓🤔🧐 It's a ct. Ever heard the word "Prefect"?!
*thank you You can't spell thank you either ?? Jeez, Millennials.
Can you make a cup of coffee? @@Kiyoku_Thy_Man
@@natalian.1320mb wasn't thinking straight was in the middle of a passing period but thanks for the correction 🙂
I have started working for a Japanese company as an English teacher this year and it has been a good experience so far. The support has been better than I expected. The pay has always been on time and the training has also been very good so far.
May I askwhich company I plan to apply to these companies too if possible. Would appreciate any help!
As a Japanese, this subject is interesting to me.
In the first place, it is common sense to get a qualification to live in far east island country, but it must be a new experience for someone who was just born in an English-speaking country to go to my distant home country in a tourist mood, earn a small wage, find a potential partner, and live there while complaining about Japan, favoring only the values of the home country It will be a new experience for me.
As long as we Japanese continue to be poor at English, I am sure from English-speaking countries will continue to return to their home countries with various ideas and culture shocks.
What about aeonet?
World Market sells Japanese Kitkats for $9+, the heist was understandable
What I want to know is if it is ok to take kids to an izakawa. We are coming to Japan towing an 11 year old and some of the places we want to go serve alcohol and I see no pics of kids, kids menu’s etc. I also don’t see anything saying u can’t. Most travel to Japan info assumes you are either going to go deep into amusement parks with kids or are going to bars with adults. Can you wander, mostly sober, with an 11 year old in Tokyo?
Was proposed to on the Golden Gate bridge, in the wind and fog. I knew what was happening so I happily walked halfway out. Quite a scene, had my hood all the way tight shut. Very romantic 😂 Let’s just say 32 years later going fine.
Chris, if you're reading this, could you please ask your friend if this Fetus story was for the SEIHA? Because that sounds like the nonesense they would pull. And I'm speaking of personal experience.
Hey Chris and Pete(I'm not clever enough to alliterate), I was curious if Chris had any interest in visiting a WRC (World Rally Championship) event in Japan, though now that I type it out I realize that would be unlikely due to licensing/sponsorship. But in lieu of spectating maybe the two of you can participate as privateer driver and co-driver. Whoever survives the inevitable crash could mine the tragedy for content for years to come! #faxmachine
The intro " he had to teach English to an unborn fetus" gave me immediate flashbacks to Peter explaining the story on trash taste 🤣
Peter told the fetus story on Chris main channel, not on Trash Taste channel.
I graduated from High School in the 80's, yes it was MUCH better then than today. Today is ridiculous
You said it perfectly. They prey on people who have no other options. But it's not just the schools you've mentioned but an industry wide problem. I'm sure you and everybody else here knows how much of a joke teaching English in Japan is, which is why they can hire literally anybody to do the job in case somebody quits because of bad working conditions. There will always be the next young person who wants to have a good time in Japan schools like these can take advantage of be promising visa sponsorship. I myself had very bad experiences with the industry in the beginning and I'm quite happy that this is a thing of the past now.
Didn’t they have a Japan vs USA Gundam fight a few years back? Memory recalls… it was a colossal failure
A quirk of the English language is that 'inflammable' and 'flammable' have the same meaning.
'Flammable' is a newer word introduced because 'inflammable' would confuse even native speakers.
Problem number one on this whole topic is that Eikaiwa and ALT jobs are not teaching jobs, and we shouldn't be calling them that. They're unregulated and mostly go through private businesses that require no qualifications or experience, so both the standards for their employees and their practices/treatment toward them are and always will be bottom of the barrel. These companies lure early 20 somethings with little life experience with a bachelor's in "whatever" by telling people that they will be a "teacher" if they come over to Japan and work for them. That implies a serious and professional job with a possible future, promotions, and real standards both for employees and the company. If anything is to change in this non-teaching private English field of business, it either needs to be regulate to have actual standards, or we need to be more honest and consistent about calling it what it is, and treating it like what it is, within the foreigner communities of Japan. It's not teaching, it's entry level unskilled labor where wildly unqualified people can be an employee, a manager, and even an owner of such a business.
Not many good stories here…😅
I honestly came here thinking I’d work the minimum contract term of a year in an Eikaiwa to find a better job. However, it’s the best job I’ve ever had and by far outcompetes any job I had in the UK. My company and colleagues have gone out of their ways to help me and I actually love teaching. ✨Especially the kids✨
I guess the take away is to only apply to reputable companies and understand that you will be thrown in the deep end and you will have to be adaptive in both your lifestyle and job role.
This isn't topical but you're the only person I am aware of who may be interested. There is chocolate soy sauce? Called cacao jang? How is that not something you've unearthed for us? So curious about Japan in general but I need answers!!
Wrong podcast number, this should be #27