Career question

[keatonatron]

Tesu wrote:
If you want to become an english teacher purely to enter Japan and get a Visa easily, you only need a degree. I'm setting off to work for Nova next monday, and I couldn't answer any of the questions I saw in this thread about grammar. But I look english and speak english, so its not really important.

Now I see why Nova has such a bad reputation. I wonder how many of their teachers think the same thing...

[Infidel]

I think NOVA is the one where you are really nothing more than a human tape recorder. You don't teach the class, you just stand to the side and recite English on demand.

It gets your foot in the door. It's like Public Education, learning is the responsibility of the student, not the system.

[chiisu321]

Which Nova is this?

[Tesu]

keatonatron wrote:

Tesu wrote:
If you want to become an english teacher purely to enter Japan and get a Visa easily, you only need a degree. I'm setting off to work for Nova next monday, and I couldn't answer any of the questions I saw in this thread about grammar. But I look english and speak english, so its not really important.

Now I see why Nova has such a bad reputation. I wonder how many of their teachers think the same thing...

It sounds terrible when I say it, and its not something I'm proud of. Due to the way Nova lessons are structured there is no room for flexibility or imposing yourself as a teacher, infact people have been known to complain if you deviate from the material even one bit.

I've done enough research to know most of this before I go though. I would be willing to teach English myself (its not that I hate teaching) but I don't really consider Nova a "real" teaching job. Both my parents are teachers and I know what hard work it can be, and I know how rewarding it can also be. I don't know how long I will last myself though (probably not long before I start looking for an IT related job )

I know you teach English keatonatron and I hope you enjoy it and get a lot out of it. I don't want to feel like I'm attacking the profession, but I don't think anyone serious about teaching as a career would enjoy working with a company like Nova....

EDIT - Oh and when I said "But I look english and speak english, so its not really important." I wasn't referring to ability to teach english, but that its enough to get the job with Nova.

[keatonatron]

I understand what you meant, and I'm not at all offended! It sounds like my job is completely different (there is no set lesson plan -- it's 100% Keatonatron baby!).

It's just that I've heard from various Japanese people that Nova isn't much of a respected school, and if all the teachers feel the same way as your post, it just makes sense.

[Mike Cash]

Infidel wrote:
I think NOVA is the one where you are really nothing more than a human tape recorder. You don't teach the class, you just stand to the side and recite English on demand.

That, sir, is a scurrilous lie.

They let the teachers sit down during the classes.

[Mike Cash]

Tesu wrote:
I don't want to feel like I'm attacking the profession, but I don't think anyone serious about teaching as a career would enjoy working with a company like Nova....

The profession is only as noble as the individual practitioners of it. There are those who are to be highly regarded, and there are those whose professional value approximates that of something you normally scrape from the bottom of your shoe with a look of utter disgust.

The companies, on the other hand, are almost uniformly despicable and are fair game for unabashed bashing in my book.