ESL Teacher Jobs With Nova 

Recruiters post hundreds of ESL teacher jobs all over the web and in various publications. You'll see ads from kids schools like Peppy Kids Club to English schools that cater to anyone wanting to learn English from 2 to 92 years of age. Like Aeon, ECC , Berlitz, Nova is no exception. Regarding ESL teacher jobs this also includes Amity which is Nova's children's branch. Kids galore mind you but if you like teaching kids it might be something worth considering.

After its implosion and drawn out legal fiascoes, like a phoenix from the fire they're back. (With a "little" help from G. Communications a holding company who handled the restructuring). They did kind of change the name a bit though from Nova to "Nova Holdings". They have returned to the big-hitter stage with 336 schools throughout Japan and has a student count of around 60,000.

ESL Teacher Jobs With Nova

Like other Eikaiwas and government run programs like The JET Program, they recruit from abroad which means for many recent graduates who don't want to risk coming to Japan on a tourist visa or landing permit and then look for work, it offers a bit of safety.

In that you won't be scurrying around looking for work under a deadline. They will also sponsor you and take care of getting your apartment lined up for you. They primarily recruit from Vancouver, Tokyo and Osaka.

Not unlike most eikaiwa schools, the teaching schedule is fairly heavy. You may be thinking, "Heavy hmm... exactly how heavy is heavy?" Let me put it this way, when the day is done you'll without any uncertainty know you had a full day.

They have a Customer satisfaction system in place as well. Bronze, silver and gold status (with increased per lesson remuneration) for instructors who score consistently highly in the monthly customer satisfaction survey.

Keep in mind that there are 2 sides to this coin and there have been complaints that salaries decrease if the students' customer satisfaction scores are low or that there are no raises.

As is typical of ESL teacher jobs, expect to work at least one day on the weekend as this is when most adult students have time for their lessons. Also unlike ALT schedules which start  in the mornings most eikaiwa work will begin in the afternoon.

ESL teacher jobs, in particular eikaiwa,can be on the hectic side and Nova is no exception. Applicants should be forewarned that the 10 minute break in between lessons is not technically a paid break. Nova Holdings has been battling General Union  (They protect ESL teacher job rights for salary, working hours etc.) regarding the technicalities of what is paid and what is not. As well as issues on health insurance and pension payments.

ESL Teacher Jobs and Some Comments on Nova From Various Net Sources

Okay, so we have covered the basics on what  you can expect from Nova Holdings. Let's dig a bit deeper shall we?
So to save you some time, we've done some of the leg work of scouring the internet for comments and aggregating them here for you.

Note: when you see the copy in "quotes" it has been take directly from other internet sources and does not reflect the opinions of staff at this site. We have made efforts to eliminate flagrant comments of flag-burning style & ass-kissing style when they border on ridiculous.

Nova Holdings and Some of the Pros

Nova Holdings has seen more than its fare share of main media glare for many reasons. From butting heads with General Union to flagrant mishandling and mismanagement of  both Japanese and foreign staffs as well as the students themselves that attend their 300 or so schools. Be that as it may, still thousands of Japanese attend their schools which in turn provides ESL teaching work for thousands of entry level ESL teachers.

• "Great chance to see the country and meet interesting people. Pleasant students."
• "Gives you a working visa."
  
• "The opportunity to really help people learn a new skill, meeting new people and learning new skills for yourself. Long breaks and very very fair treatment. Schools are located in easy convenient places."
  
• "Although Nova doesn't offer the students much in the way of personalized attention, the methods are quite effective. In time you'll see amazing progress in the students."
  
• "I found the day-to-day work schedule at Nova to be pretty enjoyable and far from stressful. Some of my first classes were a little rough, but I found my niche and my teaching style developed quickly. "
  

Nova Holdings and Some of the Cons

Long time teachers in the ESL world have various nick names for what NOVA stands for. One particularly amusing one is "No Vacation".  Their image tarnished with litigation with students, teachers unions and endless bad press from blogs, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube etc. have cemented their image.

• "Because of how the class booking system works, sometimes teachers get very little time to prepare for the class they are expected to teach. Sometimes you get assigned a course that you haven't had training for, which could be a bit daunting."
• "Teachers are not allowed to socialize with students in any way outside of class." 
  
• "It's affectionately known as the McDonald's of English Schools."
  
• "Student to instructor evaluation system so poorly implemented it may as well not exist. Long hours with little to no break between lessons."
  
•  A" viewpoint (which also applies to teachers working for Aeon, Geos, etc.) is that these foreigners are expendable voice box scum with a shelf life of 9-12 months at best."
  

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