http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html The teaching English in Japan Blog keeps you up-to-date with all additions and changes to our site. Subscribe here. en-us Teaching English in Japan Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:12:17 GMT Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:12:17 GMT all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachingjobsabroad.html Find Jobs in Japan on our Teaching Jobs Abroad Page. Full-time & Part-time Listings for Jobs All Over Japan. Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:50:01 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachingoverseas.html Teaching overseas and owning your own English schools - yes, good money can be made owning your own school. Here is how to get started. Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:57:08 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#First-Nova---Now-Geos Geos Corp., a major operator of foreign-language schools, has filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court with debts of 7.5 billion, and rival G.communication Co. will take over some of the defunct company's schools, the two companies announced Wednesday. Tokyo-based Geos, which has 2,100 employees, said it suffered poor earnings with dwindling number of students amid the recession and consumer distrust toward the industry stemming from the failure in 2007 of another major language-school operator, Nova Corp. G.communication, which took over operations of some Nova schools, said it will do its best to secure employment for Geos employees. "We will hold a briefing for those working at schools that we will take over and rehire them, and will try to provide the maximum employment opportunity for those working at schools we will not take over, in cooperation with shareholders and other involved companies," Nagoya-based G.communication said in a statement. Geos will close 99 English-language schools, while G.communication will take over 230 schools, according to the two companies. G.communication President Hideo Sugimoto said his firm bought part of Geos "to protect students." The company said it will keep the Geos school name and will resume lessons at those schools Friday. Students attending schools that will be closed will not get their tuition refunded, but they can go to classes at other Geos schools or take Geos online lessons with the money they have already paid. They can also go to Nova schools or take Nova online lessons at a 75 percent discount until the accumulated discount reaches the amount they paid in advance, Geos said. The fate of Geos teachers, meanwhile, is uncertain, even though G.communication says it will try to hire them. Brian Gilliland, who works about five hours a day three to four days a week teaching corporate customers for Geos, said he hasn't received his pay for the first half of April and hasn't heard from Geos whether he will get his salary. "Last night I got a call around 9:30 and I was told my class tomorrow will be canceled," Gilliland, who has no other source of income, said. "This month, my classes finished, and I was ready for new classes. They said there are a bunch of classes starting in April, but I only had one class in April. "Basically you can't teach here anymore. Salary is going down and there is no work," he said, adding that he is looking for a nonteaching job as he speaks Japanese. Geos also runs English schools in the United States, Canada, France, Thailand and other countries. It also teaches other languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Korean, and arranges for Japanese students to study abroad. Tue, 18 May 2010 11:55:16 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#New-Teacher-/-Student-Matching-Service-Launched If you're already in Japan and are looking to get some more private students to fatten up the paycheck at the end of the month, check out <a href="http://www.pittari-sensei.com/teach/">Pittari Sensei. </a> They're a new and free student teacher matching service. Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:49:45 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teacheremployment.html Finding Jobs in Japan Just Got a Whole Lot easier! Register With Teacher Employment Services and Start Making Money Teaching in Japan Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:53:20 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teaching-jobs-overseas.html Finding Free Lance Teaching Jobs Overseas With Pittari Sensei! They are a New Teacher/ Student Matching Service. Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:08:53 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#Nova-Former-President-Goes-to-the-Slammer August 29, 2009 Nozomu Sahashi, the former president of collapsed English language school operator Nova, was recently handed a three-year six month prison sentence in a ruling at the Osaka District Court. Sahashi was convicted of embezzlement in the conduct of business, by misappropriating money from an employees fund to cover payments for cancelled contracts. Nova had collected some 56 billion yen in advance from around 300,000 students, in one of the biggest cases of consumer damage in Japans postwar history. The former president has no assets, and even if bankruptcy proceeding are undertaken, there appears to be no prospect of students having their lesson fees returned. The fact that relief from the damage cannot be obtained by pursuing the criminal responsibility of the companys operator is a consumer problem and a governmental lapse. If Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which has jurisdiction over the industry, had taken a more serious view of the problem of canceled contracts and had quickly issued an administrative order against Nova, it is possible the damage could have been reduced. However, the ministry, the government body responsible for nurturing industry, was not greatly concerned with the damage caused to consumers and left the problem unaddressed. The imminent formation of a consumer agency is based on reflection on this kind of problem. The agency is designed to be a kind of consumer administration control tower, intended to aggregate information on consumer problems like fraudulent sales methods and accidents involving common products such as the carbon monoxide poisonings caused by water heaters produced by Paloma and solve these issues. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan had received complaints from students about Novas handling of cancelled contracts, such as its lowering of the amount of lesson fees returned, for more than a decade. In 2002, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued an administrative order to the company, but the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry sided with Novas claim that cancellation of contracts was made at the convenience of consumers. This effectively gave Nova an official stamp of approval and the company expanded its business while receiving lesson fees in advance without taking profit into consideration. Later, the company was hit with a succession of lawsuits from students who demanded the return of their lesson fees. In April 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that provisions demanding heavy compensation for terminated contracts are invalid. Just before the ruling, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had finally carried out a spot inspection at Nova on suspicion that the company was violating the Specified Commercial Transaction Law. In June 2007, the ministry judged that Nova had violated 18 provisions of the law, which pertain to procedures for cancelled contracts, and issued a business suspension order against the company. The move was an echo of the judicial decision. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:46:04 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/cultureshock.html Everyone Goes Through Culture Shock When Going to Japan. Learn How to Understand It, Minimize it, Cope With It Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:02:40 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/TEFLcertification.html TEFL certification. How much do Japanese language schools value TEFL certificates? Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:24:42 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japancellphones.html Japan cell phones Tips For Renting Phones And Buying SIM Cards Fri, 08 May 2009 02:41:40 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/cellphoneserviceinjapan.html Cell phone service in Japan - Tips, links and info. to help you stay in touch with family and friends while teaching in Japan. Thu, 07 May 2009 05:50:06 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#<B>BLACK-LISTED-SCHOOLS</B> With spring in full-swing, schools are hiring full-throttle. Taken directly from General Union's wonderful site devoted to protecting teacher's rights, here are employers deemed "the most delinquent." General Union advises those looking or ESL work to "please think carefully before applying for jobs at these companies." <B>ELI Eikaiwa Gakuin, Kyoto</B> President: Essam Mohamed Problem: Unpaid wages (Labour Standards Law, Article 23, 24) <B>American English Academy</B> President: John M. Christiansen Problem: Many cases of unpaid wages (Labour Standards Law, Article 23, 24) <B>Berlitz Gakuenmae</B> President: T. Morita Problem: Violation of Labour Standards Law, Article 39 - Paid Annual Leave Comment: Nara Labour Standards Office are aware of Labour Standards Law violations at Berlitz Gakuenmae and request employees to contact them directly should the company refuse to grant annual leave with pay. <B>Global Village International Preschool</B> President: Joe Menezes Problem: Violation of Labour Standards Law, Article 20 - Unpaid Dismissal Notice allowance (305,288 yen) Comment: Ibaraki Labour Standards Office gave an order to Menezes to pay the allowance on 19 February 2003. Menezes refused, and has refused all demands from the union. <B>JECS</B> President: Y. Fujii Problem: Unpaid wages: 115,000 yen (Labour Standards Law, Article 23, 24) Nichibei Eigo Gakuin (Nichibei English Service) President: Tamotsu Kanehisa Problem: Too many to mention here. Click here for Nichibei Branch page. <B>Waiokeola</B> President: Sakai Haruo Problem: Breach of contract. One year contract not honoured. George Robert Pretty (Ex-president, EXL Japan.com ) Problems: Judged GUILTY, Osaka Labour Commission Unfair Labour Practices Case, 10 September 2001. Violation of Trade Union Law, Article 7, Clause 2. Comments: Dot-com Bomb which was closed down with outstanding wages. Pretty refused to attend the Labour Commission's hearings, and went into hiding. His current whereabouts are unknown. Any information would be appreciated. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:28:16 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japanesebooks.html Browse Our Japanese Book Store To Get Japanese Books on Grammar, Idioms, Particles, Verbs and More. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:56:32 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japanesebookstore.html Looking For Some Decent Japanese Books on Gramar, Particles or Stuff on Hiragana, Katakana or Kanji? Browse Our E-Store For the Hottest Products For Learning Japanese. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:42:37 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachingjobsinjapan.html Tips for finding teaching jobs in Japan. Tips for how to use photographs on your resume and advice on writing your self-introduction letter. Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:27:39 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/TeachEnglishOverseas.html Teach English Overseas in Japan. Can You Really Save Any Money on a Typical Teaching Salary? This Burning Question Gets Laid to Rest. Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:49:57 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#Nova-News-From-Yomiuri Even though it has been a year since Nova applied for court protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, the central government has done little to ensure the private language school industry improves its operations. The failure of Nova, which was the largest language school in the nation, has sowed public distrust in the industry. Moreover, many former Nova students have not been compensated for tuition fees paid in advance, even though the schools operations have been taken over by Nagoya-based G.communication Co. On Thursday, a group set up by former Nova students submitted a petition to Seiko Noda, state minister in charge of consumer affairs, requesting stronger measures to protect language school students. Id like the authorities to investigate [the matter] in depth so similar problems dont happen, a 35-year-old female former Nova student said. Although there are no regulations on the establishment of language schools, the law that covers such businesses was revised in 1999 to regulate them to some extent, allowing students to cancel contracts with the schools, for example. From Yomiuri News: "Although Nova had many contract issues before it failed, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry supervising the law was slow to take punitive measures against Nova, such as banning it from entering into contracts with new students. " Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:52:22 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/howtomakearesume.html Learn How to Make a Resume. Top 10 Tips for Resume Improvement. Learn How to Build a Powerful Sentence Step by Step Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:07:08 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/learnjapanese.html Learn Japanese. Free Japanese lessons, tips for using Japanese, Grammar Explanations all Clearly Explained. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:55:45 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/examplefreejobsearch.html Teaching English in Japan - A monster load of information on jobs in Japan. Interview tips with Aeon, ECC, Berlitz, Geos. Free Japanese lessons, how to get started teaching in Japan. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:49:26 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/tefl.html Not sure how to break into teaching in Japan? You might consider trying TEFL placement programs Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:18:45 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#We-All-Know-Jet-Lag's-a-Drag-But-Starving<BR>-Yourself-Before-the-Big-Trip-Just-Might-Just-do-the-Trick CHICAGO (Reuters) - Starving yourself before a long flight may help prevent jet lag, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Normally, the body's natural circadian clock in the brain dictates when to wake, eat and sleep, all in response to light. But it seems a second clock takes over when food is scarce, and manipulating this clock might help travelers adjust to new time zones, they said. "A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock," said Dr. Clifford Saper of Harvard Medical School, whose study appears in the journal Science. He said a person from the United States traveling to Japan must adjust to a 11-hour time change. "Because the body's clock can only shift a small amount each day, it takes the average person about a week to adjust to the new time zone. And, by then, it's often time to come home," Saper said in a statement. Saper and colleagues knew that when food is scarce, animals are able to override their normal biological clock to improve their chances of finding food. Studies have shown that mice fed only during the time when they normally sleep shift their body clocks to this new schedule. "They would be awake and alert and ready to go an hour or two before a meal was due to appear to have maximal chance of getting the food," Saper said in a telephone interview. "This is built into the brain. The problem is, nobody knew how it worked," he said. He and colleagues set out to find this mechanism. They used a group of mice that had been genetically engineered to lack a master gene called BMAL1 that regulates the body's clock. They put this gene into the shell of a hollowed-out virus that acted as a vector to deliver the gene only to brain cells they were interested in studying. When they put it into a small region of the hypothalamus known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which serves as the body's primary clock, the mice adjusted to a light-based schedule for waking and sleeping, but not eating. "If you don't wake them up they will starve to death," Saper said. However, when they restored the gene only in a section of the hypothalamus called the dorsomedial nucleus, which helps organize waking and feeding schedules, the mice adjusted to the eating schedule, but not daylight. Saper said when food is scarce, this second clock can override the body's primary clock. He said these same clock genes are known to be in all mammals, including humans. While skipping meals ahead of a long flight or night shift has not been proven to work in humans, it may be worth a try. "I'm certainly going to do it the next time I go to Japan," he said. Fri, 23 May 2008 13:39:09 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/workinjapan.html Work in Japan. Is it really work? More myth busting on working in Japan as an English teacher. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:43:11 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/workabroad.html Work Abroad and Teach in Japan as an ALT. The Basics on What to Expect Working Abroad as an ALT. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:39:49 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Teaching-English-in-Japan-blog.html#Ex-NOVA-Teachers-File-Complaint-About-Getting-Laid-Off-by-G.Communications About 20 foreign language teachers formerly employed by NOVA Corp. filed a complaint with a labor standards inspection office here on Friday, claiming that they were illegally fired by the companies that took over the failed language school chain. Unfair dismissal! chanted the former NOVA teachers as they joined a prep rally held by [Tokyo Nambu sister union] the General Union in front of the Osaka Chuo Labor Standards Inspection Office in Osakas Chuo-ku on Friday before they filed the complaint with the office. Nagoya-based G.communication Group bought out NOVA after it filed for protection from creditors in October last year, leaving NOVA under bankruptcy proceedings. However, G.communication Group fired about 800 former NOVA teachers at the end of December, overturning an earlier agreement in November that the company would in principle hire all the former NOVA teachers who wanted to work for the new employer, according to the General Union. Furthermore, the company refused to renew employment contracts for about 200 other teachers, leaving more than 1,000 teachers unemployed. The dismissed teachers claim that the company violated the Labor Standards Law. The company violated the law in that it did not sign employment contracts with the teachers when they started working in November. The companys dismissal procedures also breach the law in that it notified the teachers of their dismissal via e-mail and without notice, said a representative of the General Union. Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:38:27 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/freeonlinetv.html Free online tv. Want to watch free movies online? Try Graboid for over 60,000 movies and tv shows, all streamed or downloaded to your PC. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:27:13 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/freejobsearch.html Find jobs and information on teaching in Japan. Sat, 29 Dec 2007 21:33:15 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/onlinetefl.html Online TEFL comparison chart. At a glance, compare price, perks and personal tutors! Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:57:50 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/japanesevideo.html Take a look at life in Japan and teaching in Japan on our Japanese video page. Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:51:34 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/japanesejuniorhighschool-video.html Scenes from a typical Japanese junior highschool Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:20:25 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/ESLschooldirectory.html Find a Job in Japan. Check Out Our ESL School List of Language Schools Hiring in Japan. Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:09:02 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachESLabroad.html If You're Going to Teach ESL Abroad in Japan, Consider the Jet Program. Tips and Facts For Getting in Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:54:01 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/languagelearningtips.html Here are Some Great Language Learning Tips for Studying Japanese Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:54:38 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Tokyoapartment.html Take a peek inside a "Typical" Tokyo Apartment. Info on Floor Layouts, Apartment Sizes and Pictures of Japanese Apartments. Mon, 30 Jul 2007 03:24:34 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachinjapan.html Interview Tips to Help You Get a Job with ECC to Teach in Japan. Typical Questions Asked Plus Tips for Their Dreaded Grammar Test! Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:04:07 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachingESL.html Teaching ESL in Japan is fun and frustrating. Tips and advice for teaching in Japan. Find out what to expect before you're in the classroom! Wed, 02 May 2007 03:37:15 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/onlineTEFLcourse.html What Seperates a Good online TEFL Course From a Lousy One? Tips For Choosing Good online TEFL courses Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:12:08 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japanesegrammar.html Easy to Understand Japanese Grammar and Verb Charts, Explanations of the Particle 'ni' and Example Sentences. Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:38:20 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/japaneseadjectives.html Crank-up Your Japanese Speaking Level. Learn How to Conjugate These Super Useful Japanese Adjectives. Thu, 08 Mar 2007 04:26:13 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japan-weather.html Japan - weather: What's to Expect While Teaching English in Japan. Seasonal Averages Plus Weather Links to All Major Japanese Cities Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:24:08 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/ESLteacher.html So You Want to be an ESL Teacher? Find Out if It's Right For You. Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:16:26 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/basicjapanesephrases.html 41 Super Useful Basic Japanese Phrases for The Classroom. If you'll be teaching kids in Japan, memorize these phrases before you head east. Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:37:03 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/tatamimats.html Teaching for Nova or Geos? Get the Low-down on What to Expect From a Typical Japaneese Apartment - Right Down to the Tatami Mats. Also Conversion Tables From Tatami to Square Foot and Meter and More! Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:34:01 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachenglishinjapan.html Going to teach English in Japan. Action Guide and How to for Getting Started Teaching in Japan. Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:10:52 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/jobscams.html Job Scams: Common Methods Recruiters Use to Lure Unsuspecting Teachers Into Unfair Contracts, Bad Working Conditions And Poor Living Conditions. Sun, 03 Dec 2006 02:42:23 GMT http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/ESLschooldirectoryform.html <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX,NOFOLLOW"> Do You Have an English School? List it in our Directory With Our ESL School Directory Form Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:18:51 GMT