Category Archives: Eikaiwa

ECC may have bought data stolen from owner of Berlitz

Posted on 19/07/2014 by alexcase

According to the newspaper Japan Times, the data on 75,000 high school students that large Japanese language school chain ECC bought might have been among that stolen by someone working at Benesse, owner of the Berlitz and ELS chains, plus the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlitz, Eikaiwa | Tagged | Leave a comment

How easy is working in a Japanese "Eikaiwa" conversation school

Posted on 23/07/2012 by alexcase

A rare good thread on GaijinPot on the topic here.

Posted in Eikaiwa | Leave a comment

Positive and negative developments in TEFL in Japan

Posted on 24/08/2011 by alexcase

This is going to be very subjective, but here are my impressions after being back here for almost a year: Positive developments Japanese students are losing faith in the idea that chatting with a foreigner in English is the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Eikaiwa, Teaching English in Japan | 1 Comment

Eikaiwa continues to shrink

Posted on 20/09/2010 by alexcase

David English House in Hiroshima, a well respected school run by author and all round booster of professionalism in Nippon David Paul, closed for business on 1 September leaving him personally bankrupt. Sounds like they managed the process well, though, according … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council, David English House, Eikaiwa, English Teachers in Japan, Let's Japan, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL chains | Tagged | 5 Comments

‘Shane English School (NZ) faces liquidation’?

Posted on 17/04/2010 by alexcase

Don’t know if it’s true, and don’t know what it would mean if it was, but it would have a strange and worrying symmetry with the recent problems with GEOS Australia, also a mainly Japan-based chain with branches in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Eikaiwa, Geos, Let's Japan, Shane Language Schools, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL chains | Tagged | 5 Comments

The importance of noses in Eikaiwa

Posted on 17/03/2010 by alexcase

Posting this now was prompted by a comment by Darren Elliott in the post below. That and the fact that it is very odd indeed, and from a British owned company too…

Posted in Cultural differences/ cultural training, Eikaiwa, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL | Tagged | 2 Comments

Development, blogs, books and Japan- An interview with Darren Elliott of Lives of Teachers blog

Posted on 09/01/2010 by alexcase

We all seem to be seeing your name around a lot recently. A masterplan to become the next Thornbury/ trying to keep yourself busy while your wife watches Japanese television/ sleep disorder/ other? I think it takes more than a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Critical Mass ELT, Eikaiwa, Experience of Language Teaching, first TEFL job, MA TESOL, Teacher training, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL conferences, TEFL heroes- Rose M Senior, TEFL heroes- Scott Thornbury, TEFL qualifications, TEFL reviews, TEFL villains- Jennifer Jenkins, TEFL workshops | Tagged | 8 Comments

What I just learnt on YouTube

Posted on 16/11/2009 by alexcase

A rare occurence, I know, but this kansaikidsdotcom YouTube channel (of a school called The Learning Tree which I had never heard of- thank you Google!) had lots of little teaching ideas for young and very young learners that I’d never … Continue reading →

Posted in Eikaiwa, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching young learners, TEFL | Tagged | 1 Comment

Golly gosh, not Geos too??!

Posted on 28/10/2009 by alexcase

Two years after the demise of Nova, by far the biggest chain of Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan, rumours are that one of the remaining big three, Geos, is also showing signs of strain with late payment of wages, … Continue reading →

Posted in Eikaiwa, Geos, Let's Japan, Nova, Teaching English in Japan | 4 Comments

Use all your talents when teaching

Posted on 24/10/2009 by alexcase

at the Idol Foreign Language Academy in Akihabara, Tokyo. Only in Japan…

Posted in Eikaiwa, Teaching English in Japan | Leave a comment