In Defense of Eikaiwa

From ELT News

by Tony DePrato

"What is Eikaiwa?
In Japan, Eikaiwa is the Japanese name given to the English Conversation Schools which exist through out the entire country. These schools are privately owned for-profit-organizations.

What are some examples of Eikaiwa companies?
As of 2004, the largest and most popular Eikaiwa schools are Nova, ECC, GEOS, and. AEON. However, there are numerous other smaller schools which exist in almost every average sized community in Japan.

What are the main criticisms of the Eikaiwa industry?
There are many ways to approach this topic. All schools are slightly different, but there are some similarities. Looking at the topic of criticism from an educational perspective is the path I have chosen for this essay."--ELT News

Read More: http://www.eltnews.com/features/special/023.shtml

Ex-Nova students sue for refunds

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Four people who canceled their English-language lesson contracts with Nova Corp. filed a lawsuit against the language school with the Kyoto District Court on Wednesday, demanding refunds totaling about 2.45 million yen in tuition for unattended classes.

Ten other former Nova students also filed a lawsuit with the court on the same day, demanding that the school refund about 4.1 million yen.

The case marks the first time the firm has been sued by a group of its former students.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070927TDY04003.htm