ENG102: 2007

2007年5月3日木曜日

Presentation

I really enjoyed listening other's presentations. I thought poeple prepared really well and they did good job. I haven't done mine yet but it would be fun to present it.
Some people researched really well and i was very impressed!

Stop Teen Pregnancy and STDs Spreading

The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world and this is going to keep increasing unless we do something about it. This is mostly caused by a lack of sex education for teens and ignorance about contraception. According to Advocate for Youth, every hour of every day, two American young people contract HIV, 96 become pregnant, and nearly 350 more contract an STD, or a sexually transmitted disease (Llana). This means by the end of today, almost 50 young Americans will contract HIV, almost 2500 will have become pregnant, and nearly 8500 more will contract a sexually transmitted disease. In addition, USA Today says, “One of every two young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by age 25. Nearly 90% of young adults already had been infected with three diseases: human papillomavirus (HIP), Chlamydia and trichomonas (Sternberg). This issue can influence the economy in the United States. More than two-thirds of teens who have babies before the age of 18 do not finish high school; they drop out from schools (Strasburger). These are not just numbers. These are your sons and daughters, perhaps your students, who are at a high risk of being a part of them, even yourself. Teen pregnancy costs the United States is at least $7 billion annually (“Teen”). The lifetime medical cost for the 9 million infections at $6.5 billion. Costs range from a low of $18 per case for Trichomonas vaginalis, a parasitic infection, to $200,000 for HIV (Sternberg). As you can see by looking at Picture 1, the spreading of STDs is very easy and it can be spread fast without people noticing. I believe that making all parents agree with sex education and starting to teach sex education at home from students’ parents before children are teens would solve the problem.
There are two problems relate to this issue. First, some parents do not agree with sex education and they make it difficult for schools to teach in classes (“Education”). Sex education is effective and helps teens to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs (William R). Some parents believe that sex education is not appropriate for their children to discuss in schools or they think that their children are too young to discuss sex education (“Education”).
Second, younger children are having more sex than before (Picture 2). Twenty-three percent of all 14 year-olds and 30% of all 15 year-olds have had sexual intercourse (Feldman). Teaching sex education at home is an effective way to teach it to their children (“Sex Education that”). However, it is not easy for parents to do.
Keys to solving these issues are making all parents agree with sex education and starting to learn about sex education at home from parents before children are teens. I came up with the ideas of sending emails or sending letters to parents and having meetings at schools. These works should be lead by teachers and principals of schools, perhaps the U.S. Department of Education.
First, to make all parents agree with sex education, we have to have them understand what sex education is and we need to tell them how effective it is to children by using facts from research such as this fact: according to William Finger R, “Many studies have shown that educating youth adults about sex does not cause them to have sexual relations earlier or increase their sexual activities. Sex education has caused the number of teen pregnancies to drop and reduced teens’ risk of sexually transmitted diseases.”
Second, parents need to start teaching sex education early to children before puberty: normally 12 years old for girls and 14 years for boys (“Earlier”). Parents are the most effective people for their children. At home, young people can easily have one-to-one discussions with parents which focus on specific issues, questions or concerns (“Sex education that”). Providing parents with information about how to teach sex education at home is necessary (“Sex education: Start”).
According to U.S. census bureau, there are about 51 million students in elementary schools to high schools (The Official Website of the United States Census). To send emails to their parents is free of cost but not all parents have an email address. If the letters were sent by mail, it would cost $6.44 million with using discounts (The Official Website of the United States Postal). This budget should come from U.S. Department of Education. Perhaps, each school can pay for their own students. Meetings for parents to understand about sex education and how to teach sex education to their children at home should be discussed with teachers. To be able to do that, principles need to allow them to have the meetings and give them opportunities to have the meetings. All of this is expected to take about half a year including one month for making the letter for parents, one month for sending the letters and having parents read the letter, two months for planning for meetings, two months for having the meetings.
There would still be people who do not agree with sex education. It is important to convince them by meeting with them in person and talking about it. Another possibility of rebuttal is the cost. This $6.44 million may be refused by the U.S. Department of Education or principals of schools may refuse to pay the letter bills for their own students. If so, all the teachers can give these letters to their students at school and they can deliver it to their parents. If possible, teachers can go to parents’ houses and deliver it to them and talk about it which will be more effective.
If this proposal is accepted or is executed, the spreading of STDs and teen pregnancy would reduce in the United States and U.S.A. could save medical costs. In addition, children would be more responsible for having intercourse (“Sex Education that”). If not, the spreading of STDs and teen pregnancy would increase and costs to the United States would increase as well. Moreover, United States birth rates would decline because of undetected STDs. We need to start acting on this big problem and I believe my proposal would help to solve the issue.

Work Cited
“Earlier Sex Education could Avert Later Social Problems.” Academic Search Premier. 20 Oct 2006.Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.
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“Education in the United States.” Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 29 Mar 2007. 30 Mar 2007

Feldman, Robert, Ed. “Social and Personality Development in Adolescence.” Child Development. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 439 – 469.
Finger, William R. "Sex Education Has Succeeded." Sex Education. Ed. Kristen Bailey. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Maricopa CountyCommunity　College. 20 Apr. 2007 =retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010023214&source
=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=mcc_main&version=1.0>.
Llana, Nossel. “Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Younger Teens” Advocate for Youth. 28 Mar 2007
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The Official Website of the United States Postal Service. The United States Postal Service. 1 April.2007
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The Official Website of the United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Mar.2007. 18 Apr.2007
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“Sex Education: Start Discussions Early.” CNN.com. 7 Jun 2005. 30 Mar 2007 .
“Sex Education that Works.” 15 Mar. 2007. AVERT Organization. 25 Mar. 2007 .
Sternberg, Steve. “USA's Youth at High Risk for Venereal Diseases.”
USATODAY.com 24 Feb 2004. 20 Mar 2007
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“Teen Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy and Childbearing: General Facts and Stats.” Teenpregnancy.org Nov 2006. 21 Apr 2007
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Strasburger, C Victor. “Teen Pregnancy Rates in the USA” CoolNurse.com 21 Apr 2007 .
Wagoner, James. “Teens Need Information, Not Censorship.” Advocate for Youth. 12 June 2001. 28 Mar 2007
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2007年4月24日火曜日

The solving problems

It was interesting to go to the meeting and listened to people from all over the world. I saw many friends there and i was suprised.I really enjoyed it.
This proposal essay is the hardest of all!!!need a lot of reserach!!!

2007年4月10日火曜日

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

My topic is sex education in schools in the United States. My main questions are if sex education should be taught in schools and when it is appropriate for children to start attending sex education. Sex education has been a big issue in the United States and it is a serious problem that we have to focus on. The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world and this is going to keep increasing unless we do something about it. This is mostly caused by a lack of sex education for teens and ignorance about contraception. In addition, I found a new issue when I was researching that it is difficult for schools to teach sex educations in schools.
One of the reasons for this is because some parents do not think that sex education should be taught in schools. Another reason is because President Bush called for abstinence-only sex education and has the power to withhold funding, so many schools are staying away from sex education.
I organized my sources starting with sources containing facts in the United States, especially focused on teens. These sources have information on STDs and they also say how STDs are easily spread to other people and how they influence the economy in the United States. I also listed a source talking about the difficulty to teach sex education in schools. I wanted to bring up this issue as a question to answer. I believe that sex education is necessary and good for teens to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs and save their lives. I listed a source which includes an overview of sex education after the facts that I explained above to give details about sex education including what sex education is and what it teaches to children. After the overview of sex education, I listed a source with facts assuming sex education is taught in schools, it would reduce the numbers of teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs to state my opinion. In addition, it is important to understand how teens develop physically and mentally. I included a source as an overview and the facts of sex education groups. As a second question, I put the answers for when sex education is appropriate for children to start learning. I believe that it is appropriate for children before they are teens to start learning sex education. I listed a source that has information about why it is good to start learning from an early age to state my opinion. At the very last, I listed the source that has experts’ suggestions to help find proposal to solve these issues.
I have about fifteen more sources that I did not manage to include. I would like to use them to help write my final project. While I was conducting research, I found that sex education at home is a big key for children including teens. Learning sex education from their own parents is the best way to learn and it is a big influence to children. The final goal of this issue is to reduce teen pregnancy and the spreading of STDs rates in the United States after all. I am thinking about including this important key for my final project as well. I believe the sources I listed are great sources to find out about sex education in the United States and these would help to write my final project.

Sternberg, Steve. “USA's youth at high risk for venereal diseases.”
USATODAY.com 24 Feb 2004. 20 Mar 2007.

This news article starts with an amazing fact that makes you want to read more. It says, “One of every two young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by age 25.” It talks about many facts from research about teen sexual situations and conditions. It has another point saying that “Nearly 90% of young adults get three diseases: human papillomavirus (HVP), chlamydia and trichomonas, which often go undetected.” It suggests using condoms to prevent from spreading STDs or getting STDs from someone else. The USATODAY is the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States and it has been for over 20 years. The way they write is easy to read and the information is trustworthy. This news is interesting to read and useful for us to know.

Wagoner, James. “Teens Need Information, Not Censorship.” Advocate for Youth. 12 June 2001. 28 Mar 2007.

This article is saying how dangerous America is now. The number of people who are getting transmitted STDs and becoming pregnant are increasing in America. The U.S.A has the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world. The author has a big concern about this fact and he is suggesting people do something about this issue. This website was established in 1980 for young people to make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. This website is a non-profit website and they truly want to solve the problems of adolescent sexual health. The articles they have are interesting to read because they use a lot of facts that impact readers and makes them read the articles. I say the information they have is accurate and article is easy to read.

“Education in the United States.” Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 29 Mar 2007. 30 Mar 2007.

It talks about the overview of Education in the United States including history and related issues. In these issues contents, sex education is included. Sex education is a big issue in the United States and many schools attempt to avoid the study as much as possible because of the President Bush has called for abstinence-only sex education and he has the power to withhold funding. There are a number of surveys and facts about how many people agree or disagree with this issue. This website is written by people who want to write meaning anyone can. The information they have is current since it is updated thousands of times an hour. One of my concerns is that according to wikipedia, they say that “Many issues on specific matters are written by professionals or have firsthand knowledge on the subjects”. I do no know how we can know if the issue is written by professionals, if it is trustworthy. It is a good resource to start with when you look for something, to get an idea what it is.

“Sex education that works.” 15 Mar. 2007. AVERT Organization. 25 Mar. 2007.

This website provides information about HIV, AIDS, Sex and other related issues and it is regularly updated. Most readers are from the UK and USA, and this website is the most accessed HIV & AIDS website in Europe, and is in the global top three. In November 2005, AVERT.org was selected by the British Medical Association as the winner of the BMA Patient Information Award for Websites. The website was praised by judges for being “very well referenced, information rich and possessing a clean look”. This website is an excellent website to learn about issues of Sex. The information they have is accurate and current. This website helps people to learn, protect themselves and save people’s lives. It is a major educational and informational tool, shaping decisions and providing information for anyone, from individuals, to governments, to journalists and to teachers.

Likoudis, James. "Sex Education Programs Are Ineffective at Reducing Teen Pregnancy." Sex Education. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. At Issue Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thomson Gale. Gateway Community College (AZ). 28 Mar. 2007 .

This article proves teen sexual risk taking is reduced by attending schools, using facts from researchers. It also talks about how schools reduce sexual activity among teens by considering teen’s characteristics. This article was written by Douglas Kirby who is a senior research scientist at ETR Associates in Scotts Valley, California. He has directed statewide and nationwide studies on adolescents and sexual activity for about twenty-five years. He has also authored over one hundred volumes, articles and chapters on adolescent sexual behavior and programs designed to change that behavior. I can say that he is an expert on the field of adolescent and sexual activity. The information in the article is accurate and has powerful facts from researchers. There is a lot of information that helps you to understand the facts of adolescents in school.

Feldman, Robert, Ed. “Social and Personality Development in Adolescence.” Child Development. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. 439 – 469.
This book discussed personality and social development. Adolescence brings about major changes in the ways in which individuals must deal with the world including how they form their views of themselves. This book also discusses relationships with the family, peers and other influences during adolescence. It considers sexual behavior, standards of adolescents’ sex lives and issues of teenage pregnancy. This book was written by an expert of child development and information in this book is regularly edited to be current. This book is used by many different colleges in the United States. This book is an excellent book for learning about adolescence.

“Earlier sex education could avert later social problems.” Academic Search Premier. 20 Oct 2006.Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.

This article suggests that children should be given sex education earlier because they are going through puberty earlier. This is based on the research from Liverpool John Moores University. The researchers claim that if children received information earlier in their school life on alcohol abuse, unprotected sex and self-harm, they could be avoided. This article is from the education website and it was written by a specialist in the field. All the articles on the website were written by experts. This is a short article but it has the strong points that I agree with and the information they have is trustworthy.

Silverberg, Cory. “When should sex education start?.” About.com. 20 Mar 2007.
30 Mar 2007.

This website helps parents to know how to deal with their own child while teaching sex education. It talks about how important it is to teach sex education and it tells you how to do it at every age. The article has examples on how to teach children of different ages so it is easy to read and understand. This article was written by Cory Silverberg who is an AASECT certified sex educator, author, sexuality media contributor and researcher. He has an honors BA in psychology and a Masters degree in counseling psychology. For both degrees his area of research was sexuality; specifically sexuality and attachment theory and sexuality and disability. He is an expert in this field. The way he writes is understandable and he writes with both perspectives as parents and as educators. This is a good resource for parents and educators.

“Sex education: Start discussions early.” CNN.com. 7 Jun 2005. 30 Mar 2007.

This article helps parents to teach sex to their children and it tells you why it is important to tell them at an early age. The article also tells what children are thinking at each age and what parents or educators should tell them about sex. This article encourages parents to be open, be honest and talk about sex with their children from younger ages. This article is actually written by the Mayo Clinic staff who has abroad knowledge of the field. This website is trying to help people to manage their health by providing useful and up-to-date information and tools that reflect the expertise. They are experts on human’s health and it is a good website for parents and educators for children.

Strauss, Kandra. “The Birds, the Bees, Oh My!.”Academic Search Premier. Apr 2003. Gateway Community College (AZ). 30 Mar 2007.

This article talks about the policies of school districts on sex education and the attitude of parents toward teaching sex education in schools. It also has voices from people in the field such as teacher’s opinions and facts from researchers. This article encourages educators to play a role in helping kids make healthy choices even if abstinence-only programs have restricted sex education talks in many districts. The author of this article, Kandra Strauss, is from the NEA (National Education Association) Health Information Network. NEA is the nation’s largest professional employee organization and it helps educators while being a volunteer-based organization. The article is a good resource for educators to know the facts of how to teach sex education in schools.

2007年3月27日火曜日

concerning?

Researching takes a lot of time. Seems like there are not enough time for research, but I am trying to get information as much as I can and I will chose the best resources for the essay. The hardest part of this process is finding the specific information I want!!!

2007年3月24日土曜日

game

I really enjoyed the game we had for the finding how to write bibilography.
It was exciting and i could learn how to write bibilography at the same time!
and we won! yeah. i think that was the best time ever in the ENG102 class!!!

Starting Reaserch Paper!!

It took me a long time to write the research paper!!! I was so frustrated when i was looking for resorces... but once i started writing the essay, i started to enjoy writing. It was fun to organize the essay and write about Nova(The biggest English company in Japan). Oh another thing, I never wrote the bibliography so i had to go to the Learning Center few times. The learning center is really helpful!

2007年3月21日水曜日

ENG102

To be honest, I am scared of English 102. I love the English language but not English reading or writing. I am still learning English but I will try my best for my satisfaction. The instructor is funny and friendly so I like the class.

2007年3月20日火曜日

My Reflection and letter

February 6, 2007

7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22108-0605　

Dear USA TODAY

I strongly agree that we are exposed to too many hours of TV, video games, computers and other media each day. It is effecting children such as their growth, weight and grades.

They have the expectation to be constantly entertained and, if the children are not entertained, they quickly lose interest. I remember when I was a child, the classes were boring for me and didn’t want to learn anything unless the class was entertaining.

In today’s society, it is a fact that television is highly desired in the life of most children and adults. Many people acquire information from television in real time and we should use this important media after examining the good points and bad points of television.

Sincerely,

My Reflection

When I first came to the United States, I was surprised to see how many TV channels were on television in the United States. In my country, we have 12 or fewer channels of television. You can get cable TV in my country but it is not as common. I was wondering why TV is so popular in this country and why there are so many channels to watch. I think there are far too many personally. I want to research how television and other media are effecting people in the United States, especially children, since my learning is focused in the filed of childhood education. I included ethos, logos, pathos, context, purpose and audience in my essay as I wrote.

I have researched this subject for a while on the internet, at school and by going to the library; I found that television is not the only media that effecting to children. Video games, computers and other media also appear to greatly effect children. In fact, it has become harder over the last ten years to keep children’s attention. The children’s expectation is to be constantly entertained and, if they are not entertained, they quickly lose interest. I remember when I was a child, I was not interested in anything. Classes were boring for me and I did not want to learn anything unless the class was entertaining. I am almost 24 years old and I am talking about quite a while ago. What do you think about the children now? I do not think children have changed; or if they have, they have become worse.

There were not many types of media in the old days. Children were playing outside instead of watching TV or they were playing games inside. From the research I looked at, computer use and watching television did not seem to affect grades, but more time playing video games and less time reading were linked to poorer grades. In the USA TODAY, it stated that “half of children have a video game player in their rooms; more than two-thirds have TV sets.” It is easy for them to play games which they are interested in and use their concentration there instead of studying. Interestingly, scores on intelligence tests have been steadily rising since the 1940s. These tests measure a child’s ability to shift and divide attention, but they also cover problem-solving and comprehension skills. They are smarter than their elders. I see a lot of children who instant-messaging, plugged into an iPod and doing homework at the same time. Some evidence suggests that these children’s brains might be changing so they juggle and concentrate better than their elders.

It is sad that children are this way because of the media we have now. They could be doing better if we had less media since they are more capable than before.　　　Sadly, Children are influenced easily by media and TV has had the most influence on them. Television effects their behavior and it may give them the wrong information about real life. “The Simpson” is the good example. It is a cartoon that has be on for years now. What if children believe that what they do is ok? I think that what they do is sometimes mean and very wrong and is made more for adult to watch and it is suppose to be funny to adults. In addition, violent video games and TV have been shown to encourage aggressive behavior. I have strong feelings against violent video games. Some of them are so real and these events could happen in the actual real life. I see a lot of news where people are killing people. The murderers are mostly individuals who really into violent video games and their reasons for killing are usually because they want to feel or see what it is like to kill a real person not only the people on the computer in violent video games. It makes me mad when I see some children pretending to shoot people and then laughing about it. I think it is awful.

I know that media is part of our lives now. The greatest charm of television is the synchronism of news. Thanks to television, news of a case that happened in a very far off country reaches instantly all over the world and the situation in that country comes to be seen by all of us through television. In addition, television spreads the standard language of a certain country, and it is advantageous in that it opens cultural knowledge. Unfortunately, I also found that television effects our health. People now have worse posture than they used to. This is from watching TV a lot, stresses from watching TV all day, and not having enough exercise. This leads to getting a stiff back, headaches, and backaches. This is not an issue for just an adult. This is an issue for children as well. In addition, people who watch TV more than two hours a day have a 23% risk of being overweight and also a 14% higher risk of getting diabetes compared to people who do not watch TV. These risks double as time watching TV doubles. If you watch TV four hours a day, you have a 46% risk of being overweight. People who watch TV are more likely to eat something while doing so, and they do not exercise as much. For children, it is possible that this may affect a child’s growth before they reach adulthood. Because of the lack of exercise, children develop muscles and sense of balance more slowly. In addition, it could lead to failure of their eyesight from watching a big screen for a long time. Eyes need to be relaxed once in a while, but watching TV for a long time makes the eyes tired.

My purpose of writing this letter is that I wanted to people to realize how much media we use each day and how bad it really is for us. Also, I wanted to tell people that media is not always bad but when we use media, we should know why we are using the media; purpose, is very important. We know that it is not good to watch television for a long time and it will effect your behavior, thoughts, lifestyles and health. In today’s society, it is a fact that television is highly desired in the life of children and adults. Many people acquire information from television in real time. We should use this important media with an understanding of the good points and bad points of television.

When I wrote my letter, I was thinking about my actual audience: instructor and blog readers. The ideal audience would be an editor，parents who have children and students themselves. I would deeply to get the attention from them so I tried to write with simple sentences and easy vocabulary. Also I needed to be careful with the words I use. I can not use words which might make them uncomfortable to read or not be able to understand. My sentences have to be clear and I must make sure that they understand what I mean.

On the whole, it was difficult to write in this letter everything I wanted to say and convey everything I wanted readers to understand. I hope that I can give them an opportunity to get interested in and think about it. I hope this may change their behavior and everyday lives.

2007年3月19日月曜日

research essay

Nova

According to Wikipidia and Nova company, Nova is the biggest private English school in Japan with over 640 branch locations and approximately 50% of the total market share. Nova established its first small office in 1981 in Osaka (“Nova: company”). Everyone who lives in Japan knows Nova. Nova schools are everywhere and they are constantly advertising themselves on television. I have met many Nova teachers or ex-Nova teachers in Japan. Based on my experiences, 99% of employees are not happy with the company and many of these individuals complain openly about Nova. In addition, I have Japanese friends who currently attend a Nova school. I do not see them learning English. I believe that Nova is a bad English company for three reasons: focusing on only getting students, having bad management and treating their employees badly.

First, Nova’s focus is getting students to attend, rather than on teaching them. They understand the Japanese culture well and use it to their advantage. In Japan, education is very important. “Japan is probably the country with the largest number of preparatory schools in the world” said Namiko Abe. Most elementary, junior high and high school students go to cram school after public school. Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities. The standard education received at school alone is not enough to survive examination war in Japan (Abe). English is part of the cram school curriculum. English has become a big part of Japanese society. We believe that English is necessary for us to learn. Most schools teach English from junior high through high school; some of them begin instruction in elementary school now. English is a required subject. In public schools, they focus on the skills of reading and writing. Many students cannot speak or comprehend English properly (Abe). Nova focuses on a student’s speaking and listening skills. They advertise that they have only native English speaking teachers. Most Japanese believe that native English speaking teachers are the best to learn English from. Nova doesn’t really care who they are which I do not agree with. I believe that learning English from native English speakers is better than learning English from Japanese instructors who speak English. I know there are a lot of Japanese English teachers that speak English with a Japanese accent. However, Japanese explanations are sometimes necessary, especially for beginners who just start learning English. For example, if beginner adult students cannot speak English at all, they have no idea what is going on or what the teachers are talking about in English. How can they learn English if they do not know any English, without any Japanese explanation? It is better for Japanese teachers in these cases to teach English with Japanese explanations.

Nova has also increased the number of students through advertisement. Commercials affect a lot of people. They make unique commercials that are very catchy. They also created a character called “Nova rabbit.” He is funny and cute in the commercial. Many Japanese find that the Nova rabbit is cool. They choose Nova instead of other English schools so that they can get a Nova rabbit doll. You might not believe this because this sounds silly; however, this is happening. Half of my friends who go to Nova have decided to go there just because they think that the rabbit is cool. This rabbit is the center of a big fashion trend now. In addition, my friends who teach at Nova tell me that students decide to go to Nova for this same reason. Most people who decided to go to Nova for this reason do not try to learn English there. Nova also hires people to hand out free tissues and leaflets to students.

Second, management is not good for their students. They have a ticket system. As you buy more tickets, the tickets get cheaper. One normal class needs one ticket. For a one to one class you need three to four tickets. For example, if you buy 25 tickets, one ticket is $35. If you buy 600 tickets, one ticket is only $10. These tickets have expiration dates; when it expires depends on how much you buy. Most students who decided to go to Nova plan to buy just a few tickets; instead they end up buying more than they planned. They tell you that you can get a refund on the tickets that you do not use. Once you decid to get your refund, they do not give you the correct amount of money that you are supposed to get. I found in the news that, “Government authorities have rapped the knuckles of private English school chain Nova Corp. for allegedly shortchanging students on refunds and providing false accounts of its cancellation policy” (“Nova probed”). For the classes you take, students are divided into levels by their abilities in conversational English. From lowest to highest are 7C, 7B, 7A, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 (“Nova: English”). They use the same method in every class and every level from beginning to advanced (Caversham). If Nova truly wants to help students to learn, they should make different methods for each level. The worst part that really frustrates me is that any native English speaker who has a college degree in any subject, it does not matter who they are, can be a teacher at Nova. Most people who cannot get a job anywhere go to Nova (Caversham). They hire anyone if they are a native English speaker. They do not need to know about teaching. I am in the field of teaching and I believe that teachers need to have knowledge of teaching and education. Nova does have three days of training for the teachers (Bruckbauer). How much can you learn in three days? To get a teaching associate degree, a person needs to go to school for at least two years. Most teachers cannot answer properly when students ask questions like “What is the difference between see and look?” or “When do you use to and for?” Moreover, the teachers get no time for preparing lessons. They have a ten minute break between a class and another class. In those ten minutes, they have to write comments on each student, what they learned and what was bad about them; also they have to prepare for the next class (Harmon). What if they have to go to the bathroom? How quickly can they go to the bathroom? I believe preparing for a class is very important and it takes a lot of time. As you can guess, the class is not going to be any better if the preparing time is only ten minutes.

Finally, Nova does not treat employees well. Most of my friends who were working at Nova were trying to find another job. Nobody stays with Nova for a long time. Nova is always looking for teachers and they advertise for teachers every week in the Japan Times which is the most common newspaper in Japan for English speakers (Caversham). Actually pay is not too bad at Nova. English teachers in Japan get about $2,000 to $2,500 per month which you can live comfortably off of in Japan (Bruckbauer). However, English teachers in Japan get paid higher than the average Japanese salary. Nova can be considered to have the worst pay rate out of English schools. Also, Nova stands for “No vacations” to foreigners who teach English in Japan (Harmon). They do not get national holidays. Teachers get 10 paid days off after they work for six months; however, in reality they cannot get holidays because of a lack of teachers. I remember my friends were complaining that if they take their holidays, other coworkers have to work overtime so they could not take vacations. Japanese employees get treated even worse. Japanese employee’s positions are only for management or advertisements. They get paid from $1,800 to $2,000 a month (“Nova: recruitment”). They work from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. They do not get paid overtime, as we call “service overtime work.” They have to deal with managing customer’s complaints and employee’s complaints. They are always pressured to get new students by the headquarters. One of my friends was a manager at Nova and she lost ten pounds in a month because she was miserable working there. Surprisingly, many people apply for that position because they can get the benefit of learning English for free. As you may know now, learning English is expensive in Japan. Nova takes advantage of that and not many people stay for a long time (Harmon).

I do not think that I want to be a student at Nova or even work there. They have been successfully getting more and more students and getting profits. However, they are not focused on how to make student successfully. They are focused on how to get more students and how to make the company bigger. From my perspective, I see them as bad company. I believe they will be better if they change their teaching method, get more Japanese teachers to assist English teachers and treat their employees better.