Overview

The NOVA chain of English conversation schools has NOVA branches throughout Japan. NOVA currently offers courses in nine different languages.

NOVA is a subsidiary of NOVA Holdings Group. NOVA Holdings Group operates several juku (tutoring center) chains, a home tutoring service, a design company, translation, interpretation and corporate language services, and work and study abroad programs.

Services

The NOVA brand delivers high-quality instruction and other language services to those who wish to improve their communicative proficiency in foreign languages. Students of a wide range of ages and ability levels, from complete beginner to very advanced, can choose to take small group or private lessons face-to-face in one of the many NOVA school branches throughout Japan, over a video-conferencing system or online from the comfort of their own homes, or a combination.

In addition to conversation skills-based lessons, test preparation courses are offered to students studying for specific English tests such as TOEIC or TOEFL. Also popular is our range of NOVA Plus courses. Some of these courses focus on specific skills (such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.,) and some are geared towards specific purposes (such as business or travel).

As an additional supplement to classroom-style lessons, many branches also offer a conversation practice style of lesson known as Voice. Voice provides students with an opportunity to practice what they have learned in their lessons in a supervised, but self-directed forum to help them become more accustomed to and confident communicating naturally in a second language.

For younger learners, we offer NOVA Bilingual Kids, a program developed specifically for children aged 3 to 15. Through our NOVA Bilingual Kids program, students learn to read, write and communicate confidently in English in a fun and supportive environment. The program is designed to complement what they learn in school and prepare them for future studies.

For students who are interested in languages other than English, French, German, Chinese and Korean face-to-face lessons are also taught in selected branches across Japan. Online lessons in all nine languages offered by NOVA (including English) are available through the Multimedia Center, based in Osaka.

The Multimedia Center offers both small group and private online lessons, both online and through a video conferencing system. The curriculum mirrors the classroom curriculum with the added appeal of extra audio and visuals.

NOVA students on free-booking plans can take lessons at any NOVA branch within Japan, whenever seats are available in lessons of their ability level(s). NOVA branch schools are generally open seven days a week. On regular weekdays, schools are typically open from around 1:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., and on weekends and national holidays from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Larger schools may be open from 10:00 a.m. through to 10:20 p.m. every day of the week. The Multimedia Center offers lessons up to 24 hours a day (depending on the language). This provides students who want to take lessons outside of regular branch opening hours, and also those who live in remote areas, extra scheduling options.

All textbooks used in NOVA's conversation lessons were created in-house and were designed specifically for developing communicative ability. NOVA textbooks feature full-color units with attractive pictures and drawings. The topics and situations are varied and therefore relevant to many different areas of student interest and study needs. At the lower levels, units cover a range of situations commonly encountered in daily life and when traveling (on business or vacation) and topics frequently discussed between family, friends, and acquaintances. At the higher levels, units introduce more complex and involved topics such as politics, environmental issues, and formal and less familiar situations requiring differing levels of tact and politeness. In all levels, phrases and vocabulary commonly used when discussing the given topic are presented on the unit page for the students to study and use in the lesson.

Advantages

Advantages of NOVA's learning system:
• Group class sizes are limited to a maximum of five students for adult classes and eight for NOVA Bilingual Kids classes.


• All instructors are native speakers of the respective language that they teach.


• Lessons are taught in the target language only in order to be fully immersive.


• There are many opportunities throughout the lesson to practice and apply the language being studied.


• An individual, electronic study record is maintained for each student and used to identify, monitor, and cater to individual learning needs.


• Study systems are flexible and convenient to use; students are able to combine different courses, languages and study locations.

People

Students

NOVA students come from a wide range of backgrounds. They include full-time and part-time workers, students, homemakers, returnees and retirees. As such, our students also have a wide range of reasons and goals for study, such as for overseas travel, work, and school or simply as a hobby. The educational services we offer aim to give each student what they want and need to achieve their goals. Regular NOVA classes are available for teenagers and adults of any age, and NOVA Biligual Kids lessons are available for children between 3 and 15 years old.

Staff

Area Manager/ Sub Manager

Each area is supervised by an Area Manager. They are responsible for all operations in their area as well as area growth and customer satisfaction. Area Managers and Sub Managers supervise and handle sales, staffing needs, and customer care for a group of branches within one region.

Instructor Manager / Instructor Support Manager

Instructor Managers work closely with the Area Manager to support area operations and facilitate the achievement of area growth. Instructor Support Managers work under and with the Instructor Manager and other managers in the area to help branch operations run smoothly and support instructors, Japanese branch staff and customers.

Branch staff

Branch staff responsibilities include managing daily branch operations and ongoing customer care.

Instructors

All NOVA instructors are native speakers of the language that they teach. Some begin their NOVA careers with previous experience as educators and some with no prior teaching experience. Regardless, every instructor completes a comprehensive training program before they start teaching for NOVA. The program equips them with everything they need to be able to teach high quality lessons and provide excellent customer service. All NOVA instructors are committed to meeting and exceeding student expectations and supporting student progress towards the achievement of their goals.