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【共同社紐約11月2日電】美國《華爾街日報》2日在頭版報道了日本的英語會話學校NOVA破產後美國教師遭受的窘境。
據報道，一名28歲美國男教師從9月起被拖欠工資，目前帳戶內僅存20美元。他必需借債方能購買回國機票，目前進退維谷。
日本最大補習班Nova倒閉 4000多名老外成流浪教師
鉅亨網編譯林賴穗／綜合外電‧11月2日
2007 / 11 / 02 星期五 15:20
Gordon 5年前開始展開他的異國美夢，不料竟在瞬間成為泡沫。他的雇主－Nova Corp.從 9月開始停付他薪水。遭到日本政府取締的Nova在上週結束營運，同時申請法院保護。銀行戶頭只剩下20美元，現年28歲的Gordon表示他現在全賴信 用卡維生，「還好我有一個大冰箱，裡面還有一些食物。」他說，「我還不想要回到德拉瓦州 Milford的老家，因為我連機票錢都沒有。」
Nova因為爆發日本外語教師界多年來的最大一起醜聞，為其效命的4000多名外語教師全被掃到，即將面臨失業，Gordon亦是其中一名。這家在日本以 屁股搖擺的粉紅兔廣告而聞名的外語補習班，雇用的外籍教師人數眾多，還在美國及英國成立招募辦公室，到當地各大專院校徵求外文教師。
Nova風格特異的創辦人Nozumu Sahashi，上周被公司解除總裁職務，隨即消聲匿跡。由法院指派的一名官員聲稱，公開上市的Nova，被 56歲的Sahashi五鬼搬運，悄悄將獲利轉到他的私人公司。Nova的管理人員現在正急著要找到贊助廠商來幫助公司恢復營運。
Nova的教師現在全成了無業遊民，那些依賴每月薪水維生的教師，全都被卡在日本。有鑒於Nova已經在幾個月前停止為他們支付房租，有些老師被威脅必須 搬出他們居住的公寓。上周有300名 Nova的外籍教師擠在東京西區一向井然有序的就業輔導辦公室，尋求就業機會。
日本某個工會計畫為這些落難教師安排，讓他們透過授課換取食宿。澳洲政府乍聞該國有這麼多人受到影響，特別和該國Qantas Airways Ltd（澳洲航空）簽訂協議，針對澳洲在日本受難的教師提供返回雪梨的廉價單程機票。
現年23歲的Nova教師Matya Sheppard來自加拿大，他說他並不期望能夠找到新的工作，因為日本市場已經充斥太多外籍英文老師了。他已經掏空他所有的積蓄，支付在日本的食宿和其他開支。
來自美國費城的Nova教師Kristen Moon，現年23歲，她說她現在沒有任何人可以交談，「我好像住在監獄，我擔心我東京的住所會被剝奪。」Moon畢業自紐西蘭的大學，為了體驗新的生 活，她於今年 5月來到日本。現在的她靠著為幾名Nova學生擔任家教，勉強還能維生。
英語會話學校在日本是一個賺錢的行業。數以百萬的日本人夢想能夠說英文。不過日本初高中的教育強調文法，而非會話，因此只有少數人能把英文說的流利。根據 日本外語教育促進協會的統計，日本該項產業每年產值高達35億美元，投入的公司有1100多家，學生人數大約200萬人。
大阪出生的Sahahi在1981年成立Nova，推銷手法獨樹一格。他向客戶承諾，Nova的老師都是母語為英文的外籍人士，補習班的收費也只有對手學 校的一半或更少。他標榜Nova的課程收費和電影票一樣便宜，所以學生隨時可以前去上課，跟上酒吧沒兩樣。不過有一個條件，要享受每40分鐘課程大約 13.50美元的最廉價學費，學生必須預付600堂課的費用。
過去已有數千名Nova學生向消費者保護機構投訴。《華爾街日報》指出，今年 6月，日本政府有效禁止了Nova關鍵產品－大型預付折價券的販售，結果造成Nova資金周轉不靈，7月時 Nova開始跳票，公司被逼得走投無路，在上周五向東京法院申請破產。
其結果是造成像是Mari Matsunami等Nova的學生剩下一大堆預付券。現年39歲，擔任會計工作的她表示，我希望會有贊助商願意承接，讓Nova繼續運作下去，我才能把 我的預付券用完。 Matsunami已經在Nova上了10年的英文課，她說她持有的預付券價值大約1300美元。
在中國經營 100間語言學校的歐洲語言學校EF English First，上周在網路上對Nova的老師發布一封公開信，表示該學校有意雇用1000名的老師到中國任教。提供的報酬包括，到中國的免費機票，以及兩周導引課程期間的旅館住宿費。
剛自學校畢業的Sam Gordon，買了一張單程機票飛到東京，前去探索日本的異國文化，同時在當地最大的語言學校Nova兼教英文。他通過簡單的面試，很輕易的便得到了那份工作。
Former Nova boss oblivious to people's anguish
11/03/2007
While Japan rushed headlong into modernizing in the wake of the 1868 Meiji Restoration, Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929) was sent to the United States to study. She was just 6 years old. When she returned to Japan 11 years later, she was shocked by the low social status of Japanese women. This inspired her to establish Joshi Eigaku Juku (Women's institute for English studies) in 1900, the predecessor of present-day Tsuda College in Tokyo.
At the institute's inaugural ceremony, Tsuda exhorted her students to become "all-around women," not just proficient in English.
All educators ought to be driven by such a sense of mission and idealism. But this is obviously not the case with Nozomu Sahashi, former president of Nova Corp., the failed operator of a major chain of English conversation schools. Sahashi reportedly pocketed huge profits by supplying teaching equipment to Nova at grossly inflated prices. He is also suspected of having sold off all his shares in a Nova-group company before Nova filed for bankruptcy protection last week. It appears that his primary mission was to line his own pockets.
Sahashi has since gone into hiding, leaving everyone else in purgatory. Unless another company comes forward to take over the failed chain, some 300,000 students and instructors will be left high and dry. There are said to be about 70 billion yen in lesson fees already paid in advance by the students. How will the money be managed?
As proof that Sahashi treated the company as though it was his private property, the bankruptcy administrator recently disclosed his "presidential office" on television, a penthouse unit in a 20-story building in Osaka with panoramic views of the city. The windows are dressed with scarlet drapes that open and close vertically. They reminded me of the curtains of a theater in some seedy neighborhood.
The office has a mini-bar and a Japanese tea ceremony room. There is also a "hidden room" furnished with a double bed and a sauna available for two people. The whole setup is a very far cry from the occupant's line of business, which is education.
The monthly rent of 2.7 million yen was being paid by Nova. I wonder if Sahashi enjoyed the colossal profit rolling in from his nationwide chain in the luxurious office.
On his desk sat the company's mascot--the bright pink Nova usagi, a bunny with long ears and the beak of a bird. The ears and the beak are said to symbolize the basics of mastering a foreign language, which are to listen a lot and speak a lot.
The animal is completely guiltless, of course, but I imagine many people must feel angry every time they look at its innocent face.
But Sahashi apparently has no ears to listen to these people's angry shouts, nor a beak-mouth with which to utter words of apology.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 2(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2007)
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