Peppys Kids Club Help

Hi Simon,

PKC hasn't inform me on location too. Really would like to know soon, so I can do a bit more research. Where abouts are you from? The interview was daunting but fun.
Drop me an email if you like, mixbag333@yahoo.com.au

I worked for Peppy Kids for 5 years, starting back in the late 90's. There is good and bad to the job. The best part of the expereince is living in Japan, sometimes the job gets in the way of life in Japan, if you know what i mean. I looked at it as a way to survive. You are a just a number or a cog in the big wheel of PKC and Chuoh Publishing. In the end after all the blood, sweat and tears, they don't care about you, you are just yesterday's newspaper.

The company grew very quickly, espcially when I was there in the late 90's. They never seemed to be able to keep up with the growth and handle the company in a professional manner. There are many reasons for this which I won't get into on here.

Whatever you decide to do good luck. Just remember you are on your own.

HI, i was just wondering how much experience people have/had on their resumes, or how much education they had when applying for PKC. I really want to apply there but fear that i have little experience/education... or more so, i dont have a degree. Just wondering if other people have been accepted without one. I read that they dont require one on the PKC application, but then are the chances of the hiring you very slim? Thnaks for the help!

I am a Nova teacher, and have been for several month's now. While I have never heard of Peppy's, I do know that Nova doesn't always have the best reputation. I think every school has its and downs. I have never had to teach children, although I may have to start in a month or so. Even then, it's only one or two classes a day. I'm on the 34 lessons a week plan. the pay is ok, the apartment is a bit expensive, but any travel costs are paid immediately when a request is made. If you have to go to another school for a day for overtime, or to fill in for someone, you just go to your branch, tell them how much you spent, sign a voucher and get your money at the desk. Upon arrival in Japan, if it's a good distance to your school and you get in in the evening, they put you up in a nice hotel for free with a cheap but very nice breakfast. The hotel for training is free, but not always as good. If you don't like working in a branch school, or don't like your city, you can apply for a transfer fairly soon. There are options for teaching in public schools as an ALT if you prefer that. I like the branch, my classes usually are 1 or two people, at most 4, but rarely that many. Most are adults, and most want to be there. The lessons are structured, but once you get the hang of things, you don't have to follow the lesson very closely if you don't want to. I also teach a Voice class several times a week, where you just go into a big room, anyone can come in, and just practice talking. Sometimes we play games, sometimes I introduce a topic and let them talk. I get to sit back and relax, correct grammar occasionally, and answer any questions. If I want a three day weekend, I just find someone willing to trade shifts. The apartments vary, I currently have an apartment to myself, only saw a total of two cockroaches in three months.
This is not to say there are no downsides. Some supervisors are better than others. Mine is very good. Some teachers have discipline problems with the children. but that seems to be the same in any school where children are taught.

Ok, this post may not be of use to those who have now decided over Nova or Peggy but for those who may have to decide at a later date then I would like to give some info with regarding working for Nova and working in Japan in general.
People who dont work for Nova, whether they have quit way back in time or whether they have never ever been a nova employee are very quick to blag about how crap the company is. I have worked there for over a year now and yes the company does not have a good reputation but if i take a look at the people around me who tell me day in and day out that im making a mistake working for Nova, I can see that I am actually better off than them. I dont have to travel so far, the teachers I work with are great, the training is good and you are continually trained. Lessons are observed from time to time which on one hand can be a pain in the neck if you get uptight about these kind of things but its also good becuase they help you identify your weak areas, they will provide you with help to get better and improve your teaching methods. Your lessons are all written out for you so you never need to worry about what you are going to teach. This doesnt mean that it is boring though. If you are a good teacher and if you are interested in teaching then you can extend the lesson plans and incorporate your own ideas. I would definently recommend first time english teachers to join Nova first to further their teaching english of a foreign language abilities. The pay is good too but yes the NO VAcations is true. You get 10 days vacation in your first year and u need to work public holidays if they are not on your days off, however, with Nova you can do shift swaps which means you can take that time you want to go travelling and still not use up any of your holidays and then at new year you get 8 paid holidays too. Im a hard worker but i like my fun too. I like going out into town and getting legless and then i dont need to start work until the next afternoon.
I think people are very quick to bad mouth Nova but to be honest, i think alot of the people who do moan about it are just so lazy to find themselves a better job. If you hate Nova that much then stop working for them and find yourself another job and if you are still deciding which company to go for, just remember that alot of the people who say bad things about Nova are probably just time wasters who have never worked a good days work before. If you know you are a good worker, then I really do recommend Nova. From a Japanese perspective it is a highly recommended company so it may help you later in life if you decide to work for another company.

I know many people wont agree with me here but im stating my opinion and i think its about time someone informs prospective esl teachers thats its not all bad working for Nova. Ive had the best time with them and met loads of new poeple.

Sorry, meant peppys and not peggys....
gomen

Greetings all, the majority of the posts highlights that training was "hell" - can someone please elaborate on the 2 week training that PKC provides, my training starts on the 14th November and would like to know what I'm in for.

Also, many have said you're considered to be insignificant to the company whilst under their employment. Apart from finding another school or company, is there any suggestions to making my term of employment with PKC much easier such as how to handle the admin people or who I should go to immediately?

Hi. I can tell you about my personal experience with the training for PKC. I was expecting it to be complete hell, but it was no where near that. Yes, the days were long and at times quite intense, but I was lucky to be with an awesome group, so a lot of the training was so much fun. Our trainer was so nice and as relaxed as can be.
Basically you learn about each level of curriculum and then have to demo a part of it to the rest of the class. In the second week, you get to go into actual Peppy classrooms and get to observe and teach. It was nervewracking at first, but complely worth it. I was personally very grateful for the 2 weeks of training. It was an awesome way to start working and experiencing a new country with a group of people in the same shoes.

I currently work for Peppy and let me warn you all that many of the things posted are simply not true. BE WARNED. This is a good company for the most part but there are many bad things about the company as well. You are pretty much isolated for most of your time in Japan and you get little support. That can be really hard on most people. You are essentially a hermit until you can make friends and trust me, it ain't always easy to make friends with Japanese people. I have known teachers to be isolated because they were Black and others quit because they couldn't take the lack of support. I am very lucky because the teachers I work with and my performance supervisor is great.

If you are even late ONCE you can be fired. I AM SERIOUS and this is probably the biggest problem with this company. Since you are alone and are responsible for opening and closing a school with no one else around it is very important you come on time. But that also means that you can experience a whole lot of problems that are beyond your control. The majority of teachers will be put in rural areas where there is no one around if you get into trouble. Remember that, it should be a major concern.

The company is cheap like someone mentioned. It seems like a big company but it is very small compared to a place like Nova. There are only 300 something native teachers that work for the company in any given year. The classrooms are old and sometimes the heaters don't work properly. I've even taught in a class where the heater didn't work at all! Not fun!

Teaching kids is VERY hard work. I don't give a damn what anyone has written on these forums. If you want you can come in and do a cr*p job but if you want to be a good teacher you will have to work hard. It's very difficult to deal with kids who rebel and treat you like crap too. Remember this - you will have bad classes. Classes in which kids will try their best to mess with your head. Can you handle that? I have had kids punch and kick me, I've even had a kid spit on me. It's not all fun and games. I am happy to say though that the good classes outweigh the bad classes.

So to summarize, if you can handle isolation, misbehaving kids and never be late I think you will enjoy working for Peppy. Yes the company doesn't give a damn about its employees but most eikawas don't either. Considering all things it is a pretty good company to work for.

If you have anymore questions, post em and I'll try and help. Good luck to everyone!

Peppy_Gaijin

I'm from vancouver and going to be working with Peppykids for the mar/20/06 season & I was wondering who else was going next month from van.
agentmeme@hotmail.com

I am going on June 20, do you know where you are being placed ^^vacouver is it in or near one of your preferred locations you gave them?

is it an advantage to be japanese and speak it fluently and be able to speak english, im from bc, but i dont have a college degree. im planning to go there, make some money and go to school there. help anyone?

Hi Everyone,

I have applied for Peppy (despite some of the negativities here) and have the following questions.

What area in Kansai is the best in terms of commuting times?

Do they have various start dates for new recruits throughout the year? I am hoping to start (should I be accepted) mid 2006 as I am planning to travel to Europe.

Fingers crossed I get the position!!!!

Thanks in advance.

Peppy Hopeful

Has anyone on this forum been employed by peppy kids club in 2006. And what was training like and is there a test?

Ahhhh, Now i am a little worried after reading all the negative things about pkc. I will find out this week if i have been successfull and if so will be in japan in 7-weeks. There is always a good and bad side to everything. I have always been very passionate about Japan even though i have never been there. I would hate to be let down by pkc and the whole experience. IS THERE ANYONE WITH GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT PKC? post on forum or email me sarahstewart355@hotmail.com

Hi everyone, I'm leaving for Japan in May for training with Peppy Kids Club. Like Sarah, I'd appreciate any insight on what to expect when I get there (positive or negative). Also, I'll be working in Toyohashi City (Aichi prefecture) after training so if anyone knows anything about this small city, please let me know. It's been difficult finding a lot of information on the internet. Thanks in advance. :)

Hi, does anybody know about the Yamaguchi Prefecture with P-Kids? Pros and Cons? Any advice/information would be very helpful. Thanks!

Hi,

Just wondering I have been reading bout the WHV and tax rates. Someone said that with the 20% tax rate on your income you can barely live, is this true?

And also I am moving with my fiance who is japanese, does PKC allow for non-teaching partners to live in the rental apartments?

NO. you can NOT live with a NON PKC person in our apartments.

Hi, thanks for writing the response about Yamaguchi Prefecture - it was quite helpful. However, it has been removed. Is it possible to re-post your answer? If not, is there anyone else that read the response, who can corroborate the posting? Thanks!