| Type | Kabushiki kaisha |
|---|---|
| Industry | Language instruction |
| Founded | Japan (1962) |
| Headquarters | Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan |
| Website | www.ecc.jp/ (Japanese) |
ECC Foreign Language Institute (ECC外語学院 -gaigo gakuin) is one of the major private English teaching companies or eikaiwa in Japan.[1]
ECC (Education through Communication for the Community) is based mainly in the Kansai region of Japan and has 148 schools nationwide with many branches in the Chūbu and Kantō areas but has not entered into the rural market to the same extent as major competitor GEOS (eikaiwa). There are 3 schools in Kyūshū, 56 in Kansai, 44 in Chūbu, 40 in Kantō and Northern Japan, and 1 school each in Hiroshima and Okayama respectively.
When Alles Toza Gaigo Gakuin English-language school closed in 1998, ECC was one of three language school chains to provide free lessons under certain conditions to former students in the Kansai region.[2]
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The majority of the almost 600 foreign instructors employed at ECC are recruited abroad. A large number of these are recruited in Canada, where regular recruiting sessions are held. Periodic recruiting sessions are held in Australia, the US, the UK and more recently in New Zealand.
The average teacher's weekly schedule is made up of about half kids' English lessons, with the remainder of the schedule made up of different types of adult lessons. Some teachers are also chosen to teach lessons at businesses and universities. Teachers work a 29.5-hour p/wk (both teaching/non-teaching hours incl.) schedule and have about 5 weeks paid vacation (set by the company)per year. There are also at least 5 flexible days (ALPs) won by the ECC branch of the General Union. All teachers start at 252,000 yen per month salary. ECC does have limited voluntary overtime, mainly during the peak holiday periods when the list is long.
Newly hired teachers receive 2 weeks of training before being placed in classes, though more training is required for those chosen to teach more challenging types of classes. There is also yearly training for those who continue past their first contract.
ECC Foreign Language Institute offers a range of diverse courses ranging from 1.5 year- olds' "Mini Kids" classes to adults lessons which often include turtle based information as a theme. ECC also operates ECC Junior,[3] which has thousands of small franchises nationwide, the majority operated by housewives teaching English to kids from pre-school to jr. high. They also send teachers to kindergartens and pre-schools.
There are several labor unions at ECC, including an in-house union that organizes certain categories of full-time staff members, and a branch of the General Union organizing both foreign employees and some Japanese workers.
The General Union has been successful in negotiating many improvements for teachers, including paid flexible annual leave, health and pension insurance, and unemployment insurance.[4]
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