As an eikaiwa owner and operator in Osaka, it was refreshing to read Mr. Richard Smart's views in his article "Small schools offer hope amid eikaiwa slump" (Zeit Gist, Nov. 2).
For over a year now, I and a dedicated group of eikaiwa owner/operators have been trying hard to reverse the perception that the eikaiwa (English conversation school) industry in Japan is in its death throes before becoming extinct. Our collective view is that "eikaiwa" (actually meaning "English conversation") has always been the reserve of the smaller owner-operated institutions rather than the realm of the big school chains, and that this sector is doing fine considering the overall economic situation.
The smaller schools are generally the ones that bring innovation and new themes to the industry here in Japan. English language with music, cooking, theater, sports and games are all areas in which the small eikaiwas do well but which the big operators can never do with as much success. The simple answer to why they can't was illustrated well in Mr. Smart's article: The big operators are too focused on their financial bottom line to care about the students themselves and provide something new in the classroom.