Job Discussion Forums

[Patrique]

I'm going in for a group interview at ECC's Toronto office this week. Has anyone here done the interview before? What is it like? Anything I should look out for?

I'm especially curious about the grammar section. How in-depth is it? Do they ask you to correct sentences, or do you have to define a noun/pronoun/adverb/etc?

Any info from anyone who's done the ECC interview would be appreciated. Thanks!

[chollimaspeed]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=41211&highlight=ecc+interview

[Mahik]

http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/teachinjapan.html

If John is giving your interview, he's a really nice guy so he should put you at ease which is good.

You should do all the stuff you should for a normal interview. Wear a suit with a tie, try to be on-time, be confident and energetic, try to stay upbeat and positive.

You'll get a lot of information and they'll be very straight forward with you (moreso than I expected). In addition to their benefits they'll also go over the drawbacks of working with ECC and although they don't go over all the negatives, it was more than what Nova, or Geos covered with me.

The Grammar test will be harder than you expect regardless of what anyone tells you imo. And regardless of how much you study unless you're a straight A english major or have retained a perfect and intimate knowledge of advanced english (mostly covered in high school). It's 100 questions multiple choice and will take perhaps an hour or so to complete. They're very subtle questions in some instances (like do you use "who" or "whom" when referring to multple individual people or asking you what's wrong with the sentence when nothing appears to be wrong [knowledge of advanced english comes into play here]).

The hardest part in my opinion was identifying the parts of speech. You read a sentence then identify if the underlined word is a preposition, adjective, present progressive, past perfect, etc. It's 1/4 of the test so it covers a lot more than the basic PoS like adjective, verb, adverb, etc. The last part is teaching terms which can easily be inferred by common sense (match "dialogue" or "roleplay" with the definition).

Even more important than the test though, is the mock lesson. You'll have about 30 minutes to put together a lesson on a given subject and about 10 minutes to execute it. You want to be energetic and confident. Try not to let it show if you're nervous and if you make a mistake, don't stop just roll with it and keep the lesson going. You'll be teaching your fellow interviewees and it is difficult because you have to assume your students have NO ENGLISH SPEAKING ability. Since you know your fellow interviewees know english this can be difficult. They want you to use as very little english as possible outside the assigned grammar. BE SURE TO READ THE LESSON AND TEACH IT AS IT IS WRITTEN. And when I say as it is written, I mean word for word. Congratulate them whenever they get it right, and try to have them interact with each other rather than you (ex. ask them the lesson question, get the answer, get them to ask someone else, and so on and so forth). Don't worry about the time, if your really rolling with it he may give you more time and try to go early (it just helps the nerves). If you do well in the lesson I think they'll overlook a poor showing on the written test (I know I did awful on the grammar test, but in the private interview I was told I had the best lesson so I think that's what got me an offer).

After that you'll have a short private interview where you'll be asked the basic questions (Why do you want to go to Japan? Do you have enough money? etc. etc.)

Just remember, energetic, upbeat, confident. Get that and you'll be fine.

[Patrique]

Thanks a ton Mahik. I'll have to start reviewing grammar rules for Thursday. Do you have any idea what percentage of applicants get accepted?

[gonzarelli]

[Mahik]

Of the 6 people at my interview session, 3 got in (including me). I'm not sure if this is indicative of their acceptance rates, but they certainly appear to be particular in who they choose. One of the interviewees told me they felt that the grammar test was a perfect score but failed the lesson miserably and was subsequently rejected. This has led me to believe the lesson is much more important.

[jenn24]

[Patrique]

I did the interview today. Here are my thoughts for future reference.

I found it true that John is very nice, helpful and encouraging.

I wasn't prepared for how formal it would be. I was the most under-dressed with a suit jacket, shirt and no tie. So make sure to wear the full get-up: pants/skirt, dress shoes, dress shirt, suit jacket, tie, etc. The group was intimidatingly good, there wasn't a single person I would single out as weak, they were all great candidates. I was one of 2 out of 6 who was from the Toronto area, the others had travelled from the US and as far as British Columbia.

The lesson: it can be intimidating, depending on the group. The best advice I could give is try to go early if you have nerves. Walk through your lesson step-by-step mentally during preparation. Don't get flustered if John interrupts your lesson with suggestions or questions - I think he does that to everyone. Take a deep breath, slow down and make sure you're focusing on the details: whether your "students" are pronunciating correctly, that your props and flash cards are displayed properly, and that you're getting the students to participate and understand every step, instead of just listing off your flash cards and skipping right on.

[Mahik]

@ jenn: Sorry, you may have misunderstood. I was an interviewee, I am not familiar with ECC's selection process. The reason I know who made it in and who didn't is because most of my interview group knew each other in passing and we all kept in touch for the most part. One person told me that they had no problem with the written test but from observing, their lesson was very weak.

@ patrique: What'd you think of the written test? I personally find it amazing that so many Toronto residents aren't familiar with the multitude of Eikaiwas with locations in Toronto. I think every organization except Berlitz has a presence there (and Berlitz doesn't recruit from abroad!).

Let us know if you're accepted and where you're going! Or let me know, I only know a few other ECC teachers in Japan.

[gonzarelli]

[Patrique]

[scorchio]

I know we are talking specifically about interviews in Toronto here, but thought it was worth a mention in case any one taking the interview in Australia is reading this.
In Australia, at least when I took the test early last year, the grammar test was so important that if you didn't pass it they wouldn't even ask you to stay to do a demo lesson or one on one interview. Quite a few people were not asked back in the afternoon. But then again they never actually tell you your grammar test results so who's to know.

[Mahik]

Yes, that's what I heard. Apparently it works differently at Toronto. There you do everything else first (intro, demo, interview) and the test is the last thing.

[chollimaspeed]

[gonzarelli]