Job Discussion Forums

[Sadken]

Right, guys,

My interview is this weekend, Saturday until Monday, and I am really nervous. My bank holiday weekend is wrecked but I don't care too much. If I mess up, of course, my outlook may change. I am currently studying verbs, gerunds etc. and none of it makes any sense at all. A bit annoying because I never bothered with this stuff at school and reckon my grammar skills are better than most people I know but, hey, what are you gonna do?

As for the 5 minute lesson, I have decided to just bounce around a lot as if I were some sort of demented kids TV presenter and hope for the best. The fact that most of the talking should be done by the student was a revelation and has calmed my nerves quite a bit. I am a confident person and have always managed to impress people in interviews so I am, at this stage, quietly hopeful.

If all goes well I should be seeing you in Japan fairly soon.

Wish me luck.

[Glenski]

Sadken,

You have so far written the following.

[Sadken]

Well, basically, I passed my English GCSE's with 2 A's; I passed my English A level with a B after doing the course part-time for 6 months; I have a good way with kids, having grown up with a few nephews, nieces and their friends; I think I understand teaching quite well because my Mum has been a headteacher for my entire life and, most of all, I fancy a new, different and exciting opportunity and experience.

I'm suffering from pre-interview and pre-exam jitters, probably like you did. I'm an intelligent person who has adapted well to change and challenges before. I studied for my entire degree over the course of four and a half years whilst also working my way up through a law firm. Simply because I have no idea what the hell I am doing at this stage doesn't mean that I won't after a bit of practice and experience, unless you are suggesting that EFL teaching is some sort of inate ability.

Sorry to be snappy but it is a bit hard not to detect a healthy serving of condescension in that post. I do appreciate your past advice though.

What made you think you could?

[Hondo 2.0]

Just a word of advice, energy and enthusiasn will count in your favour, but you'll have to balance that with speaking s l o w l y. During a demo lesson, make a conscious effort to speak slowly.

[Glenski]

Sadken,

No offense taken about sensing some condescension. It is really hard to express one's intentions/intonation/feelings online, and I'm glad you weren't completely put off by my question. It was meant to be a sincere inquiry based on what seems to be a huge lack of any qualifications on your part, nothing more. Well, that's not true. Having worked here as long as I have, I also have run across many people who have other reasons for coming to Japan, usually bad ones.

Since I'm American, I have to admit I don't know what the GCSE is or what it entails, but I am a bit surprised that you got such high marks yet have admitted you know so little about English grammar. Puzzling. (Again, not trying to snub your achievements, I hope you realize.) Having a good way with kids will serve you well if you have kids for students, but I would caution you that you are likely to run into adults for students as well. If for no other reason, that is a good reason to invest in some TEFL training. There are other reasons.

I guess I'm a bit of a black sheep when it comes to taking interviews and exams. I don't get jittery unless I don't prepare for them. Point of fact only, not trying to sound smug. I pride myself on being as prepared as possible for many things that I face, and that helps ease the tension of the unknown.

What your mother has experienced as a headteacher will certainly give you some foundation to base your own prospective teaching on. Just be aware that teaching EFL is quite special. In itself, it does not require that "innate ability" that you mentioned, but because you are dealing with students in a different language and culture, things aren't always comparable to teaching a subject in your home country to fellow countrymen. Once again, a good reason to consider the TEFL certification. It's not just about teaching the basics of grammar.

What made me think I could teach EFL? Never had that asked of me, to be honest. I am a bit older than most newbie teachers, so I feel I have a bit more of life experience to draw on. It also helps me reduce those jitters in front of a classroom. I have also been quite good with the language (English, not Japanese), and I have had several experiences with jobs back home in which I served in some capacity as a teacher or trainer, whether for corporate or academic institutions. My efforts had always merited praise for my ability to explain details clearly and thoroughly. These experiences encompassed fellow Americans as well as foreigners from over 10 countries (including Japan, where I trained them in Tokyo on the intricacies of biotechnology equipment). Add to those experiences a ton of technical writing and proofreading/rewriting jobs, all of which were offered because of my ability to do high quality work. Despite all of that, I didn't just leap into EFL blindly; I got a good TESL certificate (TEFL wasn't available where I lived) in order to prepare (there's that word again) myself. I also did extensive research online to determine what was out there and where I might best fit in.

If you want to know more, just send me an email or private message.

[king kakipi]

Glenski/Sadken

In regard to the GCSE/A level course work; it is quite possible to achieve the highest grades in some English speaking countries without learning the terms for the parts of speech etc. Sadken probably speaks English that is grammatically correct, but can't explain it using grammatical terms (I was in the same boat ). It is just not taught in the UK etc; indeed there is a generation of qualified English teachers who don't know what a gerund is, can't explain 1st, 2nd, 3rd conditionals etc (I know they don't know, I asked some of them to try and exlain these things to me before I came to Japan, and they couldn't!!).

Despite being a qualified 4 year teacher (not in English) I had to 'teach' myself grammar (or at least the correct terms for various grammatical devices) last year before I came to Japan. It is quite daunting, believe me, especially as many Japanese have had it 'drilled' into them ("speak-spoke-spoken" etc)!! That is certainly not the way I was taught English, but I still know when to use the past participle, not the past simple. The teaching methodology is quite different however (a lot more rote learning, but less 'understanding' in Japan.......)

I am sure it is a great idea to do a TEFL/TESL course before coming to Japan but I didn't have time (teaching full-time, and another pt teaching job, and studying for JPLT4 etc before leaving my home country) and I fully intend to do one when I eventually go back 'home'. The main thing is that you can still do 'self education' (learning grammar, phonemic symbols etc) when you are here so that when one eventually does do a TEFL course, there will be less 'new stuff' to learn. And a lot of teaching skills from other subject areas are transferable to TEFL (I realise, Sadken, that you haven't taught in other areas)

The 'bible' that I carry at all times is 'Collins Gem English Grammar'; I thoroughly recommend it. It explains things simply whilst using the correct terminology, is very small and can be read with one hand on the most tightly-packed commuter trains, and gives many examples. Beware though, I found reading it made me VERY sleepy.....

Good Luck