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Applying to the Big 4 schools...
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viddy



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 50
Location: London, England

PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 9:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had my second (personal) interview with AEON today, in their London hotel. The interview began with the interviewer instructing me that I am to perform a second 'mock' lesson, this time to an individual student. I was asked to teach the difference between the perfect tenses to a Japanese businessman, played by the interviewer, of intermediate level understanding. I was to use an exercise from one of AEON's book to achieve this, and given 8 minutes preparation time.

The lesson itself lasted for 6 minutes. Tips for this are:
(i) take it seriously i.e. act as if it really is a Japanese student you're teaching
(ii) use the preparation time wisely to plan what you will do
(iii) make sure you have the student speaking as much as possible (which is surprisingly difficult)
(iv) you will most likely be given an exercise involving some pictures - it would be good to get the student describe the pictures
(v) maintain a professional and courteous manner
(vi) make sure that the student has understood a point before moving on

Anyway, after the six minutes were up, there will be a short feed-back session. The interviewer will ask you numerous questions about how you thought you did, what was good, what was bad, any possible improvements etc. He then gave me feedback of his own explaining where he thought I'd done well and not so well. The lesson I gave generally went well and the interviewer complemented me on this.

Following this, you will be asked general questions about why you want to go to Japan, why you want to teach, what your impressions are of AEON, what you're expecting, personal strengths and weaknesses etc. They also explained some of the other parts of the job i.e. having to sell extra material such as books and CDs to students, and what you thought about that.

Finally, they given you an opportunity to ask any questions you have and that was it. The whole thing took about 45-50 minutes, and I should be hearing back in 10-15 working days. I'm quietly confidfent... Smile
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I never called anyone any names (on the contrary, I've been called a troll, amongst other things).


I asked if you were trolling; I didn't call you a troll. Big difference. Trolling is a fishing term I used to ask whether you were "fishing around" for some replies. A troll has 2 definitions, an ogre and a person who posts messages intended solely to agitate or stir up the crowd. Sorry if you misunderstood.

Quote:
I also never attacked anybody, I'm just trying to get advice, that's the reason I'm here.

Just because I don't readily accept everything you say as Gospel and want to get other people's points of view, this makes me a smart aleck or know-it-all?


The fact that you seem to disregard seasoned veterans here is what we take issue with. If you don't know how long people have been here, ask. Most will tell you politely.

Quote:
If you take a look at some posts in here, you'll notice that newbies (like myself) who have genuine questions have been treated with scorn and contempt.


When you refuse to accept simple facts (not opinions) from a majority of people who have lived/worked here a long time, when you insist that there are ways around the system even though there aren't, when you use exceptions instead of commonplace situations to define things, people respond accordingly. Scorn? Perhaps. Contempt? I haven't seen any.

Quote:
I'll tell you right now so there's no misunderstanding, I respect all of your views, and I don't want to fight with anyone. But also know that many people here are not just recent graduates, and have had many life experiences too. Some of them I bet, are even more knowledgeable than you are, but for whatever reason, they choose not to post.


What is the point in this statement? If someone doesn't post, you aren't going to know what they feel/know, so the information they have is simply unavailable for comparison. I gladly accept constructive criticism and any mistakes I may have made when they are pointed out, but so far, nobody is doing that.

Quote:
Knowing a lot about Japan, or Spain or China, or whatever country, doesn't give you the right to have a chip on your shoulder.


True, and I'm sorry that you see things that way for some people here. However, knowing nothing about a country doesn't give you the right to criticize whatever information people give you (if it's accurate) by calling it doom and gloom. Yes, many of us have been quite successful in living/working here. Want a formula for success? There isn't one except for generalities that suit most other countries.

Examples:
Want a higher salary than the standard one? You can get it, but not often.
Want cheap housing? You can get it, but it's case by case and fairly rare.
Want a good job with little to no experience? You can get it, but you have to define it and look hard for it to make it happen.
Think that a daily routine is the same in London, New York, and Tokyo? Yes, it is, but only in the most general of senses.
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shmooj



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

viddy wrote:
The lesson I gave generally went well and the interviewer complemented me on this.


Nice to hear of your experiences Viddy. However, I would hope the interviewer didn't complement your lesson but rather complimented it.

Your future students will appreciate you pointing out subtle pitfalls such as this one.
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viddy



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 50
Location: London, England

PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Embarassed
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BuddhaRhubarb



Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

you know what?

it sounds to me like i had the easiest interview ever at aeon. one day interview (this was 2 years ago maybe its changed?) was all they asked.
-watch the videos of obiwan saying "love"
-the usual sales pitch for aeon over other schools
-our ten minute lessons (there were only 3 of us and we each made the same mistakes, even after the recruiter kept pointing them out)
-then that little "test" which we all did together over lunch.
-then personal interviews.
-owari
i did have to wait over a month to get my notice...which arrived the day before my scheduled nova interview, so i went with my gut, and didnt bother with nova (geos didnt even call me back until i was just about to leave!)..just came to japan a few months later with aeon.
easy as pie mmm delicious pie Laughing
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viddy



Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 50
Location: London, England

PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 7:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BuddhaRhubarb,

Sounds like you had the cut-down version of the AEON interview process! You seem to have done the same things as my interview, but in just a single day as there were only 3 people at your interview (as opposed to 60 on the first day of mine!)
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