|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:27 pm Post subject: AEON Interview Lesson Plan |
 |
|
Hi everyone! I have an AEON interview coming up in March and I'm a bit nervous about it to say the least. I know that you have to come up with a lesson plan for it, and I have some ideas that I'd like to bounce off of you guys. I haven't estimated how long any of these activities take (mainly because I don't know), but I think that some work better than others. Any criticism is welcome, and I am completely new to this.
| Quote: |
LESSON PLAN (SPORTS)
TARGET: Teach beginner English students how to express what they, and others, do for fun, using the appropriate phrases.
VOCAB
Football
Baseball
Soccer
Basketball
Various hobby vocab from polls.
PHRASES
“What do you play/do for fun?”
“What do they play/do for fun?”
“I play/do ____/____ for fun.”
“They play/do ____/____ for fun.”
“He/she plays/does ____/____ for fun.”
INTRO (2 minutes)
Poll students for ideas of sports/hobbies.
Review vocab for prepared sports/hobbies (basketball, baseball, etc.)
Introduce how to describe what the students do, as well as what others do, for fun.
Quick demos of the target phrases.
PRACTICE
HOBBIES (10 minutes)
Poll students ahead of time on what their hobbies are (provide a handout)
Start with a prop (hackey sack) and prompt with “What’s do you do for fun?”
Answer by saying one of my hobbies (Writing, etc.)
Toss the prop to another student, who I then ask “What do you do for fun?”
Have them answer, then toss, and then have them ask the next student, etc. etc.
WHAT DO YOU PLAY? (5 minutes)
Demo by holding up a prop (basketball, baseball, soccer ball) and have the class identify it.
Have a student volunteer come up, and ask them “What sports do you play?”, and hold up a prop.
Have the student respond according to the prop (e.g. If I hold up a basketball, have the student respond “I play basketball.”)
Split the class up into groups, each with their own set of props.
Have the students, in groups, practice the demo with their partners, each time holding up a different ball.
Near the end, have the students all do the activity in unison (e.g. I say, “What do you play?” and hold up a baseball, and then they all respond “I play baseball.”)
SPORTS STARS (10 minutes)
Have some beanbags on hand, as well as carboard cutouts with people of both genders playing sports, and a hole for the beanbags to go through.
Demo by asking “What sport does he/she play?”, and once the students answer, throw a beanbag through the appropriate hole.
Have students line up to take turns playing, following the demo (One student asks “What does he/she play?”, the next student answers “He/she plays ___”, and the first student throws a beanbag through the appropriate hole)
CONCLUSION (3 mins)
Discuss what went well with the lesson.
Review sports/hobby vocab
Informal poll of sports not covered/very quick discussion.
Preview next lesson.
TOTAL: 30 minutes.
|
I know that some of the bullets could be explained better, but if anything strikes you as good, confusing, bad, or needing more explanation, please help me out. Thank you!
EDIT: Edited the lesson plan to include time estimates of the activities, as well as changing the intro to reflect its nature as more of a review than an actual introduction of new concepts.
EDIT2: Did some reworking based on advice in the thread. Still trying to pick an activity to showcase, as that's the main thing.
EDIT3: Reworked the plan for a simpler topic, as well as trying to make the activities much more student-talking centered.
Last edited by selu26 on Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:29 am; edited 3 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Ryu Hayabusa
Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 182
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:35 am Post subject: |
|
|
Are you planning under the assumption that this is a practical English lesson designed to get the students to use vocab and grammar that they've already learned? Or is the assumption that the students are learning this all for the first time? If it's the latter, then you're asking the students to start independently producing the language (at least 12 words/phrases) after only 2min of direct instruction. That isn't possible.
Your teaching of the vocab needs to have more time devoted to it. Furthermore, you need to break up your language into more "digestible" chunks. Like, teach "go" and "turn". Then teach "left,right, forward, backward." Then combine them and teach "go forward" and "turn left."
There's a lot more that I could help you with. But I have a class soon and don't have the time now. I'll come back and edit/add to this if and when I have time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ryu Hayabusa
Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 182
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
My class was cancelled! 
I'll address the main part of your lesson later. Here's what I think about your conclusion.
I like the idea of your conclusion--wrapping up the lesson and reviewing things that were taught, etc. But if you're expecting a class discussion where you can elicit ideas from students and get the students talking with you and each other, you should know that it probably won't happen. The students won't have the necessary language skills to participate and/or understand the discussion. And if the students had enough language proficiency to do that, they would already know how to give and receive directions. You're going to have to revise your expectations of what the conclusion will achieve and rethink what you're going to ask.
| Quote: |
Talk about street addresses
Discuss who to ask for directions |
This is a good "minds-on" (warm-up) activity. But I don't think it can be done effectively in L2 (English) if the students' English level is as low as the lesson content suggests. It would be effective at the start of the lesson if the teacher asked the students this in L1 (Japanese) and got them thinking of directions. Then the teacher would present the goals of the lesson and begin teaching the vocab/grammar.
The conclusion could be something as simple as the teacher saying, "Today we learned about giving and receiving directions. Let's practice once more before we finish." (the students probably won't understand all of that, but they'll get enough of it to get something out of it)
Then the teacher would mime/gesture some actions and elicit the proper vocab/grammar from a volunteer student. That's a very simple check for understanding. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Big_H
Joined: 21 Dec 2013
Posts: 115
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
Even veteran instructors can sometimes take too long to finish a lesson activity or finish it too early depending on their students; hence the concept estimated time. Don't be doubtful about adding your own estimates rather than just for the intro.
Since this is a demo lesson plan, it's not unusual to "make-up" lesson materials to use as long as the tools are useful and reasonable; like using a ready map instead of wasting time to draw one in class. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Ryu Hayabusa wrote: |
Are you planning under the assumption that this is a practical English lesson designed to get the students to use vocab and grammar that they've already learned? Or is the assumption that the students are learning this all for the first time? If it's the latter, then you're asking the students to start independently producing the language (at least 12 words/phrases) after only 2min of direct instruction. That isn't possible.
|
This is a good point, and a distinction I failed to make. I was hoping that my students (having gone through English instruction in primary school) would have the necessary vocabulary to make the lesson possible. My main goal here, as per AEON's instructions, is to create a 30 minute lesson plan, of which I will perform 5 minutes, that is about 20% me talking and 80% students interacting with each other. I wanted to keep the "lecture" section very short, as what I've read about demo lessons at the AEON interview suggests that lecture portions are either discouraged or completely unnecessary.
| Quote: |
| I like the idea of your conclusion--wrapping up the lesson and reviewing things that were taught, etc. But if you're expecting a class discussion where you can elicit ideas from students and get the students talking with you and each other, you should know that it probably won't happen. The students won't have the necessary language skills to participate and/or understand the discussion. And if the students had enough language proficiency to do that, they would already know how to give and receive directions. You're going to have to revise your expectations of what the conclusion will achieve and rethink what you're going to ask. |
Hmm. As I said, I was hoping that my (imaginary) students would understand the vocab necessary already, but you're saying that if they know the vocab, they probably already know how to give/receive directions? Is there a midpoint where the students would know the vocab, but not know how to effectively utilize it? That's the kind of lesson I was trying to target: One where we've already spent a good bit of time getting familiar with the vocab of directions, and so this lesson was going to focus on utilizing that vocab.
| Quote: |
This is a good "minds-on" (warm-up) activity. But I don't think it can be done effectively in L2 (English) if the students' English level is as low as the lesson content suggests. It would be effective at the start of the lesson if the teacher asked the students this in L1 (Japanese) and got them thinking of directions. Then the teacher would present the goals of the lesson and begin teaching the vocab/grammar.
The conclusion could be something as simple as the teacher saying, "Today we learned about giving and receiving directions. Let's practice once more before we finish." (the students probably won't understand all of that, but they'll get enough of it to get something out of it)
Then the teacher would mime/gesture some actions and elicit the proper vocab/grammar from a volunteer student. That's a very simple check for understanding. |
I like the miming gestures idea for the conclusion, as it does sound like a great way to sum up the lesson. I also appreciate the input about keeping in mind what level of student I'm targeting. I hadn't really thought that my students would be at such a basic level!
| Quote: |
| Since this is a demo lesson plan, it's not unusual to "make-up" lesson materials to use as long as the tools are useful and reasonable; like using a ready map instead of wasting time to draw one in class. |
This is a very good point, and I should have clarified that, depending on which activity I choose to demo, I will have the materials made up beforehand (I've heard the AEON reps are really strict about the 5 minute time limit.)
| Quote: |
| Even veteran instructors can sometimes take too long to finish a lesson activity or finish it too early depending on their students; hence the concept estimated time. Don't be doubtful about adding your own estimates rather than just for the intro. |
I'll try to come up with some estimates and edit my original post. I wanted to sort of demo each activity first to see which ones were longer than others, but I was hoping that each activity would take about 5 minutes.
Thanks so much for the help so far. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
Maybe some quick questions would help? I'm looking for advice from anyone, but people with experience in the AEON interview are preferred.
1) What kind of materials do they provide at the AEON interview? Whiteboard? Flip chart?
2) Which of my activities would be best suited for the teaching demo?
3) What changes would you make to any of my activities to add more cohesion/student interaction?
4) Any advice for the impromptu lesson at the second interview?
5) Are there any activities that you've done that would fit well into a 5 minute timeslot?
If I think of any further questions, I'll edit my post. Thanks again. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ryu Hayabusa
Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 182
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
Here's what I suggest as your 30 minute lesson plan:
Target Vocab/phrases: turn left, turn right, go straight, go back, stop
Intro topic/goal of lesson 1min
Teach Vocab 6min
Demo/Explain 2min
Activity 5min
Demo/Explain 3min
Main Activity 10min
Wrap-up + Praise 2min
Ticket out the door 1min
Intro topic/goal of lesson
Brief intro of what the students will study this lesson.
Teach vocab
Using body and gestures, teach students turn left, turn right, go straight, go back, stop. Encourage the students to speak and gesture at the same time.
Demo/Explain "Please Game" (also known as Simon says)
Get students to stand in a line at the back of the room and face you. Write "Please" on the whiteboard. Just like you did with the teach vocab part, call out an action and have the students do it. When you call out an action, say "Please" with emphasis and gesture toward the word "Please" on the whiteboard. So, you'd say something like "Turn left, PLEASE!" and wait for the students to do it. After you've gone through all the vocab, call out something but don't say "Please" afterward. If/when students do the gesture, make a noise or gesture signifying that they made a mistake and say, "I didn't say PLEASE!" Most students will get the object of the game by this point. If there are still one or two students who appear confused, call out a couple more actions will saying "please" and then call out an action without saying it. Repeat until they get it.
Activity "Please Game"
Play the game until one or two students are left standing. Congratulate them. For a quick, cheap laugh, congratulate them and tell them to sit down (without saying "Please") and try to get the students "out" again!
Demo/Explain Obstacle Course game
Ask students for a volunteer. Take the volunteer off to the side and blindfold them. Move the remaining students to random spots in the classroom and have them stand still with their arms out. Instruct them not to move. Position to blindfolded student in a random place in the room. Take a cushion or something and put it away from the blindfolded student (as far away as possible). The cushion will serve as a "goal." Using the lesson vocab, guide the student around the other students with their arms outstretched and try to get to the goal in 1min or so. After that, ask for another student to volunteer. The other students can move into different parts of the room. Blindfold the student volunteer and ask the previous volunteer to move the "goal" to another spot in the room. Repeat this game until everyone has had a turn.
Wrap-up + Praise
Briefly summarize what the students learned and comment on anything they did well and/or need extra practice on.
Ticket out the door
Have students line up and wait by the door. Wait in front of the door and have each student in line give the student behind them an instruction (ex. turn right.) If the student behind them doesn't get it right. Ask the student to give another instruction to you this time. Follow their instruction then congratulate them and let them leave. Do this for each student until they have all left. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:35 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thank you for the suggestions! I feel kind of bad for going out and buying the materials for a map now, considering I like one of your ideas a lot.
| Quote: |
Demo/Explain Obstacle Course game
Ask students for a volunteer. Take the volunteer off to the side and blindfold them. Move the remaining students to random spots in the classroom and have them stand still with their arms out. Instruct them not to move. Position to blindfolded student in a random place in the room. Take a cushion or something and put it away from the blindfolded student (as far away as possible). The cushion will serve as a "goal." Using the lesson vocab, guide the student around the other students with their arms outstretched and try to get to the goal in 1min or so. After that, ask for another student to volunteer. The other students can move into different parts of the room. Blindfold the student volunteer and ask the previous volunteer to move the "goal" to another spot in the room. Repeat this game until everyone has had a turn. |
This is the one I like the most, mainly because it was what I was getting at with my "Navigation" activity, with some cool interactive twists thrown in. I may actually end up using this one and having the map activity as a backup.
| Quote: |
Teach vocab
Using body and gestures, teach students turn left, turn right, go straight, go back, stop. Encourage the students to speak and gesture at the same time. |
I feel like I'd be able to do this really quick during the 5 minute demo, but I'm not sure if I could finish the blindfold game within the time limit. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure I'd be able to finish the blindfold game at all in 5 minutes! Just explaining it would take a while.
| Quote: |
Ticket out the door
Have students line up and wait by the door. Wait in front of the door and have each student in line give the student behind them an instruction (ex. turn right.) If the student behind them doesn't get it right. Ask the student to give another instruction to you this time. Follow their instruction then congratulate them and let them leave. Do this for each student until they have all left. |
I like the idea of having a game be the way that they get out the door too, as it keeps the lesson very interactive. Good ideas all around.
The format you provided is a good demo for what a lesson plan should look like I think, I'll have to restructure mine a little bit to add more explanation time for directions I think. My main objective right now however is to pick an activity that will be able to be completed in 5 minutes. I'll have to time the blindfold game and the map activity I had planned and see how long they take.
Thanks for your help! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rslrunner
Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Posts: 252
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 1:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
1. For the first lesson, don't overthink the lesson too much. Just do one activity, and focus on that like a laser. You will be judged by how well you carry yourself. Getting students to interact with the lesson is the key fit.
2. For the impromptu lesson, try to get the "student" to do most of the talking.
Regardless of what you do, you will be told what is wrong with your impromptu lesson, then you will be asked to redo that lesson based on specifications that they provide in five minutes.
3. I don't think your lesson structure matters as much as you think it does, because your purpose will be to do what they tell you to do. The most important thing is to copy, mimic and imitate what they tell you to do, when they tell you to do it. Keep that in mind during the second interview. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 7:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
1. For the first lesson, don't overthink the lesson too much. Just do one activity, and focus on that like a laser. You will be judged by how well you carry yourself. Getting students to interact with the lesson is the key fit.
2. For the impromptu lesson, try to get the "student" to do most of the talking.
Regardless of what you do, you will be told what is wrong with your impromptu lesson, then you will be asked to redo that lesson based on specifications that they provide in five minutes.
3. I don't think your lesson structure matters as much as you think it does, because your purpose will be to do what they tell you to do. The most important thing is to copy, mimic and imitate what they tell you to do, when they tell you to do it. Keep that in mind during the second interview. |
All very good advice. I didn't know that they unconditionally make you redo the second demo, but I guess it makes sense if they're trying to gauge how well you listen to direction. I think my biggest obstacle will be smiling constantly, or maybe being enthusiastic enough. I heard, too, that there is a sort of ratio that they want between student talking time and teacher talking time, and that it goes about 80% student and 20% teacher. Your advice seems to reflect that, so I'll keep focusing on it.
Thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rslrunner
Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Posts: 252
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 1:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
[quote="selu26"]
| Quote: |
All very good advice. I didn't know that they unconditionally make you redo the second demo, but I guess it makes sense if they're trying to gauge how well you listen to direction. I think my biggest obstacle will be smiling constantly, or maybe being enthusiastic enough. I heard, too, that there is a sort of ratio that they want between student talking time and teacher talking time, and that it goes about 80% student and 20% teacher. Your advice seems to reflect that, so I'll keep focusing on it.
Thanks! |
Yeah, focus on getting the student to speak is a good idea.
Regardless of what you do for your demo lesson, they will critique it, and then ask you to conduct a newer lesson using their methodology.
You are simply better off to imitate what they do, without trying to figure out why they do what they do. In my past experience, I learn any new methodology by internalizing it, or learning it from the inside out. Then I teach the lesson by applying what I learned. With AEON, that is not possible. They want to have employees who take external cues and apply them immediately. Their system requires for new employees to learn the system from the outside in.
As far as smiling and being enthusiastic, well, that's good, but if you do it too much, then that can actually hurt you. You don't want to stand out, if your goal is to be hired.
Why do you want to join AEON in the first place? When and where is your interview? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 7:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| You are simply better off to imitate what they do, without trying to figure out why they do what they do. In my past experience, I learn any new methodology by internalizing it, or learning it from the inside out. Then I teach the lesson by applying what I learned. With AEON, that is not possible. They want to have employees who take external cues and apply them immediately. Their system requires for new employees to learn the system from the outside in. |
So they want a mime, huh? Sounds pretty in line with everything else I've heard about AEON. Oh well.
| Quote: |
| As far as smiling and being enthusiastic, well, that's good, but if you do it too much, then that can actually hurt you. You don't want to stand out, if your goal is to be hired. |
Oh wow, this is new. I was told constantly that smiling like an idiot and blowing your genkiness out of proportion was a surefire way to get hired, but I guess that might not be the case. I also heard that if you reveal that you know much about Japanese culture/language that that will hurt you to. Is there any truth to that?
| Quote: |
| Why do you want to join AEON in the first place? When and where is your interview? |
I'll actually be leaving in a week for Chicago. The interview is on March 1st. As far as "Why AEON?" (and this is going to sound cynical), it's really only to get a work visa/support myself financially while I'm in Japan. I have a pretty big interest in learning the language, and I feel like I'm at the point where it would be good to be immersed in it (as in, actually in Japan) so that I can work on my conversational skills.
Now, I know that AEON is strictly English Only during office hours, so for me working for AEON isn't exactly a multi-year thing. I was hoping I could get them to sponsor me for a visa and help me get settled in country (since I really don't have the funds to do this myself currently, and even though AEON doesn't pay your rent/insurance/utilities/million other things they at least provide you an apartment & help with all the legal stuff), and probably search for other work/apartments during my year contract with them.
Aside from that I was hoping that, where ever I'm placed, I could find Japanese classes in the morning before work and just put up with AEON (e.g. being a weird teacher/salesperson hybrid) for a year while I build my language skills & search for better opportunities. I was also considering applying for JET while in Japan, even though I'd have to fly back to America for the interview.
Does any of this sound unrealistic? It would be nice to know that any of this plan is a pipe dream before I go traipsing off to Chicago.
Thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
MOD EDIT
| selu26 wrote: |
| So they want a mime, huh? Sounds pretty in line with everything else I've heard about AEON. Oh well. |
They don't want a mime, they want someone who will follow their materials exactly in their way. Their whole marketing scheme is built on the courses and teachers being interchangeable. If your student is away on business for a week he can go to another AEON school and take the exact same lessons he would have had with you. That's their unique selling point, and students who are frequently away from home do value it and are paying a premium for it. If teachers decide they can do it better their way and start going freestyle the whole system falls apart.
| Quote: |
Oh wow, this is new. I was told constantly that smiling like an idiot and blowing your genkiness out of proportion was a surefire way to get hired, but I guess that might not be the case. |
It's pretty much common sense. You need to be happy, lively and energetic, smile and be enthusiastic, especially as you will be teaching kids sometimes. No-one wants to go to a class with a bored dour faced teacher.
On the other hand, don't go completely over the top and come across as manic, hysterical and creepy. You are roughly aiming for something slightly less bouncy than a kids TV presenter.
| Quote: |
I also heard that if you reveal that you know much about Japanese culture/language that that will hurt you to. Is there any truth to that? |
Again, it's a balance. An interest in learning the language is fine, coming across as weird and obsessive is not. Avoid anything that will set otaku alarm bells ringing.
| Quote: |
Does any of this sound unrealistic? It would be nice to know that any of this plan is a pipe dream before I go traipsing off to Chicago.
|
It's not unrealistic as long as you are motivated to study the language at the same time as working. Initially you won't have much spare time, you'll have to do unpaid prep in your free time to keep up. That's pretty much always the case with new jobs with a specific methodology. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to get your prep done in your office hours, and that will free up time to study. But the hours are quite long and it will probably be more tiring that you expect. It's easy to let the language study slide if you don't work at it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
selu26
Joined: 11 Feb 2014
Posts: 16
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 9:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| They don't want a mime, they want someone who will follow their materials exactly in their way. Their whole marketing scheme is built on the courses and teachers being interchangeable. If your student is away on business for a week he can go to another AEON school and take the exact same lessons he would have had with you. That's their unique selling point, and students who are frequently away from home do value it and are paying a premium for it. If teachers decide they can do it better their way and start going freestyle the whole system falls apart. |
That's probably one of the better explanations I've gotten of their business model. I guess I'm not too worried about being given no creative leeway, mainly because I have 0 teaching experience (as I imagine is common), and just learning to be up in front of a class and give a structured lesson will be valuable for me.
| Quote: |
| You are roughly aiming for something slightly less bouncy than a kids TV presenter. |
Haha, I see. I have a bit of trouble being energetic when I'm giving a presentation in front of a group of people, so I just have to keep in mind that what seems like "too energetic" to me might be just what they're looking for.
| Quote: |
| It's not unrealistic as long as you are motivated to study the language at the same time as working. Initially you won't have much spare time, you'll have to do unpaid prep in your free time to keep up. That's pretty much always the case with new jobs with a specific methodology. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to get your prep done in your office hours, and that will free up time to study. But the hours are quite long and it will probably be more tiring that you expect. It's easy to let the language study slide if you don't work at it. |
You mean prepping before I go into work? I guess I could see that, especially at the start. I am a bit worried about the hours, but given that it's only for a year or so, I think I can manage it. I heard the hours tend to be something like 12PM-10PM roughly? I was hoping to maybe find a language class that met at maybe 10 AM or so, though going to class and then working for 10 hours might be a bit more than I can handle. I'll have to research it a bit more. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2014 10:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| selu26 wrote: |
You mean prepping before I go into work? I guess I could see that, especially at the start. I am a bit worried about the hours, but given that it's only for a year or so, I think I can manage it. |
Yes, before you go into work. You will only work with a limited amount of materials most of the time, and the lessons are very structured. There are a lot of steps, but they are pretty self explanatory and repetitive. But at first it's a lot to take in so you will need to allow extra time to read through the lessons for the day and familiarise yourself with the materials and the steps for each lesson.
After a month or two (maybe a little longer if this is your first ever teaching job) you should know most of it and you'll only need to flick through to remind yourself, and then spend your office time doing photocopying, or whatever other prep needs to be done, but at first, it will eat into your free time.
| selu26 wrote: |
I heard the hours tend to be something like 12PM-10PM roughly? I was hoping to maybe find a language class that met at maybe 10 AM or so, though going to class and then working for 10 hours might be a bit more than I can handle. I'll have to research it a bit more. |
Those hours are about right, and that's pretty normal for language school work. Everyone copes with it differently, but for me it's hard because you come in after work, you need some time to wind down and have your dinner, relax for a bit after you eat and before you know it it's 3am. So you go to sleep, get up the next day and it's pretty much time to get ready for work.
It's more likely that you will be able to take classes on your days off rather than before work, but you will still need to find time for self study as well. It's not all study though, if you can make friends who speak Japanese (and don't just want to practice their English) you can get a lot of practice in that way without actually being in class. (Though really I am totally the wrong person to give advice on this, because I didn't learn Japanese while I was there). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
