Job Discussion Forums

[wayne1523]

Alright, so I guess this whole romantic ambition of teaching abroad (and possibly jumping from one country to the next) which started to develop 3 months ago is starting to convert into some meaningful action/progress. I have established an interview for the CELTA program on Monday after completing successfully that Pre-Interview Task which I posted recently on this forum for some help, as well as an interview with a legit Korean program that sends you to whatever school in a rural area in South Korea after a 1-month orientation in Seoul (I think it's Seoul? Might have to double check). But yes, it's going to take place at the Korean consulate in Toronto. I'm a little excited, and a little nervous too to say the least as things are slowly solidifying. My ass has seriously been running 'round town gathering all these documents, such as passport renewal, criminal record check, etc. I'm even going to have to make the the 3 hour drive back to my university to get my first ever transcript after graduating. Anyway...

1. Can anybody here who has gone through the CELTA admission process give me some advice/tips on what the interview would be like? Apparently, from what one of the staff members told me on the phone, it's going to last an hour and a half to two hours (my goodness, that might be the longest interview I'll ever have) and he also told me that I'm going to have to go over some grammatical theory/knowledge to prepare myself for the interview as they don't want to accept people that are too "freshly new" to the material during the CELTA course. Any pointers/interview question examples, people? To what extent do I need to be "ready" in terms of cramming for English grammar and theory for this interview? Also, they want me to do a 5-minute demonstration of something non-English related and teach it to the interviewer and the group. So like, "juggling, or card tricks", as the guy said. Haha...o...kay? I can think of something, I guess...

2. Now, for arguably the more important interview since it's harder to do well on...Can people here (who seem to have years of teaching experience and knowledge of interviews and the hiring process) share on what typical questions an interviewer asks a candidate for a teaching position? What do I need to keep in mind and be careful of what NOT to do? As a newbie, how do I prepare for an interview? Please also consider my particular situation. This is from a Korean interviewer, so perhaps there are some cultural etiquette things that I might have to look out for that could be sensitive to the general Korean employer? Maybe there is something that I can add to give me a slight advantage? This is also for a job at the newbie level that's especially designed for the currently post-secondary undergraduate student or the recently graduated post-secondary student (which would be my case). A TESOL/TEFL/TESL is not required and a student with 2 years of completion in university under his/her belt makes him/her eligible. So...just to give a rough idea. Relative newbies that have been interviewed for entry-level jobs are indeed welcome to provide input on interview advice as well. I have heard many great things from this program so I am not worried about dodginess or anything like that. I just need to be as prepared as I can and make sure I kill this interview with flying colours, because I really want to get this job to start myself off!

If you guys can help me prepare for these interviews in whatever extent, it would be greatly appreciated once again. Thanks so much! =). This forum rocks.

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

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