Job Discussion Forums

[tttyg]

Hello,

I know there are a lot of posts on this board about the ECC interview and specifically the demo. I read through pretty much all of them in an attempt to be as prepared as possible. I am a newbie to teaching ESL formally, however I have spent a couple of years overseas and have done a bit of 'unofficial' teaching to my host family in Japan, etc.

Having said that, I have been unable to find specific information on the following:

-I have read that you are supposed to use as few words as possible outside of the few words/phrase you are teaching. However, I have also heard that you are supposed to get the 'children' up and moving/talking/interacting as much as possible. What is the best way to do this? Should I pretend to sit down and then 'stand up' to convey to everyone that I would like them to stand? Is there a better way to do this? Any advice?

-Also, what is the best way to teach the phrase in a way that I can then have the students ask each other? What is the best way to convey to the student with limited English that I want them to ask the student next to them? Any advice on this?

I apologize if these are very basic I inquiries but I appreciate any input on these topics as well as any other helpful information you can give me.

Thank you.

[genesis315]

Hello, I participated in a ECC session that was conducted in Toronto. It was quite an experience for sure.

The demo lesson: I would say stay as calm as possible while maintaining a friendly, APPROACHABLE demeanor at all times. Have something in mind in case you get stuck such as a slightly dramatic thinking gesture.....anything that would display confidence as opposed to fear while you get back on track.

Memorize the names of all other session participants as they will be your students for your demo lesson. Calling on them by name is paramount!

Be sure to use reinforcing gestures, phrases for correct responses.

Be sure to memorize all underlined and bold infortmation in all material that ECC provides you with.

Be sure to know your grammar! Buy grammar for dummies and make it a point to be intimately familiar with at least the first 5 chapters.

Back to the demo lesson. We were given a packet of animal related drawings and had to come up with a total of around 20 minutes of teaching with about 25 minutes of preparation. The first part of the lesson would be the instructor alone talking, then the instructor interacting with the students, then the students interacting with each other with minimal instructor support.

There was also a suprise where a couple of us were taken into the hallway and were told to be as creative as possible teaching a few English letters.

Keep in mind, the demo was intented to be for children around 5 or 6 years of age. Not sure if that is the same at each session.

Also, even when you are not playing the role of instructor during the demo you will be considered a student. Taking this role seriously is also very important.


P.S. I failed to get a position, so take my info for what it is worth. Overall the ECC interview was a great experience for me, at least at the Toronto location. I was able to gather a lot of great information about working in Japan, and was also impressed by the level of professionalism that seemed to be ingrained in the ECC image.

[Glenski]

If all you're hoping to do is get students to stand, just gesture with your arms. Might as well say "Stand up" to reinforce it. Nobody is going to deduct points for something as trivial as that.

Same holds for asking someone next to you. Gesture. Model.

This may very well be the least of your worries, though, IMO.

[tttyg]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I really appreciate it.

[whispechoes]

My advice to you or anyone else doing any sort of eikaiwa interview demo lesson is this: gesture. Make big sweeping gestures for whatever you say, especially if your demo is for kids. For stand up, spread your arms and stand up yourself as you say the command; for sit down, sit down yourself and gesture with both arms for everyone to do the same.

Use names to get everyone's attention; that's very important. Use them often, smile, use a thumbs up and a "good job/work" or whatever to reinforce they're doing something right. If it comes up, avoid using "no" if someone does something wrong; instead, use "nice try!" Though that tends to be more for adults than kids.

What the interviewers want to see is that you can convey what you want the students to learn without using teacher talk. That is, "What I'm going to do now is show you all how to stand up. Okay, so you lift yourself up like this, and okay- guys, guys, stand up like this," etc.

Use the target language and a gesture with each one, smile, and use everybody's names as often as possible, and you should be fine. Good luck!