Job Discussion Forums

[NurC]

I understand that language schools often ask prospective teachers to present a demonstration lesson as part of the interviewing process.

What type of demos have you used, and how long were they? I would appreciate any examples you can give.

Thank you for your input!

[_smaug]

Lessee . . . I was only ever asked to present a demo lesson once. That was in Prague (2004): �Reported speech.�

I�ve never been asked to present a demo in Istanbul as a requirement for employment.

Interestingly, though, corporate clients often request (and receive) a demo lesson from prospective schools� teachers. I�ve been asked to do these by my school. And even though I�m paid to do them, I always refuse. A hangover from my musician days, I�m afraid, when club owners would often require bands give free auditions before they�d hire them. Unscrupulous proprietors would simply line up months worth of free auditions and never pay a single dime for live music.

Bad for business. Bad for everybody. I don�t do them.

[NurC]

Hmmm, interesting smaug. How many ways can corporations save money??

Thanks for your reply. I know a few teachers that said they did brief demos before they were hired - basically just initiating conversation topics in a classroom. They gave me the impression that it was frequently required.

[_smaug]

Yeah, mine was brief -- maybe twenty minutes.

Don't worry about it. They should give you a topic and some time to prepare, then you'll do a "lesson" for the academic manager and/or head teacher. They'll pretend to be students and ask questions.

It's no big deal. And it's nothing you can actually prepare for until you have a topic. It could be a conversation starter, like your friend, or a specific grammar lesson.

But chances are: You won't even be asked to do one.