Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rayray123]

How do you answer this question during an interview when you have never taught ESL/EFL before?

I have read a little on the web about teaching English, but there's a huge difference between reading and doing. So how ever I chose to answer the question, would the interviewer even take my answer seriously if I have no experience? How do you have a teaching style when you've never done it before?

I'm sure this has been asked before, but the search function is not working for me.

[andrewchon]

Tell them about how you would like to teach.

-maybe the way you were taught when you were a student
-or what the teaching instruction tells you
-or tell them how you think a classroom ought to run.

[lifeinkorea]

Koreans like to see progress. If there is a textbook and parents see their child going to the next page, they don't complain. If you teach out of the book and parents don't see something, they will question the school.

We are supplements to the school system, not a replacement.

[edwardcatflap]

The best answer to all these kinds of questions is 'it depends on the situation'. Good Teachers need to be able to adapt their style according to the needs of the class/individual.

[blackjack]

You just need to throw in as many buzz words as possible

energetic, active, positive reinforcement, caring, student focused, student centric classrooms, communicative theory, integrating technology, discovery-based learning, facilitate learning, real life applications

Just mangle as many as you can into a couple of sentences and it will be fine. They won't know what you are talking about, which is great because you don't know what you are talking about, but it sure will impress them

[etherNET]

[languistic]

[Cerulean]

http://slagoski.googlepages.com/currentapproaches

[rayray123]

Thanks for the info.

[ddeubel]

Here's a nice little quiz I use with teachers. Although, I'd refrain from using those categories when describing my style for an employer!

Although everyone probably has a "style", I'm not so sure. I'm a post methodist and your style should really be flexible and depend upon the materials, the students and student's needs, the institution, the objectives etc..... Teaching is like acting - doing what gets the job done....

DD
http://eflclassroom.com

[teachingld2004]

Chances are that what ever answer will not be what they are looking for.

(sorry, I mean that they usually have no clue what they are looking for)

You can tell them that your style varies, but you will always give them what they need. You can say that you really love to teach, and you will
always do the best that you can.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

Interviewer: What's your teaching style?
Me: Well, my favorite teacher, the one I really connected with and learned the most from, was Mr. T in High School chemistry. He really made the class hands-on, you know? Instead of just drilling the rules, he taught us the mnemonics he used himself when he was in college studying chemistry, like "I want my PTV!" for the relationship between pressure, temperature, and volume. He also had this way of not really being embarrassed, and even when someone said something stupid, he would turn it back around and explain why a logical person might come to that conclusion, even if it was wrong. That's the kind of teacher I want to be. He made 55 minutes fly by.

Notice that I never answered the question. But wasn't it a cool story, bro?

[PatrickGHBusan]

[Gnawbert]