Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fred zepplin]

Hi,

Ive just found out that i have my interview with Korean Horizons in a few hours, ive had no time to prepare since i only sent my cv yesterday.

Ive seen some of the typical questions, some of which im unsure of, im hoping that someone can help me with appropriate answers, please!


-How would you deal with a naughty student?
-How would you deal with a co teacher who is too shy because he or she is embarrassed about his or her English?
-How would you deal with a co teacher who wants you to teach as a tape recorder?
-How do you deal with conflict?
-How do you handle stress? Give me an example of a situation when you were under stress?

Any help greatly appreciated!

[nathanrutledge]

Calm down. You'll be fine. This isn't rocket science. As long as you don't come off as an idiot/pervert/jack---, you'll be fine.

[sluggo832004]

[Son Deureo!]

Based on your questions, it sounds like you have absolutely no training or experience whatsoever in teaching. In which case, my best advice to you is....

Be yourself! This seems to be exactly what hogwon owners and recruiters want these days. Don't worry, you'll get hired. Whether you'll actually be any good at this is another matter altogether.

[PRagic]

Tell them that historically you've handled every one of those situations in either one of two ways: total withdrawl or maddening amounts of violence.

Seriously, though:

1) You could say that it would depend on a) the age and number of infractions by said student, b) the level of naughtiness, and c) the classroom situation at the given time (are kids going ape or is everything in relative order so that you can devote some time to Johny Rotten?). If you can address the student, mention that you would work with or through the Korean teacher (bonus points). If alone, you'd do your best to make sure that the student understands why what they did was wrong, etc...

2) You understand that 'face' is a big cultural difference, so you wouldn't push your co-teacher on the issue in public. You'd try to build a comfortable working relationship with said co-teacher on a personal level, maybe by having lunch together or by arranging for language exchange. You get the idea.

3) You would do as instructed, but, by building a trusting relationship with your co-teacher and demonstrating your growing competence, you would hope to be given more responsibility and freedom in the classroom as time went by.

4 and 5 are not necessarily teaching related, so you can handle them by being yourself. If it is a minor issue with you, sometimes admitting that can work in your favour (e.g. I tend to shy away from conflict, but that is something that as a professional I am trying to overcome. I hope that working in Korea will help me....).

Have at it. Good luck and let the board know how it goes. Long answer, I know, but I was bored.

[chiarezza]

for number two... i've had a lot of teachers who were too embarrassed by their english, but i ended up getting through to them, if only a little.

just try talking to them on your own time, about really simple things, like "oh isn't this coffee delicious? where do you usually buy coffee before work" and stuff like that. try to joke around. just show them that you understand their responses, and start easy if necessary.

[toonchoon]

if you can't answer those simple questions in PERSON, let alone over the phone, please don't come to Korea.

[soviet_man]

[TheUrbanMyth]

1-3 were answered quite well, so I'll just answer 4 and 5.

(4)Q: How do you deal with conflict?

A: "I deal with conflict by trying to find common ground whereby we can resolve our differences."


(5a) Q: How do you handle stress?


A: "It depends on the situation. Different situations call for different measures. Generally speaking though I sit down and try to think through the situation or problem and think of ways to solve the problem so that it does not occur again or as infrequently as possible."

5(b) Give an example of when you were under stress.



This one varies depending on your situation. You could say something like when you were in university you experienced stress because of poor time management skills. You solved both the stress and time management problems by creating a schedule and sticking to it. Just an example to give you an idea of what they are talking about.

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

Keep up with being panicked!

[autoseal89]

keep calm and carry on

[Died By Bear]

poor Otis dead and gone, dead and gone, left me here to sing this song...poor otis..