Korean Job Discussion Forums

[andrew.garth]

Like the title suggests, I have an interview at a university. Besides the standard Q & A session, I will conduct a 10 minute demo lesson which is supposed to be a conversation class for college students.

Do any of you guys/girls have experience with these demo lessons? Any great successes/ failures you've had with this? Tips?

[YTMND]

I would ask them specifically if they want a conversation demo or teaching demo. 10 minutes is not a lot of time. I would think they would want to see the extent of your teaching, not the questions you would typically ask students in class.

So, pretend some of the people in this demo have already made some common mistakes without asking and then show the corrections. Will you have access to a computer? You could set up a presentation to last no more than 6 minutes, and then have a question session after. Then, be ready for teachers to ask questions after you have finished. At the 9 minute mark, maybe ask them if they have any questions. If they say no, then have 1 minute of something to wrap it up.

[tardisrider]

I have a lot of experience watching teaching demonstrations. It's always interesting to see how different people react to the situation--some are incredibly calm and together, some are incredibly nervous. In my experience, the "anxiety factor" does not necessarily correlate to long-term ability or competency, though it does affect the initial way that the instructor is perceived. Fortunately, the teaching demonstration is only part of the decision making process regarding hiring.

I'm sure that different places have different requirements and expectations, but when watching teaching demonstrations at my university (a mid-level university in Seoul) we are always instructed to focus on:

1. how the teacher interacts with the students, and after the demonstration great emphasis is placed on how the students feel about the person--does he or she interact with the students naturally and do the students feel comfortable with the teacher. It's more nuanced than "Did you like the teacher?" but has elements of that.

2. how well the teacher is able to put together a cohesive short lesson in the prep time. Prep time varies depending upon a variety of factors, but our demo lessons are usually about a half an hour and we try to give 30-45 minutes to prep, with full access to texts, photocopiers, internet, etc. Everybody knows that you can't do a full lesson with a new group of students in such a short time, but we do look for some coherence within the lesson plan--does it have a logical beginning, middle and end? Does it get the students involved?


3. This is related to my first point, but how does the teacher talk to the students? Does the teacher talk too fast or too slowly? Does the teacher have an encouraging or discouraging tone and demeanor? Stuff like that. I always give the teacher the lowdown on the class he/she is going to demo with--eg, high, medium or low level, class size, etc--in order to help prepare.

Things I like:

1. A lesson plan that has a good clear introduction, makes sense, and ends with the students being involved in a practice/activity. Ideally, the lesson plan should be of practical use to the students and not just focused on grammar or mechanics. Some prescriptive grammar is fine if it's appropriate to the lesson and the level of the class, but should very rarely (if ever) be the main focus of this kind of demonstration.

2. A teacher who is personable and encouraging while still being professional. We look for teachers who might be a little entertaining as opposed to entertainers who can do a little teaching, if that makes sense.

3. Somebody who seems calm and collected. Being a little nervous is okay; it keeps you on your toes.

Things I don't like:

1. Teachers who use the demo time to talk about themselves. Of course, a brief introduction is great, but the vast majority of the time must be spent on the lesson and student participation. I've seen teachers spend half their time talking to students about themselves with the students asking all of the usual "Where are you from? Are you married?" type questions. Sure, the students are interacting with the teacher and they may even enjoy this kind of interaction--but save it until another time. When you have only a short amount of time for a demo lesson, focus on doing the demo lesson.

2. Teachers who seem too easy or too difficult for students. This includes speech that is too fast or too slow. This is tough, because the teacher doesn't know the students or their level, but there are times when it's obvious that the teacher is teaching as if the class is made of elementary school students instead of university students. Try to find a good balance between "too difficult" and "too easy".

3. Teachers who panic. Everybody knows the demo lesson/job interview is stressful, but try to remain calm. Remember, a little anxiety can be a good thing--but don't freak out, man.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your demo.

[sigmundsmith]

Congrats on getting an interview with the University of Seoul. Because it is only a 10 minute demonstration it is more about seeing the way you interact with the students and their response to you more so than the actual lesson. That is, they are not expecting anything amazing in regard to your lesson (although that would be a bonus) as they only give you 10 minutes.

I wouldn't worry too much about a presentation that takes up half the time. Design something that is easy to set up for the students to begin talking with each other quickly - maybe a group of questions or some sought of survey - and then have them share with the class.

DOn't go all out - just keep it simple.

[Whistleblower]

Some idea for the demo lesson:

Write up three sentences about yourself on the board and only one is false. Students have to guess which sentence is false (sometimes they try to look at the grammar and see what is wrong but set it up alright and demo it and all should be fine). Get students to discuss in pairs for 1 minute and then elicit some ideas from them and finally disclose the false sentence.

Next it is their turn. They write up some sentences and include one which is false. You can prepare students for creative thinking by getting to plan what sort of topics they could write about. Board their ideas and then get them to finally put pen to paper. It will provoke some form of debate/conversation and it is a useful exercise to generate rapport.

Hope it helps.

[Troglodyte]