Hey fellow die-hard Japan fans,
Congratulations on being short-listed for the JET interview! I'm sure you have already begun to do research to prepare yourself for this all-important interview. You have probably found this (http://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-do-i-prepare-for-jet-interview.html) and this (http://my-jet-experience.blogspot.com/2009/01/jet-interview-what-i-went-through.html) but if you are anything like me, you are just dying to read more Singaporean perspectives and so, here I am, a 先輩dutifully sharing his experience. Heh
First of all, you probably would have friends who already got accepted as ALTs in previous years. They would tell you not to worry because their interviewers were friendly. This well-meaning advice, however, caused me to be caught off-guard in front of my interview panel comprising a Japanese, a Singaporean and an American. Not that they were difficult and nasty. Far from it. It's just that I had expected them to adopt a more conversational tone and take a more personal interest in me, just like how interviewers in Singapore will be when they are trying to ascertain whether you are a good fit for their organisation.
It was a businesslike setting; the American didn't even bother to look at me as I stumbled through my self-introduction. Yup, I remember thinking to myself, "This is not 'friendly'. This is just 'cordial'. Shit!" as I got so rattled by this disconnect between my expectations and the reality that my hands shook and I hastily cut short my self-introduction so as to steady my nerves.
So, be prepared to interact with people who are polite but not exactly warm.
These usual suspects would surface during your interview, so make sure you have good answers for them:
1. Why do you want to do the JET programme?
2. How long do you want to be in the JET programme?
3. What are your plans after your JET stint?
4. How would you feel if you are posted to an area with no Internet access?
5. Have you ever been to Japan? For what purpose?
6. Why did you choose your first choice? (In my case, it was Kumamoto)
7. How would you feel if you are not given any of your three choices?
After reaffirming them that I would leave it to fate regarding whether I got posted to Kumamoto, the American looked up from my Statement of Purpose and here's when the real grilling began:
1. You must have taught many foreign students throughout your career. How do you address their needs?
2. In the Japanese classroom, the Japanese teacher will be the one transmitting the finer points on grammer. How do you see your role as an ALT?
3. How will you measure the success of your involvement in the classroom?
4. It seems that you have taught two weeks in Vietnam before. How will you translate this experience into the Japanese classroom?
5. What technological trends will you harness to teach English to the Japanese?
6. Are you fond of Japanese pop culture?
Question 3 really stumped me. Given that the emphasis of the JET programme seems centered on cultural interaction, I didn't expect to have to justify my presence in the stint. So, I hesitantly bit the bullet and said, "I don't think it's easy to produce quantifiable outcomes but if the children open up and be more forthcoming, then I would say that I am doing good", all the while trying to quell the voice in my mind that screamed, "he will think that you're not answering the question!". Luckily, I thought of one of myargonauts' videos--incidentally, his Youtube vlogs detailing how you should prepare for JET application are a must-watch--that illustrated how he conducted an oral test with his students. I then abruptly switched tone to say how I would conduct an oral test to determine if I was indeed effective. Haha.
I can't remember my full response to Question 4. I said something like how my students and I used picture description to polish the Vietnamese children's oral presentation skills and how I would get my Japanese students to prepare answers to various questions so that I would have more time for discussion in the classroom. For Question 5--another question that surprised me since I thought Japanese teachers still predominantly use the chalkboard--I brought up how I would get students to post journal entries on lang-8.com, a social networking site that allows your entries to be corrected by native speakers. Upon seeing the American's deadpan expression which set the alarm bells ringing impossibly louder in my head, I stated that I would set a Twitter account for the entire class if students are scared to have their entries corrected in a public forum.
I share my answers to these questions in detail because I left the interview, feeling absolutely shitty about my chances. JETs are rotated among several schools, so it is not unusual if you meet your students once a fortnight or month. I was so busy trying to control my nerves and thinking of sensible answers quickly to avoid awkward silences that I didn't have the presence of mind to articulate how feasible my suggestions would be. On hindsight, I could have simply prefaced my answer with a "I understand that JETs do not just work in one school. So, if I meet my students once a fortnight, this is what I would do" and tried to explain how the class Twitter would work. So, hopefully this insight helps you to sound more intelligent. LOL.
You will have to stoically endure the longest and most agonising wait of your life after the interview, coupled by the fact that you will be second-guessing your answers and cursing at yourself for screwing up. I'm not being melodramatic. Every other day, I thought about how simplistic I had come across and prayed that it was indeed true that the interview wasn't the sole determinant to secure the job. You just have to live the next two months of your life as best and dignified as you can. The thing that really helped me get through this period was reading how a fellow Singaporean secured an ALT job ON HIS OWN by flying to Japan on a student visa and securing the job there (http://gaijinhan.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/a-singaporean-alt-in-japan/). The old adage "When there's a will, there's a way" never resounded so definitively for me before.
Good luck for your upcoming interview and I hope it works out!
Congratulations on being short-listed for the JET interview! I'm sure you have already begun to do research to prepare yourself for this all-important interview. You have probably found this (http://qqsandbox.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-do-i-prepare-for-jet-interview.html) and this (http://my-jet-experience.blogspot.com/2009/01/jet-interview-what-i-went-through.html) but if you are anything like me, you are just dying to read more Singaporean perspectives and so, here I am, a 先輩dutifully sharing his experience. Heh
First of all, you probably would have friends who already got accepted as ALTs in previous years. They would tell you not to worry because their interviewers were friendly. This well-meaning advice, however, caused me to be caught off-guard in front of my interview panel comprising a Japanese, a Singaporean and an American. Not that they were difficult and nasty. Far from it. It's just that I had expected them to adopt a more conversational tone and take a more personal interest in me, just like how interviewers in Singapore will be when they are trying to ascertain whether you are a good fit for their organisation.
It was a businesslike setting; the American didn't even bother to look at me as I stumbled through my self-introduction. Yup, I remember thinking to myself, "This is not 'friendly'. This is just 'cordial'. Shit!" as I got so rattled by this disconnect between my expectations and the reality that my hands shook and I hastily cut short my self-introduction so as to steady my nerves.
So, be prepared to interact with people who are polite but not exactly warm.
These usual suspects would surface during your interview, so make sure you have good answers for them:
1. Why do you want to do the JET programme?
2. How long do you want to be in the JET programme?
3. What are your plans after your JET stint?
4. How would you feel if you are posted to an area with no Internet access?
5. Have you ever been to Japan? For what purpose?
6. Why did you choose your first choice? (In my case, it was Kumamoto)
7. How would you feel if you are not given any of your three choices?
After reaffirming them that I would leave it to fate regarding whether I got posted to Kumamoto, the American looked up from my Statement of Purpose and here's when the real grilling began:
1. You must have taught many foreign students throughout your career. How do you address their needs?
2. In the Japanese classroom, the Japanese teacher will be the one transmitting the finer points on grammer. How do you see your role as an ALT?
3. How will you measure the success of your involvement in the classroom?
4. It seems that you have taught two weeks in Vietnam before. How will you translate this experience into the Japanese classroom?
5. What technological trends will you harness to teach English to the Japanese?
6. Are you fond of Japanese pop culture?
Question 3 really stumped me. Given that the emphasis of the JET programme seems centered on cultural interaction, I didn't expect to have to justify my presence in the stint. So, I hesitantly bit the bullet and said, "I don't think it's easy to produce quantifiable outcomes but if the children open up and be more forthcoming, then I would say that I am doing good", all the while trying to quell the voice in my mind that screamed, "he will think that you're not answering the question!". Luckily, I thought of one of myargonauts' videos--incidentally, his Youtube vlogs detailing how you should prepare for JET application are a must-watch--that illustrated how he conducted an oral test with his students. I then abruptly switched tone to say how I would conduct an oral test to determine if I was indeed effective. Haha.
I can't remember my full response to Question 4. I said something like how my students and I used picture description to polish the Vietnamese children's oral presentation skills and how I would get my Japanese students to prepare answers to various questions so that I would have more time for discussion in the classroom. For Question 5--another question that surprised me since I thought Japanese teachers still predominantly use the chalkboard--I brought up how I would get students to post journal entries on lang-8.com, a social networking site that allows your entries to be corrected by native speakers. Upon seeing the American's deadpan expression which set the alarm bells ringing impossibly louder in my head, I stated that I would set a Twitter account for the entire class if students are scared to have their entries corrected in a public forum.
I share my answers to these questions in detail because I left the interview, feeling absolutely shitty about my chances. JETs are rotated among several schools, so it is not unusual if you meet your students once a fortnight or month. I was so busy trying to control my nerves and thinking of sensible answers quickly to avoid awkward silences that I didn't have the presence of mind to articulate how feasible my suggestions would be. On hindsight, I could have simply prefaced my answer with a "I understand that JETs do not just work in one school. So, if I meet my students once a fortnight, this is what I would do" and tried to explain how the class Twitter would work. So, hopefully this insight helps you to sound more intelligent. LOL.
You will have to stoically endure the longest and most agonising wait of your life after the interview, coupled by the fact that you will be second-guessing your answers and cursing at yourself for screwing up. I'm not being melodramatic. Every other day, I thought about how simplistic I had come across and prayed that it was indeed true that the interview wasn't the sole determinant to secure the job. You just have to live the next two months of your life as best and dignified as you can. The thing that really helped me get through this period was reading how a fellow Singaporean secured an ALT job ON HIS OWN by flying to Japan on a student visa and securing the job there (http://gaijinhan.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/a-singaporean-alt-in-japan/). The old adage "When there's a will, there's a way" never resounded so definitively for me before.
Good luck for your upcoming interview and I hope it works out!
posted by heng at 3:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home