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Preparing for ECC and AEON interviews

djchuckdeez

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22 Oct 2009
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I was wondering if I could get some pointers on the interview. What to expect, what they are looking for in a person to teach overseas etc.. I am also concerned about the the grammar test they distribute as well. What kind of things should I be studying for?

I had a friend who did the lesson plan (for AEON) and he told to try to keep it simple, be energetic/smile a lot, and to do something where the students can interact with each other. I was thinking about teaching some conversational English and giving them a scenario to work with. For example: how to order food, or something like that.

If somebody could break these interviews down for or have any other helpful suggestions, let me know! Thanks
 
If you haven't already, for any responses, I suggest posting this at the ESL Cafe web site.


All I've heard was that ECC is reputed to be the real bear of them all.

Good luck ! :)
 
Hiya.

With 英会話 schools, you want to provide a very student-based environment with very little teacher talk time. The goal is to get the students to speak and interact a lot. So lecturing, demonstrations, anything involving the teacher speaking more than the students is frowned upon.

I suggest something like this, which is very similar to your suggestion. I'll break it down a bit more.

First, introduce a goal of some sort. "Today we're going to buy a hamburger at McDonald's", or "Today we're going to learn to introduce ourselves". Something focused and goal-oriented, a concept the schools are big on right now because their advertising pitch rests on providing students with immediately effective language useful for traveling and so on.

From there, introduce the necessary vocabulary/phrasing. Anything the students might not know (in this imaginary situation) such as "fries", "napkin", "would you like...with that", etc. It's all based on real world experience and isn't meant to look book-ish or high-brow. It's meant to be immediately functional.

Moreover you want to try to elicit the language from the students rather than, again, teaching/lecturing it. So, e.g. you can say "What do you eat at Mc Donalds?", (a topic everyone can join in on), and that gets them talking immediately and saying stuff. Write it down and use it later, you know, if one student says 'Milkshake' have them order a milkshake later instead of the burger. Ask them what they put on the burger, get someone to say the word 'pickle' so they can say stuff like 'No pickles please' etc.

So, after you set the topic, elicit/present the vocab in an interactive fashion, you finally get them to act it out. All in all, your talk time should be minimal and the 'students' (the other ppl in the interview) should be doing all the talking with minimal guidance from the 'teacher'. Do that that with a harmless metrosexual smile and you're guaranteed a job at an 英会話.

I did a phone interview so.. my smile wasn't an issue thank god.

As for what they want in a person, they want someone who knows as little about Japan as possible but is really REALLY interested in coming here for whatever reason. They want someone who's easy on the eyes and ears and fairly easy-going. Dress professional, wearing a suit is big points, you know, same as any interview.

In the personal interview they will get you to do the lesson thing again. It's important to maintain a very upbeat and smiley lesson. No matter how 'akward' the interviewer pretends to make it, or how confused you are as to what to do next, maintaining that smile and just rolling with the punches in a non-abrasive way is what they want. Just smile.. nod.. that's almost pretty much it to be honest.

You also want to simplify language. So, if the interviewer is pretending to be Japanese and makes an intentional mistake or acts confused, and you have to correct them, don't get preachy and verbose, you want to say things easily and mimic. Instead of "yes well tasty is when something tastes really good and we like it, it's similar to delicious" just go "This sandwich is tasty, mmm" and rub your stomach. That kinda stuff, they love, (as long as it's not overdone or condescending/child-like. It still has to be real-world English not baby-talk).

One thing I noticed, you don't want to be the guy who immediately asks lots of questions about the lifestyle in Japan to the degree that it becomes obvious this will be a big change for you. You wanna be all like "What? In some places they have squatting toilets in the ground instead of proper sitting-ones? Well I'm keen to give it a try!", etc. So basically only ask intelligent/fun questions and only after you're sure it hasn't been/won't be answered.

And that's about all I can remember.

Working at an 英会話 is a joke so one last piece of advice, come here with a goal in mind. Save up cash, learn Japanese, do martial arts, pick up a hobby, whatever your fancy. That way you'll know when it's time to leave and the repetitive nature of the work won't get to you.

Good luck.
 
ESL Cafe has all your answers. Go there and do a search.

Working at an eikaiwa can be, but doesn't necessarily have to be, a joke. The market is flooded now, so realize that a pulse and blue eyes may not get you in the door anymore.

BakaKanadajin said:
they want someone who knows as little about Japan as possible but is really REALLY interested in coming here for whatever reason. They want someone who's easy on the eyes and ears and fairly easy-going.
Some places want that first point, but with a flooded market, some employers don't want someone who is so green that they don't know the first thing. Easy on the eyes? I beg to differ; that's an old myth about wanting only beautiful blue-eyed blond-haired Americans. Personality is the main selling point, but also the ability to show them you won't freak out over culture shock.
 
Glenski you have valid points. By easy on the eyes I just meant friendly looking not hot. I got turned down at my Aeon interview because.... I walked in with a black eye eeheh.. but you know shoganai. (I caught it training and I tried to explain that to them but anyway) it highlights their unwillingness to kinda look past that sort of superficial thing.

At the moment I'd agree that since a lot of overseas hiring has been reduced or stopped, people with experience and visas already in-hand are the preference for filling in any labour gaps.
 
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