Are mock lessons guaranteed in the upcoming interviews?

18 comments

1. No

2. No, but be prepared

3. I didn’t have one but best to have an idea of one just in case.

4. I accidentally did one (well, two) on my own…? They asked me how I would teach grammar points and I asked if I could show them, then did a very brief lesson on prepositions. I just naturally speak best using demonstrations.

   I also taught them about my country by doing a silly dance…again, not something they asked for (they just asked me to describe), but I felt like embarrassing myself apparently??? I literally do not know what possessed me, but I just did it…? Not sure if they were going to ask me to do a demo, but that kinda avoided the need. The former ALT even commented on it as I left, so I think they were going to, but skipped it.

   I felt reeeeaaallly stupid afterwards, but it worked out well.

   Sooo my recommendation is to practice a few 1-2 minute lessons you could give on the commonly asked questions for JET interviews. You can google those.

   That way you’re prepared for a mini lesson or you can do a small demo yourself and avoid the need haha.

5. From UK, no one I know was asked to, I feel like maybe this is just a US thing. Correct me if I’m wrong.

6. Well, the Philippines, I believe, does the teaching demo differently. They require the applicants to submit a lesson plan before their scheduled interview.

7. I wasnt asked to do one. Others in my district group were asked. I think it depends on the panel.

8. I did not do one

9. I would say its 50/50 but if you get one it is generally the hardest part of the interview (Im from Australia).

   I did one and wasn’t super prepared.

   It’s would be best if you had two rehearsed 1. A self introduction lesson about you and your country. 2. Something easy like colours or animals.

   No need to plan for a 10min mock lesson but have a 1 or 2 min lesson up your sleeve is best.

   They’ll ask at the very minimum ask something you’d like to teach, and if they want a mock lesson they’ll blatantly say to give a demo.

   Good luck on your interview!

10. 50/50

    For me it was that they were satisfied by my fluency but wanted to see it in action as a lesson.

    A friend of mine was the opposite, they wanted to see how he would do with 0 fluency.

11. Nothing is guaranteed. I personally was not asked for a lesson plan. No prior teaching experience (or any experience abroad). US Applicant.

12. I did not have one in my interview

13. I was asked to do one. But don’t fear it, after all, this is your job haha

14. No. I have a teaching license, they didn’t ask me to teach anything. Always good to be prepared though.

15. Nope! My recommendation letters were written by a former JET and a co-teacher. If you have demonstrated classroom experience, it might just be one question about various classrooms/educational differences.

16. Nope I didn’t have one

17. I didn’t have one.

18. Whether or not you have a mock lesson appears to vary according to the interviewing team.
    As an interviewing team, the pros of having a mock lesson are that you get to see how flexible the person is; how she handles unexpected situations; and how she creatively thinks on her feet. This may obviate the need to ask some other left-field question that tests the same needs – like the atomic bombing question. The cons of having a mock lesson (for the interviewing team) is that it can eat up precious interview minutes that could be more productively used to probe other concerns about the candidate. A good interview team wants to answer its questions about a candidate’s suitability while managing scarce time well. Twenty minutes (or 30 for a CIR interview) is not very much time to assess a candidate in order to rank order her with the other interviewees. Any questions/situations that can kill two birds with one stone are golden.