Are mock lessons guaranteed in the upcoming interviews?

I’m not against doing them but from what I’ve seen on previous JET’s experiences with their interviews, not everyone seems to be asked to perform a mock lesson.

From US btw.

18 comments
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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

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

  5. 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!

  6. 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.

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

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

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

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