Interviewing For Kindergarten English Teacher In Japan

I had my second interview yesterday so I thought I would write up my experience and give you a little update on where I am with my job hunt. I've been watching YouTube videos of kindergartens and reading about teaching kids recently to work out in my head if teaching kids really is somehting I can do. I have had an occasional thought of "can I actually do this", but I think it's just a case of diving in head first and doing what's best for the kids.

The first interview was with one of the area managers. We had a chat about Japan and he asked me basic interview questions as well as some country and job specific questions:

• In your experience what are the good and bad points about the Japanese culture?
  
• What was the best and worst jobs you had?
  
• What problems might you face teaching in a Kindergarten and how would you handle them?

I felt I answered them well and I came away feeling positive.

The second interview was with another area manager and this one was a bit more intense with more in-depth questions about how I would handle a badly behaved child and my ideas for teaching, as well as questions about teamwork. I was then given 5 minutes to make a lesson plan using a few lesson aids. The interviewer then returned and pretended to be a 5 year old, which in all honesty was a little awkward. I'm sure he felt just as much of a tit as I did when I explained that "this is a cow, can you say cow? A cow goes moo" to a fully grown adult. Anyway, after a few descriptions of animals I moved on and explained how I would expand the lesson into the full 30 minutes.

He seemed pleased with the lesson plan but I wish I'd tried a bit harder at acting out the animals. It was a bit awkward, but I think that was purely because we were both adults and recognized that we were both acting like tits! It did give me a little feeling of doubt on whether I can do this but I realize it will be totally different when doing it for kids, since you get a lot of feedback and they're not judging your ability to teach.

So now I wait with my fingers crossed to hear whether or not I'm invited for further interviews or if I get accepted for the job.

yonasu said on Thu 2009/02/05 09:37 JST:

Haha, that sounds like a weird interview! Never heard any stories like that from other teachers. Doing it in front of the kids is one thing, that's just fun, but in front of a single adult who acts like a 5-year-old, naaaah I'd rather not do that, haha. You should have recorded a video of it :P

Well, I hope you get invited for a third interview or get the job!

Carlie said on Thu 2009/02/05 10:10 JST:

It sounds like fun! I hope you get the job. Just think of all the exercise you would get jumping and playing with kids :) They have way too much energy

Chris said on Thu 2009/02/05 11:15 JST:

@Yonaus: Thanks. No way would I want a video of that leaked onto youtube haha

@Carlie: Yeah it will be good. A bit of a drastic change from sitting at a desk. I think my body might be shocked at first :)

Honor said on Thu 2009/02/05 12:55 JST:

It's much easier making a fool of yourself when you're working with kids! They don't have the inhibitions that we adults seem to accumulate. Good luck Chris - crossing my fingers.

Chris said on Thu 2009/02/05 19:09 JST:

hey, good luck with the job

i currently teach at a private school in Japan where the kids are between the ages of 2 and 9 years old so if you want any tips/hints/lesson ideas just drop me a line!

btw i know the feeling of acting like a tit infront of adults all too well and can say it does get easier!

Nick Ramsay said on Thu 2009/02/05 21:59 JST:

Haha, I was made to do the same thing in my first interviews, so years later when the tables were turned, I got to play the 5-year old! It's loads more fun than being the teacher, that's for sure!

Hope you get the job! :)

Chris said on Fri 2009/02/06 12:43 JST:

@Chris: Thanks for the advice. If I get the job I may be in touch!

@Nick: lol yeah I bet, Thanks :)

Danielle said on Sun 2009/02/08 03:37 JST:

LOL Thanks for sharing that Chris. I'm sure he was as aware of the silliness as you were and will take that, and interview nervousness into account. Good luck, fingers crossed for you - can't wait to hear if you got it!

Tom said on Sun 2009/02/08 16:41 JST:

I've taught kindergarten before. Remember to go slow. Way slow.

dshack said on Sun 2009/02/08 19:44 JST:

Hey, awesome new design!

Saitoko said on Wed 2009/02/11 19:01 JST:

Please Please PLEASE be careful when you sign on with a school! I taught for two months at a juku where at least half the kids had serious psychological/emotional problems. There were no consequences for bad behavior (because the staff was afraid the kids' parents would simply withdraw them if they made any complaints, thereby reducing the amount of income for the school), so teaching became a nightmare. Please find out what their discipline policy is regarding disruptive kids, or you may find yourself having to constantly be separating kids who are beating on each other, putting up with ugly language they hear at home, or bursting out into angry rages while you're trying to conduct your class. Make sure that they aren't sticking kids who have serious conditions like autism or Tourette's into classes with kids who can learn in a normal classroom setting. If they do, the whole experience could turn into a nightmare very quickly.

I don't at all mean to sound like a big downer - I just ended up learning the hard way about this kind of thing...I don't want it to happen to anyone else! At least if you ask the questions up front and it turns out they lied about it, you won't have to feel bad if you end up quitting after awhile. I wish I had!! I think a decent private school, or even a public school with rules might be fine, though...It's probably a lot of these after school programs that are desperate for money from any mom who uses it as an excuse to be able to go off and get drunk unencumbered at the Saizeria across the street that you have to look out for (yikes, what a run-on that was! ;) ). As the escalators in all of their wisdom impart to us, "gochuui kudasai!" ;)

Hao said on Thu 2009/02/12 08:06 JST:

I've also been a tutor of Chinese/Taiwanese kids and teenagers for a while, and sometimes it's tough to not kill them, I must say. But overall, I had a good experience and you will learn a lot from teaching, especially learning what works and what doesn't with kids.

Good luck and let us know how it goes ^^ cheers~

Chris Gaunt said on Tue 2009/02/17 16:17 JST:

Thanks for the advice Saitoko. That's one question I didn't ask. However I didn't get the job so nevermind! I'll think about what you said for future jobs tho!