All the interviewees checked in and sat in a classroom (it was at U of T) with a video playing of people who work with JET as ALTs and CIRs. It was interesting b/c it showed the perspective of rural, urban, male, female, married, ones who brought over families, etc. Then you are told to go up to your interview room and wait to be called in. So I stood outside and nervously waited. Then I was brought into the room and introduced to 2 very nice and pleasant interviewers. I was expecting 3 people so I was a little relieved.
The interview wasn't so bad at all - it went smoothly (for the most part) and I left feeling pretty good - I even got them to laugh :). I did an intro of myself explaining my personality,why teaching is important, why I chose the program, and what my goal is for the future. Then we got into questions. Each person asked certain questions in a specific order - it was very organized. I majored in Film Studies and was surprised when they asked what I knew about Canadian film (they wanted to know your knowledge of Canadian culture) and I totally blanked. I studied a Cdn film course for half a semester and dropped it for scheduling reasons and so know virtually nothing about it. I told them I never studied it b/c I chose not to (which is pretty much the truth) and he nodded and we moved on. They asked if I would get involved with school activities with the kids after school, if I ever had a conflict with a boss and how I handled it. How I handled conflicts with my friends, what the biggest negative aspect of moving to Japan could be for me and how I would handle it, if I've had any major issues with travel before and how did I handle it. They also asked what I've done to prepare to move to Japan and learn Japanese culture. And if I know of any companies in Canada that are affiliated with Japan that encourage involvement between them.
Then they asked me to pretend to teach children (they would be the children, aged 11) the parts of the body, assuming the kids only know the BASIC English words. I had to convince them to take part in the lesson. So I decided to do "Head and shoulders. Knees and toes." I started by standing up and asking them to do the same. I actioned it, was enthusiastic, and really tried hard. They acted like they didn't want to and didn't understand (even though I clearly showed I wanted them to rise) and I had to go stand beside them and practically beg. Finally they got up and I had them repeat the words while touching their head, etc. The female interviewer caught on fast, but the male didn't and made it a little uncomfortable to really teach. I mean, I've been in school for many years and have never seen a child adamantly refuse to take part in an activity - do they do that in Japan? I guess it's to show how you would deal with it but come on! Gimme a break! Anyway I continued and he cut me off after about 3 minutes and then the interview continued as usual.
Then I got to ask any questions I had and that was pretty much it. I didn't get asked any questions about politics, celebs, places, sexual harassment, etc. It was over in about 22 minutes. I'm not sure that's a good thing since all the forums have said it took them about 30 minutes. They were a lot nicer than what I was expecting and the time flew by. So that's it. I'll hear back if I got the job around the same time I'll hear back about a placement for Company X (in about a month or so).
I hope I get the job. It would be nice to have options available. I got cut off during the lesson so that could be a bad thing. But I'm pretty confident I showed them why I really want to teach, that I'm passionate, dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job. Results coming in a few weeks :)
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