How about if you both know what they’re looking for?
How about if you both know what they’re looking for?[/quote]
If you know what they think they should be looking for? Yes, you’re right, I stand corrected. In that case it is possible to bullshit them, although I’m not sure what your average Taiwanese bushiban owner looks for in a teacher. I’d guess that discipline and fun are the two main factors, so if you incorporate both of those into a demo you’ll probably get the job (assuming they don’t find anyone cheaper 
).
Demos in UK schools will be observed by experienced ESL teachers and I don’t think you could bullshit many of them, certainly not for an entire lesson. You either teach well or you don’t.
Never been asked to do one in the Yook. It may well happen, I’ve just not ever been asked to do one. ESOL and ESL are almost always hourly paid, though, so there wouldn’t be much point.
Hey folks, just wanted to let you all know how I approach this scenario. After the candidate has passed the interview, I invite them to sub one of my classes(it’s paid and 90 minutes long) Watch it for some of that 90 minutes, and get feedback from the students as well(higher level or older ones)
Now THAT’S a scary thought!
Now THAT’S a scary thought![/quote]
Yes, that is fucked up. Even tartanic knockers (tartan knickers) knows that!!!
Teachers and popularity are bad things.
Talking about student popularity contests, here’s the mother of all such things:
Earlier this year at our English Village, the government sent a team of academics to assess the E.V. programme. One of their main measures involved administering a survey to eleven year olds as to whether they thought their English had improved and whether they enjoyed the E.V.
This assessment was to see whether it would be a good idea to expand the concept of E.V.s into other counties. Supposedly, it costs 18,000,000NT to set one up, and by my calculations of staff salaries alone (not to mention Dewey’s cut, which is partially offset by kids paying to come to the E.V.), it costs well over 6,000,000NT/year to run an E.V.
I told them during the feedback session at the end of the day that if I were going to be investing that kind of money, I’d want better information than the opinions of some eleven year olds. It probably fell on deaf ears though because it almost certainly wasn’t about assessing the value of the programme; it was about confirming the decision to expand the programme that had already been made, no doubt by someone getting some sort of kickbacks.
I also told them that in order to assess the effects of the English Village programme on students’ English, they’d need to run a long term study (which is impossible, given the programme lasts for a day), including pre-testing and post-testing, with a control group and a subject group, trying to isolate the independent variable. For fuck’s sake, any first year social sciences student could have told them that the whole exercise was a complete waste of time.
Most of the students love this programme though (who wouldn’t as it’s a day off school to go and look at the foreign zoo animals?) so expect more of these things to pop up all over the island in coming years.
EV is a government set-up? I’d always thought it was a private venture, Guy. I assumed it was like that Baby Boss thing.
Asking a bunch of kids if they think they’re English has improved after one day and then using that as a reason to expand the operation. Good stuff.
I’ve heard that Happy Village (the one up on Dayou Road) was originally set up and run by some private organisation, though I don’t know if this is true. It’s run by the elementary school where it operates now. The other two (ours in Taoyuan, and the one in Zhongli) have always been run by the schools where they’re based as far as I know. The Zhongli one was first, then ours, then Happy Village. Dewey holds the contract though. It’s all really complicated because technically, the schools employ us and own/run the EVs, but Dewey has some level of operational involvement, and they handle the recruiting and payroll (taking a cut of the action). Also, we and the Zhongli teachers (and I think the Happy Village teachers too, but I’m not sure) teach classes at the attached schools. We were originally employed mainly for the E.V., but we’ve moved more towards teaching normal classes as time has gone on.
I’ve heard there are now other English villages. One of my colleagues’ fiancee’s nieces went to one down in Gaoxiong, but it’s run differently to ours.
[quote=“TomHill”][color=#4000FF]Mod’s Note: This post was split from this thread.
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Why wouldn’t you do a demo? Can you provide two Manadrin speaking references, one professional, one personal? I have taught in the finest schools in the UK and a demo was mandatory. I would expect the same in the lowest of ranked schools because they should model themselves on the establishments following the highest levels of practise. I would be highly dubious of a school who didn’t want to satisfy themselves visually that I could teach. A paper C.V. can hide a multitude of sins.
Too often people arrive in Taiwan and forget everything except how to fuck, complain and drink alcohol. What is worse is when X years down the line the only things they remember are their own bullshit homegrown fallacies. (Aimed at NO ONE in particular.)[/quote]
My point in the original thread may have related to money, but it had nothing to do with “working for free”.
Today a government employee visited the school where I was hired (I don’t have a visa yet, but I’m not working yet either). She gave me a copy of “What Foreign Professionals Need To Know While Working In Taiwan”. In the section, “Laws and Regulations and Penalties Concerning Employment”:
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“2. Penalties
(1) If you violated the first regulation mentioned above {work without your employer applying for a work permit}, you will be given a fine between 30,000 NTD to 150,000 NTD, and be ordered to leave the country within days, and not allowed to re-enter to work.”
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For any who still doesn’t get it, this includes “demo” lessons. You get caught, you get f***ed. Anyone who wants to argue the point can go take it up with the government because they’re the ones making the laws - not me, and not you.
Nice one. I like the way you think.[/quote]
Stupid … so if Richard branson just happended to own the school you wouldn’t work for him. Yep you guys will go far in life with attitudes like this.
What would Richard Branson know about the teaching profession? Was he a teacher at one point? He might be a great businessman, but what does that have to do with the price of fish?
What does teaching in a buxiban have to do with education? It’s a business.
What does teaching in a buxiban have to do with education? It’s a business.[/quote]
They market it as an educational business. That’s what it has to do with education. A lot of people are being deceived.
I have an interview at Alphaville today and after reading this I’m contemplating not going. Anyone have any recent experience with them?
Go do your demo.
I think they are Big In Japan!!! :discodance: :discodance: :discodance:
Go do your demo.[/quote]
I dont really feel like wasting my time doing an interview/demo that wont result in anything positive…
I think they are Big In Japan!!! :discodance: :discodance: :discodance:[/quote]
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
From what I’ve read, they require a 30 minute demo and something like a 20k NT deposit. I am fine doing the demo but I will not agree to the deposit. And while not going to the interview will not result in anything positive, at least I wont be wasting 4+ hours of my life. (Its going to take me around 1.5 hours to get there)