Hi,
I would really appreciate some pointers/helpful advice regarding doing a teaching demo!
I’m kind of nervous about doing this. Regarding getting a teaching job here, is great impor-
tance placed on this or is teaching experience,etc. also equally valued? I’m really curious.
Thank you! 
You’ll find some good advice in this thread:
[forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … ching+demo](Need advice for Demo!
In my previous job as a coordinator, I was asked to interview, select and train new teachers. I have come across some who don’t put much faith in demos. I personally wouldn’t want to hire someone without both a demo and a reasonably long interview. A good teacher will fare reasonably well in both.
Demos in Taiwan can often be harrowing - being thrown in to teach somebody else’s class, with little info about the students being provided. I would never do that to someone. But, however a demo is asked for, it is one of the valid means of judging teaching ability.
[quote=“pizza”]Hi,
I would really appreciate some pointers/helpful advice regarding doing a teaching demo!
I’m kind of nervous about doing this. Regarding getting a teaching job here, is great impor-
tance placed on this or is teaching experience,etc. also equally valued? I’m really curious.
Thank you! [/quote]
From my experience doing demos… uh… I don’t really know what to tell you. Don’t be nervous, just look like you can deal with speaking in front of people.
My first demo was at a kids school and I had no idea what the hell I was doing. They gave me a page of the book and told me I had about fifteen minutes before they came back to get me to take me to the class. I was nervous and didn’t really know what to do but I talked to them for like fifteen minutes, asked them questions about the pictures on the page, led them through an activity on the page… hired. Then on the first day of work they told me to get lost for no apparent reason.
So, second demo, for adults, I tried to explain some material, ask questions, etc… they all played dumb (speaking to me with ease before the demo, then pretending they didn’t understand anything at all during… they were mock students) and wouldn’t answer anything, and the boss kept cutting me off and wouldn’t let me finish my demo at all. Never heard back from them, don’t know what the hell their problem was.
Another school had me watch classes for a while before doing a demo… they didn’t even fucking watch my demo. Another teacher did, and told them I did a good job (I did). Hired.
Another kids place had me do a demo and the kids loved me and I used a game with points and gave a prize at the end, and the school loved me. Hired but didn’t accept since they started changing details on me about where I’d work and the hours, etc…
At another adult school they did the same fake students act and just didn’t listen to me or act like they understood me at all. I really don’t know what the hell this kind of demo is supposed to accomplish, or who they actually hire this way. They were completely friendly during the interview beforehand.
Another adult school had me do a demo with fake students, which worried the hell out of me, but they didn’t pretend to be stupid, and they hired me.
I think the main point is to be white and not nervous in front of people. Speak clearly and show that you’re a native speaker. If they act really strangely, apparently that’s normal so don’t worry about it.