I went back 6 pages of threads and couldn’t find answers…
Saw that thread about me answering a Skype call and nearly flashing the prospective employers?
Well, they asked me to do a demo the next day after that fiasco of an interview. So I went, got a book on the topic they requested, went through the book to find points of interest, extraordinary vocab, and thought up ways to engage the kids in interactive questions. Over Skype, the kids liked me enough and I had the teachers nearly peeing themselves laughing at my reactions to the class and whatnot.
Afterwards, we started discussing scheduling, permits, and then got to pay. And that’s when their faces dropped from to :s
And then I got the "We’ll contact you with questions! " dismissal.
So I chalked it up to “Oh, denied.” But no!
They contacted me again and want a demo lesson plan created from their textbook. Enough to cover the basics and extra activities surrounding a short story basically. I asked a bunch of questions to make sure I knew what they wanted.
Now, I’m cynical as fuck. Are they just using me to get my lesson plan work or are they genuinely interested in me as a hire?
I’m willing to make up the lesson plan and all cause their teaching methods are pretty far out awesome (like really encouraging teachers to do what they think will be best, using textbooks published in the US, and cool with creativity) and its obvious the kids are ACTUALLY learning. Even from my Skype demo I could tell. And the school is dead close to my apartment and will give me much needed ARC. And I guess they weren’t scared off by my slightly-higher-than-Tealit-$600nt salary request. But again. I’m cynical as fuck.
[quote=“bigduke6”]Never heard of a Skype demo. Live interaction is what is required in the environment you will work in.
[/quote] I offered to be interviewed over Skype. And then they were liek “Hmmm… Can you do a demo tomorrow?” “Sure why not”
While I’m sure your point is relevant to some ESL teachers in Taiwan, it wasn’t like that. Believe me I can tell the difference.
[quote=“bigduke6”]
Also, I have never heard of a school asking for an eight hour lesson plan. Sounds fucked.
It is usually, interview, quick demo, hired or booted. Anything more then it is suspicious.
Next they will ask you to come in for a longer demo (read: free substitute for teacher John who is too hungover to teach).[/quote]
I mean, its not like “Outline an 8 hour lesson plan”. It was “How many hours are the kids in the school per week?” “The kids come in this many hours a week and usually we teach them one story. …You can create a lesson plan around this story in our textbook if you want.”
Walk in.
Throw sticky ball.
Get Kevin or Shelly to throw sticky ball.
Hand out candy.
Repeat as necessary.
Sorted. All you need to know about teaching English in Taiwan. Now, you just have to be willing to work for 200NTD/hour, plus unpaid overtime, or whatever the going rate is these days.
You told them your salary expectations and they said basically: yeah, RIIIIGHT! Now they’re just trying to get as much out of you as they can. They have DEFINITELY made up their minds already on whether or not to hire you. Money talks in that business.
Quoted for truth. They would laugh their arses off at how stupid foreigners are if the OP actually gave them a lesson plan. These days, for me, it’s a month’s worth of money up front, in my hand or I don’t do privates or any other special events. Then again, you and I can afford this level of cynicism and bravado because we’re salaried and married to locals. I wouldn’t be unmarried and fresh off the boat these days for anything. What a horror story.
What kind of school is this? It honestly seems like a LOT of work if it is your typical cram school. GuyInTaiwan is right about the throw the sticky ball routine, but a little off on his going rate Although I am sure he was just taking the piss out of the amazing cram school market and the bright future that it has ahead of it. If they wanted me to do a lesson plan and all that kaboozle, then I would bloody hope that it is a “real” job, if you get what I mean and you are getting paid a lot more than the 600ish an hour most schools pay for sticky ball performances.
Quoted for truth. They would laugh their arses off at how stupid foreigners are if the OP actually gave them a lesson plan. These days, for me, it’s a month’s worth of money up front, in my hand or I don’t do privates or any other special events. Then again, you and I can afford this level of cynicism and bravado because we’re salaried and married to locals. I wouldn’t be unmarried and fresh off the boat these days for anything. What a horror story.[/quote]
Well, I can’t read minds, so I can’t tell you which road to take. Many times I’ve been wrong about people and what they were up to. Both ways, too–thought there was mischief afoot and there wasn’t, and thought everything was copacetic and it wasn’t. And that’s not just here in Taiwan.
But for me, if my head were clear (of interfering emotions, thoughts, and so on), and my physiology and brain chemistry and so on were within a good range for functionality, I think the analysis would involve (1) the possible loss if I did the lesson plan and they weren’t shooting straight, and (2) the possible loss if I didn’t do the lesson plan and they were shooting straight.
You know that thing where, like, somebody buys a camera or something, and they find out they could have got it a lot cheaper elsewhere, and they feel bad, but more because they think they look like a rube than because of the missed opportunity to save money? Well, I think maybe that thing’s not always very useful here. 'Course maybe that’s just me.
Ok, I solved this dilemna, and I think Charlie Jack in his own way is suggesting what I’ve decided.
I could be pessimistic and damn-everyone-cause-they’re-all-out-to-get-me and listen to bad-experiences-and-worse-attitudes, or I could just do the damned lesson plan.
Either way, I have more to gain and less to lose.
I’m going to at least give myself the chance to be given an offer for the job.
Yea.
So… uh… who wants to help me make a lesson plan? :help:
Already did. Okay, slightly cynical perhaps, but you could scare them off the other way with overkill. Probably what you need to do is make the “serious lesson plan”, but have the references to all of the stupid shit also. Hedge your bets, in other words, and make it look like you’re serious “wink wink” so they can make it look like they’re serious to the parents “wink wink”.
Already did. Okay, slightly cynical perhaps, but you could scare them off the other way with overkill. Probably what you need to do is make the “serious lesson plan”, but have the references to all of the stupid shit also. Hedge your bets, in other words, and make it look like you’re serious “wink wink” so they can make it look like they’re serious to the parents “wink wink”.[/quote]
Right… so why is it everyone is disregarding the point that I made about the kids actually seeming like they’re learning something??
I mean I was FLABBERGASTED at these 6 year old comprehension level. And when I asked how they managed to get them at such proficiency, the teachers said they use California textbooks.
Maybe. Some of us have seen all sorts of things and seen all sorts of people claiming they’re serious. The fact is that at the end of the day, the schools are a business. They’re there to make money, which means they please the parents. Maybe the parents are indeed serious. The experiences of many people on this board would suggest many parents aren’t, but that everyone wants to pretend that they are. Everyone knows what the situation is, but you can’t actually say it out loud. The real test would be when those kids got to doing the various English tests required by the government system. It would be logical to think that someone who speaks English well would be well-placed to perform on such tests, but that’s not actually always the case, so then it would be interesting to see whether the parents were still serious about this way of teaching kids or about their performances on those tests.
I would suggest that any organisation that was really serious about education in this field would require some fairly hefty EFL qualifications and experience and that they would go on the strength of references and an interview. There would be no demo. How often do teachers (at any level) have to do a demo in any kind of educational organisation elsewhere in the world? As if a 20 minute demo, especially done over Skype, can be taken seriously. Thus, I suspect that they are indeed playing the “we’re serious ‘wink wink’” game.
Good luck to you. I am a jaded hack and I hope your experience of teaching here turns out better than mine.
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]
I would suggest that any organisation that was really serious about education in this field would require some fairly hefty EFL qualifications and experience and that they would go on the strength of references and an interview. There would be no demo. How often do teachers (at any level) have to do a demo in any kind of educational organisation elsewhere in the world? As if a 20 minute demo, especially done over Skype, can be taken seriously. Thus, I suspect that they are indeed playing the “we’re serious ‘wink wink’” game.
Good luck to you. I am a jaded hack and I hope your experience of teaching here turns out better than mine.[/quote]
Hmm… yes that does indeed make sense.
I don’t even know why I’m responding because you seem to really throw the time people have taken to answer your posts into their faces. But yeah, many 6 years olds have been learning English since they were three, so their comprehension is excellent. There are great schools and there are horrible schools, and you can never be totally sure until you have actually worked there for a couple of months.
to :s
" dismissal.
Although I am sure he was just taking the piss out of the amazing cram school market and the bright future that it has ahead of it. If they wanted me to do a lesson plan and all that kaboozle, then I would bloody hope that it is a “real” job, if you get what I mean and you are getting paid a lot more than the 600ish an hour most schools pay for sticky ball performances.