This afternoon I went to interview at another private english learning centre that was, how should I put it, more Nova-esque without the pink bunny. The place was shiny and new (just like a virgin) with huge floorspace, unlike any office I've seen in Hong Kong where conditions are usually cramp and no cubicle divide will ever give you any privacy. There were lounges and coffee tables and they even had a plasma screen tv that was playing The Incredibles. It was like a glorified version of Starbucks.
First, I was made to fill in yet another application form asking me the same questions that had gotten me the interview online, then I had an interview with one of the instructors who worked there and he asked me the standard questions about why I wanted to teach and why I didn't want to do the law thing and my previous experiences teaching. Then I was walked to a lab to do a test that the students sit through to test my English proficiency. The first one was grammar, then listening and then comprehension. I scored full marks in all of them except the listening one.
The listening test was basically listening to a series of two people exchanging a dialogue but it was the most bizarre conversations I'd ever heard and I swear, native speakers would not speak like that. There was even a guy with a fake Jamaican accent pretending to be a taxi driver on the recording. I found the test unsatisfactory because they've set it up as if you were eavesdropping on part of a conversation, so you were unsure of the context in which the speakers were speaking and not only that they give you two answers which could be either or depending on where you think the conversation is taking place. Alright, I admit I'm competitive and bitter but 7/10! C'mon!
After the test I had another interview with the HR guy who was very nice and relaxed. He said that he needed someone to work 6-9, on certain days which I'm not able to do because of my other job and there may be conflict of interest issues because I teach other adults. This seems silly because the other school doesn't have a problem who I teach if I work for another school. Anyway, we'll see what happens. The main reason why I wanted to work for this school is because they have a branch closer to home. Imagine a 30 min commute instead of an hour. I also put my hand up to work Saturdays. You see what taking a three month holiday does to you.
A student called my lesson "lively" this evening and I didn't even have chocolate, coffee or red cordial. Perhaps it was my re-enactment of my bungee jump in NZ? Good god, why do I do these things. I'm so glad none of my readers are my students because a lot of what I do in class would end up on funniest home videos.
First, I was made to fill in yet another application form asking me the same questions that had gotten me the interview online, then I had an interview with one of the instructors who worked there and he asked me the standard questions about why I wanted to teach and why I didn't want to do the law thing and my previous experiences teaching. Then I was walked to a lab to do a test that the students sit through to test my English proficiency. The first one was grammar, then listening and then comprehension. I scored full marks in all of them except the listening one.
The listening test was basically listening to a series of two people exchanging a dialogue but it was the most bizarre conversations I'd ever heard and I swear, native speakers would not speak like that. There was even a guy with a fake Jamaican accent pretending to be a taxi driver on the recording. I found the test unsatisfactory because they've set it up as if you were eavesdropping on part of a conversation, so you were unsure of the context in which the speakers were speaking and not only that they give you two answers which could be either or depending on where you think the conversation is taking place. Alright, I admit I'm competitive and bitter but 7/10! C'mon!
After the test I had another interview with the HR guy who was very nice and relaxed. He said that he needed someone to work 6-9, on certain days which I'm not able to do because of my other job and there may be conflict of interest issues because I teach other adults. This seems silly because the other school doesn't have a problem who I teach if I work for another school. Anyway, we'll see what happens. The main reason why I wanted to work for this school is because they have a branch closer to home. Imagine a 30 min commute instead of an hour. I also put my hand up to work Saturdays. You see what taking a three month holiday does to you.
A student called my lesson "lively" this evening and I didn't even have chocolate, coffee or red cordial. Perhaps it was my re-enactment of my bungee jump in NZ? Good god, why do I do these things. I'm so glad none of my readers are my students because a lot of what I do in class would end up on funniest home videos.
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