THE WAITING GAME
THE 2023 JET PH CHRONICLES
I. When did your waiting game start, and how did it feel like?
II. What did you do while you waited?
A day after I submitted my requirements on October 19, 2022, my waiting game officially started. I reviewed my application form and the other requirements on the computer. When I was already rereading my Statement of Purpose, dread filled my heart.
"Did I print the correct file?" I revised the SoP so many times, and there were too many files on my drive. I went online on Facebook and sent Christy a message. "Mamsh!!! jgdjgsahjgjagdas I think I won't pass the JET Programme. T^T I made a very big mistakeeee. Heol."
She immediately sent a reply to me. "What happened??? Noooo!!!!"
I told her how I think I printed the wrong SoP file! I was devastated.
"Akala ko pa naman hahaha. Baka nag ooverthink ka lang hehehehe." Christy comforted me. "Hopefully naprint mo yung na-proofread.🙏🙏🙏"
I really hope I printed the correct file. T^T I reminded her to check everything several times before sealing her documents in the brown envelope when she was about to submit her documents. I was too paranoid.
From then on, I decided to stop thinking about the application documents I sent and started watching many videos again about what to do while waiting for the results to come out in January 2023. If I don't, I'll probably sink deeper. haha
I couldn't contain my excitement. I planned things I had to do to keep myself busy (just to not think about the requirements I submitted). Aside from working full-time as a teacher at school, I took a lot of tutees for my freelance ESL job at night. But I still have a lot of time in the morning, so I listed what I can do:
1. Continue leaning Hiragana and Katakana.
I mentioned in my previous blog (Did I? I don't remember) that I enrolled in an N5 class before the submission of the requirements even started. However, so many things happened that I had to stop. Now, it's time to continue learning them again.
I bought flashcards and books, both digital and physical copies, and downloaded mobile applications I can use to familiarize myself with the two Japanese writing systems. Duolingo helped a lot. Then, I enrolled in an online course for basic Japanese on Udemy, so I could get a certificate of completion I could use to strengthen my application and also for me to be better prepared when I finally work in Japan. It will help me navigate around more easily than not knowing anything at all.
It's actually fun to learn it (though difficult) because it's something that I have always wanted to learn. However, I just didn't have the time (I work almost two to four jobs) and the right motivation (I just wanted to learn it to better understand anime, j-music, and j-doramas) to continue learning it. Now I am already learning Kanji and reviewing Hiragana and Katakana every now and then! Hoorah!
2. Talk to a friend who works as an ALT in Japan.
I asked one of my classmates working in Japan (Thank you, Kath!) about the level of students that they have. She is working as an ALT under Interac so I know she knows more than I do when it comes to the preparation of the lesson and materials for the kids. The reason is the third on my list.
When I finalized my lesson plans (I made three), I showed one of them to Kath and asked for her feedback. This is the summary of what she said:
- My lesson plan is a little technical because the approach is more suited to Filipino students (which is a given because I do teach Filo kids)
- Japanese students don’t know the word “nouns”.
- Remove objectives that are unattainable for Japanese learners like “identify what nouns are".
- First-year Junior High students barely know grammar structures. "Mga bandang gitna p nila malalaman un. Usually sa 1st semester konting aral pa ng ABC."
- Suggested speaking conversation practice. She Okay-ed the matching type activity (but I somehow removed this in my final draft)
- Mentioned that an ALT job is to help the kids practice the target structures through speaking. Japanese Teachers of English (JTE) teach them these structures beforehand. They are also the ones who will explain the meaning of the sentences.
- It is difficult if you will teach the grammar point yourself without them knowing how to use it.
3. Write a lesson plan for the Demonstration Teaching.
I looked for sample lesson plans and templates before I began. Of course, we have a lesson plan we use at school (I work as a public school teacher at Pinagbuhatan High School), but the current format only suits a five-to-ten-minute lesson for the demo. In this case, I opted to use the template from one of the senpais (Jara Senpai, Arigatou gozaimasu!) I also made sure that my lesson plan have interactive games and activities and integrated some cultural information about my home province.
I chose some topics I can use for each level: a. Weather (K-Primary) b. Nouns (JHS) c. Sports (SHS). I finished all three around November and decided to choose which I will use come December. Since we will have a long Christmas Break, I decided to make the visual aids at that time as well.
December came, and I stared at my lesson plan and felt like I need to go back to what I really used to do for my classes when I was still teaching English at Highway Hills Integrated School (I teach MAPEH now). I revised it using the same content as the first drafts but in a different format. I changed it to a semi-detailed lesson plan (a 50-minute lesson). I was laughing because when Christy showed her lesson plan to me to check and proofread in January, she also did a semi-detailed one. hahaha I guess we really have to go back to the very basics. You may check the link if you want to see my sample lesson plan for JET Demonstration Teaching.
4. Search for possible Interview Questions.
While watching videos on youtube about acing the JET ALT interviews, one ALT vlogger senpai shared a link where we can download a pdf file. This pdf file contains the compiled possible questions the panels might ask during the interview. I read the questions several times, but after watching another video saying not to think too much about these questions and just review my Statement of Purpose, Application Form, and other documents I submitted, I stopped forming answers in my head.
I asked my elder brother to try to come up with possible questions the panels might ask me based on these documents. However, he said, "You don't need it! You wrote these and you know yourself and all these details in this essay and application form better than I do. Just be yourself, be natural, and be conversational. You can do it!"
I was so frustrated with him at that time. But after my interview, I realized how right he was. No one knows you better than you. If you know your SoP by heart, you will never be lost. The words will flow like a river.
5. Make the materials needed for the Demonstration Teaching.
I am so thankful for discovering Canva a few years ago. It made my life so much easier, especially in making colorful, eye-catching, and exciting presentations. Using Canva, I made the board game I will use for the pair work and the flashcards during Christmas break. I started from December 17, 2022, to January 3, 2023, so I could print them out and laminate them as well.
I decided to print the rest of the materials - like this tarpapel I made using publisher - when I get an email from the embassy. Or, that's what I first thought. hahaha I was hopeful, really hopeful, I would get an e-mail.
I honestly did not have much time to review my English grammar. I did it the day before the interview while finalizing my traditional materials. I didn't know what kind of exam we will be given, but I remember one live video from Teacher Macs saying we have to review our subject-verb agreements, punctuations, sentence construction, Pronoun-antecedent rules as well as vocabulary. I re-read my SoP for the last time before I went to bed.
7. Record and practice the flow of the lesson.
I have been practicing the delivery of my lesson for months after I finalized my PPT (only in front of the computer) while waiting for my tutees to join my zoom (similar to this video below).
But during the early morning of the interview, exam, and demo, I decided to practice one last time using my phone camera to see what gestures I should use and the facial expressions I should have for specific parts of the lesson. I also have to think about how I could shorten a 50-minute lesson to the minutes required by the JET.
These are the things I did to keep myself busy during the first waiting game.
