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THE SECOND STEP
THE 2023 JET PH CHRONICLES
I. What are the things you did to prepare for the Second Screening?
II. What happened during the Second Screening?
After receiving an e-mail from the Embassy inviting me for the second screening of the 2023 Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Philippines, I read the attachments right away and finalized my Lesson Plan and Powerpoint Presentation. We were told to send them ahead of the interview so they can have them ready once we go to the Embassy for our scheduled interview.
I also messaged my boss from Japan and my former Head Teacher in the English Department. They were so kind to say yes to writing a reference letter for me. I told them about the good news and thanked them over and over for their help. I messaged my closest friends and my family about it while crying in my room. Yes, yes, I am such a crybaby. I know. haha
I sent the attachments and planned what things I had to do in preparation for the second screening. I only had one week to prepare and at that time it was a busy week at school. February is when we celebrate National Arts Month and there are a lot of activities lined up for the month. Meetings, Learning Action Cells, MAPEH Month Activities, and In-service training overlapped with one another. It's also the Second Quarter Exams of the kids and after that would be the submission of grades. If I don't put the things I had to do in clear bullet points, I will certainly be lost. haha
Things to do:
1. Finalize the Lesson Plan and Powerpoint presentation - done
2. Put together the tarpapels I printed out a week before.
3. Read the interview questions and reread my Statement of Purpose/Application Form.
4. Review important grammar points.
5. Practice for the lesson for the Demonstration teaching.
6. Print out the Interview Voucher and fill it out.
7. Have my picture taken to be attached to the voucher.
8. Book an Airbnb room for Christy and me.
9. Pack the things I will need for the interview.
(clothes, toiletries, food, Instructional materials to bring)
I did most of these the weekend before my schedule (January 28-29) since I have to go to work during the weekdays. There was also a BSP Investiture and Encampment for Grade 9 and Grade 10 students. However, I opted not to volunteer since it is scheduled from Friday evening to Sunday morning. And that is literally just the time for me to prepare for the second screening. I booked the Airbnb from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, Christy was scheduled the day after me so we had to book two nights and three days instead of one night and two days. But that's okay. At least, we won't be stuck in traffic on the day of the interview.
The place is pretty near the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. It was just a few-minute tricycle ride away from it. It was also very near the Mall of Asia and stalls and restaurants we can visit to have our meals. I dropped by the MOA once I had already checked in at my Airbnb. I had to buy some toiletries I didn't have at home and food for the night and the morning before I go to the Embassy so I don't need to go out of the house.
I was already in bed at 8 o'clock, but I fell asleep probably around 11 o'clock in the evening. I had a hard time sleeping early because of the new environment and also because of my excitement for the next day's event. I slept late and woke up early. I was already awake around 4AM so I decided to practice my demo one last time, take a bath, dry my hair, put on my make-up (sigh, I am not very good at this lol), and have my breakfast. I left the apartment an hour before my schedule. Sir Gene and Ma'am Ingrid were waiting at the designated place for JETs when I arrived. They are also 2023 JET PH applicants. I met Sir Gene on Facebook and Ma'am Ingrid only on that day. They said they were nervous. But I was not feeling anything like that. I was excited. I did not feel nervous at all. I don't feel nervous before an interview or demo. I usually feel it once I am about to begin, and somehow forget about my nervousness once I start speaking. haha
I won't talk about the questions for the exam or what kind of exam we were given, nor the questions asked of me for the interview because we are advised not to to protect the integrity of the Screening Process. What I can tell is that you need to know your Statement of Purpose by heart. But I think, this one shouldn't be a problem if you wrote it from your heart. These are your feelings, your experiences, and the people you knew and have cultural exchanges with. These are your goals, you plans, your aspirations, and your love for Japan. If all those things you have written are true, then your words will flow like a river. There is nothing to fear. I will focus more on my Demonstration Teaching.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Anne, a licensed Teacher of English (Secondary Education Graduate) and TESOL certified educator. I work full-time as a public school classroom teacher (I teach Music, Arts, P.E., and Health these days though) and work part-time as a freelance online ESL instructor for international students. So I can say that I have a general idea of what it would be like to teach as an ALT. There are of course some differences since it is like a combination of both my jobs. And that is what excites me! haha
Enough about myself. lol Let me move forward to my lesson. I chose Nouns as my topic (as I have mentioned in my previous blog) targeted towards Junior High School 7th graders. I greeted the panel with a good morning and started with my lesson. I literally memorized a Japanese introduction to say before my demo but I totally forgot to do it!!! hahahaha I told you. I get nervous before I begin, and when I am nervous I forget so many things. jashdkjashdkas
If you don't wish to read this part, you can just watch the video I recorded. This video generally showed what I did (or I should've done based on my LP haha) in the Demonstration Teaching Part of my application. I am not sure if other countries do this, too. But in the Philippines, we are required to do Demo Teaching.
I sang the Good Morning song, asked the students (imaginary) how they were, and asked if there were any absentees for the day. Then, it was time for the review part of the lesson, I told them to introduce themselves to their seatmates (since in my lesson the previous topic was introducing oneself to someone new). After that, I told them that we will be learning more names of people, things, animals, and places around us and that I will be singing a song. I asked them questions after so they had to listen carefully to the song. However, since we are given a limited time for the demo, I cut both the Good Morning song and the Noun Song short and proceeded to the activities. (I saw a typo in the title so I covered it with a plain white sticker)
I made traditional materials for the demo. The lyrics are flashed on the screen and also posted on the whiteboard. The lyrics on the whiteboard had detachable pictures because I will ask students to take the pictures from the lyrics and put them on a printed shelf I made. But, again, since time is limited, I also printed a shelf that is already filled with the pictures on the lyrics. So it would be like the kids had already taken them out and put them on the shelf quickly. lol.
After that, I told them that these are actually examples of nouns. I asked them to tell which ones are people, and which ones are places, things, animals, etc. I also prepared flashcards. I used the flashcards after this activity to show and talk to them about the Mayon Volcano, Tinagba Festival, and the Donsol Whale Shark for Cultural integration.
For the Developing Mastery part of the lesson, I showed the panel the board game I made for students to practice the following key sentences/structures in pairs.
What is it? It is a _________. Who is it? S/he is _________.
There was a problem with the sticker I put on the board game to show what's under it (it wouldn't come off! lmao) so I think I said something like, " Oh! It doesn't come off, but that's okay you will have to see the pictures under it while you do the activity". And proceeded to give the instructions on how to play the game. haha.
Then, I pretended that the kids already finished the activity so I asked them what nouns did they see along the way to the camp. And at this part, I actually included some things that they probably know. For example, a famous Buddhist temple in Japan (Kinkaku-ji) and famous actors and singers (most of these are people I like haha), things they often use such as a teacup and a school bag, and places they are familiar with like classroom and beaches.
I was about to do the Generalization part, but I guess the time is up so I was asked to stop at this point in time. I am not really sure how many minutes I did the lesson because I didn't put on my watch. I thought that I would constantly look at it if I put it on, and that would be bad.
They asked me if I wanted to do the Japanese conversation test before my interview several times. I literally only know how to introduce myself. I know Hiragana and Katakana characters and I will probably be able to read some texts (that have no kanji in them lol) I know basic greetings and some words and expressions I had learned during my self-study time while waiting for the result. I am not really confident about my Nihongo Skills so I said I will not be taking it. huhu. I wanted to try but I was afraid to make mistakes or not understand a thing that the Japanese Interviewer might ask. ahsjkkhafjkashfsa
After it, I found Sir Gene and Ma'am Ingrid waiting where we were before we're let inside the JICC. That was so nice of them. I thought they already left. huhu. We ate at Burger King and talked about our experiences before going back home. It was so fun and exciting. I felt so pumped up and ecstatic about everything I said and did. But how was I after? Hmmmm. You'll have to wait for the next episode of The 2023 JET PH Chronicles. Ja!
