Interview questions - ALT in Japan

HEY cherry blossoms 

(you are all beautiful so we decided to call you cherry blossoms - as they are very beautiful)

So we've been getting questions about interview questions as our channel gains popularity. We thought that it would be a great idea to have a list of possible questions where you all will have access to and can share with others.

We both had separate interviews for Japan ALT via Skype (while in Jamaica) and these are some of the questions we had prepared before the interview.

We both had only one interview - some companies may have two. Our dispatch company is Borderlink Inc. 

Interview questions:

• What are your impressions of Japan?

• Why would you like to teach in Japan?

• What ideas do you have for the classroom?

• Are you willing to be relocated?

• Can you be energetic around kids?

• Why do you want to be an ALT?

• Why do you want to work with (your company name here)?

• What would you do if a student was sleeping during class?

• What would you do if you have a disagreement with the Japanese teacher about a particular issue in the lesson?

• What do you think is the role of an ALT?

• What shouldn't you do in a school environment?

• What are your goals for your time in Japan?

• How would you handle a disruptive student?

• Do you have any tattoos?

• How will you keep students entertained?

• How long are you planning to stay in Japan?

• Which area would you like to be placed? (rural etc)

• Can you speak Japanese? 

(They spoke about 5 sentences that we should try to answer in Japanese) Tris only got 1 correct and Ked got 2 correct. It was very basic Japanese. What time is it? What's your name? etc

• The start-up cost of living in Japan was explained. When you will get your first salary which is after two months (a month in the back). If you start in April your first salary will be the end of May. They made us aware that they recommend ALT's save up about 400,000 yen and they asked if that was okay.

• Do you have any experience interacting with children?

• Will you be studying Japanese?

• How will you deal with homesickness?

• Do you have a driver's license?

• What are your hobbies?

• How might your bring one of your hobbies in the classroom?

• Would you drive in Japan if you had the opportunity? If so, would you get an international driver's license?

• Would you prefer to be placed in an elementary or junior high school?

• What is your favorite part of Japanese culture?

• What is your impression of Japanese schools?

• How far are you willing to commute?

• Sometimes during your free period you might be asked by a teacher to join their class. How do you feel about that?

• What other roles will you play in the classroom? (other than teaching)

• Will you be interested in participating in after school activities/programs with the students?

• Do you have any food allergies? (in regards to school lunches)

These were pretty much the questions we had prepared. Our interviews had two parts.

Part one (1) was questions and answers.

Part two (2) included two demos. The first demo was to introduce our self to a junior high school class in five minutes. The second demo was to teach an elementary class a new song (we chose head, shoulders, knees and toes). This also lasted 5 minutes.

After these were completed then they gave us their feedback about the demo lessons and about the age group.

We then asked questions. 

Please prepare questions to ask your interviewer.

Let us know if this was helpful by leaving a comment. Thank you. Matane!!