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Post by ♦EarlBergamot♦ on Jan 9, 2019 15:03:44 GMT 9
@ninetyninehugs i didn't get quizzed on making lesson plans but I was asked how I would motivate students to learn English. According to my ALT hulemdos, the duties can range from being a mere tape recorder in class to being in charge of planning class activities/many classes to teach/club activities. Do keep in mind that while some changes are being made to the curriculum, it does not apply to all schools in Japan and even in schools on the new curriculum, it's still a slow change. Other than what ❄icepath❄ and frooperyfroop said, my advice is to stay as truthful as possible about what your interests are (ie, history, sports, etc) and how it relates to Japan. Hopefully you'll be rewarded with an organisation that aligns with your interests. Good luck!! |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 10, 2019 0:11:48 GMT 9
omg thank you all for the great advice. I have hulemdos who are currently ALTs and I've also heard about the ang moh interviewer who asks questions more aggressively than others like what frooperyfroop said. My interview is in a week I'll have to crash revise my japanese then orz I suppose they are going to ask questions about the SOP too right? will I be required to answer them in japanese? Also if you guys can give some examples of the questions that you were asked in the interview (apart from the article) it will be really helpful >.< not really sure to how far the questions compiled for ALTs are applicable to CIRs too. |
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Post by Leilo on Jan 10, 2019 9:39:20 GMT 9
omg thank you all for the great advice. I have hulemdos who are currently ALTs and I've also heard about the ang moh interviewer who asks questions more aggressively than others like what frooperyfroop said. My interview is in a week I'll have to crash revise my japanese then orz I suppose they are going to ask questions about the SOP too right? will I be required to answer them in japanese? Also if you guys can give some examples of the questions that you were asked in the interview (apart from the article) it will be really helpful >.< not really sure to how far the questions compiled for ALTs are applicable to CIRs too. You might be asked about your SOP in Japanese. In my interview (in Seattle) I was only asked to do a self introduction in Japanese and about the article I read, but I have heard other people get asked about politics etc. in Japanese or have half their interview conducted in Japanese. It depends, but you should try to be as prepared as you can be, to talk about various things in English and Japanese, such as about yourself, about some recent news, about Japan relations with your country, etc.
I would review your SOP well and imagine questions they might ask about it. They may say things to throw you off and see how you react. If they ask something you don't know (something outside of your field) I think you should just be professional, cool and honest in your answer. For a random example, I mentioned doing casual translation as a hobby in my SOP and when they asked about it they worded it like, "So you've basically just translated manga or song lyrics, but nothing academic, no news, no articles, nothing professional...is that right?"
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Post by PoisonBelle on Jan 10, 2019 10:27:52 GMT 9
omg thank you all for the great advice. I have hulemdos who are currently ALTs and I've also heard about the ang moh interviewer who asks questions more aggressively than others like what frooperyfroop said. My interview is in a week I'll have to crash revise my japanese then orz I suppose they are going to ask questions about the SOP too right? will I be required to answer them in japanese? Also if you guys can give some examples of the questions that you were asked in the interview (apart from the article) it will be really helpful >.< not really sure to how far the questions compiled for ALTs are applicable to CIRs too. I'm guessing the ang moh interviewer is there to ask ALT related questions. For my interview, he asked about 2-3 questions because I ticked the ALT position box as well. I think he asked 'you do not have any teaching experience but how would you conduct a lesson'. The sg interviewer asked questions based on my resume and SOP asking questions like why didn't I go into the field that I graduated from, and because I did translation related stuff, they asked about that. Other than that, standard questions like why you applied to jet, what can you get out of jet, what will you do after you're done with jet. I think they asked more than 20questions. They didn’t ask any jp - sg news or relation questions. Go through your SOP and resume well, previous job/hobby experience that may be related to jet and the future. All the best! |
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Post by Dee on Jan 10, 2019 13:24:24 GMT 9
omg thank you all for the great advice. I have hulemdos who are currently ALTs and I've also heard about the ang moh interviewer who asks questions more aggressively than others like what frooperyfroop said. My interview is in a week I'll have to crash revise my japanese then orz I suppose they are going to ask questions about the SOP too right? will I be required to answer them in japanese? Also if you guys can give some examples of the questions that you were asked in the interview (apart from the article) it will be really helpful >.< not really sure to how far the questions compiled for ALTs are applicable to CIRs too. I interviewed in Texas. For the Japanese part, I read a short article then they asked me a few questions about it. Then got asked a couple of questions about how I want to represent my hometown/culture while in Japan (which I addressed in my SOP so I was prepared). The rest of the interview was in English, and it was pretty standard. Asked about my past work experience, why JET/CIR position. I also checked the ALT box, but they only thing they asked me about that is how would I feel if I got offered an ALT position and what grades would I prefer and why. |
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Post by hohoEMIsen on Jan 10, 2019 13:35:56 GMT 9
Hello, ninetyhugs ! Singaporean from High Knowledge coming in! Sorry that I'm kinda late. Congrats on getting shortlisted for the interview! I am not too good with Kanji, so I found the reading tests to be slightly difficult. (I read 自治体 as 自衛隊 lolol). They expect you to read the passage out loud, and they will immediately ask you questions afterwards. So be sure to not only read the passage but process it while reading. I had three questions with answers that can be found or derived from the passage, and two other questions that are related to the passage, but requires your own input and thinking. I feel like I did better in the second part. However, don't fret even if you can't get everything correct, or feel like you have answered them wrong. I have heard from various people that they still got the job despite not being able to answer some questions. I did tick the "consider ALT position" box because I didn't mind being an ALT as well. They didn't make me do a lesson plan, but I was asked as to why I checked that option. And like what ❄icepath❄ said, the guy seemingly in charge of asking ALT questions bombarded me with in-depth questions regarding how I would handle ALT situations, etc. They will ask you questions regarding your SOP too, so make sure you know what you wrote! The interviewers are kinda separated into those who speak English to you, and those who speak Japanese to you. Just reply them according to the language your question is asked in. So yes, you will be required to answer questions in Japanese. Sorry I can't give you examples of the questions I was asked, because I don't remember them anymore. I checked the blog post I wrote regarding the interview, but it didn't contain any questions too. I do remember that I wasn't shocked by any of the questions though, so I think that they were rather typical. |
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Post by bongbongbongbong on Jan 12, 2019 3:28:04 GMT 9
omg thank you all for the great advice. I have hulemdos who are currently ALTs and I've also heard about the ang moh interviewer who asks questions more aggressively than others like what frooperyfroop said. My interview is in a week I'll have to crash revise my japanese then orz I suppose they are going to ask questions about the SOP too right? will I be required to answer them in japanese? Also if you guys can give some examples of the questions that you were asked in the interview (apart from the article) it will be really helpful >.< not really sure to how far the questions compiled for ALTs are applicable to CIRs too. 'Ello again. For my case the ang moh interviewer only asked like one question on a specific statement i wrote in my SOP and didn't really grill me before or after that (although he kept flipping through my application materials like some vulture digging for meat in the already almost completely rotted carcass of my SOP, which was lowkey spoopy). Almost all my SOP related questions were by the English interviewers so I didn't talk about it in Japanese much(not as far as I can recall anw). As for questions, I didn't really get any that were unrelated to the passage tbh. I got one discussing children supporting their parents once they become 社会人 and got asked mostly for my opinions on that. I think at some point one of the Japanese interviewers did ask what I hoped to achieve through JET and just nice one my aims for applying actually tied back to the topic so it kinda brought it full circle hue P.S. I hope you got better luck than me and are not scheduled for an 8 a.m. interview slot hue |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 16, 2019 15:31:44 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE FUCK IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 WTF. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz
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Post by Dee on Jan 16, 2019 15:37:37 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz I think there are quite a few of us that felt we did terrible on the Japanese section of the interview and still became CIRs. You never know! Try not to stress too much about it, and I hope you get good news come April! |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 16, 2019 16:23:26 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz I think there are quite a few of us that felt we did terrible on the Japanese section of the interview and still became CIRs. You never know! Try not to stress too much about it, and I hope you get good news come April! Thanks (泣) I think I'll probably keep dwelling on this for the whole of this month. Fingers crossed that they understood that I was too nervous. FFFFFFF |
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Post by frooperyfroop on Jan 16, 2019 16:43:04 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz *raises hand* It be me.
The Japanese portion of my interview was atrocious because I was so nervous I didn't really process the passage when I was reading it, and so I had to scan the passage again to find the answers to the first few questions they asked me, which was awkward. Then when I was asked the last question I had no idea what the interviewer was saying despite the fact that I asked him to repeat what he said once and was just like *terrified face* "すみません、わかりません。"
And I still managed to make it through so don't worry, there's still hope! Good job on getting through the interview and treat yourself to something nice now that it's over!
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Post by Cantamen on Jan 16, 2019 16:44:37 GMT 9
oh yeah I may have mentioned this earlier but I did so bad on the news article that I wanted to disapear. Then I got asked how I would revitalize the Japanese countryside (in Japanese), and babbled something about how we could show people pictures of pretty mountains. Maybe they will want to go to Inaka then?? It was absolute garbage.
But here I am!
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Post by ❄icepath❄ on Jan 16, 2019 16:52:46 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz I actually froze on question 5 for a good 2 minutes, just "mmm"-ing coz my brain couldn't come up with a proper answer and it was silence in the room for 2 mins. |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 16, 2019 17:03:40 GMT 9
THANKS GUYS Y'ALL ARE SO NICE  Have a bit more hope now. I think I did pretty well on the english portion. Was trying to look at the notes that one of the interviewers was writing when I was speaking but failed orz. Also I sighed so loudly when I was leaving the room I think I heard a few of them laugh at that. WILL GORGE MYSELF ON KARAAGE AND CAKE NOW. |
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Post by ❄icepath❄ on Jan 16, 2019 17:59:45 GMT 9
THANKS GUYS Y'ALL ARE SO NICE Have a bit more hope now. I think I did pretty well on the english portion. Was trying to look at the notes that one of the interviewers was writing when I was speaking but failed orz. Also I sighed so loudly when I was leaving the room I think I heard a few of them laugh at that. WILL GORGE MYSELF ON KARAAGE AND CAKE NOW. In Orchard? So expensive. Oh but I like the karaage in Ion B2... |
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Post by wapiko on Jan 16, 2019 18:57:44 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz Hi you saw my comment on reddit  Can attest that was pretty much my experience too!!! XD still surprised I’m here. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! Do you know when results come out? |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 16, 2019 19:57:31 GMT 9
I'm done with my interview and I feel like I've absolutely bombed my Japanese portion. Like so nervous I could barely form sentences. I feel like they will go HOW THE ふｃｋ IS SHE A N2 SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE BARELY PASSED N4 nani za ふｃｋ. I think they could have asked more Japanese questions but they're like nah we've heard enough. Is there anybody who've bombed the interview as badly as me and still made it in? Orz Hi you saw my comment on reddit Can attest that was pretty much my experience too!!! XD still surprised I’m here. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! Do you know when results come out? ah no wonder the username was familiar >< Thank you!! Results should come out end of March. Will report again on the results in two months >< |
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 16, 2019 20:01:46 GMT 9
THANKS GUYS Y'ALL ARE SO NICE Have a bit more hope now. I think I did pretty well on the english portion. Was trying to look at the notes that one of the interviewers was writing when I was speaking but failed orz. Also I sighed so loudly when I was leaving the room I think I heard a few of them laugh at that. WILL GORGE MYSELF ON KARAAGE AND CAKE NOW. In Orchard? So expensive. Oh but I like the karaage in Ion B2... afraid to report that there's no more karaage at orchard ion... |
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Post by ❄icepath❄ on Jan 16, 2019 20:34:41 GMT 9
In Orchard? So expensive. Oh but I like the karaage in Ion B2... afraid to report that there's no more karaage at orchard ion... Goodbye Ion... |
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IttanMomen
Straight outta Narita
頑張るぞ〜
Posts: 44
CIR Experience: Former CIR
Location: Tokyo
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
CHaos??: yaas chaos
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Post by IttanMomen on Jan 16, 2019 21:02:41 GMT 9
HIIIIIII I just ended my CIR interview today as well and I think I did so badly on the Japanese section as well I just-
The reading out loud part was okay, but because I didn't have the time to actually understand what I was reading at all I just BS-ed when the interviewer asked me what the article was about. I just managed to push out one line in broken Japanese before she quickly swooped in when I paused for the SHORTEST TIME EVER and started asking me the next question.
So it's okay everyone is on the same boat ;w; uwu
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Post by 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝒽𝒾𝓂𝑒 on Jan 16, 2019 23:17:57 GMT 9
Yeah I didn't feel like I did that great in my Japanese section either, I kept it super simple (like too simple though) and I must've said MAA..... about thirty times hue. And I couldn't read a lot of the Kanji in the text, and even one I read right the first time I then forgot how to read the second time...
Plus the text I had to read was about recycling and then they were asking me questions about what my hometown did and I'm just like '....our rubbish isn't split into burnable and non-burnable, it's split into non-recyclable and recyclable...we just have a 'normal' bin and then a recycling bin for paper and plastic bottles...' "where does the recycling go, what do they do with it?" 'I don't know, they....recycle it and make new things....-trails off forever-'
Admittedly I only ended up a reserve, but I still made it out here in the end, so don't lose hope!~ ^^
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ninetyhugs
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 11
CIR Experience: Prospective CIR
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Post by ninetyhugs on Jan 17, 2019 1:09:49 GMT 9
HIIIIIII I just ended my CIR interview today as well and I think I did so badly on the Japanese section as well I just- The reading out loud part was okay, but because I didn't have the time to actually understand what I was reading at all I just BS-ed when the interviewer asked me what the article was about. I just managed to push out one line in broken Japanese before she quickly swooped in when I paused for the SHORTEST TIME EVER and started asking me the next question. So it's okay everyone is on the same boat ;w; uwu ;_; I HOPE BOTH OF US GET IN!!! |
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acouplefruits
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 21
CIR Experience: 1st year
Location: Sudachi Land
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
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Post by acouplefruits on Jan 17, 2019 5:37:17 GMT 9
Hello everyone! I have my CIR interview at the embassy in DC in a few weeks. I've probably read all there is to read and watched all the videos there are to watch about the interview, but I'm still curious if anyone has any advice?
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Post by wapiko on Jan 17, 2019 7:31:15 GMT 9
Hello everyone! I have my CIR interview at the embassy in DC in a few weeks. I've probably read all there is to read and watched all the videos there are to watch about the interview, but I'm still curious if anyone has any advice? Just be yourself and be flexible with your attitude, that seems to be the main thing. I don’t know how the DC ones go because I was in Chicago but all I can say is breathe. It’ll be over before you know it, and make sure to treat yourself to something after. |
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Post by Ham on Jan 17, 2019 9:18:52 GMT 9
Be polite to the secretary.
But on the topic of the Japanese interview, I remember on one of my questions I couldn't remember a word and was trying to talk around it (poorly) and one of the interviewers was giving me a look like wtf are you trying to say here.
I also had to ask for the reading of a word every other sentence or so and then literally every tenth word for the last quarter of the text.
Still passed, tho.
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Post by wapiko on Jan 17, 2019 9:46:21 GMT 9
It’s really nice hearing I’m not alone in that. I feel like she held my hand during a lot of that lmao
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Post by Sparkles on Jan 22, 2019 16:25:35 GMT 9
It’s really nice hearing I’m not alone in that. I feel like she held my hand during a lot of that lmao I'm v curious, does the Windy City still have the very kind-looking OBAATYAMA do the Japanese part of the interview?
if so she was probably the one who chewed me out ... uhhhh gently but insistently scolded ... um, pointed out I had failed to hand her the article paper back with the text facing her even though I'd held it out with both hands, prompting me to think I had failed my whole interview* :) :) :)
*90% of my interview went fine, hue, and I went on to be a fifth-year CIR so it just goes to show your perception of your own interview right afterwards can be super skewed/you can obsess over everything you did wrong without remembering everything you did ok or even great on!
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Post by ザ・penguin54 on Jan 22, 2019 20:00:35 GMT 9
It’s really nice hearing I’m not alone in that. I feel like she held my hand during a lot of that lmao I'm v curious, does the Windy City still have the very kind-looking OBAATYAMA do the Japanese part of the interview?
if so she was probably the one who chewed me out ... uhhhh gently but insistently scolded ... um, pointed out I had failed to hand her the article paper back with the text facing her even though I'd held it out with both hands, prompting me to think I had failed my whole interview*
*90% of my interview went fine, hue, and I went on to be a fifth-year CIR so it just goes to show your perception of your own interview right afterwards can be super skewed/you can obsess over everything you did wrong without remembering everything you did ok or even great on!
hue we 100% had the same interviewer. I feel so vindicated that even YUSHU people made that same mistake |
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Post by Leilo on Jan 23, 2019 15:14:55 GMT 9
My Japanese interviewer was really nice so I don't think she would have mentioned it, but I turned my article around towards her right before handing it over because I remembered advice from the forums. If not for you guys I probably wouldn't have remembered and given it to her facing the wrong direction  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2019 16:14:03 GMT 9
Is it just me? This thread makes me remember the stress and disappointment of the JET application process. I can't look at it too long or else I start panicing.
(perhaps this is due to the fact I was an alternate)
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Have a bit more hope now. 
