As an ELT supervisor, I’m used to conducting interviews with teachers who are applying to work as English teachers, especially at a language school. Teachers always have no experience teaching at language schools, but they are working in public schools. Below are the 4 most asked questions in a TEFL interview and their model answers
1. Can you tell me a bit about your background and experience in teaching?
Me: Good morning. Thank you for coming in today. My name is Mohamed Ramadan, and I’m an ELT supervisor. To start, can you tell me a bit about your background and experience in teaching?
Teacher: Yes, of course. I have 5 years of experience teaching English literature and composition at the high school level in public schools. I taught grades 9-12 and really enjoyed working with students to improve their reading, writing, and analytical skills. This would be my first time teaching at a language school.
2. Can you describe how you would adapt your teaching approach for a class of adult language learners?
Me: That’s a great experience. Here at this language school, our classes are smaller and more focused on conversational English. Can you describe how you would adapt your teaching approach for a class of adult language learners?
Teacher: I think my experience developing lesson plans and activities for high school students has prepared me well for teaching adults. I would focus on creating engaging, interactive lessons that get students speaking and using the language as much as possible. I would use real-world situations and roleplaying to make the lessons applicable and build their conversational skills.
3. What challenges do you think you might encounter adjusting to teaching English as a foreign language?
Me: Excellent. Building students’ confidence and willingness to speak is so important. What challenges do you think you might encounter adjusting to teaching English as a foreign language?
Teacher: I imagine the wide range of proficiency levels in one class could be challenging at first. I’d want to make sure to differentiate instruction and provide enough support for beginner students while still challenging advanced students. Also, learning some techniques for overcoming common pronunciation issues or grammar mistakes specific to certain first languages could be an adjustment. But I’m excited by the challenge and confident in my teaching background.
4. What do you think will be most rewarding for you to teach at a language school?
Me: It’s clear you’ve given this a lot of thoughtful consideration. Lastly, what do you think will be most rewarding for you teaching at a language school?
Teacher: What I enjoy is seeing students make progress and gain confidence using a new language. So watching students have successful conversations or interactions out in the real world thanks to the skills they’ve learned would be incredibly rewarding. I look forward to helping open doors for my students by improving their English skills.
Me: Well, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today and for your thoughtful responses. We have some promising candidates to consider, but I believe your experience would make you an excellent addition to our teaching team here. We’ll be in touch soon about the next steps.
Additional questions in a TEFL interview
Here are more questions in a TEFL interview I might ask as an interviewer:
- What specific methods or activities do you find most effective for teaching grammar concepts to language learners?
- How would you incorporate technology and digital tools into your English classes?
- How do you monitor student progress and adjust your teaching plans to meet different learning needs?
- How do you motivate and encourage students who are struggling or less engaged in class?
- How do you foster a collaborative, multicultural learning environment with students from diverse backgrounds?
- What experience do you have developing curriculum and assessments for language classes?
- What qualifications or training specifically in TEFL do you have?
- How do you actively involve students in self-evaluation and reflection on their own learning?
- How do you engage with parents or stakeholders to support student success?
- What professional development activities have you undertaken recently around language instruction?
More questions in a TEFL interview
- What experience do you have incorporating project-based learning into a language classroom? Could you give an example lesson or project?
- How would you handle a situation where a student is frustrated from not understanding lessons? What strategies do you use to encourage patience and persistence?
- In your view, what is the ideal balance between grammar/vocabulary instruction and communicative activities in a language lesson?
- How do you get to know your students’ interests, motivations, and learning styles to make instruction engaging?
- How would you handle a class with students of very diverse English abilities and needs in the same room?
- What experience do you have teaching multi-level classes and differentiating instruction?
- How do you provide useful, positive feedback on student writing and speaking to help them improve?
- How do you make speaking practice meaningful and build students’ confidence in conversational skills?
- What methods do you use for ongoing assessment and progress monitoring of student language skills?
- Tell me about a time you had to adapt your lesson plan quickly based on student needs. What did you change, and why?
- Where do you go to continue building your knowledge and skills for English language teaching?
Conclusion
As a TEFL interviewer, the questions in a TEFL interview about teaching methods, experience differentiating instruction, cross-cultural competency, curriculum design, and training background can help me better evaluate whether the interviewees fit and are qualified for the role.
Additionally, focusing questions on their hands-on experience planning lessons, engaging learners, and assessing progress can provide insight into their classroom skills. Asking for specific examples is also helpful for going deeper.
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