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Questions to ask and expect at a TEFL interview	Jobs applications email crib sheet
Tips for applying for TEFL positions via email	Questions that have been asked at interviews
A Model Structure for a TEFL CV/resume	Sample CV/resume

Questions to expect and questions to ask at an interview

When at an interview, you will be assessed as to your teaching ability, your manner, your appearance, and your ability to communicate in clear, concise English. Interviewers also look at your professional background, your qualifications, your behaviour and your hobbies and interests.

The list below is a guideline of what to expect and what to ask at an interview, it's not a definitive list, different interviewers may have different criteria, however, you can expect some, if not most, of the list to be relevant to a teacher's interview.

 

QUESTIONS TO EXPECT:

• Various ' ice breaker' questions at the beginning of the interview, topics including;

• Your hobbies and interests.

• Your place of birth.

• The university course you attended. " Why did you decide to....?"

• The weather.

• Do you enjoy the city where you are living, what do you do at weekends/ in the evening.

• Why you chose the particular country/city where you are applying to teach.

The interviewer might then go on to meatier topics such as;

• The TEFL course you attended, why you chose it, did you enjoy it, what were the best / worst points of the course?

• Your University degree, why you chose the course, why are you pursuing a TEFL career and not the career direction you could with your degree?

• How long are you intending to stay in the city/country?

• What are your future plans in TEFL?

More specific teaching questions can, and usually do, include:

• A situation analysis based on correction techniques, a particularly difficult grammatical point e.g. student A is having difficulty with a point of grammar; how would you teach student A in this circumstance. How would you correct student A in a particular situation? This can either be in a group class or an individual class.

• In what circumstances would you allow students to resort to their native tongue in class?

• A student is having difficulty with word order, how would you highlight the student's mistake, how would you correct it?

• A student/students are having difficulty with pronunciation, what procedure would you follow to teach the student/students pronunciation? A student is dominating the class, what do you do?

• Group politics highlight that all is not well. Some members want grammar, some want vocabulary, others want conversation, some want business English, some want general English. What the do you do?

• A favourite of most schools is to ask how you would teach a point of grammar, usually:

• How would you teach the present perfect and past simple as one lesson?

• How would you teach present continuous and present simple as one lesson together?

You can be smart and ask " what level"?

Above all, expect to give a demonstration lesson, or to prepare a lesson plan.

Most people fail interviews for the following reasons:

• Not knowing teaching methodology.

• Inability to communicate grammatical points clearly.

• Poor personal appearance.

• Overbearing, over-aggressive , conceited, or know-it-all behaviour.

• Inability to express self clearly.

• Lack of confidence

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• Questions to ask at an interview can include;

• The length of contract, if not already stated.

• Does the school have a resource centre, ask to look at it.

• Often, when you teach ' in company', the client will cancel the lesson, ask if you are paid for cancelled lessons, or ask if there is a guaranteed minimum income?

• Ask if travel time between lessons is included in the salary.

• Does the school provide a transport pass?

• Do you get holiday pay?

• Do you get sick pay?

• Is there a contract completion bonus?

• Are you refunded for airfare costs (particularly for long distance destinations)?

• It's a fine line between what you need know and sounding too cash orientated, so be careful.

• Does the school provide accommodation, if so where is it, how much, ask to speak to people who actually are living, or have lived in school accommodation.

• Does the school process legal documents?

• Does the school provide medical care?

• The best source of information regarding conditions in a school are current or past teachers, so ask to speak to either or both.