Common ELT interview questions

I’ve had a plethora of interviews in many different countries. I’ve been asked all kinds of questions, from the bizarre to the extremely personal. However, usually the questions follow some kind of format. I’ve compiled a list of common questions that are asked in ELT, ESOL, ESL & EFL interviews.

  1. What is your experience teaching online? As remote delivery becomes more common, expect this question and prepare to talk about your digital literacy skills.
  2. What do you know about equal opportunities? Equal opportunities is not discriminating against people because of race, religion, marital status etc.
  3. What is your experience? Prepare to have a concise timeline of your work experience that relates to teaching. Some employers will want your work history back to when you graduated. Schools take safeguarding very seriously, so explain any gaps in employment.
  4. What do you know about our school/college/university? Do your research! This has cost me a few jobs by not being properly prepared!
  5. What do you know about the course? Make sure you know the age group and level you will be teaching, and if not mentioned in the job advert, then ask!
  6. What is your knowledge of SEN? All schools make concessions for students that need it. Highlight times in your career when you have made your lessons more accessible for learners with different needs.
  7. How would you motivate someone who is not motivated? This depend on you and your approach to teaching. Think carefully about this one as it has come up a few times.
  8. When have you faced a difficult situation and how would you deal with it? Again this is subjective, and a question that interviewers love to throw in their to see how you cope with adversity.
  9. Tell me about yourself. The classic dreaded question. See this video by Dan Lok to learn how to tackle this question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v-wyR5emRw
  10. How would you build rapport with your students? Again, this is subjective and a potential minefield. Just be honest and explain how you would try to be friendly and approachable.

I hope this helps, and if you have an upcoming interview, GOOD LUCK!

Thanks for reading!

The most popular question in a teaching interview!

Dear readers!

As someone who keeps up to date with teaching topics and interview procedures, I would like to share this tip with you. Due to teaching being move online, teachers are frequently getting asked THIS question….

What is your experience teaching online?

As we see more and more remote learning as a result of the virus, it is important that teachers are able to use software such as MS Teams, Zoom and Skype to name a few. If you haven’t used these programs before, be honest in an interview, but express that you HAVE watched the tutorials and feel confident using them. Often, you will be interviewed using the educator’s platform of choice. For example, a school may set up a Google Classroom meeting, and see how you navigate it in the interview.

If you have difficulty with digital literacy, there are several ways you can overcome this. Watching tutorials or asking for help from a tech savvy friend or relative. Alternatively, you could take some courses, such as “Blended Learning Essentials” on Futurelearn. There are many free digital literacy courses out there, so find the one that suits you.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/blended-learning-getting-started

If you have taught online, remember to talk about the program you used, how you used breakout rooms for group activities, how you managed participation and reduced teacher talk time, and most importantly, how you gave them opportunities for freer practice.

I hope this has helped, and if you have an interview, best of luck!

Keeping safe whilst remote learning & teaching

Safeguarding children is of the utmost importance when teaching, and even more so when teaching is moved online. When children are not aware of the dangers of the internet, it is our responsibility as teachers and parents to educate them on how to use it safely. Here are some top tips to keep children safe during remote learning.

  1. Use safety filters and set the internet to “kids mode”. This means they are not accessing any unsuitable websites.
  2. Make them aware of the dangers of using the internet and discuss sensitively. You could use books or YouTube videos to help illustrate your point.
  3. Make them aware of email scams, and how to check the padlock for safe and secure websites. Cyberaware.gov.uk has some great tips that I have used in my classes.
  4. For very young children, always supervise their internet use and ensure they are not having too much screen time.
  5. For older children, let them know that you trust them to make good decisions about internet use.

Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you have any other tips!

Resources for parents & teachers home schooling UK

As schools have closed across the UK, parents are now having to home school their children. Whilst this may come naturally to some parents, others may have to work from home or have other children to care for. GCSEs are cancelled, but remote learning will continue. Below I have outlined some resources for children, parents and carers to use at home. Please leave a comment if you need any advice about home schooling.

  1. Futurelearn – a great FREE website, containing courses for all ages. There are many great teaching courses, which will allow you to tutor your children effectively. A great resource for teachers, I recommend the course, “Take your teaching online” from the British Council.
  2. BBC Bitesize- Great resources for secondary school students, lots of resources for all subjects with sample papers and model answers. Great for parents to gain an understanding of what their children are learning about.
  3. ESOL Excellence- A great resource for learners of English, and some excellent resources available for free. The website also explains the procedure of ESOL exams in the UK for those new to such courses.
  4. British Council- I have taken many British Council run courses. They offer online webinars and courses (via Futurelearn). The early years courses are fantastic, even if your child is a native speaker of English, I strongly recommend using this website.
  5. TED EX- A range of lectures on every subject you can imagine, suitable for secondary school age children. You will find a variety of talks on the subject that interests you, and these can be played in the background or watched as a family.

I hope you found these tips useful. Best of luck, parents!

Five places to find online tutors/ tutoring jobs

As education has moved online in the UK and across the globe, more and more teachers are looking to online tutoring and teaching to educate safely. Teachers must be aware that some parents are still resistant to online teaching because of the potential safeguarding risks it poses. However, competent and qualified teachers will be able to reassure parents and suggest strategies to let them feel involved in the process. I have taught online for a number of companies and education providers. I also provide tutoring services for a small number of clients. If you are looking to find online tutoring roles, or perhaps a tutor for your child, I recommend the following sites. All parents should be mindful of safety precautions when using an online tutoring and make sure to vet someone thoroughly. It is strongly recommended parents be present for an initial interview. Asking for references is also reasonable. Use caution and your discretion when contacting people online. Never reveal personal information online.

  1. Next-door -Users are from your neighbourhood and need to verify their address to show up on the local map. Many tutors offer their services in their local area using this site. https://nextdoor.co.uk/news_feed/
  2. Gumtree – Similar to Next-door, and certainly more well known. Tutors and parents can post ads to look for the teaching services they require. An ad on Gumtree costs around £6 (at time of writing) https://www.gumtree.com/
  3. Super prof- This sight connects parents and tutors for a small commission. It verifies your identity so is a safer choice for parents. Tutors are able to clearly list the subjects they teach on their ad page. https://www.superprof.co.uk/
  4. Tutor Hunt – Tutor Hunt works in a similar way to Super prof, parents can view profiles of tutors and arrange lessons. A small commission is taken from the tutor’s final fee. https://www.tutorhunt.com/
  5. Facebook Marketplace- If you want to forego commission fee, tutors can also advertise on Facebook marketplace for free. Again caution is needed when contacting people on Facebook and take reasonable steps to protect yourself and others.

I hope you found this useful. Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you have any other suggestions for tutoring sites.

My thoughts on online teaching

As schools are becoming more adept at blended learning, teachers have moved the majority of their teaching online. For older learners, there are many benefits to this, especially for those running a home and family. However, for younger learners, especially children in early years, they often need a more tactile education. Children love to explore and learn socially. I wonder how successful online teaching will be for very young children. How can the human connection be maintained. It is very important to keep everyone safe, and for me teaching online is extremely convenient. However, I wonder what the consequences of making this arrangement permanent will be. It is important to consider the impact on children’s social development.

Let me know what your thoughts on online teaching are.

Improving your language skills

Many of us are writing our resolutions for the new year. Some of us may be looking to improve writing skills, update our CV and perhaps even our language skills. There are many free resources available to help you do so such as video streaming services and language apps. Many learners prefer to have a teacher or tutor, to gain accountability. As the new year approaches, I am taking on new clients for English language tuition. If you are interested in booking a free consultation lesson, please leave me a comment or send me a message. Best of luck with the new year!

-Ms A

Christmas classroom ideas

As Christmas is approaching, I thought I’d share a list of Christmas themed activities. These can be done both in class and on Zoom, depending on how you are currently teaching!

  1. Enjoy mince pies and a hot drink. (Everyone can bring their own for health and safety reasons). How festive!
  2. Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. – A nice activity for lunch times/ break. Depending on the age group you teach and allergies, permission may be needed.
  3. Christmas Quiz. – Is it even Christmas without the classic Christmas quiz?
  4. Christmas Jumper contest. – This could be fun on Zoom, who has the best/ worst Christmas jumper.
  5. Make Christmas decorations. – From paper snowflakes to paper rings, everyone can enjoy some relaxing crafting to alleviate the stress of 2020!
  6. DIY Christmas cards. -Follow PapercutbuttonsHK for inspiration.
  7. Make popcorn and watch a Christmas film. – I love The Holiday and The Princess Switch.
  8. Write down resolutions and share. – A good literacy activity!
  9. Make Christmas crackers. – Or try eco friendly sock crackers!
  10. Write a letter to relatives. – We may not get to see all of our loved ones this year. Have your students write their relatives a letter, so they know they are thought of.

Starting the PhD process

I am currently in the process of applying for a PhD. I am writing the research proposal, and I am at the “methods” stage. After this I need to start work on my personal statement. I am curious if any of my followers have ever applied for or conducted a research study?

This has been a long term goal of mine for many years. I am trying my best to put a great deal of effort in, however it can get a little overwhelming. I have found a lot of helpful resources and articles online and have spent a good deal of time reading and making notes.

As the world changes and we spend more time indoors, it seems a good time to conduct research, although I must admit that I often feel a bit overwhelmed at the various stages. It is getting there slowly but surely. My biggest challenge will be getting a nice reference from my previous professors.

If you have any advice please let me know!

Group cohesion activities online

As classes remain largely online, it can be easy for students to “lurk” in the background of online sessions. This can be particularly frustrating for students taking part in courses that are new and want to become familiar with their group. To overcome this, I suggest several activities below to enhance group cohesion in an online setting. Activities are aimed at learners of English, but could be adapted for any purpose. If you have any other suggestions, please pop them in the comments below!

  1. Continue the story – Begin a story and ask the students to continue the story on. This focuses on both listening and speaking skills and helps learners build fluency.
  2. Telephone – Say a sentence or phrase and ask students to repeat what they heard. This is a great way to build up “shadowing” techniques for listening skills.
  3. What happens next? – Show students a storyboard, and ask them to predict what happens next. This is a good way to get students to use their predicting skills based on the inference in the pictures.
  4. Following directions? – Instead of using your physical classroom, you could “hide” something in one of the folders of your VLE and ask students to find it. This activity will enhance their reading skills, teamwork, and allow them to demonstrate their understanding of directional vocabulary.
  5. Discussion– Choose a general, current affairs topic to discuss as a large group. I suggest using this as a main activity rather than a warmer.
  6. Quiz- Create a fun online quiz with questions related to your topic, or even general knowledge questions.
  7. Pictionary – Students may enjoy testing their drawing skills or even be amused by the teacher’s!

I hope you found these suggestions useful. Please leave me a comment if you have further ideas!

Sources:

http://www.quizalize.com

http://www.listenandlearn.org

http://www.sessionlab.com

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