Tips On A Job Interview?

In search of job interview tips for teaching ESL to adults

• I have a job interview for an ESL teaching position with a US government organization in Southeast Asia. What kinds of questions will I be asked? What should I ask them? How should I prepare otherwise? I've read through plenty of AskMe threads about general interview prep and Skype interviews, and now I'm looking for ESL-specific advice. I haven't had much luck googling for ESL interview questions, largely because mock job interviews in the ESL classroom are common enough that most of what I'm turning up are lesson plans to help students prep for their own job interviews in English. What kinds of questions should I expect to be asked? The job entails working at an American Center (which is embassy-affiliated), and I believe I'd be teaching adults 2hrs/day for ten-week sessions. I don't know what level(s) I'd be teaching--there are six ranging from beginning to advanced, plus electives for advanced-level students. I have six years of ESL-related experience, but I came to ESL through the backdoor after getting an MFA, and I neither have a TESOL/CELTA nor have I had my own ESL classroom, so I'm also interested in hearing more about the day-to-day of a job like this. (And advice on how to connect the experience I do have to that which I'm lacking!) Some tl;no-need-to-read about my background: I have more than six years of experience working in ESL-related fields. I've team-taught in a public high school on the JET Program, tutored non-native speakers in a college writing lab, taught an intensive 6-credit college-level English composition to non-native speakers for one semester at an art school, and TA'ed English lit [to native speakers] at an ivy. For the past few years I've facilitated study groups for ESL students in mainstream college courses at the aforementioned art school. At this job I'm more like a TA: I sit in a variety of classrooms, take notes, and occasionally clarify points brought up in lecture. Later I facilitate hour-long study groups for each class that typically review the the past class' concepts and put them in context with what we've learned so far over the course of the semester, cover new/useful vocab, and critique students' longterm projects for the class. The study groups aren't required of students, and typically they're informal--in philosophy, cultural theory, or art history classes that require synthesis of complex concepts, I lead them very much like a discussion section, going carefully over the material and giving it context in its broader cultural or historical moment. In practice-based classes, like laser cutting or fashion design or photography or advertising, things tend to be much more relaxed, and I'll review homework assignments, critique in-progress projects, talk through ways of translating concept to object, go over vocab, tutor students in digital tools (a variety of Adobe programs), etc. Though the job requires me to quickly synthesize and re-teach material in a variety of fields (often including material I've never before encountered) and I do that often and well, I often feel like it's unofficially much more about being an ally and advocate for students who're often shy and uncomfortable in a second language, helping them gain the confidence to succeed and make informed choices in school and beyond. In short, I have a ton of *related* experience, but almost none that's actually teaching ESL in a formal classroom setting. I've never had to explain the ins and outs of grammar from the ground up, and haven't formally taught speaking and listening classes in over a decade. If I'm offered the job, it's possible I'll be able to do a CELTA class at a reputable school in the States before I leave (since I think their turnaround time will be veeeeeerrry slow), but obviously that doesn't help me in the initial interviews! Anyway, I'd love any ESL-specific interviewing & job advice you have to offer!

• Answer:

  I haven't interviewed for this kind of position, but here are some questions that I or friends have been asked in ESL interviews or applications: - What's your teaching philosophy? - What are some textbooks that you like to use, and why do you like them? - How do you typically structure a lesson? - How do you introduce a new grammar point? - How do you work with unmotivated students? - Describe a time when there was a conflict in your classroom and how you handled it. - What are your feelings about the use of L1 in classrooms? - How do you incorporate technology into your teaching? - Why do you want to work in this setting? - If your course outline says it's time for the next unit, but students still haven't mastered the concepts in the current unit, what do you do? - What are some differences between how you teach advanced and beginning students? - You have a student who rarely participates or volunteers answers. What do you do? - How do you teach a classroom that is mixed-level? - You have a student whose own assessment of his English skills is much higher than your assessment. What do you do? - What kinds of individuals do you find it most difficult to work with? Why? - Describe a successful experience in dealing with students and what you learned from it. - What skills, abilities, knowledge and experience do you bring to the teaching field? - How would you describe yourself as an instructor? How would you describe your teaching style? - What is your approach to assessment? - What is your experience with curriculum design? - What do you do if a student asks a question to which you do not know the answer? (Most of the above were for jobs that require an MATESOL, so they might be looking for different things compared to a position that doesn't.) Good luck! P. S. I <3 your username.