Job Discussion Forums

[irish vanessa]

Hey all,

Ive got an interview for a post in the international school of choeuifait in Dubai next wednesday in Dublin, ireland. Ive never taught before, or had an interview (just completing degree in Communications this year)...

...wondering do any of u teacher-heads have any tips for me???How can i knock them dead???Tell them i love kids, im strict etc??? Any help greatly appreciated...

thanks,

Vanessa

(sorry for double-posting)

[denise]

Since you've never taught before, you need to convince them that the skills that you do have can be transferred to a classroom. Honestly, the communications students that I've taught have been wonderful--very talented speakers, great self-confidence, etc. Not that you should go on and on and on about what a great speaker you are (too much "teacher talk" goes against communicative methodologies that want the students to do a large percentage of the talking), but you could emphasize ways of increasing your students' confidence, speaking skills, etc, based on what you yourself learned.

I'd avoid telling them what kind of teacher you are (strict, etc.), because, since you haven't taught, how do you know what kind of teacher you are?

Before the interview, do a bit of research on current teaching methodologies--not necessarily to try to impress them or to use the correct "buzzwords," but so that you can actually engage in a two-way discussion about teaching philosophies. Don't be afraid to ask questions or to admit that you don't know something, but do make sure to convince them that you are eager to learn!

Good luck!

d

[irish vanessa]

Thanks denise!

Thats of great help to me! One more question...any hints on what current teacher methodologies are, so that i can research them??

Thanks again for your time,

vanessa

[acwilliams]

I do recruiting for my school. You don't say what subject you would be teaching in this school in Dubai but I assume it is ESL. Here's how I might approach an interview for a teacher with no teaching experience:

First, a bit of chit-chat - how was your journey here, nice weather at the moment... set the interviewee at ease.

Then ask questions about the candidate's recent work/study experience. How are your studies going? What have you found most valuable about your course? In what ways do you feel that your course has prepared you for a teaching position?

I'd be especially interested to hear about any time the candidate has spent abroad - I need to know how well they relate to people of a different culture and how they coped with culture shock.

Vanessa, you don't say if you have a TEFL certificate, but if you have I'd ask:

Which age groups and levels did you teach on your course? Which level did you find easier to teach? Which topics or grammar points did you find tricky to teach, and why? Which coursebooks have you used? What did you like/dislike about them, and why? Tell me about a teaching session that didn't go as planned. How did you deal with the problems that occurred? What could you have done differently? Talk me through a lesson you taught that went well. Why did you do [X] activity? What was the aim of [Y]? Which ways of presenting vocabulary do you especially like? How would you present [Z grammar point] to an elementary teenage class? And so on.

I'd then ask some more general teaching-related questions. Here there are no right or wrong answers - I want to know if the teacher has thought about the issues and if they have a personal philosophy of teaching that would fit well with the ethos of my school.

For example: What does a good language teacher do? How can a teacher motivate his/her students to learn? What is more important for students: good knowledge of grammar, or good spoken fluency? Should a teacher be an entertainer? What would you do if your students said 'We think your teaching method is wrong'? Which areas of your own teaching do you think need more development? How would you use classroom management procedures to prevent discipline problems with young learners? What particular problems might students from Dubai have with learning English, and how could you help them?

Finally, I'd want to know about the candidate's motivation for taking a position in China/my city/my school. How much do they know about each? What attracts them to this position?

I hope this helps. If you need to know about teaching methodologies and other TEFLy stuff, Scrivener's 'Learning Teaching' is an excellent place to start, available from any big bookshop in the 'Education' or 'TEFL' section.

[irish vanessa]

Thanks acwilliams!!

I have no tefl certificate but they are hiring enthusiastic people with any degree, so fingers crossed it will all work out,

Thanks again - your insights are really helpful,

Vanessa

[Cdaniels]

[acwilliams]

cdaniels wrote:

[Guy Courchesne]

[acwilliams]

Oh, and good luck with the interview! Let us know how it went!

[dmb]

I use penny Ure's 'A course in language teaching' It's user friendly and a great skeleton for CELTA and DELTA level courses. Other good materials are Tessa woodwards 'Ways of training' and 'Models and metaphors'

Hmm me thinks this should be a new thread.