Questions for the interview

Teaching Context:

Why is it important that students learn English?

What led you to take up ELT?

What do I know about my teaching context?

Are you conscious of the impact you work does on your students? / Do you think that your work as
an English teacher is important for your country? Why?

Why do I teach the way that I do? / How has the role of the teacher changed from the time YOU
were a student?

Teaching Practice:

What kind of a teacher do you consider yourself to be?

In order to be a good teacher what is more important being knowledgeable or passionate?

What do you consider are the most important roles of an ESL teacher?

What good qualities do you have as a teacher? / What are the most important skills that you have
as a teacher that make you an excellent candidate for ELT? / What are the 5 most important
qualities a teacher must have?

What is a good-teacher quality that you see as an area of opportunity for yourself? / Out of your
characteristics as a teacher, which one do you consider your weakest and how would you improve
it?

Why do you think it is important to reflect on your own practice? / How often and how do you
reflect about your own practice? / How often do you pause and take time to reflect on your
teaching practice?

How do students perceive you vs. how you consider yourself inside the classroom?

What have you done in your teaching practice to enhance learning in your students? / How can we
facilitate language learning so that it is more effective? / What are some of the learning strategies
have you used in your teaching practice? / Please, comment on new ideas and materials you have
tried with your students. / Which teaching aids have been helpful in your teaching practice? /
What have you done to improve your teaching practice?

What can we do as ESL teachers to help students be active participants in class?

Do you think a good teacher should listen or talk more?

If the class material is too difficult, should we rethink our class objectives and dumb down the
class?

How would you define a good student, one who gets high grades or one who works hard if only to
get by?

Do you reward "effort" rather than just "grades"? How?

In your opinion, is there such a thing as talented students who have a "knack" for languages or can
anybody become a proficient L2 learner? / How high the expectation on our students should be? /
What makes a teacher set goals and expectations about his/her students?

Do you obligate struggling students to come for extra help or is it optional? Why?

How do you get students to use the target language in the classroom?

Do you try to identify individual learners learning styles and/or intelligences? How?

Which classroom rules are most important to you? Why?

How do you deal with the issue of students checking/using cell phones and laptops in the
classroom?

How do you deal with bullying?

How do you get shy students to participate in the class as well as limit the students who are always
participating?

Some students, especially older ones, like to be corrected when they are talking. How do you deal
with that?

What do you do when a student tells you he/she does not like English? / What strategies do you
use to motivate your students when you see they are not motivated? / How do you handle
unmotivated students? / How can we achieve intrinsic motivation in our students? / How can you
help students learn if they are not interested?

How do you encourage your students to avoid translation and speaking Spanish in the classroom?

What do you do in order to make your students responsible for their own learning? / How can you
describe autonomous learning?

According to the UNESCO, what are the four Pillars of Education?

Are you ethical in your practice?

How do you promote ethical behaviour in your students? / How do you promote/develop critical
thinking skills in your students? / As a teacher, how can you develop ethics and values in your
students? Which types of activities could you plan to do that? / Which values do you think are the
most important ones to promote in your students? Honesty, responsibility, respect...? / How can
we help our students be responsible and honest? / How do you include ethical topics in your
lessons? Give an example. / If you include ethical topics, how do you assess them? / What
difference does it make to imprint or not values in our students in each one of our class sessions?

How can you promote the values and the mission of your institution in your daily practice as an
ELT?

Which 21st Century skills are the most important ones to promote in your students? Problem
solving, critical thinking, leadership, global awareness...? / Are you prepared to teach 21 st century
students?

How can we help our students be aware of their environment?

How can you promote critical thinking in your classroom?

What is communicative competence? / Based on your experience, how would you develop the
communicative competence in your students?

What is the importance of integrating competencies in your classroom?

Why is social learning important? / Why is promoting social learning important nowadays?

How can a language teaching approach affect the learning process?

Is being grammar bound indispensable to be a good English teacher?

Give an example of discovery learning in the English classroom.

Is it appropriate to fail a student based on one written examination? / Are your classes clear and
well planned in such a way that you can judge by a written test if your students have acquired the
required skills? / Do you think that it is fair or ethical to measure the level of English of a student
with a standardized exam? / Do you think the TOEFL measures effectively the English skills of our
students? / How ethical is it to evaluate students with different capabilities with standard
examinations?

What effect does positive or negative feedback have on learners?

What role does confidence play in your teaching practice?

How do you build healthy rapport with your students? / How do you develop one-on-one
relationships (good rapport) with your students?
How do you help your students achieve curricular goals when they have different English levels in
the same group? / How do you motivate a student(s) who has a much higher or lower English level
than the rest of the group?

How do you incorporate your students projects from other subjects into your teaching practice?

What role does culture play in your ELT? / How would you promote "multicultural
dimension"(cultural sensitivity and competency) in your ELT class?

What is Blended Learning and how is it applied in teaching? / Why is it important to include
blended learning in your daily practice?

What is the optimum degree in using technological gadgets to support a session?

Can the social networks be used as a tool to enforce communicational skills the teacher wants to
prompt students to practice?

Professionalism:

What is professionalism in ELT? / What does it mean to be a professional?

What have you done over the last year to continuously develop yourself as an English teacher?

How can you develop yourself professionally in the future? / How do you keep yourself updated? /
What resources do you know that can keep you updated in your profession?

How do you keep in touch with other ELT professionals to share ideas and resources? / How often
should a teacher attend ELT conferences or seminars?

Being certified really makes you a professional? / Is it important for a teacher to receive training
after being certified, why?

How do my students undergo my teaching? / What are the results of my teaching practices for my
students? / How has your teaching practice influenced your students?

What do you think of peer observation? / How would you promote peer observation in your
institution? / How would you be willing to reflect and modify your teaching when given an advice
from a partner? / How does your relationship with your colleagues influence your professional
practice? / In what ways can you contribute to improving the teaching practice of your colleagues
in your Institution?

Discuss the importance of accepting your mistakes.

Are you open to methodological changes in your daily practice?