Common Interview Questions

How to make a cover letter?

Dear sir/madam,

RE: Application for (English teacher)

I am attaching my CV supporting my application for the above position. I am

applying for the role because I have the skills and qualities to match the job
description.

My key strengths include resourcefulness, adaptability to change, collaboration

skills, Cultural sensitivity, tolerance and patience.

I already have a track of achievement in life, and I aim to replicate the same
success for your school. Some of my key achievements to date include:

 I have taken 30 online courses in English language skills, pronunciation,

communication, and teaching English.
 I ranked first in my last two years of university.
 I graduated with a general grade Excellent with Honors.
 I have taken a vocational diploma in education.
 I am currently taking a special diploma in education.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Ahmed Gad Zayed

Telephone:+201067670335

Email: [email protected]
HR at the beginning of the call
HR: Good morning, is this Ahmed Gad?

You: Good morning, this is Ahmed Gad. May I know who is talking?

HR: This is Israa from ALrawy private school.

You: What's this regarding? (What is the reason for your call?)

HR: Is this a good time to talk to you?

You: Yes, absolutely. Please go ahead.

HR: I came across your profile on Naukri.com.

You: Okay.

HR: I have just had a glance at your resume. Can you tell me more about your
educational background and work experience?

You: Sure. Well,

Tell me about yourself. Introduce yourself.

Okay, my full name is Ahmed Gad. I’m 25 years old and I'm from Egypt. I am an
English teacher. I graduated from the faculty of education, English department,
Asyut University in 2020. I graduated with a general Grade Excellent with Honor
Degree 90% GPA. After my graduation, I applied for a Vocational diploma in
Education and I finished it in 2022 and I am currently taking a special diploma in
Education.

Why should we hire you?

You should hire me because I already have the necessary skills and qualities that
will help your school achieve its goals.
You should hire me because I always put my team first in everything I do. I
willingly carry out tasks that are outside of my job description.

You should also hire me because I love what I do. I am passionate about this type
of work. That means everything will be done to a high standard.

Finally, you should hire me because I am a good problem solver. I never shy away
from a difficult challenge.

Tell me more about your work experience?

As you can see on my CV, I’ve been teaching English for three years. My work
experience is varied and a great match for the job description. For example, I am
currently working as an English teacher in a preparatory school. I gain a lot of
experience in this position. It allows me to write good lesson plans and achievable
learning objectives, manage discipline in a classroom and write high quality
examination papers.

I’ve also worked as teacher for a year for The Ministry of Defense Language
Institute, and that was my best year ever. This is because I have learned a lot in
this year. I have met many people and I have dealt with different students of
different ages and levels. It was great experience. It allowed me to experiment
with different teaching methods like Teaching by playing, putting emphasis on
communication, and collaborative learning.

During my university, I have also worked as an English teacher in a preparatory

school for two years as a kind of internship. It was also great experience because I
worked under a professional and experienced teacher. Actually, anything I have
done was because of that teacher.

Why do you want to leave your job?

I am looking for a new challenge with an exciting and ambitious school. I want a
job where my skills and qualities will be put to good use. I have been gathering
information about your school, and I am 100% confident it is a strong match for
my skills and qualities.
Why did you leave your job so soon after starting? Why did
you leave your job?
Are you talking about the year when I worked for The Ministry of Defense
Language Institute?

This institute has several branches all over Egypt and the branch for which I was
working has a big public transportation problem. Actually, the organization was
exceptionally fantastic and the headmaster was amazing. But, I had to wait more
than two hours to get a car or a bus to get me home after finishing work. I tried
hard to find somewhere to live near the institute but I didn’t find anything.

The institute is located on the outskirts of Assiut.

Tell me a time you worked under pressure!

In my first job, I was a teacher at The Ministry of Defense Language Institute and
three members of our team went off sick with Covid 19. We were just four English
teachers at the language Institute which means I was the only one left to deal
with so many students and a lot of lectures.

This situation had the potential to delay many courses and classes for several
weeks and it was my task to come up with a solution to the problem to meet the
courses' deadline.

I ended up working additional hours to make sure the courses were taken on time
and to the expected standard. Despite the pressure I was under, I remained calm,
found a solution to the problem, and met the courses' deadline.

Why is there a gap in your employment? Why have you been

unemployed for such a long time?
I took time away from work to study training courses that helped me to gain new
qualifications and skills. I have finished two diplomas in education and I have also
taken more than 50 online courses in this period of time.
What expectations do you have from this job? What are your
expectations from this job? What are your job expectations?
I would like to have an immediate supervisor who is competent, considerate and
fair.

I also want to work for an organization that encourages me to develop new skills
and broaden my horizons.

Employee recognition is important to me as well! It confirms my work is valued

by others!

What are your salary expectations?

Actually, financial compensation is very important for any employee. Everyone
works hard to get paid at the end of the month. But right now I'd like to learn
more about the school and my responsibilities before we talk about number.

If the HR insists to know:

OK, I don't have enough information yet to appraise the role. Can you let me
know what the budget is? I will let you know if it aligns with my target range.

HR: it looks like the budget for the role is between $500 - $ 700. Would that work
for you?

Yes, that's acceptable to me.

I have been gathering information about your school, and I am 100% confident it
is a strong match for my skills and qualities. But, I found out that the salary is
$500 per month. Based on my skills, my qualities, my achievements, and the fact
that I can add significant value to your school, I believe I am worth more than
$500. Actually, I am hoping for something in the range of $700 and $1100. I'd love
to hear your thoughts.
The average salary for this position for someone with my level of experience and
qualities is between $700 and $1100, so my salary expectation would be the
same.

Unfortunately, I can't accept this offer. I have to feel comfortable in the job, and a
salary of $500 is too low based on what I believe I am worth to your school. The
things that I can do for your school will mean a salary of at least $700.

Tell me the time when you made a mistake.

I don't make mistakes often. But I recall making one when I first started work,
which I regret. I received on the job training from an experienced team member
some instructions, but I didn't listen fully to his instructions. This is because I
thought I knew what I was doing. When I came to do the job myself, I didn't know
what to do and I had to go back and ask him to show me again. I apologized,
accepted I had made a mistake, and then took steps to ensure the same situation
never happened again.

Do you have any questions for the school? Do you have any
questions?
Yes, Can you please tell me how my success will be measured in the position?

How do you manage if you live in another country?

Actually I have many skills and qualities that make me highly suitable to live in
another country. I like doing things by myself. I am sociable. I always like being
with other people. I also make friends easily. So, living in another country will not
be a problem for me.

What makes you unique? What makes you special?

What makes me special is the fact that I am updated. I always look for new ways
and techniques to help my students learn better. One other thing that makes me
special is the fact that I will always willingly carry out tasks that are outside of my
job description.
Describe yourself in three words.
I would describe myself in three words as self-disciplined, analytical, and
versatile. Being self-disciplined means I take ownership of tasks and duties and
then prioritize them to meet the needs of my students. I am analytical which
means I will gather information and facts before making important decisions.
Finally, I am versatile which means you can rely on me to carry out tasks that are
outside of my job description.

What's your superpower?

My superpower is agility and flexibility. I adapt very well to change and I will
carry out tasks outside of my job description. For example, if you hire me,
whenever one of my coworkers is on holiday or off sick, I will willingly take on
their duties to help out the school.

Have you taken any courses?

Yes, I have taken several Courses in English language skills, pronunciation,
communication, and teaching English. I have also enrolled on a TESOL class and I
have finished the first two courses.

“Teach English Now! Foundational Principles”.

Teach English Now! Theories of Second Language Acquisition

I have learned a lot in these courses. I have learned how to teach English in a
good and active way. I have learned how to engage students into activities and I
have also learned how to give dynamic and active assignments.

Tell me more about the TESOL course?

TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It refers to
teaching English to non-native English speakers. There are two specializations
which consist of three courses each and a capstone project course. That is a total
of 8 courses. Students often find that they can finish a course within 2-6 weeks,
with a capstone course taking a bit longer on average. This means that you could
finish this certificate program in as little as 16 weeks to 1 year. I have finished the
first two courses. Teach English Now! Foundational Principles and I have learned
in this course:

How to motivate and properly engage students.

How to Maintain control of a classroom and avoid teacher burnout and

How to Use technology to your advantage in the classroom

I have also finished the second course "Teach English Now! Theories of Second
Language Acquisition". In this course I have learned:

How to Define my own personal teaching philosophy

How to Describe best practices for teaching listening, speaking, and pronunciation
and

How to Explain the difference between grammar translation and audio-lingual

teaching approaches

That's all about the first two courses and I am currently trying hard to finish the
rest of the course.

HR: From where did you get this course?

The organization is not very important. The certificate is not a big deal. The
certificate means nothing if you don't really understand the concept. It means
nothing if you don't really have practical skills and I assure you that I applied all
the skills and contents that I have learned in these courses in my classroom.
Anyway I got these certificates from the Coursera Platform.

Who gave you this course?

Dr. Shane Dixon

Describe what you are looking for in your next job.

I am looking for a job where I will be pushed and challenged where my skills and
experience will be put to good use and where I can collaborate with other
professional teachers. We spend a lot of time at work and I want that time to be
put to good use for a school that wants to continually grow and be the best it
could be.

What are your credentials?

You will speak about education, certificates, and Experience.

Tell me about the best and the worst teacher you have met.
Okay let me start with the best teacher I have met. An English teacher from my
primary school was completely. Actually, she was the best. Her name is Soha. She
was very generous and kind. She always bought us small treats if we did well on
tests or exams and even If students didn’t do well, she would always give them a
second chance. She was really special. She used funny ways to teach us English,
which helped us to memorize the vocabulary. Sometimes, she was strict, but
mostly she was friendly. And she was talkative, too. I feel like Miss Soha was a
friend instead of our teacher.

Regarding The worst teacher I ever had in my life. Actually I don’t call it the worst
teacher because there is no teacher who is bad. Teachers are just different from
each other. Anyway, there was an Arabic teacher in my high school. I don’t like
the way by which he was teaching us. He was a man in his sixties. I don’t like his
way of teaching because he kept giving us a lot of information and he wanted us
to just memorize them. He just delivered information and didn’t care about
whether if we understood that information or not. But, I respected him very much
and I have learned a lot from him. He was just a little bit different from other
teachers. You know teachers must be updated but unfortunately he wasn’t.

What are you strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?

The passion for my profession is undoubtedly my greatest strengths. I believe it
reflects in each lesson, in each talk I have with the students. They can feel that I
really want the best for them, and try my best in each lesson, which of course
motivates them to also try hard, or at least to stay disciplined. And to be honest,
the same attitude–or to say it more precisely, the consequences of such an
attitude to teaching, is also my biggest weakness. I care so much about my
students. I often take the problems from classroom to my home, and cannot get
them out of my head. My students' problem affects my personal life. This is
definitely a problem I am aware of.

Why do you want to be a teacher? Why do you teach OR why

do you want to teach (if you're not teaching now)?
I want to become a teacher because I believe to have the right skills, abilities, and
attitude to become a good teacher. And I enjoy teaching, talking to children,
listening to them, trying to understand their emotional world, and be a good role
model for them. I chose teaching as a profession because I love the impact one
can have on individual children. Of course it’s a great responsibility, but at the
same time I cannot imagine devoting my life to something else, especially since I
love being around children.

When I was a student, I was so hyperactive. I didn't study at all. I just wanted to
move around, play with my friends, and watch movies. One day, my English
teacher said to me "You are so clever. If you study one hour a day and use your
hyperactivity in a good way, you will be the best student in my class." His words
inspire, make me happy, encourage me to study, and I ranked third in my school
in the same year. My teacher just told me a few words. These words turned me
from a careless boy to a clever one who cares about his studies. I recognized the
power and the impact that teachers can have on their students. That is why I
teach English now. I want to teach so I can make a difference in young students'
lives. As a teacher, I believe it's my duty to develop children into kind, thoughtful,
and productive members of society. I'm eternally grateful to my teachers and the
educational system for helping me grow into the person I am today. I only hope to
make the same type of positive impact on the hearts and minds of students as
they grow.

Where do you see yourself in five years from now?

I see myself teaching English. But I won’t be the same teacher in five years from
now. I will get better with each year of experience, perfect my teaching methods,
and achieve better results with my students. I believe that good teachers never
stop learning and trying new things. Education evolves and children change, and
we have to adapt to the changes.

What are your short term goals for teaching? What are your
long term goals for teaching?
I am currently working as an English teacher in a preparatory school. My short-
term teaching purpose is to equip my students with the vocabulary and
grammatical structures to enable them to pass any test with a high grades.
However my long-term purpose is to help my students communicate effectively
with anyone from around the world. There are many, many reasons why learning
English is a good idea. It allows you to communicate with new people. It helps you
to see things from a different perspective, or get a deeper understanding of
another culture. It helps you to become a better listener. It even has health
benefits, as studies have shown that people who speak two or more languages
have more active minds later in life!

What is your Teaching Philosophy?

My Teaching Purpose:
When I was a student, I was so hyperactive. I didn't study at all. I just wanted to
move around, play with my friends, and watch movies. One day, my English
teacher said to me "You are so clever. If you study one hour a day and use your
hyperactivity in a good way, you will be the best student in my class." His words
inspire, make me happy, encourage me to study, and I ranked third in my school
in the same year. My teacher just told me a few words. These words turned me
from a careless boy to a clever one who cares about his studies. I recognized the
power and the impact that teachers can have on their students. That is why I
teach English now. I want to teach so I can make a difference in young students'
lives. As a teacher, I believe it's my duty to develop children into kind, thoughtful,
and productive members of society. I'm eternally grateful to my teachers and the
educational system for helping me grow into the person I am today. I only hope to
make the same type of positive impact on the hearts and minds of students as
they grow.

I am currently working as an English teacher in a preparatory school. My short-

term teaching purpose is to equip my students with the vocabulary and
grammatical structures to enable them to pass any test with a high grades.
However my long-term purpose is to help my students communicate effectively
with anyone from around the world. There are many, many reasons why learning
English is a good idea. It allows you to communicate with new people. It helps you
to see things from a different perspective, or get a deeper understanding of
another culture. It helps you to become a better listener. It even has health
benefits, as studies have shown that people who speak two or more languages
have more active minds later in life!

My teaching style
My teaching style is rooted in the Communicative Approach (1980). This
approach particularly appeals to me because it is based on the idea that learning
language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning.. My
students want to learn all four skills (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking)
and need to do this through participation and engagement. As a result I often use
authentic materials. I like to use the language games, group and pair work,
dialogues and conversations. Through this approach the learners get a chance to
develop and practice their skills in situations that mimic real-life situations.

I also recognize that students have different levels of confidence and abilities. To
help motivate them to learn I also draw on other approaches. I like the way that
the Affective Humanistic Approach (1970) respects the feelings of students as
they learn a language. Humanism requires that the language teacher think of
himself as a facilitator responsible for facilitating learning through creating a
relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which the learners are supposed to use
language for real functions such as expressing their feelings. I try to use positive
reinforcement as much as possible and hope to lower their ‘Affective Filter’
through games.

My Teaching Techniques
I use a number of teaching techniques in my lessons. My techniques deeply
depend on the level of my students. I try to stick to the 80 (practice)/20 (teaching
rule). It is important that my students spend as much time as possible practicing
the language they will be using in their real life. I sometimes have to use other
techniques like scaffolding and lowering the affective filter because some
students need help during study and others need to be relaxed.

Motivation is the force that keeps children going, even when they face barriers or
challenges. It charges them with the energy required to fulfill their potential. A
child who is motivated is committed, energetic, and innovative. Therefore I have
to find ways to quickly gain their attention and to motivate them to learn. This
means that I spend at least the first 5 minutes in every lesson plan, sometimes
more, on a warm-up activity. To gain their attention I sometimes use music, or
videos to ‘mark’ the start of the lesson. I also try to use warm language and
humour to help the students relax into the lesson. To recall prior learning I
sometimes start off with a quiz, based on what we have learned in previous
weeks. It is also important for me to remember that my students are not empty
vessels. Many have a lot of professional and life-experience. When introducing a
new topic or I try to draw on their experience through questions and answers and
allowing role-reversal where they can become the teacher. I also encourage
learners to use a range of Language Learning Strategies. I encourage them to take
notes, ask questions, use imagery and even look ridiculous. The classroom should
be a safe place where mistakes are not only accepted but sometimes encouraged.
We can take risks here.

Guided practice and Independent Practice are very important. I make sure that
there is an element of both every lesson plan. Guided Practice, also known as the
'we do' component of an explicitly taught lesson, involves the teacher working
through problems with students at the same time, step-by-step, while checking
that they execute each step correctly. Guided practice is important for students
because it allows thinking about the new topic on their own. It allows the
students to practice with a safety net. The students know the teacher is ready to
help at any point. It also builds confidence. Independent Practice essentially asks
students to work with little to no assistance. This part of a lesson plan ensures
that students have a chance to reinforce skills and synthesize their newly acquired
knowledge by completing a task or series of tasks on their own and away from the
teacher's direct guidance.

Can you just briefly tell me your roles and responsibilities in your current profile?