Top Ten Interview Questions for ESL Teachers ESL teachers have to be master pedagogues, authorities on second language acquisition, and experts at relationship building. That’s a tall order, and while certainly schools can coach their teachers toward this ideal, you want to make sure you’re hiring teachers with a strong base. Below are the top ten interview questions to ask when hiring an ESL teacher. 1. How does the Common Core guide your work with ELLs? 2. If I were to walk into your ESL classroom, how would it look different from your non-ESL colleague’s classroom? 3. What has been your great success in working with ELLs? 4. What would you do if a colleague said they did not want you to pick up their student for ESL instruction? 5. A colleague comes to you and says that they believe an ELL student needs a referral. How do you respond? 6. What is your preferred ESL delivery model and why? 7. What supports need to be in place for you to be a successful ESL teacher? 8. How does the NYSESLAT influence your instruction? 9. What do you think will be the biggest challenge as an ESL teacher here and what could you do to address that challenge? 10. Why did you want to become an ESL teacher?
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TopTenInterviewQuestionsforESLTeachers
ESLteachershavetobemasterpedagogues,authoritiesonsecondlanguageacquisition,andexpertsatrelationshipbuilding.That’satallorder,andwhilecertainlyschoolscancoach their teachers toward this ideal, youwant tomake sure you’re hiring teacherswithastrongbase.BelowarethetopteninterviewquestionstoaskwhenhiringanESLteacher.
1. HowdoestheCommonCoreguideyourworkwithELLs?
2. IfIweretowalkintoyourESLclassroom,howwoulditlookdifferentfromyour
non-ESLcolleague’sclassroom?
3. WhathasbeenyourgreatsuccessinworkingwithELLs?
4. Whatwould you do if a colleague said they did notwant you to pick up theirstudentforESLinstruction?
5. A colleague comes to you and says that they believe an ELL student needs a
referral.Howdoyourespond?
6. WhatisyourpreferredESLdeliverymodelandwhy?
7. WhatsupportsneedtobeinplaceforyoutobeasuccessfulESLteacher?
8. HowdoestheNYSESLATinfluenceyourinstruction?
9. WhatdoyouthinkwillbethebiggestchallengeasanESLteacherhereandwhatcouldyoudotoaddressthatchallenge?
10. WhydidyouwanttobecomeanESLteacher?
TopTenInterviewQuestionsandAnswerforESLTeachers
Whileyouwillwanttokeepinmindyourschool’sphilosophy,mission,programmodelandELLdemographicswhenevaluatinganapplicant’sresponsestothesequestions,I’veoutlinedsomepotentialelementsofmodelresponsesandredflagsbelow.1.HowdoestheCommonCoreguideyourworkwithELLs?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-MyESLinstructioniscontentbasedandalignedwiththeCommonCore.-IscaffoldinstructiontomeetboththelanguageneedsofmyELLsaswellastheCommonCorelearningstandardsattachedtothecontent.-IlookattheBilingualCommonCoreEnglishasaNewLanguageStandardsandalignmyinstructiontothem.
-TheCommonCoreisnotELLfriendly.-IlookmoreattheESLstandardsthantheCommonCore.-IammoreofalanguageexpertthanaCommonCoreexpert.-TheCommonCoreistoocomplicatedforELLsbecausetheirgradeleveldoesn’talwaysequaltheirlanguagelevel.
2.IfIweretowalkintoyourESLclassroom,howwoulditlookdifferentfromyournon-ESLcolleague’sclassroom?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Studentswouldbeworkingondifferentproducts.-Therewouldbemorevisualaids/graphicorganizers/realia/music/chanting.-Astheteacher,Iwouldbedoingmoreexplicitmodeling/slowingspeech/repeating/rephrasing.-Theunitwouldbepaceddifferently.-Therewouldbeagreaterfocusondevelopingorallanguage,aswellasreadingandwriting.-Theremightbesomenativelanguageused.
-Myclassroomwouldnotlookverydifferent.-ThecontentwouldlookverydifferentbecauseESLinstructionisveryseparatefromwhatotherclassroomteachersteach.
3.WhathasbeenyourgreatsuccessinworkingwithELLs?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Makingdifficultcontentaccessiblethroughscaffoldinganddifferentiation-Buildingrelationshipswithstudentsandfamilies-HelpingstudentsreachthelearninggoalsI/theschoolsetandthattheysetforthemselves-Creatingaculturallyresponsivelearningenvironment
-HavingstudentsmoveuplevelsontheNYSESLAT
4.WhatwouldyoudoifacolleaguesaidtheydidnotwantyoutopickuptheirstudentforESLinstruction?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Iwouldscheduleatimetohaveaconversationwiththemaboutit.-Iwouldfigureoutwhytheydidn’twanttheESLservicesfortheirstudentandthenoffersomesolutions(moredatasharing,differentscheduling,etc.).
-Iwoulddefertotheclassroomteacher.-Iwouldimmediatelycontactasupervisor.-Iwouldimmediatelycontacttheparent.
5.AcolleaguecomestoyouandsaysthattheybelieveanELLstudentneedsareferral.Howdoyourespond?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Iwouldexaminetheclassroomsupportsinplace.-Iwouldlookatthestudent’spastschoolingexperiences.-Iwouldexaminethetier1,2,and3supports.-Iwouldlookattheculturallyresponsivepracticesinplace.-Iwouldtrytodeterminethestudent’sperformanceintheirnativelanguage.
-It’saverynuancedissueandwoulddependonthestudent.
6.WhatisyourpreferredESLdeliverymodelandwhy?*PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
*Note:Thisquestionisnotsomuchaboutwhichmodeltheychoosebutthereasonswhytheylikeit.Ilike______________because…-itsupportsstudentachievement.-itallowsformorecollaboration.-itsupportssocialemotionallearning.
-Unabletoexpressapreference-Unabletoprovidereasons
7.WhatsupportsneedtobeinplaceforyoutobeasuccessfulESLteacher?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Co-planningtime-Beingpartofgradeplanning/departmentmeetings-Adedicatedworkspacewithwallsforvisualaids,anchorchartsandstudentwork(ifdoingpulloutgroups)-Coaching-Communicationinplacewithotherteams(teachersandoperations)
-Nothing-Textbooksandworkbooks
8.HowdoestheNYSESLATinfluenceyourinstruction?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-IembedsomeNYSESLATspecificskills(becauseitlookssodifferentfromotherexams)ineverydayinstruction-IfamiliarizemyselfwiththedatafromtheNYSESLATreportasawaytodeterminetrendsandproficiencylevelswithinandacrossstudents(RLATinATS)-IfamiliarizemyselfwiththeNYSESLATandoccasionallyconductactivitiesthatlooksimilartoexposestudents.
-ImatcheverythingIdototheNYSESLAT.-Idon’tpayanyattentionatalltotheNYSESLAT.
9.What do you thinkwill be the biggest challenge as an ESL teacher here andwhatcouldyoudotoaddressthatchallenge?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Schedulingwillbechallenging,butIcanlookatthemasterschedule/groupstudentsbyproficiencyinsteadofgrade/groupstudentsbyskillinsteadofgrade,etc.-Makingsurestudentshavesupportsthroughouttheentireday,evenwhenI’mnotphysicallyintheroom,willbechallenging,butIcanhelpembedstrategiesthroughoutunits/meetwithclassroomteachers/sharebestESLpractices/conductsPD,etc.
-Workingwithotherteachers-Anychallengelistedwithpracticallynosolutiongiven
10.WhydidyouwanttobecomeanESLteacher?PotentialElementsofModelResponses PotentialRedFlags
-Personalconnection-Passionforlanguage-Passionfordifferentcultures-Passionforbeinganadvocate-Tohelpthe‘gapwithinthegap’
-Bydefault-Notsure
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