ESL Job Interview Question: How do you conduct in-class debating?

How do you conduct in-class debating? 

Answer:

A debate can be a powerful tool. It can help students learn to speak naturally and to listen carefully. By introducing structured, formal debate to my ESL classroom, my students benefit with listening, speaking and critical thinking skills.

I divide students to sides of an argument, one in favor, and one against. They take it in turns to present arguments, and respond the other side, trying to persuade the rest of their class one way or the other. 

Stage 1: Introduce the topic.
I choose a topic to which my students can relate and with practical application. In general, controversial issues are always a great resource for ESL students’ speaking practice. 

Stage 2: Assign the affirmative and the negative.
There are two sides to any debate. One will argue for and another against the resolution. I group my students into teams to research and argue the issue.

Stage 3: Give time for research.
My students will need time to research the issue. They will also need to learn the specific vocabulary that may be involved. We must make sure that all students understand specialized vocabulary.

Stage 4: Prepare basic debate structure or outline.
First, the affirmative group receives two minutes to present their case to the audience.  The negative group then receives two minutes to present their case. 
After both sides have a chance to speak, both teams receive two minutes to prepare a rebuttal and summary. The order of speech is reversed now and the negative side presents their rebuttal and summary for the first two minutes. More...

Stage 5: Make a judgment.
Usually, the winner is the one who has presented the strongest case. For ESL classes, the overall purpose of speaking is more important than the specific outcome of the debate. Still, the students will probably want to know who won. To determine the winner, it is important to have the audience vote on which team they thought made the most convincing argument.  

In-class debates teach public speaking skills, develop critical thinking skills, research skills, and prioritization of information.

Successful Debate for Large Classes
Professor Charles Lebeau teaches English and debate in Japan. He wrote “Discover Debate” with Michael Lubetsky. The book helps English teachers and learners understand how to carry on a simple debate. The “Discover Debate” approach has three stages: creating a visual aid to communicate an argument, presenting the argument and answering the other team’s argument. Each stage puts increasing demands on language ability. It begins with a pre-debate experience. More...

How to Choose a Debate Topic
Find some of the most controversial debate topics covering a wide variety of issues ranging from politics and religion to education and society. The controversial debate topics are arranged in a pro-con format that allows keeping our debates organized and ensuring that both sides of a particular issue get equal exposure. The topics are always presented in a non-biased, equal-coverage approach.


Useful Links

Different Styles of Debate: Online Debate, Team Debate, Parliamentary Debate, Middle School Debate, Public Forum Debate, etc.

Essential Tips for Conducting a Class Debate

Successful Debate for New Learners and Large Classes

Debate Topics

How to Teach Speaking: Face-to-Face Communication, Public Speaking, and How to Teach American English

Public Speaking Course Outline

ESL Job Interview Questions and Answers

Job Interview Question: What are your salary requirements?

Although the topic of salary does not usually come up in an initial interview, some recruiters will want to know whether or not you are aware of the average pay rates for ESL teachers or recent graduates. Try not to tell a specific salary figure. If your potential employer presses you to do so, give a certain range. You might find information about average starting salaries to be helpful in coming up with an acceptable range. Remember, you were not offered the job. You are only discussing the possibilities. Therefore, it is too early to get into details at this stage. Most schools and companies have their recruitment policies and salary scales.


ESL Job Interview Questions

Job interview question: What is the difference between 'curriculum' and 'syllabus?'

JOB PLACEMENT

Curriculum and Syllabus Problem

The curriculum is a guideline for the teachers which directs what academic content to teach. It covers different subjects. The curriculum is more general than the syllabus.

The syllabus is a list of concepts that teachers teach in a particular course. It can be an outline or a summary of the main points of a lecture, or course of study.


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Job interview question: How do you present a new word to class?

New Words

There are a number of ways of introducing a new word to the class.

Most often I think of a rich context when the word can be used and describe it to the students, or give them example sentences to clarify the meanings further.

I also use an illustration. It is very useful for more specific words, such as hand, eyes, fingers, house, flag, etc. It is an effective teaching method for visual learners. Demonstrating all items is impossible. Therefore, this method has its limits. 

Giving synonyms or antonyms can be effective, particularly in an intermediate or higher level. 

Mime lends itself particularly well to action verbs, and it can be fun and memorable.
Providing definitions is another good way of introducing new vocabulary. It is important to ask a question to make sure that the students understood it.

Although translation does not help all the time, there are cases when it is very effective. We should always keep in mind that not every word has a direct translation.

In general, I always consider the fact that there are two main categories of words usually presented or taught in a language classroom: incidental, i.e. unfamiliar vocabulary from discussions, presentations, books or journals, and intentional, i.e. carefully pre-selected vocabulary by the teacher. 

Decisions, how to present words efficiently, include the number of words to be taught, whether we are presenting form and meaning, and whether we focus on in written or spoken form. 

In deciding on the number of intentional words to be taught we should take into account the following issues: learners’ level, the degree of difficulty for particular students, and whether the phrase we are preparing to teach is for production, i.e. speaking and writing, or recognition, i.e. listening and reading.

Students need to learn both the meaning and form. Therefore, I present these two aspects in close conjunction so that the students will be able to build connections between those two. 

Pictures, mimes, signs, and symbols are another effective teaching technique. It can be used for demonstrating the meaning, but we can apply it when we select illustratable words. The limitation is that not all words can be visually displayed. So this method should be planned in advance.

Giving full definitions, synonyms, and antonyms, providing example situations, several example sentences or subject terms. In using these techniques, it is important to keep the definitions simple and with the learners’ current range. It may take longer to convey meaning, but it is worth doing that: the students are exposed to extra speaking and listening practice and have an opportunity to get a deeper insight into the meaning of the word. In using situations, the instructor can share their own or their students’ experiences. For example, they can provide a variety of situations to induce the meaning. In the case of the latter, the advantages are that students encounter the new words a few times in various contexts which increase the chances of better retention, getting a feel of different applications and grammatical forms. A variant to full definition approach is to present a layered definition, i.e. the one that is fragmented into several short statements, each one including the target word. In this way, the learners hear the target word not only in context, but they also have an opportunity to use it.

I use lots of different activities to help my students learn and practice new words. These activities make vocabulary learning more exciting, as merely memorizing new words is a very tedious process. There are many exciting vocabulary learning games such as spelling bee competitions, different word matching games, sight words learning games, and flash cards for reading and spelling success. I sometimes use www.freerice.com, the website that was designed by the United Nations Organization.

I introduce new vocabulary by displaying the words and phrases on the PowerPoint and asking the students to read them aloud together. It gives the students practice speaking the words verbally and pronouncing them correctly. Knowing how to pronounce new words is just as significant as knowing how to use them in a sentence.

We should always keep in mind that there are four types of vocabulary usage: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening means that the students acquire vocabulary recognition skills, in the process of listening. Speaking means using words in related speech. Reading means recognizing words in the process of reading, and writing - using words in writing, i.e. understanding their meanings, knowing how to spell them, etc.


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Job interview question: How do you incorporate technology into teaching?

Students usually like modern technologies. They love laptops, smartphones, or tablets, and they can regularly bring them into the classroom. Instructors could handle this in two ways: either they can ban the technology, ignore it, or they can strive to promote it to enhance the teaching and learning process. 

In my view, banning technology doesn't make much sense. If we ban technology in the classroom, we miss the opportunity to expand the students' abilities to use technology effectively for learning and research purposes. 

I believe that, if we use the technology correctly, it will make our classes interactive and engaging. In fact, technology should be an integral part of a student's life. 

Such devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops can make learning more interactive. They can be applied to test learner understanding of a concept or even used as a method of providing a pop quiz at the start of course. Also, many applications allow for games, question and answer responses. In language learning situations, students and teachers can share short sentences or words and phrases via text responses.

Smartphones tablets or laptops can be used for recording videos. In many in-class activities, students can create short documentaries, record their speeches, and report new messages. Then, at the end of class, students can present their short documentaries to the entire class.

Technology allows students to use their devices for learning and gives a chance for them to learn from each other. Teachers can also take advantage of social media. Twitter allows students to comment and take notes during class. For example, a teacher can create a hashtag for his or her class, and then encourage students to take notes including the hashtag.

Students can efficiently use writing software both in the classroom and at home. Good writing software, such as Grammarly, Ginger or WhiteSmoke can dramatically improve students' writing skills.

Also, the teacher can use Google Drive to create a shared document, and the whole class can edit that document together at the same time. Finally, teachers can use technology to invite outside guest speakers via video conferencing. 

There are many other ways of using technology in the classroom. I strongly believe that technology can enhance learning, and improve student-teacher interaction.

For a teacher, it is important to find out what technologies are already available in school and use them efficiently. 

Job interview question:
What color is your brain? - Answer.



Job interview question: 
What is the purpose of using KWL charts? - Answer.


Job interview question: 
What are the duties and responsibilities of a teacher? - Answer.


Job interview question: 
What ESL activities in small classes would you suggest?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
How do you know if you met objectives?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the communicative language teaching method?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
If I walked into your classroom, what would I see going on?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
What are your classroom rules?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
How do you know how long to spend on your objectives?  - Answer.


Job interview question: 
What are the most important issues facing your profession today? - Answer.


Job interview question: 
Describe yourself as a teacher in three negative adjectives.  - Answer.

Job interview question: What are the characteristics of a great teacher?

Recommended Answer:

A great teacher has the following characteristics:

Expert in the Subject
The great teacher, as the master of his or her subject, exhibits expertise, spends a lot of time on his or her professional development, presents learning the material in a passionate way and thus encourages students’ independent learning skills. 

Organized 
The great teacher is always organized and has clear objectives. The teacher comes to school prepared, arrives early and is ready to teach his or her students. The teacher presents lessons in a clear, planned, comprehensible and structured way. The lesson is organized in such a way that it minimizes students’ distractions.

Shows, but Not Only Tells
The great teacher shows, displays, but not tells or informs (and does not give orders). The great teacher can clarify a concept or explain a task, but he or she demonstrates it as well. The teacher brings examples into the classroom, draws pictures or diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, etc. In this way, the teacher promotes creativity and plays the role of a facilitator.

Stimulates Creativity 
The great teacher engages his or her students and in this way encourages creativity. ‘Learning by doing’ is his or her primary method of teaching because learning is an active process. Therefore, the great teacher stimulates creativity. It is impossible to pour knowledge into students’ minds like a liquid is poured into a bottle. 

Nice Personality
The great teacher treats all people (without exceptions) nicely not because they are nice. The great teacher treats them nicely because the teacher himself / herself is a nice person. 

Positive
The great teacher is always positive and often smiles. The teacher’s positive attitude encourages students to study, provides them with moral support and spiritual power. Being positive when it is hard for the students (especially before exams) can have a remarkably productive and optimistic impact on the students’ performance.

Kind 
The great teacher recognizes the value and importance of every human being. The teacher is helpful not only to his or her colleagues but also to all students (without any exceptions), colleagues, students’ parents and other people around him or her. The teacher’s kindness helps students feel welcomed, supported, protected, cared for and loved. It makes them feel confident and positive.

Shows Respect 
The great teacher is kind to his or her students and shows respect to them. A bad teacher demands respect from students. The great teacher treats students with respect and therefore naturally earns the respect of them too. He or she is always enthusiastic, accessible and caring.

Patient
The great teacher is patient and never loses temper, never shows irritation, annoyance, frustration or anger. The teacher is patient with his or her students’ behavior, and no matter how many mistakes the students make, the teacher patiently explains. Patience demonstrates self-restraint and self-discipline and exhibits an excellent quality in a teacher that will most probably be imitated by the students in the future.

Simple
The great teacher speaks and explains things in an easy way and never boasts that he or she knows everything (in fact, nobody knows everything); and never tries to impress students with his or her knowledge and experience. The great teacher never tells lies and is never bombastic, arrogant, grandiloquent or overconfident.

Willing to Learn
The great teacher learns from his or her students (gains knowledge and wisdom from those they teach). What makes him or her great teacher is that he or she is willing to learn because he or she knows (and admits it) that it is impossible to know everything. Therefore, the great teacher is never threatened by students’ difficult questions. By learning, the teacher encourages students to develop their lifelong learning skills (not just learning for a grade), because the teacher is a lifelong learner, too.

Able to Inspire
The great teacher inspires his or her students. It means that even when the course is finished, the great teacher’s students continue learning and showing their interest in the subject.


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What color is your brain?

Job interview question: 
What is your English teaching philosophy?


Job interview question: 
What is the purpose of using KWL charts?

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What are the duties and responsibilities of a teacher?

Job interview question: 
What ESL activities in small classes would you suggest?

Job interview question: 
How do you know if you met objectives? 

Job interview question: 
What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the communicative language teaching method?

Job interview question: 
If I walked into your classroom, what would I see going on?

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What are your classroom rules? 

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How do you know how long to spend on your objectives?

Job interview question: 
What are the most important issues facing your profession today?

Job interview question: 
Describe yourself as a teacher in three negative adjectives.

Job interview question: 
What types of teachers do you know?

Job interview question: 
What are the signs of a poor teacher?

Job interview question: 
Why the majority of the students cannot communicate in English fluently having studied English for 12 years in a school?

Job interview question:
What is your classroom discipline philosophy?

Job interview question:
What salary do you expect? 

Job interview question: 
Why are you leaving your current job?

ESL job interview question: 
What can you tell us about Hot Potatoes?


More:

More job interview questions-answers (more than 100)

Job Interview question: One early morning you come to work and find five thousand unread email messages. You can only reply fifty of them. How would you select which ones to reply?

Recommended answer:

I would select the emails from my boss first. If there are more than fifty emails from my boss, I will work overtime (if necessary), but I would still reply to all emails.

More job interviews questions answers

Job interview question: 
How do you know how long to spend on your objectives?


Job interview question: 
What are the duties and responsibilities of a teacher?

Job interview question: 
What ESL activities in small classes would you suggest?

Job interview question: 
If I walked into your classroom, what would I see going on?

Job interview question: 
What are your classroom rules? 


Job interview question: 
What is your English teaching philosophy?

Job interview question: Tell me about your best class (when you were a student). Be specific. Explain why it was the best.

Answer:

My best class was Psychology. Perhaps because it never felt like a class. The teacher was very understanding. He believed in letting the students reach their self-actualization state, and his method of teaching was more like a story-telling. I learned without realizing it.



Job interview question: 
Describe yourself as a teacher in three negative adjectives.


Job interview question: 
What types of teachers do you know?


Job interview question:
What is your classroom discipline philosophy?


Job interview question:
What salary do you expect? 


Job interview question: 
Why are you leaving your current job?