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What is the single most effective technique for hiring a qualified ESL teacher?

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When assessing the competence of a teacher, an interviewer should focus both on their technical competence, that is, on their ability to accurately describe and explain language and on the techniques they would use to assist students, and on the degree of sensitivity a teacher would bring to such a task. In TESL there is no such thing as a 'one size fits all' approach and a teacher should be able to demonstrate a diversity of techniques and approaches which would ensure learning. This ability is tied in very strongly with the personality of the candidate. A teacher needs to demonstrate versatility, flexibility and sensitivity to cultural nuances. Furthermore, they should have the ability to change techniques to bring about the evolution of learning. A teacher arriving in China, for example, who is the first native speaker to teach in a particular school, should be aware that initially they would do well to use a fairly traditional approach which emphasises the authority of the teacher and only gradually adopt a highly student centred approach. This type of subtle question is difficult to convey and assess in any other format than a face to face interview.

A further advantage of the face to face interview is that it gives the candidate confidence in the employment procedure and is much more likely to lead to the making of a good contract that is unlikely to be broken. Many would-be TESL teachers are young, just out of university, and with little experience of living in another culture with all its challenges and thrills. For such teachers, a face to face meeting with a recruiter enables them to ask specific questions about the country, the city and the school in which they will be working, and a good agency will fully prepare them for the situation they will face on arrival. This helps to reduce the likelihood that after two or three miserable months, the teacher will renege on their contract and head for home.

Many language schools, as a money saving exercise, continue to persist with the belief that a faxed CV is sufficient. In the long run, this is self-defeating and detrimental to the profession. In no other teaching position would a candidate be taken on without a thorough interview. It is time to apply the same standards in TESL across the board.

By Emma Headley

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Emma Headley has been involved in many aspects of TEFL since 1988, both abroad and at universities in the UK. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Abertay, Dundee, where she specialises in teacher training and EAP.

She also runs an ESL business, Inspired Ideas: www.inspiredideas.org, which offers a variety of services for teachers and language school managers.

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