Whenever you want to find a teaching job, there is no way to avoid the interview (in most cases). Being prepared to answer the interviewer questions is the first step in obtaining the job.

I put together 27 possible questions you may be asked at interview and 27 possible questions for you to ask the interviewer. Let’s start with the possible questions you may be asked by employers at the interview.

• How long have you been living in Vietnam?
• Where do you live?
• Are you married?
• Do you have children?
• Can you ride a motorbike?
• Do you own one?
• How long have you been teaching English in Vietnam?
• Did you teach in other countries besides Vietnam?
• What schools did you work for?
• Why don’t you work there anymore?
• What levels have you taught?
• What materials are you familiar with?
• Have you taught one-to-one?
• Have you taught exam classes?
• Do you speak Vietnamese?
• What languages do you speak?
• Do you think it will be difficult to teach Vietnamese students if you can’t speak Vietnamese?
• How would you use the knowledge you have about your student’s language?
• Do you have a university degree? What field?
• Do you have a teaching certificate (CELTA/TESOL/others)?
• Did you enjoy you CELTA/TESOL course?
• What were your strong and weak points during the course?
• What did you find difficult and what did you find easy?
• What do you need to improve in your teaching?
• There are several teaching approaches or methods, which one do you use to teach?
• You might be given a language analysis task, such as “list the different forms used to talk about future actions”; at what level would you introduce each structure?
• You might be asked to evaluate some teaching materials then explain how you would use them in the classroom.

Note:
Many schools ask you for a demonstration lesson.

You might want to ask some questions as well. Below are some possible questions that you might want to ask the interviewer.

• How long has the school been open?
• How many students are there in the school? How many teachers?
• Have they been there long?
• What resources are there available in the school? (You can ask about the teacher’s room, books, computers, self-access center etc.)
• What about classrooms, are there projectors, sound systems, CD players, TVs etc in the classrooms?
• What levels will I teach?
• What ages will I teach?
• What kind of courses will I teach (General English, Business English, Exams, English for different purposes etc)?
• Are courses intensive or extensive?
• How many hours a week do students study?
• How many students are there in a classroom?
• Do students have course-books?
• What course-books are used at different levels?
• Do classes take place in the school or off-site (tutoring at student home, in companies, etc)?
• Is there any professional support?
• Are there regular observations and workshops?
• Does the school encourage teachers to attend conferences?
• How many hours a week? (a teaching hour can be 45 min for example; ask about that)
• What time of the day will my lessons take place?
• How much will I get paid (is it a monthly salary or paid by hour)?
• Do I have to do substitute teaching? How much will it be paid?
• How much tax will I pay?
• You might want to ask about health insurance.
• Are there holidays? Are they paid?
• What about other benefits? (travel paid, lunch vouchers, airplane ticket, visa, accommodation etc)
• How long is the contract?
• What is the notice period? Is the contract renewable?

That’s it about the teaching job interview in Vietnam. Now, probably, you won’t be surprised by any of the questions asked at the interview.