This one for the ECTs and jobhunters. If you are looking for Head of Department or Second in Department roles this is not the post for you (I can however recommend searching certain MFL facebook groups).
Being invited for interview generally sets off a mixed reaction that simultaneously contains a fist-pump and the crystalising thought “this is real now”. Your letter of application was clearly sufficient to secure you an interview and the school want to see what you are like as a teacher.
It is worth mentioning at this point that while the school are seeing if you are right for them, you should also consider “is this the right school for me?” How do you know if the school is right for you? I would advise the following goes into your decision:
- Research the school – What can you find out about it online? What are their values? How are their results? Does it have a social media presence? What does that show? Does it have a recent Ofsted, Estyn (Welsh) or SIAMs (for church schools) report? Don’t be afraid to look at the area with Google Streetview
- Talk to people throughout the day and by that I mean teachers and pupils – if they talk about their jobs and experiences in a positive way then that’s a good guide. Similarly, supply teachers (if reasonably regular) can also give a good insight. Staff old and young will have different perspectives but if their experience aligns positively then that is probably a good sign.
- Do you like the department? Could you see yourself working here? How were the people? Do they share resources, work collaboratively and do you get a “good feeling” about the place?
MFL Interview Process – What could they make you do?
Remember you are on interview from the second you get out of your car at your prospective new school. That lady you smiled at nervously in reception was the Deputy Head who happens to appear in your interview later. The member of staff in reception – that you didn’t acknowledge because you were reading EverydayMFL on your phone – was your new Head of Department. The man you parked next to in the car park and exchanged pleasantries with is the Head’s PA.
Teaching Episode – what happens?
Your interview letter will give you most of the information you need to teach the episode. It will normally detail resources that are available, the kind of group you will be teaching and how long for. Some schools provide seating plans on the day. Others will put name stickers on students. If detail is minimal, there is nothing wrong with writing and requesting information in terms of numbers of SEN, disadvantaged, ability and recently covered topics.
I have experienced:
- A normal mixed abilty class
- A top set year 9 in my weaker language.
- A top set year 8 in my strongest language
- On one occasion I had to deliver 2x 30minute episodes to different classes in two different languages.
- On another occasion, I had to deliver the same topic as the previous person to the same class.
- One class made up of a mixture of 15 students taking Spanish and 15 students who had never done Spanish. The aim was apparently to “see how I would differentiate.”
- A bottom set with 5 students.
Schools offering a job such as “Teacher of French” will naturally make you teach French. Schools offering a job such as “Teacher of French and Spanish” may take one of the two options open to them. They may wish to see your better language because that is the one they are looking to fill on their timetable. Equally, they may wish to see your weaker language to know how well you will fare with it. While the language will be made clear on any interview invitation, their timetable filling situation may or may not be made clear on the day. Make sure whatever you put on your form, you can back up in the classroom.
Teaching Episode – what are they looking for?
This will naturally vary from school to school. Most schools have some subject sections on their website and you may be able to get an idea of what is taught, when and how. Lots of schools have a teaching and learning policy so look there for any ideas. The school may even state in their invitation to interview that they use a Conti methodology, booklets or have used NCELP resources. Some may follow neither.
The best approach is to do what you would normally do, teach how you would normally teach while taking into account any stylistic aspects they have mentioned. Whilst most schools will offer to print or photocopy resources for you, I have always found it easier to bring them on the day ready.
My biggest piece of advice is this: as soon as you have left the episode and have a chance, note down any thoughts. What went well? What didn’t go so well? Any changes you would make in future? If you’re facing an interview soon after, it can help to have your thoughts crystal clear as it is extremely likely you will be asked about it.
What else might they do?
Discussions/Meetings/Introductions
Sometimes interviews will contain short discussions with a Head of Department or a senior member of staff. These have two aims. The first is to introduce you to the department and how it works. After all, an interview is a two way process. The school need to find out if you are right for them; you need to find out if the school is right for you. The second is to find out a bit more about you, your views, your personality, experiences and how you might fit in.
Lesson Planning Task
On one interview, I was given the most uninspiring double page in a Year 9 textbook on jobs and asked how I would deliver it to a group of bottom set year 9s, which it was aimed at. I was then asked how I would adapt the topic and grammar for a group of A-level students.
Target Language Task
This could be at any point in the day. There may be a discussion in the target language with a member of the department or the Head of Department. They need to know that your subject knowledge will be sufficient for the job you are taking on. They may choose to talk with you in any language that you offer, sometimes even multiple languages. In my current role, I can recall walking with the Head of Department to the room where the conversation was to take place while the school musical “We will rock you” was rehearsing next door. The irony of listening to Queen’s “Under Pressure” throughout this task was not lost on me.
During this you can expect any of the following:
- Basic questions about yourself
- Questions about your experience and where you learnt your languages.
- Questions about teaching
- Questions about your subject
- Proper interview questions
- Questions about areas of interest when it comes to A-level teaching
Sometimes this has been done as part of the afternoon interview and sometimes as a separate one in the morning.
Tour of the school by pupils or senior leaders
Bear in mind that it is very likely whoever takes you around the school will be asked about you. Even if it is just a simple “what were they like?” Be yourself. Don’t try to be anything you are not normally. Children see through it pretty quickly, adults even quicker. Show an interest in the kids delivering the tour but equally don’t pepper them with relentless questions. Ask them what it is like being a pupil at the school as this may offer up some interesting insights. Ask them about what there is to get involved in. Ask them about their language lessons and if they enjoy them.
Data-handling task
This is a relatively new thing and is probably more common in jobs with a TLR attached but is worth mentioning. You will be given a set of pupil data. This could be 1-9, progress8 scores, attainment8 scores, or internal monitoring data. You will then be asked about strategies to raise attainment, which groups of students need targeting and how you would go about it.
Marking tasks
Essentially, you are looking to demonstrate that you can offer perceptive feedback that would have an impact upon learning. If this is the case, I would advise that you contact the Head of Department to find out if you are to use the school policy (in which case request a copy), or stick to your own and what you would normally do. If you notice any common themes across the work you are given then that’s a good starting point for feedback.
Pupil interviews
You may be interviewed by some pupils. These interviews can sometimes mimic questions in the afternoon and sometimes they do include some odd ones.
I have had questions about my teaching, my lessons, why I became a teacher and what I believe makes a good languages lesson.
I have been asked to tell them a joke and one former colleague in another school was asked what kind of biscuit they would be. A brief internet search will serve you some light relief if you are stressed about an upcoming interview.
Presentation
More likely for a Head of Department role but entirely possible that they may want to see what you can offer through a presentation. They will give you the topic. Make sure you stick to it. Don’t be afraid to use notes if you need them. It is likely they want to hear your ideas and are not testing your ability to memorise.
Shortlisting
Sometimes schools will invite a collection of candidates and then shortlist before the final interviews. By this point they will have read your application, probably have spoken with you and also have seen you teach.
How schools do this will vary. Some will take the unsuccessful candidates to one side and quietly explain that they will not be interviewed. Others will take their inspiration from The Great British Bake Off, and will tell all candidates at the same time who is going through and who is not, minus the “star baker”. At worst, that part of the day may feel a bit like “The Apprentice.” It can – and probably will – feel harsh if you do not make the rest of the day. You may get some clear and helpful feedback; you may not. About 4-5 years into teaching I was told at one interview “you’re not quite the right fit for the project and journey that we are on.” The other teacher at a similar stage got the same feedback. On another occasion, a headteacher graciously wrote me an email with feedback from each part of the day. She was a class act; the feedback was detailed and useful.
Interview
Congratulations! You made it this far. However, one final hurdle remains: the interview. Interview panels will almost always, without exception, comprise of the Head of Department and a member of senior leadership. Beyond this they may have a member of the Senior Leadership Team who is responsible for teaching and learning, a member of Senior Leadership who line manages the MFL department and in some cases i have known a Governor or HR person to be present.
For the interview make sure you have a few things in place before going in.
- Your thoughts on that lesson you taught in the morning.
- Concrete examples for the questions below.
- Your appearance is sorted. Was that Spaghetti Bolognaise at lunchtime a good idea?
Most interviews follow a simple question and answer format. One school threw me slightly announcing at the outset of the interview there would be less questions but they wanted longer answers (4 questions of approximately 5mins each).
They will likely ask you two questions at some point:
- Are you still a strong candidate for this post?
- Have you got any questions for us?
For the former, you will hopefully know the answer by this point. You are always free to withdraw at any point in an interview process and it is important to do it respectfully and with good reason. There is a chance that if you are applying in a particular locality that you meet the interviewer again sometime a few years later. It’s better for both sides to know you’re not the right fit sooner, rather than find out later.
Always have a couple of questions up your sleeve. One example from my own journey is that I moved from an LA school to an academy trust so I asked the question: “I’ve not taught in an academy, what would I notice compared to my LA school?” Maybe the school hints that they want to introduce another language. You could ask about the time-frame for that. You could ask about the possibility of a tutor/form group.
Interview – what are they looking for?
Every question below, I have been asked in an interview. Also think back to your application. You could be asked about anything in it.
Talk to us about the lesson episode, how do you think it went? What would you do differently? – They want to see if you can reflect and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the episode. Don’t just focus on the weaknesses. What did you achieve? Did you achieve what you set out to achieve? If you did it again, what would you keep and change? What would the next lesson look like?
Why are you a languages teacher? – They want to see what got you into teaching.
Why are languages important? – They want you to defend your subject’s place in the curriculum as you will likely have to at some point with pupils or parents.
What is important in an MFL lesson? What makes a good lesson? – Share your beliefs about MFL teaching.
What is your opinion on <insert latest new gcse/initiative/debate? Share your thoughts on latest new gcse/initiative. If it’s not one you are familiar with then say that you need to investigate it more. It might be for example that an idea has come out of a local hub school and you trained elsewhere in the country.
If we came into your classroom, what would we see? – They want to know what a lesson with you is like.
What would pupils say about your lessons? – They want to see what a lesson with you is like but asking you to look at it from a student perspective.
What would you do with a parent/student who says languages are not important? – This is practically a guarantee at parents evening at some point in your career. Defend your subject! My response at that point is normally to begin with a slightly disarming “that’s what I thought in secondary school too” and then go from there. You can read the full story here.
What would you do with student x in a lesson who has their head on the desk and not engaging? – This is asking about your approach to behaviour. The correct answer is to follow the policy whatever the policy is but show them what you would do in your classroom. If your current school has a policy, talk through how you would apply it.
What would you do with a student who refuses to use any Spanish/French/German in a lesson?
How do you motivate the hardest to reach students? Share practical examples of how you would do it.
What would you do if your Head of Department made a decision you disagreed with? – They want to see something of your character here. How do you manage conflict and deal with disappointment?
How would you raise uptake in Year 9? – This probably suggests that the Y9 options process is a bit of a challenge and they want to see what you would bring to the table. Remember that in some Welsh schools that Spanish/French/German are also competing with Welsh as an option
What are your current Year 11 class projected to achieve? / What was the achievement of your most recent Year 11 group? – They want to know if you’re capable of delivering good results. They are also looking for whether you can analyse the strengths and weaknesses of a group. If the group is underachieving, how are you working on their weaknesses?
What do you do outside of teaching to relax? What do you do for your wellbeing?– They want to know that you have a life, interests and passions.
Insert <safeguarding situation> here. What would you do?
Some schools will add a safeguarding question. The answer to this is to follow policy and the good practice outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education.
The following are questions I think could be asked. I cannot recall if i have been asked them or not.
How do you engage students?
How do you make sure your students are learning and remembering more?
How do you teach culture? Ideas here
How do you adapt your lessons to the needs of students? Give us some examples of how students with … can access your lessons
A current school focus is …. how would you incorporate that in your lessons?
Would you be willing to run a trip?
Would you be willing to introduce X language?
How do you ensure a mixture of appropriate challenge and support in your lessons?
Some less obvious questions I have encountered are:
- Are you a linguist who loves teaching or a teacher who loves languages?
- What are we missing out on if we didn’t hire you?
- If you could invite 3 people alive or dead to a dinner party who would you invite?
- What things really annoy you?
- If you could change one thing about your current practice what would it be?
- What is your biggest weakness as a teacher?
- Tell us about a time when something did not go as planned
- Describe yourself in three words
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