Interviews

High-intermediate

Discussion Questions

• Objective: Activate students’ prior knowledge and personal experiences related to the topic.
• Instructions:
  • Pose the following questions to the class:
    1. What qualities do you think are most important in a teacher? Why?
    2. Have you ever had a teacher who really listened to you? How did it make you feel?
    3. Why do you think being reliable is important for a teacher?
  • Allow students to discuss these questions in small groups, then share their thoughts with the class.

Listening for Gist

• Objective: Prepare students to focus on the general idea of the interview.
• Instructions:
  • Tell students they will listen to a conversation about the qualities of an ideal teacher.
  • Ask them to listen for the main qualities mentioned and note down any key points.
  • They should not worry about understanding every word but focus on getting the general idea.

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

listen (verb): to pay attention to sound or someone’s words

• The teacher asked the students to listen carefully during the lesson.
• I like to listen to music while I work.

reliable (adjective): dependable, trustworthy, consistent

• She is a reliable friend who always helps when needed.
• The bus service here is very reliable and always on time.

quality (noun): a characteristic or feature of someone or something

• One important quality of a good teacher is patience.
• The quality of the food at the new restaurant was excellent.

professor (noun): a teacher, especially one at a college or university

• The professor gave an interesting lecture on ancient history.
• My biology professor is very knowledgeable and helpful.

fair (adjective): just, unbiased, treating people equally

• The judge made a fair decision in the case.
• It’s important to be fair when grading students’ work.

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.

Randall: Hi. And today’s lesson, we’re going to be talking about the qualities of the ideal teacher. And we know, Emily, that there are opportunities and situations where we do face-to-face learning. I know that more and more you see online learning with teachers and so forth, but whether it’s a face-to-face teacher or someone that you’re working with online, what would you say . . .  two or three qualities of the ideal teacher?

Emily: The number one quality of an ideal teacher is their ability to listen to their students, um, and not talk over their students, but just listen to them, listen to their concerns. That is my most important quality. Um, another quality would be to make sure that they’re reliable, um, that their business hours, you know, that you can go talk to them or email them that they get back to you when they say they will. [Right.] Um, also, being a fair teacher, uh, making sure that the coursework is fair for the level that you’re at.

Randall: Now, have you ever . . . and thank you for sharing that. You were talking about being fair about listening carefully. Have you had situations specifically where this particular teacher . . . and you don’t have to mention the teacher . . . . But really exuded that particular quality. It really showed that they really listened or were fair.

Emily: Uh, yes. I would say my sculpture professor has been one of the best at that.

Randall: Great . . .  At being fair at listening?

Emily: All of the above.

Randall: Okay. Well, great. And thank you very much for sharing those qualities of the ideal teacher for you.

Intermediate

1. What did Emily say is the most important quality of an ideal teacher?
2. Can you name one of the other qualities that Emily mentioned as important for a teacher?
3. Which professor did Emily mention as an example of a good teacher?
4. Why do you think it’s important for a teacher to be fair?
5. How do you think a teacher shows that they are reliable?
6. Can you describe a time when a teacher was fair or unfair? How did it affect you?
7. Why might listening be more important in online learning than in face-to-face learning?
8. What might happen if a teacher isn’t reliable? How could it impact students?

Advanced Level

1. Do you think a teacher can be effective without being fair? Why or why not?
2. How might the qualities of listening, reliability, and fairness differ in importance depending on the subject taught?
3. In your opinion, can one quality of a teacher compensate for the lack of another? For example, can a very knowledgeable teacher be effective even if they aren’t good at listening?
4. How would you prioritize the qualities of an ideal teacher? Which one would you place at the top, and why?

The following activities deal with related topics to give you additional language practice.

• The Journey of an International English Teacher

• Lifted and Inspired Teachers

• Effective Teachers