Business English Unplugged

Interviews

Think about it

Business English learners are generally adult professionals, which means they have probably had several interviews as a candidate. In fact, many of them will have been on the other side of the desk as the interviewer. They will usually appreciate practising language for interviews.

Get it ready

You might want to find a list of common interview questions and open a Google document so you can reformulate any questions they produce.

Set it up

Tell learners an anecdote about a time you attended an interview. In particular, tell them an unusual interview questions and discuss why the interviewed asked it.

Let it run

Divide the class into two groups. Each group writes a list of between 5-10 common interview questions. Help them reformulate the questions in the most natural way possible.

The groups swap their list of questions. Each group discusses a) the purpose of the question and b) how they should answer.

Each member of each group makes a record of the questions.

Pair a learner from each group. They take it in turns to simulate an interview.

Round it off

Ask the learners what the best answers were and who performed well in the interviews.

Review any language issues.

Follow-up

Learners record their interviews.