Subject: Interview Skills St. Bonaventure College & High School What should you prepare for an interview conducted in English? Subject: Interview Skills Powerpoint by Tom Grundy – www.globalcitizen.co.uk Free for non-commercial use. Please report any copyright issues. Designed for Primary school students by St. Bonaventure College & High School

Use the WH and H question words! How can you make responses richer? Use the WH and H question words! Why? How many? What? Where? Which? When? Who?

To make your answer longer, you should try to give 2-3 complete sentences for each question. For example: Do you like swimming? provide an alternative, What? Who? When? No, I don’t. No, I don’t; but I like playing basketball with my friends during weekends. No, I don’t; but I like playing basketball with my friends during weekends because it allows me to develop friendship and understand the importance of team spirit! provide an alternative, What? Who? When? Why?

I like to eat dim sum. It is tasty. Let’s make these answers longer… What do you like to eat? Dim sum. not good  Provide a reason, Why? better! I like to eat dim sum. It is tasty. My favourite food is dim sum. I like to eat it every Sunday with my family. Give additional information, When? Who? great! 

Why should we learn English? Let’s make these answers longer… Why should we learn English? not good  Provide a reason – WHY? It is useful. It is useful because we can speak to people from other countries. better! Provide 2 reasons – WHY? great!  _______________________________________________________________________________. It’s useful because we can speak to people from other countries. We can also understand English films without the trouble of referring to the Chinese subtitles.

What do you do on Sundays? Let’s make these answers longer… What do you do on Sundays? not good  Swimming. Provide additional information – Who? When? Why? better! I go swimming with my family on Sundays. It is fun. Provide additional information – Who? When? Why- (two reasons)? _______________________________________________________________________________. I go swimming with my family on Sundays. It is not only fun, but also helps me to become healthier. great! 

Do you play the piano? Let’s make these answers longer… not good  provide an alternative, What? not good  No. better! No, but I play the violin. provide an alternative, What? and 2 reasons – Why? _______________________________________________________________________________. No, but I play the violin. Playing the violin allows me to feel relaxed especially after a long tiring day. great! 

Why do you want to come to this school? Which of the following answers are good? “My friends and my sister come here and I know it is a good school.” “It’s near my home” “My mom and dad want me to come here.” “I don’t know.” “I like the library and computer room and I hear the teachers are very kind.” “I went to the website and the Open Day and know it is a great school.”

The top 6 subjects… Top 6 subjects to think about: Yourself. Why you want to go to this secondary school. Interests and hobbies School and studies. Family and friends. The future. Write down some paragraphs about these subjects before you attend the interview. Make sure you have a lot to say about these important things!

Practice your answers at home. Your handout… Practice your answers at home.

Let's practice! Example questions… Look at the following questions… About Yourself - Introduce yourself ­ What is your name? ­ Which school do you come from? ­ Where is it? ­ Where do you live? ­ What hobbies do you have? - Describe some of your likes and dislikes. ­ What does your father / mother / brother do? ­ Do you do any housework at home? ­ Do you have any siblings / brothers or sisters? ­ What do you like to eat? ­ When is your birthday? - When do you get up / go to bed? - Would you be scared if you had to perform on the stage? - What do you want to be in the future? - Have your read Pride and Prejudice / Harry Potter? - What is the book about? - What sports do you like to play? - What other countries have you visited? - Which parks have you been to? What did you do there? Look at the following questions… Let’s talk about how we can answer some of them together…

Example questions… About School and Studies What is your favourite subject / Which subject do you like best? Why? (e.g. Music) Do you know how to play the piano? What kind of music do you like? Why do you like music? Which song do you like best? Who is your favourite teacher in school? / Tell me something about your teacher. How do you get to school? Have you taken part in any competition / English activities? Have you got any prizes in the competition? (e.g. Speech Festival / Penmanship Competition / Writing Competition / Basketball / Football Match…) What do you do in your English / P.E. / music… lesson? Which subject are you good at? What kind of extra-curricular activities do you participate in / take part in? About Spare Time Activities What do you like to do in the summer? Do you play any musical instruments? Tell me about your favourite activity. Do you play computer games? MSN? How often do you play computer games? Have you been to Ocean Park / Disneyland? Do you have a computer at home? How often do you use it? What do you use it for? Which books do you like to read?

Let's practice! Example questions… About Family - Talk about your family. - What does your father / mother look like? - What is your father / mother good at? - Why does your mother like your father? - What does your father / mother do in his / her free time? - Do your parents help you with your homework? - What do you think about your father / mother? About Friends - Tell me about your friends. - Who is your best friend? About the Secondary School - Why do you want to study in our school? - How did you come here? - Who came here with you today? - Why do you choose an EMI school? Is this your parents’ will or yours? - What do you know about our school?

Example questions… Group interview questions Other questions - When did you last go abroad / travelling? Are there any scenic spots? Which country do you like? - Why is it important to be polite? - What would you do if you saw a little girl crying in the street / someone shoplifting in a supermarket? - Please read this passage. (Then ask questions about the passage / Student choose one topic from the passage to develop) - Picture description. (e.g. What day is it today? What is the weather like today? / Students are shown pictures of different places and are asked questions about the places.) - Do you have any pets? Why do you keep a pet? Tell me about your pet. - What else do you want to tell me? - Do you want to ask me any questions? - Listen to your group members talking. Then ask them some questions about what they say or read. - Discuss the passages (e.g. talk about how you will cope with some specific problems…) - What do you do if you are absent from school? (Or other imaginative situations) - Do you watch any English TV programmes? Which channel / What kind of programmes do you watch? - What do you do on Sundays? Group interview questions Do you have any questions? Show that you are interested in the school and process by thinking about some things you would like to know about your new school. Be sure to visit the website of the school.

Spotting the differences www.globalcitizen.co.uk

Spotting the differences Picture A WHERE are the two pictures taken? WHAT do you see in the two pictures? Are they the same? If not, what are the differences? WHAT are the people in the pictures doing? WHAT do they wear (describe their clothes, e.g. colours, patterns etc.)? Do they carry anything with them? If so, what are they? Picture B

Spotting the differences The two pictures are taken in the same place – waiting lounge of an airport. In both pictures, there is a café bar, and a seating area. However, there are some differences in the two pictures. For example, in Picture A, the man who buys a cup of coffee at the café bar wears a green shirt with white spots; while/whereas in Picture B, the man wears a green shirt with white stripes.

Reading Aloud

Practise reading the following paragraph: It seems to me that the story of Princess Diana is a sad one because she married a man who didn’t love her. On top of that, the Royal Family did not treat her well. And yet, Diana never gave up. She put her energy into charity work and she helped many sick and poor people.

Let’s see a role play of a good interview! What was good about the interview? How could he improve?

Self-introduction: Reasons why he likes the school His hobbies e.g. reading books, watching English TV programmes, and playing the piano Picture description (Big Buddha): Where it is How the Buddha looks like Why he likes the place Reading aloud?!! Follow-up questions Which extra-curricular activities he joins What he has learnt from the club

How to improve your English every day… Watch English TV (ATV World, TVB Pearl) and listen to English radio (RTHK Radio 3). Read English books, magazines, websites and newspapers. Practice your English with your family and friends Practice talking about yourself and your interests. Learn some good adjectives and revise your vocabulary by looking back at your work and textbooks. Talk to your English teachers. Don’t panic or worry, if you are confident and think you will do well, you will do well!

Mock Interview Evaluation…

The end!