[General] Fifteen minutes to outline someone's English level

[ProsperoPoe]

Hello. I have fifteen minutes to verify candidates' English level. Phone interview.
I designed the following questions. Are these some useful and accurate questions to outline someone's English level? What's your opinion?

1.- How old are you? - Basic question, but a lot of people make the following egregious mistake: "I have "x" years"

2.- Where do you live?
2b.- "I have never been to that "x" city, what could you tell me about it? - This question gives the candidate the chance to use prepositions and to describe several details.

3.- What is your profession?
3b.- Why did you decide to study that major in college? - Effective question to check simple past structures.

4.- Why do you want to work for this company?

5.- What did you do last weekend? - Another effective question to check simple past structures.

6.- What are you going to do this weekend? - Practical question to check future structures.

7.- What would you do if our company needed you to move to USA to work there, would you accept the opportunity? - Question to describe hypothetical events (second conditional)

8.- Have you ever worked hand in hand with professionals from other countries? - Question to check present perfect structures.
8b.- How does it feel sharing tasks with professionals from other countries?

9.- How many books have you read in the last seven months? - Another question to check present perfect structures.

10.- What is your favorite movie?
10b.- I need you to ask me five different questions in five different tenses regarding that movie. - A fundamental question. In my view, someone who doesn't
have the skills to ask precise and well-structured questions, will never interact in a productive way with Anglo-Saxon people. Besides, if we don't ask questions, we don't get information; ergo, we can't move forwards.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

1. In America (and I imagine most English-speaking countries), it's illegal to ask that question in an interview.
2. These questions assume the candidate lives away from your location. It seems logical to me that most candidates would live near the job, so these questions will sound a bit silly.
3. Too vague and open-ended. If I am applying for a position as a salesperson, of course I would answer: 'I'm a salesperson'.
3b. You shouldn't assume that every candidate studied something in college directly related to the job description- or that they even attended college. I work as a teacher, but I studied Agricultural Mechanization in college.
6. Better as: What do you plan to do this weekend?
7. "What would you do...?" is too confusing. Better as: Are you willing to relocate? To the USA if necessary?
8. You should avoid such idioms as "hand in hand".
8b. I don't understand this question. I suggest you leave it out.
9. Is "I have no idea. Maybe six?" the answer you're going for?
10b. Unless you are hiring an English teacher, you can't reasonably expect an extemporaneous, correct response, other than something like:
Have you seen that movie?
Did you see that movie?
Will you see that movie?
Will you be seeing that movie?
Had you seen that movie?

Bottom line:
1. If you want to test a candidate's English skills, make it separate from the interview, and ask questions not related to the job. In the front of Swan's Practical English Usage, there is a section called Don't Say It! containing some sentences with errors for candidate to correct. You might choose a few of those for a written test.
2. Decide in advance if you want someone qualified to do the work or if you want someone with perfect English skills. A lot of very qualified native speakers would have difficulty passing your 'test', especially over the phone.

 

[jutfrank]

There's so much to deal with here, I don't know where to start.

Is the point of this only to assess the level of English or are you genuinely interested in the answers?

 

[ProsperoPoe]

There's so much to deal with here, I don't know where to start.

Is the point of this only to assess the level of English or are you genuinely interested in the answers?

I have to make sure that the candidates are good enough to have productive interaction with Anglo-Saxon people.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

1. In America (and I imagine most English-speaking countries), it's illegal to ask that question in an interview.
2. These questions assume the candidate lives away from your location. It seems logical to me that most candidates would live near the job, so these questions will sound a bit silly.
3. Too vague and open-ended. If I am applying for a position as a salesperson, of course I would answer: 'I'm a salesperson'.
3b. You shouldn't assume that every candidate studied something in college directly related to the job description- or that they even attended college. I work as a teacher, but I studied Agricultural Mechanization in college.
6. Better as: What do you plan to do this weekend?
7. "What would you do...?" is too confusing. Better as: Are you willing to relocate? To the USA if necessary?
8. You should avoid such idioms as "hand in hand".
8b. I don't understand this question. I suggest you leave it out.
9. Is "I have no idea. Maybe six?" the answer you're going for?
10b. Unless you are hiring an English teacher, you can't reasonably expect an extemporaneous, correct response, other than something like:
Have you seen that movie?
Did you see that movie?
Will you see that movie?
Will you be seeing that movie?
Had you seen that movie?

Bottom line:
1. If you want to test a candidate's English skills, make it separate from the interview, and ask questions not related to the job. In the front of Swan's Practical English Usage, there is a section called Don't Say It! containing some sentences with errors for candidate to correct. You might choose a few of those for a written test.
2. Decide in advance if you want someone qualified to do the work or if you want someone with perfect English skills. A lot of very qualified native speakers would have difficulty passing your 'test', especially over the phone.

1.- In my country, this question is not illegal whatsoever. Besides, as I said, many candidates say: "I have forty years" (egregious mistake) instead of saying: "I am forty years old".

2.- Yes, some candidates live away. Nonetheless, the main reason for this question is for me to verify how well the candidates can describe their neighbourhoods. The more words and correct structures they use, the better the description is.

3.- An open-ended question may be, but that is precisely the point!! I don't want them to provide vapid answers, and they need to know how to describe past event in a correct way.

7.- Confusing?? I do not think so!! Advanced speakers should know how to speak about hypothetical events (Second conditional)

8 .- Hand in hand is not an idiom. It is a formal adverb, and it is widely used in the business jargon. Did you not know that?
8b - Why don't you understand this question?

9.- I need to ask them a couple of questions regarding one of the books they have read in the last seven months.

10.- "Have you seen that movie? Did you see that movie? Will you see that movie? Will you be seeing that movie? Had you seen that movie?"
Candidates who lack imagination, quick-wittedness, and grammar knowledge, would ask such dull and barren questions...

Let's suppose one candidate says their favorite movie is Titanic. If they really know the movie, and if the have the tools to ask different questions, they could ask:
1.- What is the name of the poor drawer? (Present)
2.- Why did Rose want to commit suicide? (Past)
3.- Will James Cameron ever film a sequel? (Future)
4.- What was the captain doing when the ship hit an iceberg? (Past Continuous)
5.- Would Rose have gotten married to her fiance if the Titanic hadn't sunk? (Questions with conditional)

In my opinion, advanced speakers should know how to create questions like those ones. When it comes to having meaningful interaction with Anglo-Saxon speakers, asking questions is fundamental. If we don't ask well-structured questions, making progress is going to be hard.

Your feedback is more than welcome.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

Anglo-Saxon people = formal way to describe people who live in a country whose main language is English.
Anglo-Saxon people = English-speaking people (Oxford Dictionary).

 

[jutfrank]

Are they being sent 1,000 years back in time?

Ha! That's exactly what I was going to say. Isn't it a bit of a stretch to expect employees to speak Anglo-Saxon? :shock:

 

[jutfrank]

Anglo-Saxon people = formal way to describe people who live in a country whose main language is English.
Anglo-Saxon people = English-speaking people (Oxford Dictionary).

Joking aside, I would very much discourage you from using this terribly inaccurate, old-fashioned, and potentially offensive term. Why equate somebody with a 6th century Germanic tribe just because they happen in the 21st century to live in an English-speaking country?

 

[ProsperoPoe]

Joking aside, I would very much discourage you from using this terribly inaccurate, old-fashioned, and potentially offensive term. Why equate somebody with a 6th century Germanic tribe just because they happen in the 21st century to live in an English-speaking country?

Thanks so much for your piece of advise. I'll take it into account. What do you think about the questions??

 

[jutfrank]

I think that if you allow the candidates to speak about a range of things, fifteen minutes should be ample time to assess their general skills reliably enough. I do something similar on a regular basis in only five minutes.

You seem to have thought through your anticipated answers, but what I'm slightly confused about is the questions themselves. They appear to be an odd mix of both random and job interview-type questions. If the aim is purely to assess language skills, with fifteen minutes I would consider using the format of the speaking component of a recognised test, such as the IELTS or the Cambridge Advanced, which include questions written specifically to elicit increasingly sophisticated use of language.

Regarding 10b—I see what you're trying to do but I'm not sure it would work very well in practice. Perhaps you could test your questions on friends or colleagues to see how well they perform.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

I think that if you allow the candidates to speak about a range of things, fifteen minutes should be ample time to assess their general skills reliably enough. I do something similar on a regular basis in only five minutes.

You seem to have thought through your anticipated answers, but what I'm slightly confused about is the questions themselves. They appear to be an odd mix of both random and job interview-type questions. If the aim is purely to assess language skills, with fifteen minutes I would consider using the format of the speaking component of a recognised test, such as the IELTS or the Cambridge Advanced, which include questions written specifically to elicit increasingly sophisticated use of language.

Regarding 10b—I see what you're trying to do but I'm not sure it would work very well in practice. Perhaps you could test your questions on friends or colleagues to see how well they perform.

Yes, it is a mixture, but I wouldn't use the adjective "odd" to describe it. Rather, it is a non-standard and original mixture. It focuses on job aspects and quotidian aspects as well. Those formats (IELTS and CA) have been used to death, and they have faults. Let us try something fresh and original

 

[J&K Tutoring]

I spent quite a bit of time on my initial response, and I'm not about to continue to argue over it, but I will suggest some take-aways for you:

1. Other responders agree with me that you should separate interview questions from your English test.
2. You are not fluent enough in English to 'reinvent the wheel' of testing.
3. When you ask advice in a forum such as this one, take the responses given with a bit of humility, instead of simply arguing for affirmation.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

I spent quite a bit of time on my initial response, and I'm not about to continue to argue over it, but I will suggest some take-aways for you:

1. Other responders agree with me that you should separate interview questions from your English test.
2. You are not fluent enough in English to 'reinvent the wheel' of testing.
3. When you ask advice in a forum such as this one, take the responses given with a bit of humility, instead of simply arguing for affirmation.

I was not arguing but debating.
How do you know I am noy fluent enough to try something new and fresh?
Humility is my greatest ally.

Thanks for your pieces of advice anyway.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxrbOVeRonQ

 

[Tdol]

5.- What did you do last weekend? - Another effective question to check simple past structures.


6.- What are you going to do this weekend? - Practical question to check future structures.

However, many people do broadly the same things at the weekend, so it may allow them to re-use the same vocabulary. You could ask them about their last holiday, whch would check the past and not be so repetitious.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

However, many people do broadly the same things at the weekend, so it may allow them to re-use the same vocabulary. You could ask them about their last holiday, whch would check the past and not be so repetitious.

That is right!! Thanks for your suggestion!!
What is your opinion about the other questions?? Thanks.

 

[Roman55]

I have to make sure that the candidates are good enough to have productive interaction with Anglo-Saxon people.

This is something that I react to every time I hear it here in France (which is almost every day if I listen to the news, where it is prevalent).
I think that educated people know that it is nonsense to talk about Anglo Saxons in this day and age, but it has come to mean the English or English speakers of English origin.
The Anglo Saxon world, to the French, refers to the UK, USA, Canada (minus Quebec), Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and even South Africa.

The term is used in exactly the same way in Italian, and I wonder, since ProsperoPoe's native language is Spanish, whether this isn't a Romance language phenomenon. It's just that translated back into English, we don't like it.

 

[ProsperoPoe]

I think that educated people know that it is nonsense to talk about Anglo Saxons in this day and age, but it has come to mean the English or English speakers of English origin.
The Anglo Saxon world, to the French, refers to the UK, USA, Canada (minus Quebec), Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and even South Africa.

The term is used in exactly the same way in Italian, and I wonder, since ProsperoPoe's native language is Spanish, whether this isn't a Romance language phenomenon. It's just that translated back into English, we don't like it.

Thanks Roman!!

Yes, it is an adjective/term that we educated people use.

 

[Tdol]

Re-read the last sentence. It's not a term used much/at all in English by native speakers this way. If I hear it, I don't think about the Saxons invading the British Isles, but I do think it is probably a poor translation from a Romance language being used.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

This should clear things up:

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