Question 1

How would you teach 'The Road Not Taken' to a Class 9 class that finds poetry boring?

Accepted Answer

Never start with the poem. Open with a real choice they've made recently — which stream, which sport, which friend group — and ask what the road not taken cost them. Then read the poem once with no analysis. Second read, unpack 'and that has made all the difference' — is Frost proud, sad, ironic? A Class 9 that argues about the ending is a class that owns the poem. Save the exam questions for the last five minutes.

Question 2

A Class 8 student writes grammatically correct English but the writing is lifeless. How do you help?

Accepted Answer

Grammar isn't the problem — voice is. I set exercises that force choice: rewrite the same paragraph in the voice of a scared 8-year-old, then a bored 80-year-old. Then compare. Once they see that voice comes from word choice and sentence length, not from rules, the writing changes in about three weeks.

Question 3

Explain the difference between the simple past and the present perfect, using a real example.

Accepted Answer

'I lost my keys' — done, over, we know when. 'I have lost my keys' — done, but connected to now, I still don't have them. Students who mix them up almost always come from a first language without present perfect. I teach it with a picture story: same event, ask two questions ('when did it happen?' vs 'do you have them now?') and let them choose the tense.

Question 4

How would you teach 'show, don't tell' to a Class 7?

Accepted Answer

Two sentences on the board. 'She was angry.' vs 'She slammed her book shut and walked out without looking at him.' Ask which they can see. Then give them 'He was nervous' and ask them to rewrite it in one sentence with no adjective for the feeling. Every student can do it, and the lesson sticks for years.

Question 5

A student says 'ma'am, I don't like reading'. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Ask what they do read — Instagram captions, cricket commentary, song lyrics. That is reading. Then hand them one short story you know they'll like — for boys who read cricket, an R.K. Narayan story; for a graphic-novel reader, a Neil Gaiman short. Fifteen pages, not 200. 'I don't read' almost always means 'nobody has handed me the right book yet'.

Question 6

How do you teach unseen comprehension so students actually improve, not just practise?

Accepted Answer

The mistake is doing comprehensions and moving on. I do fewer passages and spend twice as long on each — students first read alone, then in pairs re-read only the sentences they'd underline for the answer, then compare. The skill they build is finding evidence, not writing answers. Marks follow.

Question 7

What is your view on grammar drilling vs. grammar in context?

Accepted Answer

Both, in that order. Class 6–7 needs some drilling to build correctness — 20 minutes a week, spaced out. From Class 8 onwards, grammar should live inside writing tasks — I mark two grammar targets per essay, not the whole essay. Grammar drilled and never applied is useless; grammar in context alone leaves gaps.

Question 8

What are you reading right now?

Accepted Answer

Have a real answer. One current book (fiction or non-fiction) and one thing you've re-read this year. Say what it's about in two sentences and one thing that surprised you. Fumbling on this question in an English interview is disqualifying.

Question 9

A parent complains you gave their child 6/10 for a creative writing piece the parent thinks is 'brilliant'. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Reply in 24 hours with the rubric I used, the exact places marks were deducted (usually structure, evidence or grammar), and an offer to meet. Never argue that the piece isn't good — often it is good, just not against the rubric. Show the rubric, show the piece, let the parent see the gap themselves.

Question 10

Your class has students at very different reading levels. How do you plan one lesson?

Accepted Answer

Same text, three tiers of task. Everyone reads the same passage. Group A summarises in 3 sentences. Group B answers two inference questions. Group C writes a diary entry as one character. Same 30 minutes, everyone stretched, no student humiliated. Over a term I rotate the groups.

Question 11

How do you handle a student who is disruptive in every class?

Accepted Answer

First a 5-minute private conversation — not a scolding, a diagnostic. What's going on. Often it's a friendship, sometimes home. I move seats before I move harder. If the pattern continues past 2 weeks, I write a short note to the Coordinator and copy the parent — no drama, just facts. Escalation belongs on paper, not in the classroom.

Question 12

How do you check that a student's essay is their own work and not AI?

Accepted Answer

I set at least one in-class handwritten piece per fortnight — that gives me a baseline. When a suspicious essay comes in, I sit with the student and ask them to explain three specific choices they made — a word, a sentence structure, why they used a certain example. Students who wrote it can defend it in two minutes. Students who didn't, can't. I don't accuse; I give them a chance to redo it in class.

Question 13

A student is being bullied. She hasn't told you but a friend has. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Talk to the friend first — thank her, ask what she saw. Then a quiet conversation with the bullied student, never in front of others. I do not name names or promise secrecy — I say I'll involve the counsellor and Coordinator, and I do. Bullying is one place where the class teacher cannot be the last line.

Question 14

A student answers a question in a way that shows deep understanding but wouldn't score on the board. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Praise it out loud, then ask 'now — how would you answer this if the board marker only had 30 seconds to read your answer?' Both skills matter and I refuse to teach only for the exam. Students who understand deeply and can also compress cleanly are the ones who score 95+.

Question 15

What is your approach to homework?

Accepted Answer

Less, marked properly. Two short tasks a week, each 20 minutes, both marked with one specific comment per student. Long homework that never gets read is worse than none — students learn that effort is invisible. I'd rather a class hand in a paragraph and get real feedback than five pages and a tick.

Question 16

Why this school?

Accepted Answer

One line about their board and stage, one line about something specific from their site (a literary magazine, a debating society, a recent alumni), one line about what you'd add. Warm generalities lose to specific evidence every time.

Question 17

What is your expected salary?

Accepted Answer

Give a range, not a number, and tie it to your years and CTC. Know the market — TGT English in most Indian metros in 2026 sits at ₹3.5–7 LPA. Ask about the full package, transport and PF, before you commit to a number.

Question 18

When can you join?

Accepted Answer

Tell the truth. Notice period, earliest realistic date, and any buyout option. Never over-promise the date — every principal in your city talks to every other principal.

Question 19

Why are you leaving your current school?

Accepted Answer

One forward-looking sentence. 'Four good years, taught two batches through, ready for a school with a stronger literature programme / a shorter commute / an ICSE stream.' No criticism of the previous management.

Question 20

Do you have any questions for us?

Accepted Answer

Always yes — the school's approach to writing, class size, whether TGTs also cover Class 6 or only 7–10, CPD budget, whether there's a school magazine you could edit.

TGT English interview questions and answers (2026)

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Questions with model answers

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What this interview actually looks like

Questions with model answers

Q1How would you teach 'The Road Not Taken' to a Class 9 class that finds poetry boring?

Q2A Class 8 student writes grammatically correct English but the writing is lifeless. How do you help?

Q3Explain the difference between the simple past and the present perfect, using a real example.

Q4How would you teach 'show, don't tell' to a Class 7?

Q5A student says 'ma'am, I don't like reading'. What do you do?

Q6How do you teach unseen comprehension so students actually improve, not just practise?

Q7What is your view on grammar drilling vs. grammar in context?

Q8What are you reading right now?

Q9A parent complains you gave their child 6/10 for a creative writing piece the parent thinks is 'brilliant'. What do you do?

A 15-minute demo you can teach on Monday

Ask them back — questions for the interviewer

Ready to apply?

Other interview guides