Entry 2 - ELL Interview

For my interview I decided to interview my friend, Sandra Pineda. She was not able to meet in person, so I held a phone interview. You may have to increase the volume to hear her clearly. She is from Honduras and moved here when she was 8 years old. She started in ELL classes when she moved here which was the middle of third grade. The teachers had her in a Spanish speaking class up until fifth grade. In fifth grade she was immersed with English speaking students.

I asked her if she had faced any obstacles when learning English over here in the United States. In Honduras she had been placed in bilingual classes, so she had some exposure to English already. Her father also knew English already as well. She mentioned how she struggled with her pronunciation and trying to pronounce like a native speaker. There was a specific incident in fifth grade with her teacher not being able to understand her question. A peer tried to help but it was not working. She said how it was frustrating not being able to communicate. I think it may be harder for those who did not grow up around accents to understand them. Especially if the accent is very thick. Even for myself, I grew up with Mexican and Italian accents as well as friends from other countries, but I sometimes still struggle a bit.

Towards the middle of my interview I asked what strategies her teachers used to help her in class. Her teacher used to place them in groups and would group those who were Hispanic together. She said it was helpful because if she did not know a word, she could ask them. Her teacher would also speak slower so that they could understand what she was saying more clearly. Wright (2015) mentioned how in an interaction between a learner and a native there can be many modifications such as simplifying, gestures or even reducing the rate of speech to get their point across. Sometimes as native speakers I think we forget that even though someone may have basic knowledge of a language they are still in the learning process. If they are not fluent yet, then our regular talking pace may affect their understanding. They may have caught pieces of what we said or possibly nothing. So as teachers I think it is important that we take that into account. Having grown up with a mother who English is her second language she says how slow pronunciation helped her pronounce words better. Sandra went on to mention how she would use visuals in her lesson to help her make connections. I think visuals are important regardless if the student is ELL or not. I think when learning any language visuals can help students make connections to their experience. As students get older, I think pictures can be placed along or replaced with a definition.

I asked her in the end what advice she would give future ELL or bilingual teachers to help their students. She mentioned how it is important for teachers to motivate their students and to encourage them to participate. She had teachers who would have the students read aloud in class and some students would laugh at her pronunciation. Her teacher on the other had would help her by correcting her and showing her how to pronounce. Sandra said having that help allowed her to become more fluent in English. As teachers I think it is important that we create a safe environment for all our students and to not allow for others to laugh at others for their pronunciation. If we allow for that then we push back the confidence and motivation that the student needs to continue to learn. We also allow for an unsafe environment to be created which is not what any student needs.

Overall, I learned from this interview that as teachers we need to take into account all areas of a student's life. Wright says, "Experience leads to expertise. Thus, the more the teacher knows about a student's experiences, the more he or she can assume about the expertise that student is likely to have" (2015, p. 17). Does not matter if they are ELL or not, they are still learning a language. They may be learning some English at home but not the correct pronunciation. I grew up pronouncing some words incorrectly because that is what I heard at home. Once I got older it was corrected but we never know with our students. So as teachers it is our duty to motivate and help them build the confidence, they need to become successful in the language we are teaching them. I hope you all enjoyed my interview!