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Jade Payad
T&L 333
Nalee Moua
ELL Teacher Interview (Final)
Washington State University
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The ELL teacher that I interviewed for this project is Ms. Emma Shirk. The school

that they currently teach in is Oak harbor High School, located in Oak harbor,

Washington. You can reach her through email which is eshirk@ohsd.net or her by the

school’s phone number which is (360) 279-5777. My relationship to Ms. Emma Shirk is

that she was the new ELL teacher on my senior year of High School. Although I was not

part of the ELL program anymore on my senior year, she still introduced herself to me

and still helped me when I was struggling with some of my classes, like Science and

English. She also helped me apply for college. She helped me write my essay for my

college application and as well as help me complete my FAFSA application, because I

did not know the application process in universities in the U. S. And even though I am

already out of High School and is already in college, I still go to her classroom

sometimes and help her and help other students as well if they are struggling with their

classes. I learned a lot during my interview with Ms. Emma Shirk. I learned about the

type of program that she uses for her classroom. I also learn about the demographics of

her class and how she sits her students and why it is important that they are in the

seating arrangements that she assigns. She also gave her view point and told me her if

she agrees with having assessment. And she as well told me what characteristics she

thinks is important to have for an ELL program to be successful. She also discussed

about the importance of technology in the classroom. And her experience of becoming a
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teacher and why she specifically chose to teach and get an endorsement in ELL rather

than choosing other subjects or course.

During the interview with Ms. Ema Shirk, I notice many striking topics that she

has in her classroom. One of them is the state wide assessments and the difficulties of it

for ELLs. The other striking topic that I noticed was the difficulties of ELLs in content

area learning. Furthermore, I also saw the language barriers and the difficulties she

faces, because of the different cultural background and different languages spoken by

her students. Most of Ms. Shirk’s students are Spanish-speakers, coming from different

parts of the world. She also has many Mandarin Chinese-speakers, Tagalog speakers,

and mentors foreign exchange students outside her ELL classroom.

From what I concluded from the ELL teacher interview and my personal

experience in the school, state assessments are a big part of the school and the district.

Most of the teachers, teach for the state assessments. We had to prepare a year in

advance for the assessments and had to review possible questions that might come on

the test. As with the other teachers, Ms. Shirk feels like she does not have the freedom to

teach, because the school and the district requires her to teach for the state assessment.

But despite this, Ms. Shirk says that she still tries to teach her students what she thinks

will be helpful to them, even if it is not in the assessment. The Oak Harbor School

District uses Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and

Immigrant Students, which provides formula grants to state education agencies, and in

turn makes sub grants to eligible local education agencies that apply to the state for the

funds. One of the problems with Title III is that it does not make any distinctions
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between bilingual and monolingual programs (Wright, 2015, p. 75). This is a problem

for ELL students, because they are still learning English while at the same time trying to

study state wide tests. This is also a problem for ELL teachers, like Ms. Shirk, because

instead of focusing on teaching ELL students to speak, listen, read and write in English,

they have to also teach them contents and topics that will be on the state wide

assessment. She is now in debate of focusing on either content area objectives versus

language objectives, due to lack of time.

ELL students face the difficulty of speaking, listening, reading and writing in

English, while also learning other subjects like, math, science, social studies and more.

Ms. Shirk mentioned that a lot of her ELL students are struggling with the science and

mathematics. Many of them struggle with science because of the different scientific

terms that they need to know. Even simple words that student may know, could have

different meaning in science. Students will also need to learn many new vocabulary

words for each topic they encounter in science (Wright, 2015, p. 277). One way we can

make science instruction comprehensible for English Language Learners is to make

science classes more hands on with a rich, highly motivating language laboratory.

Furthermore, there could be modifications in science instructional materials for our ELL

students and integrate the students’ culture into the instruction (Wright, 2015, p. 283).

Some students are also struggling in mathematics because they have trouble showing or

explaining their work. Mathematics is important, because it is one of the main subjects

covered on the state wide assessments. This subject tends to get most attention in the

classroom. One of the downside of this is that teachers have to push through math
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instructions at a rapid pace to cover all concepts that may appear on the test (Wright,

2015, p. 270). Some misperception about math is that it is easy for ELL students because

it’s mostly numbers. But contrary to this belief, this is false because math has a language

of its own, just like science. Some even constitutes math as a third language ELL

students have to learn (Wright, 2015, p. 271). We can help ELL students learn math by

having teachers illustrating math word charts to go along math units, such as geometric

shapes or measurement words. They can also make these word charts with the students

during the lesson. ELL students can also use hands on practice as a way of learning, just

like in a science class. ELL students can practice with pattern blocks, soring

manipulatives, counting manipulatives, base 10 block for teaching place values, pie

slicing, compasses, clocks, protractors and more (Wright, 2015, p. 273).

One of the themes emerged through the interview was difficulties in

communication and language learning because of a wide range of students that all have

a different cultural background. Communication is used in our daily lives and an

important aspect of life. Communication is important in school, and in the classroom.

But, it is hard for ELL students to express themselves, because of the difficulty in

communication. Even as an ELL teacher, Ms. Shirk sometimes still have trouble

communicating with her students, and other times the student’s parents. A couple

solutions that can be effective are scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development or

ZPD. Scaffolding is temporarily used to build something and removed once the

building is completed. ZPD is a domain or metamorphic space where children can

reach a higher level of knowledge and performance with the support of an adult or
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other more knowledgeable person (Wright, 2015, p. 57). That is why communication

with parents is also important so that they can help students. It is also important to try

and build a relationship with our students, understand and learn the students cultural

background.

When I interviewed Ms. Shirk, I found all of the things that we talked about

beneficial. She talked mostly about assessments, the importance of knowing your

students personally and knowing their culture. This interview also confirmed my

beliefs on the policies and issues that we discussed in class and that we have read in the

book. I knew that teachers sometimes do not have any freedom, because they are

required to teach according to the district or state. Ms. Shirk talked about the different

assessments and tests given by the state that can sometimes be hard especially for ELLs,

because they are designed for English native speakers.

I will use the information that was given to me through the interview as a guide

for when I start my teaching and as I take more Teaching and Learning classes. I will

keep in mind how I can effectively teach ELL students content area, while also teaching

language in the classroom. She also emphasized the importance of getting to know my

students and their cultures, so that we can help them better in the classroom and use

their culture as a way to keep them engaged.

I have known Ms. Shirk for years now and I consider her as my mentor. When I

visit her, we always talk about her teaching experience, but we have never discussed

about the aspect of a classroom, assessments and importance of getting to know your

students and to make sure that they are doing well in classes and at home. This
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interview made me excited to be a teacher and help solve and tackle the same problems

that she is having in the classroom, so that I can make sure that my students are getting

the full experience of school, enjoying it and learning something new every day.
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References:

Shirk, E. (2017, 17 March). Interview.

Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory,
and practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Caslon.
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Appendix:

1) What do you think are most important characteristics for a successful ELL

program?

2) How do you gauge student proficiency and the amount of support needed?

3) Do you think the integration of technology is a good tool for ELLs? Why or why

not?

4) What qualities are important for a teacher who works with ELLs to be

successful?

5) Do you allow ELLs to speak in their native language in the classroom? Why or

Why not?

6) What are the different types of ELL programs that are offered in your

school/school district?

7) Is it hard to gain the trust of an ELL? What strategies did you use to help them

become comfortable in the classroom and with you?

8) Do you know how to speak another language other than English? If so, what and

what was the purpose of learning another language?

9) How are the seating arrangements in your classroom? Do you seat ELL students

together? Why are seating arrangements important in an ELL classroom?

10) Do you keep in touch with your past ELL/ESL students? Why or why not?
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11) While going through the process of becoming a teacher, did you see yourself or

want to teach ELLs? If not, what was your endorsement?

12) What is the biggest reward about teaching, in general, and with teaching ELLs?

13) Which subject do your ELL students struggle the most in? Why do you believe

that is the case?

14) Throughout your teaching experience, have you ever sought out the assistance of

an interpreter? Why or why not? Furthermore, what is your opinion about

having children interpret for their parents?

15) What are the demographics of your class (how many ELLs)?

16) Do you feel the assessments give you freedom to teach or are you only teaching

to the assessment? Why or why not?