Xavier Juarez

12/11/18
TCHR LRN 333
Teacher Interview Final Draft
 The person I interviewed was Heide Taylor. She currently works at Wide Hollow

Elementary in Yakima, Washington. I went to this elementary school since the start of 2 nd grade.

Her position is referred to as “ELL specialist/interventionist”. She oversees the ELL programs

and drops into different classrooms to make sure that the students are receiving the attention

that is needed. Heide Taylor stated there are about 2-3 ELL students per classroom. She also

pulls students out to help them with vocabulary and she pulls them out to assess their

proficiency. I tried to make the interview process more of a discussion. A lot of the questions I

asked, I was able to connect to things we have learned throughout the semester. Heide Taylor

even showed me around a couple classrooms. It looks a lot different when I attended there. She

also introduced me to the principal and other teachers at the school. My old elementary school

uses a method where they don’t have your normal classroom layout, instead they have tables

and chairs of all sizes separated throughout the class. The point of this is to show that everyone

is equal, and everyone should be treated the same, no matter the size or shape of the tables. It

was fun being able to discuss learning strategies for ELLS, learning about her passion for

education, and getting the insight needed to be a successful ELL teacher.

When I started my interview, at first it was tense, and she gave simple responses, but as

we got more comfortable with each other, we were able to discuss the questions that I asked,

and we eventually went more in depth with the question and often lead to different

discussions. I was able to learn a lot of insightful ideas and techniques from her Heide Taylor

has a lot of experience with education, she was a teacher, assistant principal, and an ELL

specialist. Mrs. Taylor stated how important it was working with ELLs. She said seeing the

progress of ELLs from barely knowing any English to being proficient is a feeling that is unlike
anything else. She also said she enjoys when she is teaching an ELL basic vocabulary and once

the lightbulb develops and they answer the question correctly, she said that’s an awesome

feeling. This interview also helped me learn that I am ready to take on the challenge of building

that relationship with ELLs and building a sense of comfortability with each student. Mrs. Taylor

also stated that there were a lot of life lessons that she has learned through teaching ELLs, she

has learned to be patient with everyone, to really understand each individual, understanding

peoples’ cultural background, to be responsible, and flexible throughout any type of situation.

Mrs. Taylor also talked about how every teacher knows the GLAD strategy, the use of

technology to help students learn, and getting to know students as individuals instead of

students.

There were a lot of ideas that stood out to me when conducting the interview, but the

two that stood out the most were the common struggles with teaching ELLs and how to

overcome this problem as well as the teachers using the GLAD strategies and the growth of

technology in teaching ELLs. I asked the question what the common struggles for ELLs are when

they are trying to learn, and she stated, “they are often afraid to ask questions, feel shy, timid,

and get easily frustrated”. These are all common characteristics for ELL students, she also said

to break the shyness of the student, she tries to better understand the student as well as being

able to understand the background of the student. An ELL student isn’t going to be able to

understand a whole lot or pick up on the language really quick, so patience is key during the

difficult learning time of the student. When Mrs. Taylor first started to talk about using the

GLAD strategies I was caught off guard for a second, but we quickly went into further

discussion. She stated that all elementary schools within the district know the GLAD strategies
and are trained to teach towards ELL students. When she has one on one with students, she

uses a lot of pictures, gestures, and models for the students to understand the concept. I was

also fascinated by the use of technology that she mentioned. Mrs. Taylor said each student has

their own Chromebook at the start of second grade, the use of iReady, testing through

computers, and the use of SayHi. The Chromebook is used to further develop and make

learning more interactive. iReady is a program that ELLs use that deals with reading, but it

translates the directions into the native language of the student. SayHi is an app that Mrs.

Taylor has, and she uses this to translate to the student’s native language if they cannot

understand her directions in English and there are up to one hundred types of language

translations.

The idea of getting to know the student and their background and building on that

background to help the students become more involved with the concept is tied into teaching

for transfer (Wright, 2015). You use the background of the student and you identify their

language and you are able to transfer similar strengths in their native language will help the

transition to learning about English. Sheltered instruction is where you help the ELL understand

instructions by amplifying the directions (Wright, 2015). Teachers will use pictures or talk

slower in order for the student to have time to process the information and Mrs. Taylor said she

uses this method because at times the students struggle understanding directions. The way the

school tracks the progress of an ELL student is through an ELPA 21 test on a computer. This

tracks the proficiency of the student and the progress the student has made. An assessment is a

crucial part in understanding ELLs progress and Wide Hollow Elementary gives out three tests

throughout the year to track the progress. Glad strategies are Guided Language Acquisition
Instruction, this helps prepare teachers to accommodate for ELL students in their classroom

and Mrs. Taylor is constantly using this method in one on one situation with students.

I found the ELL teacher interview productive and exciting. I was able to hear numerous

of stories that Mrs. Taylor had throughout her years of teaching and being an ELL specialist. She

also gave me a lot of positive knowledge and tips on how to survive the first year of teaching.

This also helped me become comfortable with speaking to administration and to present myself

in a professional manner. Getting the interview with Mrs. Taylor took a long time to actually

contact her and set up an interview. I had to contact multiple people to eventually get ahold of

Mrs. Taylor. This showed me that you must set an agenda for yourself and to constantly set

goals for yourself. The interview with Mrs. Taylor was positive because we both shared a

passion for helping ELLs. This also made me eager to eventually work within a school district

and to work with a great staff of teachers. Interviewing Mrs. Taylor was a great opportunity for

me to get a basic knowledge of what to expect when teaching a classroom and she emphasized

the importance of constantly being ready for all types of situations in your classroom.

There was a lot of information that I gathered from my interview with Mrs. Taylor and it

was awesome that she didn’t hold anything back. She would tell me personal, funny, and

serious stories from her years of teaching. Comprehensible input was a strategy she used to

help students understand her instructions better. Comprehensible input is providing clear

explanation of a task and even adjusts their speech (Wright, 2015). Mrs. Taylor really put an

emphasize on getting to know all of your students to make learning interactive and relevant.

She said when she first started out she was struggling to get students to actually open up.

Eventually she started asking the students more personal and reflective questions. The
interaction was better and the need to learn definitely improved. Mrs. Taylor also stressed the

importance of building a safe environment for your students especially for ELLs because they

will feel comfortable enough to participate in classroom activities. This is something we have

emphasized throughout the semester. Each student comes from a different background. School

is more than likely an opportunity for students to learn and interact with others besides their

family members. As a teacher, you must get to know your students on a personal level and

recognize what they struggle or excel at. Mrs. Taylor said to start off with basic information and

to slowly ask more in-depth question as the comfortability increases. Mrs. Taylor said that

when she teaches ELLs one on one, she tries to use a mixture of writing lessons, reading

lessons, and oral lessons. There is a relationship between oral proficiency and their ability to

express themselves in English (Wright, 2015).

There are a lot of similarities and differences between the ELL student interview and ELL

teacher interview. It was a great opportunity being able to get both perspectives on teaching

policies, comfortability, and what teachers can improve on. I now have the knowledge of what

it takes to be an effective ELL teacher as well as understanding where the student is coming

from and seeing the challenges that ELLs face. Both interviews referenced how shy an ELL

student will be and how some teachers never took the initiative in trying to get to know the

students better. The ELL student said how much she felt uncomfortable when she would work

in groups and not understand instructions. She would feel hopeless and would just tune out

whatever was being lectured. Mrs. Taylor emphasizes interactive and group work so students

can actually contribute to answers in a low-stress manner. To end each interview, I asked a

reflective question to the student and teacher. The question was what advice you would give to
a future ELL teacher. Their answers were almost identical. The student said she believes

teachers should be more proactive in helping the students feel comfortable in the classroom

and to steer away from feeling insecure. She also went on to say that teachers need to set a

rule that students can’t make fun of ELL students because of how they sound and to build a

sense of respect throughout the classroom. She eventually was satisfied with learning English

because of the numerous opportunities that are available, but it didn’t come without struggling

throughout her education life. Mrs. Taylor responded by stating the importance of being

patient with ELLs, mistakes will happen, but you must learn and grow from them. You must

constantly adjust your lesson plan to pertain to activities that actually worked. She also stated

how helping ELLs helped her learn valuable life lessons in understanding that everyone is

different.

I will use the information I received from an interview with Mrs. Taylor and the ELL

student for the rest of my life. I will be looking forward to facing different problems and seeing

how I will adjust to the situation on the spot. I can’t wait to get to know each and every student

on a personal level. Creating a safe environment is important for my class, no one should make

fun of anyone nor should any student be afraid to share their thoughts with the classroom. I

must remember to always stay patient with ELLs. ELLs are not going to be proficient in one day.

Seeing the progress that students will make to eventually get to proficiency in English will be an

exciting day for me and for each student. I must take the experiences from both of my

participants from the interview and to carry on what succeeded. I also must keep in mind that

each ELL student needs are different from their peers. I must approach and use different

teaching methods with each of my students. I must find out what works best with each student
and to constantly use this method in order to get the most out of our time. I need to be aware

of the ELL students that are in my class, I cannot single them out from the class with certain

instructions. I must find a way to balance giving instructions to the class as well as making sure

the ELL students understand the directions. I am excited to take on this role.

I’m grateful for the opportunity for interviewing Mrs. Taylor and an ELL student. This

provided me with firsthand insight on methods and techniques that worked and didn’t work. I

can’t wait for the opportunity to learn about each and every students background in my

classroom. ELLs will struggle, and I will struggle as well, but as long as we continue to strive for

the goals that are needed for each and every day, we will show progression. The moment when

I see a student become proficient in English, it will be an emotional and exciting day not only for

the student, but myself as well. I am eager for the opportunity to work with ELLs and to have a

classroom of my own.
Reference Page

Wayne, E. Wright. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners Research,

Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Carlson, Inc.

Appendix

1. Name: Heide Taylor

2. School they currently teach in: Wide Hollow Elementary
3. Contact information (School email and school phone #): 509-910-1183 taylorh@wvsd208.org
4. How many ELLs they currently have in the classroom: Ell specialist/interventionist

How do you work with students who speak little to no English? What are some teaching
strategies you implement in the classroom?
Use lots of pictures and gestures, model for the students, can see exactly what they need out of
the students, use GLAD strategies- all GLAD trained 6 elementaries, state mandated in order to
have ELLs in your classroom

What have you found to be the most effective teaching style for your ELLs? Was it something
you expected?
GLAD strategies- able to practice them. Slowing down while teaching, speak with more
deliberately, spend more precious time with the students, ELLs are used for imagine learning,
computer program that gives directions in the students language

What are common struggles ELLs face when learning?

Afraid to ask questions, shy and timid, don’t always understand directions, very frustrated
because they don’t know what’s going on,
Modeling students what they are supposed to do and what they are supposed to understand
Say hi- translates the language, works both ways.

What is the most challenging aspect of working with ELLs?

Being able to have a conversation with them. It’s such a barrier, not having the same language.
Spanish speaking, test beforehand, very awkward, hard to communicate.

How do you build relationships with your students and their parents who only speak a small
amount of English?
Find out about their questions, build a sense of comfortable, email or phone calls to the
parents, invite the parents to the classroom, different foods they eat, finding a common
background with one another. Get to know them and you truly care.

How do you motivate your students (ELLS) to do their work?

Make it intrinsic, make them do their work because it makes them do work, some teachers give
them rewards, each group gets a point when a group is finished, use the competitive edge, hold
people accountable

How do you encourage your ELLs to participate in the classroom?

GLAD strategy- hold each person the same and is expected to do the same. Group work, when a
number is called, the group can help the students. Hold high expectations for students, each
person has to answer with a safe environment
Students are encouraged keep your home language, speak your native language at home, know
two languages, able to use, have to decipher the academic terminology

In your own words, what does it mean to be a good, effective teacher?

You have to be flexible, responsible, patient, build relationships with your students, know
where and who they are, how to differentiate from each student, modify lesson plans,
organized, parent communication

What type of assessments do you use to evaluate ELLs learning?

ELPA 21 test, tells whether, reading writing speaking, tells if the students are efficient, gives a
score based on three different categories, emerging, proficient. At the end of the year they give
a summary of the tests for placement for the next year. Proficient are taking out of the program
but monitored for three years. Must test proficient

How do you build a comfortable classroom for all of your students?

Flexible seating- where students have small, tall tables, student choice of seating, give the
students the responsible of where they want to sit at. Each kid gets a Chromebook, k-2 have
laptops. Make them feel safe and comfortable, if you don’t make mistakes you aren’t learning.

How does being culturally aware benefit your teaching?

Ask a little about what the do and how they are, eye contact, status, have to understand what
THEY go through
Put yourself in their shoes, no judgements,

Are there any advantages to using technology in an ELL classroom?

Yes, you can use different technologies to different methods. iReady- program for reading,
imagine learning, use dual language. Improves the learning experiencing, helps students learn

How has teaching ELLs helped you grow as a teacher?

Made her more patient, more aware of her surroundings, able to understand people and where
they come from, not everyone is the same, everyone has different circumstances

What is your proudest moment while working with ELLs?

Being able to communicate with students and building that relationship with students and
seeing them light up when they finally understand something and a concept

What advice would you give to a 1st year ELL teacher to help them get through their 1st year?
Deer in the headlights, lots of expectations, a lot to be aware of about. IF you make a mistake
keep going, move forward, don’t over analysis, don’t spend too much. A teacher is learning,
what just happened, nothing go as planned, must be flexible, constantly adjusting, be patient
throughout your first year, it’s a good learning experience.