Olivia Forsberg

TCH_LRN 333
September 24, 2018
ELL Student Interview

I chose to interview a student named Iva Dedijer. Her country of origin is Serbia and her

first language is Serbian. The interview took place on September 20, 2018 at 7:00 pm at our

sorority house. I did know Iva before the interview because we are in the same sorority together

but I didn’t know she was an ELL student until I asked around and then took time to get to know

her at a more deeper level. This interview was important not only for my class but it also opened

my eyes and helped our friendship grow.

Interviewing Dedijer was very insightful and fun. Dedijer started learning English around

the age of three years old because that is when she moved to the United States with her family

and at that time she started attending preschool. Dedijer still speaks Serbian at home with her

family. She said that she is starting to lose her ability to read more advanced books in Serbian

but she is still fluent in speaking the language. Typically at home her parents only speak Serbian.

Sometimes I forget that people here in the United States had to learn how to communicate and

learn English once they started living here. English is the language that I grew up hearing and

speaking. I only know how to speak English so doing this interview helped me put things into

perspective at a more personal level.

Dedijer was pretty lucky when it comes to moving to a new country with a whole new

language because her mom was already fluent in English. She was able to help Dedijer and her

siblings as they went through school and went through the process of being an ELL student.

Dedijers mother was there with her everyday throughout preschool. She was there as a translator
for her daughter until she didn’t need a translator anymore, but still stayed to help with her

adjustment. Once Dedijer started kindergarten her mother became a room parent and remained a

room parent throughout all of her daughters elementary years. Dedijer was also involved in the

ELL programs at her school from kindergarten to second grade. Once she entered second grade

she was actually able to test out of the different ELL programs because she no longer needed the

extra help. Dedijer mentioned that her teachers did a great job of being helpful and understanding

but she did wish that they could have slowed down a little bit at times. There were a few

instances it would get a little frustrating for her because not a words directly translate from

English to Serbian. There are actually some words that exist in English but don’t even exist in

Serbian so that got challenging at times, but other than that her teachers were very sweet and did

a good job. There were resources available for her to use but by the time she entered

kindergarten she already knew basic communication in English and her mom was her resource

for anything she didn’t quite know yet. She even fit in with all of her peers very well and she

mentioned that her mom even has told her that she was unusually outgoing and was able to make

friends quickly (Dedijer, personal communication, September 20, 2018).

The word language has many definitions and meanings but this interview helped me see

that it is simply a way of communication whether that be through speaking, writing, or body

language. The components that make up a language are different words and the sentences that

they are able to make when put together. What is teaching a language and how would I teach it?

That is a very good question and it had made me think very hard about it. This interview with

Dedijer helped me a lot with looking at this from an actual students perspective that has gone

through through whole process. Dedijer had a good experience with coming to America and
going through ELL programs and going through the classroom as a child learning a second

language, but that doesn’t mean all students will have that good of an experience. There are

thousands of children that are going through the struggle of having to learn English as a second

language plus going through school. I personally can’t imagine having to had onto the additional

school work I had with having to learn what my teachers and peers are even saying. Dedijer had

her mother to help her go through school every single day until she no longer needed any help at

all. Unfortunately, most students don’t get that extra help and support system at school. As a

future teacher, especially as a future teacher with an ELL endorsement I know I will take

everything that I have learned from this interview and from this class and keep it in mind. Most

importantly when I am having to teach children that are trying to learn English and might be

struggling with that process. I will go slower when I notice kids starting to fall behind and make

sure everyone actually knows what it going on in the classroom. I personally believe one of the

most important things about being a teacher and especially being an ELL teacher is to make sure

that all students are as comfortable as they can be and feel like that can say out loud that they

need more help or come to me and ask me to help them with certain assignments they might not

understand yet and need a little bit more one-on-one help. A way that I would try to enforce this

in the classroom would be to use Communicative Language Teaching. One of the principles

included in that method is “authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of the

classroom”. (Wright, 2015, p. 62) I think that this principle is very important in the classroom

because having meaningful and open communication between the students and also between

students and the teacher is key to success. That communication could go a long way and help the

students feel comfortable and at home enough to actually speak up and let the teacher know what
is going on. To know and use a language means to be able to fully understand the language and

use that to efficiently communicate with other people. As a future teacher I aspire to make sure

all of my students are able to actually know and use the language of English.

The interview with Dedijer helped open my eyes to see what it is really like as an ELL

student and how good the outcome can be when students actually have good, caring teachers that

are genuinely concerned about their students and making sure they are getting all of the help that

they need in order to be successful in the classroom and in life.

 Works Cited

Iva Dedijer (Personal communication, interview, September 20, 2018).

Wright, W. E. (2015). ​Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory,

and practice​ (2​nd​ ed.). Philadelphia: Caslon.

 Appendix A
1) What is a language?
● Language is way of communication through speaking, writing, and body language.
2) What components form a language?
● Letters, words, and sentences.
3) What is teaching a language and how would you teach it?
● I would teach it just like my teachers did and mom did
4) What does it mean to know and use a language?
● The ability to communicate with other people.
5) Do you believe you have an English/American accent when you speak your native language
now? Why or why not?
● No, because we still speak serbian at home.
6) At what age did you first start learning English? Why?
● 3 or 4, because I went to preschool and had to start learning.
7) What language is the most commonly spoken at home? The native language or English?
Why?
● A mix of both, my parents will speak to me and my siblings in Serbian and we will
answer in English. But it is easier to speak to Serbian to both of my parents.
8) Are you an auditory, visual or kinesthetic learner? What activities helped you to learn English
better and/or quicker?
● Visual learner, my mom knew english so she was able to help me a lot and translate until
I fully learned English.
9) If you had a K-12 education in the United States, and if the school had ELL programs, were
you enrolled in any of them?
● Yes I was, I was in ESL (ELL) in kindergarten until I tested out in 2nd grade.
10) Do you code-switch, or shift back from your native language to English and vice versa?
Why?
● All the time. Not with American people but with friends that are also Serbian when
certain words in English don’t translate well.
11) What do you wish your teacher had done differently when it came to teaching you English?
Why?
● My teachers did really well, but wish it could have been at a slower pace when we were
learning certain words that we don’t have in Serbia.
12) How involved were your parents in your education?
● Super involved in the beginning, my mom was always there through preschool and
became a room parent throughout elementary school. Which was super helpful.
13) When you are reading or thinking, what language do you use in your head? Why do you
believe that is the case?
● Now it is English but when I was little used to translate to Serbian in head but now I find
myself translating Serbian to English.
14) Would you consider yourself more proficient in one language over the other? Why or why
not?
● English now. Because I speak it so much and talk to everyone in English.
15) What were your teachers’ attitudes towards you, a student in the process of learning English?
● Really awesome, I am actually still friends with them.
16) What resources were you provided while learning English?
● Mainly my mom and computers. I didn’t need extra things to help when got to
elementary school because I already knew enough to communicate.
17) Did you feel different from the rest of the students in your class(es) since English was not
your native language? Why or why not?
● I didn’t, my mom even said that was usually outgoing and made friends pretty quick.