Sarah Shurm

Teach and Learn 333

November 29, 2016

Teacher Interview Final Draft

For my Teacher Interview, I chose to interview my brother’s kindergarten teacher

Tamara Sharp, an amazing individual who also happens to be a family friend and neighbor.

Tamara Sharp is currently a kindergarten teacher at Crescent Heights Elementary School

located in Tacoma, Washington. She has been teaching at Crescent Heights for 25 years and

made it clear during our interview that she still loves teaching just as much as she did when my

brother had her as his kindergarten teacher. I asked Tamara Sharp 15 questions during our

interview, and after looking over her answers and our discussions that arose from the

questions, I identified three common themes that emerged during the interview. These three

themes are experiences with English language learners (ELLs), the importance of school/home

support, and the “do’s and don’ts” of teaching with ELL students in the classroom.

Due to her many years of teaching experience, Tamara Sharp had lots of information

and stories about encounters with ELL students in her classroom that she was able to share

with me during our interview. In this year’s class, Tamara Sharp has 17 native English speakers

and 4 non-native English speakers, or ELLs. She explained that learning to integrate the non-

native English speakers culture into the classroom and curriculum is extremely important and

crucial to making the ELLs feel welcome and accepted. Tamara Sharp mentioned that even if
she was to have a class with zero ELLs, she would still find integrating various cultures into the

curriculum crucial.

This year, the most common first language of ELLs in Tamara Sharp’s classroom is

Spanish. In Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and

Practice, it says that “The U.S. Census Bureau identified 381 different languages spoken in

homes across the country in 2011. Spanish is the most common. Spanish speakers make up

over 80% of the ELL population” (Ryan, 2013, pg.8). Tamara Sharp has come to learn that her

ELL students thrive best in group settings with peers. She explained to me that she will observe

the ELL students for several weeks before putting the class into groups. Tamara Sharp uses

these two weeks prior to planning any group activities to see who the ELL students gravitate

towards and feel comfortable around. The textbook says that, “The easiest way to assess ELLs is

simply to watch them. Observe their interactions in the classroom, during informal transition

periods, and out on the playground or in the hallway” (Wright, 2015, pg.17). Then, she will

make sure to put the ELL student and the individual whom they feel close with, in the same

group. This assures that the ELL student will feel comfortable to share their ideas with the

group and participate more than if they were in a group without their friend. Overall, listening

to Tamara Sharp share her experiences with ELLs in her classroom was extremely beneficial and

I feel that I now know some useful tips to help me in my future classroom.

A second theme that arose during the interview is regarding the importance of

school/parent support. At Crescent Heights, the school Tamara Sharp teaches at, there are

several programs offered to ELL students for extra support. One program offered at her school
is referred to as “ELL pull-out”. With this program, students spend part of their school day in

their mainstream classroom, but are pulled out of that classroom for an hour each day to

receive individual instruction specifically in English as a second language. Tamara Sharp

explained that although she sees the potential benefits, she feels that pulling the students out

of the classroom is a distraction and disrupts her class. She told me that she has suggested that

the students either come an hour early to school or stay an hour late to receive this additional

support. Tamara Sharp feels that when the students are pulled out of class, they are made to

feel different and often seem to be embarrassed about leaving. A main topic of the interview

was how important it is for a teacher to have support from the parents of her students. It is

crucial to have open communication between yourself as a teacher and the parents. Being able

to check in with the parents and make sure that their children are receiving adequate support

at home is crucial to the student’s success in the classroom.

A final theme that arose during our interview was the “do’s and don’ts” of teaching with

ELL students in the classroom. Tamara Sharp strongly suggests and supports using the Natural

Approach for teaching ELL students. She explained to me that in order to create a classroom

environment that supports the natural approach she makes sure to use visuals that reinforce

both spoken and written words, exaggerates frequently used vocabulary words, speaks slowly,

enunciates, repeat words, use shorter sentences and as simple of syntax as possible. In an

article by Kristina Robertson, the author writes that, “Repetition, exaggeration and speaking

slowly and clearly are crucial when teaching ELL students” (Robertson, 2014, p.1). She has

found that making a conscious effort to practice the previously listed strategies is extremely

beneficial to the learning process of not just her ELL students, but to her entire classroom.
 Towards the end of our interview, I asked Tamara Sharp if she had any advice for me as

a future teacher. She lit up with excitement when I asked her this question and I could tell that I

was about to receive come quality advice. One tip she gave me was to never assume the

students know how to do anything and always start from the very beginning when beginning a

new lesson or topic. A few other tips were to prepare myself for kids with a wide range of skills.

Some students could walk into the first day of class as readers, and others may never have seen

letters before. Tamara Sharp explained the importance of being prepared to teach a wide range

of students, and having tools for all the levels in between. A final piece of advice and one I may

never have thought of is to always over plan. Tamara Sharp mentioned that I never want to be

standing in front of my class wondering “what next?” It is better to end the day with potential

activities left than to have 45 minutes left of the day and have no idea what to do during that

time.

There are many things that I found beneficial about my interview with Tamara Sharp.

She shared a handful of helpful tips about working with ELL/ESL students that I am prepared to

apply in my future classroom. One specific conversation that Tamara Sharp and I had which

significantly changed my view, was regarding “ELL pull-out” programs. Prior to our interview, I

thought highly of an “ELL pull-out” program, but after talking with Tamara Sharp, I now see the

flaws and implications. Speaking from experience, Tamara Sharp explained to me that ELL

students tend to feel alienated when they are pulled out of class. I still believe that an “ELL pull-

out” program has the potential to be beneficial, but our conversation opened by eyes to the

possible negative outcomes of programs such as this one.

 My interview with Tamara Sharp also taught me a lot about myself and reminded me

that there is much hard work and dedication that goes into being a good teacher, especially

when it comes to accommodating and interacting with ELL students. I plan on applying much of

what I learned during my interview to my classroom and teaching methods. There are two

things from my interview with Tamara Sharp that I have really taken to heart. The first is that I

should never assume my students know anything and the importance of always teach lessons

from the very beginning, without skipping steps or parts of a lesson. The other important topic

from the interview is to always over-plan. It is better to have too much planned for the school

day, than to have a significant amount of the day left, and no idea what to do with my students

during that time. This interview taught me very much about myself as a future teacher. Before

the interview, I had a pretty good idea as to the amount of work it takes to teach ELL students

and run a classroom efficiently. My interview with Tamara Sharp gave me insight to the high

level of dedication it takes to be a teacher. Her stories and experiences reminded me that there

will be difficult situations in my classroom and that these situations will take multiple solutions

and attempts to resolve. I am very grateful for the opportunity to interview Tamara Sharp and

would love to get the chance to talk with more ELL/ESL teachers in the future.

Overall, I learned a great amount of useful and interesting information during my

interview with Tamara Sharp. She is an amazing teacher and I aspire to be much like her.

Working in a classroom with ELL students is something that is going to take a great deal of

patience and hard work. During our interview I learned about Tamara Sharp’s experiences with

English language learners (ELLs), the importance of school/home support, and the “do’s and

don’ts” of teaching with ELL students in the classroom. I feel that my interview with Tamara
Sharp taught me tips and strategies which will make working with my students a little easier

and a lot more fun.

 Interview Questions

1. (Name, school they’re teaching at, teaching experience and more)

2. What are the demographics of your classroom? For instance, how many native English

speakers do you have and how many non-native English speakers/ELLs do you have?

3. What do you feel are the best methods, strategies and or approaches to English

language learning?

4. In what ways do you integrate a student’s culture into the classroom and the

curriculum?

5. What is your belief on standardized tests that are required in school district?

6. Does your school offer any programs or extra support for ELL students? If yes, what are

they and how are they beneficial to the students?

7. What is the most common first language of ELLs in your classroom throughout your

teaching experience?

8. How do the ELL students fit in or interact socially? Do they struggle socially?

9. Does code-switching help ELLs learn English better, or is it more effective to force them

to only use English?

10. Do you have any advice for me as a future teacher?

11. What made you want to become a teacher, knowing that you may have students who

have little to no English?

12. How do you encourage parental involvement in your ELLs’ education?

13. In your teaching experience, what social situations do you feel ELLs thrive better in?

14. Do you feel your ELLs receive enough support at home?

15. What do your ELL students struggle with the most in the classroom? Why do you think

that is?

16. What support do you receive from your school, staff, or district with ELL education?

17. What was your most challenging experience with an ELL student and how have you

gone about preventing a situation like that from happening again?

 Citations

Robertson, K. (2014). Five Things Teachers Can Do to Improve Learning for ELLs in the New
Year. Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/five-
things-teachers-can-do-improve-learning-ells-new-year

Wright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory,
Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Pub.