Interview Questions

ELD Teacher Interview Questions

1. What is the make-up of your ELD classes?
Teacher: We split the grade-level EL students by CELDT level so I have the CELDT level 3 students.
They are all Hispanic and come from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and homes.
2. Describe your fast EL learner.
Teacher: The fastest EL in my group is proficient in his speaking abilities but his reading and writing
abilities are not at grade-level. He is quick to learn a new idea or concept and is able to remember and
recall information previously learned. When it comes to writing, he is slow to begin the process and tends to
have many grammar mistakes although when we discuss them and/or he reads his writing aloud he is able
to correct his mistakes by himself most of the time. His reading ability is slow, but as a verbal processor,
once he talks about it he is able to show comprehension. He tends to pause a lot to make sure he
comprehends which shows that he is learning how to use appropriate reading strategies.
3. Describe the type of ELD program you have at this school.
Teacher: The ELD program is run by the grade-level teachers, but developed by the district since all
the standards are new this year. We spend 30 minutes each day for specific small group ELD time during
which the rest of the students are working on other assignments.
4. Do you think it is the most effective type of program for your students? Pros/cons/changes you would
make?
Teacher: The program seems to work well for most of the students but it is a long process. I would
like to see how changing the program to a dual-immersion or bilingual class set-up would work and if it
would speed up the process by which students acquired language skills.
5. What type of ELD classes do you teach? (Content and time with students etc.)
Teacher: Like I said, we have 30 minutes every day with our group of ELD students and the content
is constructed by the district and handed down to us.
6. What does a normal class period entail? (Types of learning activities)

Teacher: A normal ELD time period consists of some review and informal pre-assessment followed
by the content. The learning activities that the district has designed consist of the basic reading, writing, and
speaking exercises common to first and second grade, however, I like to add in the use of technology
whenever possible since the students have one-to-one computers available. I add in video clips to explain
the ideas, think-pair-share type strategies, and any other type of suitable media to engage the students.
7. What aspects of learning English do your students struggle with the most?
Teacher: The students struggle the most with writing and learning the conventions of grammar and
the use of language. Many mistakes occur due to word choice and the arrangement of words. Many times
students have limited vocabulary so it is difficult for them to express their ideas which causes a lot of
frustration. They take at least twice as much time to produce coherent writing as grade-level students.
8. How do you teach the academic English? How do you determine the vocabulary to be taught?
Teacher: The vocabulary is usually taught as an introduction to a content unit and then used and
discussed throughout the content instruction. For example, when we were teaching a unit on weather, the
students learned five words to describe weather, some adverbs and some adjectives. The first few days was
spent on unpacking what those words meant and then they used those words in subsequent learning
exercises such as creating a postcard about the local weather of their city in which they used those
descriptive words. We also practiced orally presenting the postcards.
9. Is there a particular theory or theorists that are significant contributors to your program development?
Teacher: A lot of what we do relates to the cognitive learning theories as well as content-based
instruction.
10. What are some ways you motivate your students to learn?
Teacher: I like to engage them with fun and interesting videos that capture their attention. In addition,
when they produce a coherent piece of writing then I offer a special treat like a piece of candy or something
to motivate them to stay focused and finish.
11. How do you move from an ELL program to a more culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) program? Is
this a subject of discussion among your faculty?
Teacher: I dont really know.