Maria Campbell

SED 227
April 12, 2015
Teaching English Language Learners Interview
I interviewed Mrs. Heather Itle, an ESL teacher who is employed by the
Allegheny Intermediate Unit, on March 11th, 2015. Mrs. Itle teaches five
ELL students at Holiday Park Elementary School in Plum Borough
School District.
1. What is your teaching background and what was your inspiration
to teach ESL?
Mrs. Itle began her career as an elementary school teacher and
taught at an elementary school for three years. Her school did
not have an ESL teacher and she was inspired to get the
certification in order to help the students that were having
difficulty learning English. She has now been teaching ESL for ten
years.
2. What are your certifications as an ESL teacher?
Mrs. Itle is able to teach grades K-6 English as a Second
Language. However, if she would want to teach Middle School or
High School ESL, she would need to gain a certification to teach
secondary English. She also noted that if she were to have a
Reading Specialist Certification, she could become certified to
teach every grade level in ESL, without needing the secondary
English certification.
3. What state-required assessments are involved when teaching
ELLs and how often do they occur?
Mrs. Itle explained that there are unit tests included within the
curriculum that are used to formally evaluate the students on
their progress and placement. In addition, there are WIDA:
ACCESS exams, Assessing Comprehension and Communication in
English State-to-State for ELLs, that are used to place students
into classes, determine their oral proficiency levels, as well as
complete yearly monitoring and exiting from the English as a
Second Language Program. Mrs. Itle also gives her ELL students
report cards every nine weeks that are given to the students
parents and regular teacher. These report cards state the childs

oral proficiency level and their specific progress in each of the

four TESOL standards- Speaking. Listening, Reading, and Writing.
4. How does PSSA testing occur for ELL students?
All of Mrs. Tiles students must take the PSSAs, as not only are
they required by the state under the No Child Left Behind Act,
the students scores are also used to determine their eligibility to
exit the ESL program. However, if the student is within their first
year of residency in the United States, the Reading section of the
PSSA exam is optional.
5. Is it difficult to communicate with parents and how often are you
usually in contact with them?
Mrs. Itle explained that she usually communicates with parents
weekly, however it depends on the student and whether his/her
parents speak English. Several of her students do not speak any
English at home, as the parents are of Russian background and
do not want their children to lose the language. To communicate
with them, Mrs. Itle will usually send emails, so that they can
copy and paste the information into a translator. Also, several of
her students have siblings that have exited the ESL Program and
they are able to help her students with homework and
communicate information that her students may not be able to
verbalize in English. For example, her Kindergarten student from
Russia, in the Emerging stage of oral proficiency, was having a
bad day and was unable to communicate to Mrs. Itle why she
was upset. Her brother, a fifth grader that had tested out of the
ESL Program, was able to speak to her in Russian to determine
what was wrong and why she did not want to work in class.
Apparently, in the cafeteria that day, hot dogs were served and
the student did not like them. She did not know what they were
called or how to describe them and that was why she became so
frustrated. Mrs. Itle explained that having the siblings sometimes
become translators is really helpful and can help to break the
language barriers with her lower proficiency level students.
6. How do you incorporate your ELLs culture into your classroom?
Mrs. Itle stated that in her experience, her students prefer to
keep their culture a part of their home life and do not like to talk
about their background while at school. She stated that
sometimes parents contact her about wanting their children to
be excused from certain activities, such as those involving
Halloween or saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Of course, Mrs. Itle

respects their wishes. She also told me of a time while she was
working in another school district, in which the PTA worked hard
to have a dinner for the ESL students and their families. We both
thought this was a great idea, however, she shared that it was
difficult to communicate this event to families, have translators
at the dinner, and then serve food that was to their cultural
liking. This type of event would be difficult to hold, especially
with todays tight school budgets.
7. Is there someone that you could go to if you ever needed a
second opinion or advice on instruction for teaching your ELLs?
Mrs. Itle stated that at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, she has
two supervisors that she communicates with on a regular basis
and they also help with the evaluations of the ELL students. If
she has a question about instruction that they cannot answer,
they will communicate with a state representative to find the
answer.
8. What is the most challenging part of teaching English Language
Learners?
Mrs. Itle believes the most difficult aspect of teaching ELLs is the
constant changes with testing requirements and schedules, even
within one school year. For example, her second grade student is
in the Expanding Stage of oral proficiency and her kindergartener
is in the Emerging Stage. The two students meet in her
classroom at the same time because of the schedule of their
English Language Arts classes in their regular classroom. Since
their oral proficiency levels are so different, it is often difficult for
Mrs. Itle to find instruction and activities that can relate to both
of them and their ability levels. She usually has to divide up the
amount of time she spends individually with each of them, as
they must work on separate assignments.
9. Do you sometimes get students in the middle of the school year?
How do you assess those students?
Mrs. Itle stated that there were often times in the past that she
was given new students in the middle of the school year. In fact,
there was an instance when there were two students that came
around the time of PSSA testing. They were in the Starting
Stages of oral proficiency, however she was required to give
them the test, even though they barely knew any English. Mrs.
Itle also explained that in regards to new students, they must
first determine the students oral proficiency level and then they

can begin instruction. Also, she noted that it helps if the district
is able to receive school records from the students previous
school, so they do not need to evaluate them for oral proficiency
once again. However, this depends on the students previous
schooling and where it occurred.
10.
What is the most rewarding part of teaching English
Language Learners?
Mrs. Itle stated that she most enjoys when she sees that her
students no longer need ESL services and can help their younger
siblings to reinforce what they learned in school. Many of the
older siblings stop into her classroom throughout the day to visit
with their brother or sister and this makes both students feel
better about learning the language. In addition, Mrs. Itle noted
that the students like to feel as if they are helping the lower-oral
proficiency level students, so it is good to give them roles in
which they can demonstrate a sense of leadership.
Self-Reflection:
After interviewing Mrs. Itle and completing the practicum experience, I
believe that I may want to eventually become certified to teach English
Language Learners. The most interesting aspect of teaching ELLs that
I learned while talking with Mrs. Itle is how the older siblings of her
students can be translators and serve as reliable resources in her
classroom. Not only were these students reliable translators, but they
also served as encouragement and motivation to their younger siblings
to continue learning English. What a great way to incorporate family
into an ESL classroom! Also, in talking with Mrs. Itle, I learned more
about the certifications that must be obtained in order to teach certain
grade levels of English Language Learners, information that was new to
me. If I were to gain an ESL certification, it would most likely be for

elementary students- as that is the grade level I am most interested in,

as well. I was surprised that ELL students are expected to take the
PSSAs, as I did not realize that these tests were also used to
determine whether a student is eligible to exit the English as a Second
Language Program. I knew that the students needed to take the test by
law and that their scores would not affect the district, however I did not
know that these tests served multiple purposes. In addition, I
appreciated the idea that Mrs. Itle shared with me about having a
dinner for ESL students and their parents. This was a strategy to
incorporate culture that I found on Pinterest while gathering ELL
resources and I believed it to be a great idea! However, it did not occur
to me that it would be difficult to communicate the event to the
parents and how much money would be needed in order to hold the
event. Although Mrs. Itle does not directly incorporate her students
cultures into their instruction, I believe that if I became an ESL teacher,
I would want to ask my students to share their culture with me, as this
would be a way for me to get to know them and learn about their
background. I was a little apprehensive about this course and the
practicum experience at the beginning of the semester. However, I am
grateful for the opportunities provided in this course, and through
these experiences, I have learned more about the ESL program and
certifications, the education of English Language Learners, and myself.