Teacher interview

Travail prsent
Jill Brook
Dpartement de didactique des langues

DSL1001-40
Becoming an ESL Teacher: An introduction to the profession

Par
Shant Oundjian & Jessica Bousquet
OUNS11127809 & BOUJ02569209
7176

Universit du Qubec Montral

17 octobre 2013

Table of contents
Table of contents..................................................................................................................2
Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
What were your beliefs about teaching a second language at the beginning of your
career and how have these beliefs been transformed with your teaching experience?....5
What do you like about teaching? What do you find difficult about your job?..............6
In your opinion, what qualities and competencies does a good teacher need to have or
need to develop?..............................................................................................................8
How do you work with the other teachers, professionals and support staff in your
school in your job?...........................................................................................................9
How do you get students to participate actively in their L2 in your classroom?...........10
How important is technology (information and communication technologies) in your
everyday teaching?........................................................................................................12
How do you determine what you will teach in a class, in a term, and in a year?..........13
How do you deal with parents that have kids who are problematic in your classroom?
.......................................................................................................................................14
How do you handle students with different ranges of language skills in your
classroom?.....................................................................................................................15
Do you feel that teaching English as a second language is rewarding?........................17
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................19

The following rubric will be used to evaluate your

Teacher Interview

Assignment:
Students:

Shant Oundjian & Jessica Bousquet

Evaluation Criteria
Quality and rigor of work
handed in. (Use of answers
provided, choice of questions
created)

Individual and common

reflections

Quality of language (spelling,

sentence structure, level of
language)

Quality of the presentation

(see assignment guidelines in
course outline)

The assignment is

well organized.
Chosen questions are
open, interesting and
pertinent.

The assignment is

well organized.
Chosen questions are
interesting and
pertinent

Includes the
students views on
the teachers
responses.
Reaction to partners
reflection is included
for each question but
lacks some depth.
Makes links to
personal experiences.
Language is clear with
some minor mistakes.
Language is clear and Good sentence
concise with very few structure.
minor mistakes.
Some word choice that
Excellent sentence
is difficult and
structure.
sentences that are a bit
complicated but overall
well done.
The presentation of
the interview is
excellent and all
One element missing
requirements
File name
outlined in
assignment
guidelines have been
met.
Clearly explains the
students thoughts
and reactions to the
teachers responses.
Reaction to partners
reflection is coherent
Makes links to prior
knowledge and
experiences.

The assignment lack

organization.
Chosen questions do
not stimulate
discussion

Little evidence of
connection to own
views.
Reaction to partners
reflection is lacking o
not included for each
question.
Some links to
personal experiences

The language is unclea

in some places
Many minor and major
mistakes.
Sentence structure
often inadequate.

Two elements missing.

Comments:

Introduction
A pebble in a pond can have many ripple effects. Can a single experience change
one's path? We interviewed a special teacher. Miss Sylvia has been teaching English as a
second language for over twenty five years. But before she became a teacher, she studied

psychology. Upon graduating she accepted a position to work as an immigration

counsellor for the Canadian government. A single summer changed her life. She was
offered a summer teaching job. To her it was a life altering experience; she knew then that
she truly wanted to be a teacher. If you do not love kids, if you do not love teaching.
Then you should not be in teaching. Miss Sylvia. Throughout this paper will summarize
her thoughts, beliefs, and professional challenges. We will briefly express our thoughts
and personal opinions as well. And finally, we will share our discussions about the
discussed topics.

What were your beliefs about teaching a second language at the beginning of
your career and how have these beliefs been transformed with your teaching
experience?
Teacher
As a young teacher Miss Sylvia did not teach English as a second language.
Although she did teach Armenian as a second language to adults, she mainly taught math
and sciences in Toronto. When she moved to the province of Quebec, she had no choice
to teach English as a second language, since she had always taught in the English
language.
For the past twenty five years, she has been teaching English as a second
language to Armenians and students of Arabic backgrounds. Being an Armenian from
Egypt she has a firsthand understanding of the difficulties that these students face. Her
first English experiences came as a thirteen year old and she believes that this unique
experience has helped her relate to her students. With this knowledge she has been able to
cooperate with parents and understand the unique language tendencies that these two
cultures face.
As a young teacher of the sciences in Toronto, she worked with many different
schools. In these institutions she worked with children who came from single parent
homes, foster homes, varying ethnic backgrounds, and religious beliefs. And now, for the
past twenty five years she has been working in the same Armenian school. Her belief is
that discipline and classroom management was more difficult while working in those
schools that were multi-ethnic, than working in an Armenian school where the origins of
most of the students are very similar.

Shant
Having learned English as a second language too, I can understand her stance on
the unique position a non-NEST teacher has. The common mistakes a learner makes are
the same ones that the teacher himself did while learning the language. Communicating
with the parents is often easier as well, which in turn will always help the child.

I tend to agree with Miss Sylvia that working with students that are in a similar
ethnic or social background makes certain aspects of discipline, and classroom
management easier. I can relate to her comments because I too have taught in a public
school and have been teaching in Armenian schools for the past seven years. In the public
school where I taught, I once had to deal with students who came to class under the
influence of drugs. At another point teachers told me to be careful with the students of a
particular group because they had attacked a teacher with a knife. On the other hand I do
not recall encountering these difficulties in the Armenian schools where I have done the
bulk of my teaching.

Jessica
I agree with Miss Sylvia that socioeconomic differences might have an impact a
classroom. Although, when it comes to multi-ethnic classrooms, I might be wrong about
the subject but I personally do believe that interracial classrooms do not affect the
environment of such. I do not consider that your race will define how you will act in
school or other public place. I believe that it is how you are brought up that will have an
impact on how you will act in different situations. If you take two children from the same
ethnic group they might not act the same and you may have more difficulties with one
child than the other. Therefore, it is not fair to judge solely on ethnic groups.

Discussion
We were not able to get to a consensus on the opinion that ethnic background
and its singularity has an impact on classroom management. In this case Shant tried to
reason with Jessica that perhaps when she experiences it she may change her mind. In the
end we agreed to disagree.

What do you like about teaching? What do you find difficult about your job?
Teacher
Miss Sylvia loves the challenge that comes with teaching, and looks forward to
see their reactions to the different topics that she brings forth. She loves working with the

high school aged students. She compares math, a subject which she used to teach, to
teaching English. She believes that teaching math is more structured approach, whereas
teaching English has a more open ended approach. The world provides the subject matter
which can be used to create a discussions and debates with the students.
The main difficulty in the profession that she faces is the long hours she spends
correcting the essays and reading comprehensions. She does not believe that discipline is
a major difficulty.
Shant
When she compared teaching math and a language I understood right away why
she felt that we have more freedom with our subject matter. The world is our springboard.
I like the idea where an event can fuel a classroom discussion.
I remember teaching English to the elementary kids and finding the corrections
at times long. So I can understand why she would put that as a difficulty. I tend to
disagree with the fact that discipline is not an issue. I find that even in the most well
managed classrooms there tend to be a few elements that create distractions for the
others.
Jessica
I cannot disagree with what Miss Sylvia said because I share her opinion. It is
true that teaching English gives you more freedom than other subjects. I love that you can
use any information, any world news or even gossip and transform it into learning
exercise. The openness that this subject can have is outstanding.
I do believe that corrections must be demanding for a teacher, even more for a
high school teacher since the levels of difficulties are not the same. I would add in the
difficulties that you could encounter in classroom management. I strongly believe that
this is an ongoing obstacle because classroom environment change each year.

Discussion
We both agreed that one of the more enjoyable aspects of teaching a second
language is the openness of the topics. The fact that any news, event, or popular

happening can be brought up for discussion presents variety in your options as a teacher.
The challenge of teaching diverse personalities is a challenge we also embrace.
Nevertheless, we didnt agree with Miss Sylvias proposal that corrections were the only
difficulty. We were of like mind, that classroom management and discipline could be
considered a difficulty.

In your opinion, what qualities and competencies does a good teacher need to
have or need to develop?
Teacher
Patience is the key towards becoming a successful teacher. Miss Sylvia believes
that one cant be a good teacher if he or she does not love teaching. We as teachers should
not view our profession as a job because it is much more than that. We have to understand
the individuality of each and every child. We have to understand that it is to their needs
that we are teaching. It is essential to be able to adapt to the students needs and
capabilities.

Shant
It is hard to disagree with her statements. Teaching is a passion for me as well.
We, as teachers, are not paid astronomical salaries to do our jobs, and in any case, we
would be doing a disfavour to the children if we did not have our hearts in it. It is hard to
always be patient, but we must, because the students are learning and it does take time.
Jessica
It is hard to disagree with Miss Sylvias statement. The most important thing in
life is to love what you do. It is hard to teach something that you are not passionate about.
Your pupils will see that you have no interest in their learning therefore their attitude will
be related to how you are with them. I would add to what she said that self-knowledge is
an important quality to have as well. You have to be able to reflect on yourself to be a
great teacher. You will find yourself in situation that you will have to ask yourself why
did this specific exercise did not work. This will help us grow as teachers and become
hopefully the best that we could be.

Discussion
Unless we lived in the past, we would have a hard time disagreeing with her
statements. A teacher should be patient, caring, and attentive towards her students needs.
We also concur that teaching should not be done because of the perks it entails, like
summer vacations or many holiday breaks. Teaching should be done out of a desire to
help pupils grow and become independent citizens.
We noticed that Miss Sylvia did not mention that self-assessment was an
important attribute of a teacher. Hence, we would add that an essential need a teacher
must develop is that of self-awareness. This skill must be practiced and utilised often by a
teacher.

How do you work with the other teachers, professionals and support staff in
your school in your job?
Teacher
She finds that cooperating with the other teachers is an easy task. The teachers
that she works with are like a team. She feels that teachers should be easy going with
each other and should remain open minded to what the others have to say. The mindset
should always be about teamwork.
Shant
I think that the group of teachers that Miss Sylvia is working with must be
unique. In retrospect; I think that our question should have been phrased differently. We
asked whether she has any problems with the staff. I think that we should have asked
whether throughout the years she has had problems with the staff. In my short
experiences of working with people, I find that it is not always a simple task working
with other members of the school staff. Sometimes agendas get affected, and this creates
sides. The picking and choosing of sides are what often create the long term conflicts
amongst the staff. But Miss Sylvia is right when she says that we should work as a team.
It is not always easy though.

Jessica
I find that it is important to work as a whole. Although, I would think that it is
not as easy as how Miss Sylvia explains it to be. Indeed, since you are faced with adults
you do not have the same power that you have with your students. As a teacher you are
seen as the person of authority and when you are amongst other teachers you do not have
the same type of respect. You will find different personalities that you might not always
get along with and you try and plan activities and it never works out.

Discussion
We do agree with Miss Sylvia, that the mindset of the teachers should be one of
teamwork and cooperation. She did acknowledge that working with more people created
the risk of encountering multiple personalities. Nevertheless, she refuted having any
major difficulties with her peers. We feel that it would be harder to work with peers, than
working with the students. It is of our opinion that there is an established hierarchy
between teacher and student; there is a natural tendency for compliance by the students
towards the teacher. Yet, there usually isnt an established hierarchy amongst the teachers,
which in turn creates conflicts of personal agendas.

How do you get students to participate actively in their L2 in your classroom?

Teacher
In order to encourage the students to participate she often encourages them. She
finds that trying to motivate those that have a harder time does help. She discourages
mockery and judgment by those students who might be a little better. She also reasons
with her groups. She explains to them that everyone makes mistakes, and that we should
not be afraid to make them. As their teacher she often reminds them that she is here to
help, and that they should try to do their best. She uses different games. She told us that
recently she had the SEC IV group make a board game. They had to present it in front of
the class.

Shant
I agree with her that motivation and positive reinforcement are great tools. All of
us need to hear positive feedback. As a young student, I remember how terrifying it was
to stand in front of a class and speak. I remember my SEC V French teacher who just
listened and never gave any feedback. I would have loved to have received a few
comforting words before the presentation. I think that a student needs to be reminded that
the teacher is always there with her support helps gives a sense of security to those
students who need it the most.
Jessica
As Miss Sylvia said, positive reinforcement is a key device to help your students
to get better. I have experienced it when I was in elementary school and high school. I did
feel better about myself when I was told how good you did or if the teachers
acknowledge the efforts that you have made. When she explains that she discourages
mockery. I think it is important to do so because students can say hurtful things at times.
These uncomfortable occurrences can lead students to be shy and unwilling to participate.
An aspect of her explanation that I found important was the discouragement of mockery. I
did experience a situation where the teacher did not intervene in the situation and I found
that as an adult it was his place to step in. Therefore, dismissing mockery is important to
have a joyful classroom.
Discussion
We both acknowledge the fact that students need to be encouraged to participate.
Jessica feels that while she was younger her teachers gave her praise on her artistic
talents, and this fuelled her to achieve a university certificate in arts. While Shant had a
bad experience with a University teacher who told him that he would not be able to get
into teaching, this discouraged him for a long time to try and apply into a teaching
program. The moral of the story is that positive reinforcement is always helpful, whereas
the opposite can linger in a students mind.
The use of reasoning with students described by Miss Sylvia was a quality that
stood out to us. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31) We often

forget that students need teachers to reason with them and explain that mockery does not
help anyone.

How important is technology (information and communication technologies)

in your everyday teaching?
Teacher
She does not feel that she uses technology a lot, since they are not readily
available in the classroom. But she often uses audio and video. She thinks that the
students enjoy listening to the different interviews, or sound clips. It helps give them an
auditory sample of the varying English accents around the country and world. She also
has projects where the students have to use technology in order to hand in an assignment.
She explained that every year she has her SEC IV students do a personal biography
interview. She also uses technology to create dialogue amongst students as homework. In
one case, she had the students interview each other in different accents of a country that
they were required to research.
Shant
After listening to her answer of the question, I realised that Miss Sylvia uses
technology more often than she realises. I think that it would help if technology was
always readily available to the students in their classrooms. Most often it is not the case,
and it is up to the teacher to be creative in her management in the use of technology.
Jessica
Miss Sylvia brings to the table an exercise that I would never have thought
about. Her use of technology to teach her students various accents of the English
language was insightful. I strongly believe that technology in our era is an important
attribute to teaching. Using music, movies and even video clips grabs the attention of
your students and it might help them to relate more to the topic. Nevertheless,
accessibility to these types of devices is not always easy to have in a school because of
financial reasons.

Discussion
Technology is an awesome way to reach the students. We both find that those
moments we spent watching a movie or video clips in our English classes were both
positive and fun. We reminisced on our high school days and remembered that most of
the time technology was well received by the students. We find that using different
methods helps open the world to the pupils.

How do you determine what you will teach in a class, in a term, and in a year?
Teacher
Miss Sylvia has the ministries program to follow, but she thinks that the kids do
not always find the topics fun or interesting. She finds that a personal touch helps create
interest. By a personal touch, we mean finding topics that can relate to them. Topics
should be current and of popular interest. Her goal for the students is simple; she wants
them to be able to follow the subject, finish with a clear understanding of the topics, and
participate. She often has to change her plans to fit the groups or individuals that she is
instructing. She said that most often she cant rely on the previous years plans, because
each group is so different and each work at such different paces.
Shant
I found that Miss Sylvia has a very progressive method of teaching. She
considers the learners interests and in turn tries to build from it. I think that her methods
help her have very active classrooms. I see the necessity of following the ministry
program and I do agree that we have to incorporate real life stuff in our course planning.
Teaching languages gives us that freedom, thus we should take full advantage and use
every edge we can gain to help our students master the English language. I also agree that
one years successful program will not always transfer to the next years group.
Jessica
I could not agree more with Miss Sylvias approach. I find it important to
integrate personal touches to make the topic more interesting for students. It brings me
back to the second question; I love the openness and freedom that English teaching leaves
us. Nevertheless, we need to follow the ministry guide. However, by putting a little of
ourselves in teaching, will only make the subject more interesting for the students.

Discussion
We found that an approach like Miss Sylvias, where creativity is present, would
have helped tickle our interests. Furthermore, her progressive methods seem to be
working great for her students. She did explain that many of her graduate students have
attended English colleges and universities. We also had a mutual feeling that the ministry
program was important to follow, but what makes a teacher truly remarkable was the
ability to know when to stray off the topic.

How do you deal with parents that have kids who are problematic in your
classroom?
Teacher
She was of the opinion that many of the parents were often times compliant, and
were ready to lend a hand. Yet, there were always those select few who denied the
problems. These same parents who largely tried to deny the issues that their children were
facing in school would adamantly refute that their child was problematic at home. Thus,
the parents would lay the sole blame on the school or the teacher.
Her method of dealing with the parents is simple. She reasons with them.
Ignoring it is not going to solve the problem! We have to work together. (Miss Sylvia)
She believes that cooperation between the teacher and the parents is detrimental for those
students experiences behavioural or academic problems. After reasoning with parents,
she finds that in the end many of them do listen and are more willing to help.
Shant
Possibly, the most frustrating thing that I have experienced as a teacher was a
parent who thinks that everyone is the problem except their child. I once had a teenage
boy who was clearly anorexic; it took me almost a year to convince the parents that their
son was in the midst of an eating disorder. I would call them and they would claim that he
ate properly at home, and that the schools food was not very good. In that manner they
would lay the blame on the school. In the end they took him to a specialist, and regretted
waiting that long. Miss Sylvia believes that parents and teachers should form a team. This
teams goal should to always consider the best interest of the child. I agree, and try to do
the same.

Jessica
Cooperation is the key to success. I share without a doubt the same opinion as
Miss Sylvia. As teachers we need to have the ability to communicate with the student
parents. I think that a good teacher parent relationship will provide adequate help in the
success of the student. In the end we all strive for the same result, lending a helping hand
to the students.
Discussion
Both of us agree that communication is the best tool to deal with many of the
issues that can come up with students. Solving problems and providing the best possible
environment for the pupil is the most important thing. It is of our belief that the teacher
should never assign blame, he should always strive to cooperate with the parents.
Teamwork is the key towards a healthy relationship with the students and parents.

How do you handle students with different ranges of language skills in your
classroom?
Teacher
In order to understand her answer, Miss Sylvia first explained the schools
policy. New students who are accepted by the school are informed that the English
program is advanced. The principal mentions to these new families, that it is their
responsibility to catch up to the schools current program and level of proficiency. During
her many years, she has noticed that the students who have gone up the school system are
in fact more advanced than most students who come from the outside. She believes that
the exposure received by the senior students of the school, gives them a higher level of
competence in the English language. The new-comers tend to be the ones who have more
difficulty communicating, writing and understanding. Having three periods of fifty
minutes per week does not give her a lot of time to offer these new students a more
individual approach. Miss Sylvia encourages the students to give more of their own
personal time in order to catch up to the groups level. She recommends parents to let
their children watch more English television shows and practice the language at home.
She believes that the more these new kids are exposed to the language, the faster they will
learn, understand and communicate. She has noticed that in the end, more than ninety

percent of the new-comers do end up performing at the same level as the older attending
students.
Shant
The dilemma faced by students experiencing difficulty, is not mainly the lack of
attention received; it is the lack of time given by the ministry to the ESL program. I
believe that it would be advantageous to increase the number of hours allocated to the
teaching of English as a second language in the schools. Not everyone is fortunate to
have either a close friend who will help them learn the language outside the school or
parents that have the financial flexibility to hire a tutor for their children. I agree that
anyone who watches English movies or listens to the radio in English will develop an
ease with the language at a faster rate. The more hours spent, the quicker the assimilation
of a language will be. I think that Miss Sylvias new students are able to catch up because
they probably enjoy her classes due to the manner in which she encourages participation.
These newcomers probably strive to reach the same levels of proficiency as the older
students.
Jessica
I do not completely agree with the notion of letting the student catch up by
himself. I do believe that it should be an on-going teamwork between the child and the
school. It does not seem fair to leave a child to learn everything that they lack by himself.
Yes, the child has to put in more effort, but he needs to have the resources to help him get
better. It does not help that the ministry only assigns two to three classes per week. Thus I
think that schools should provide other methods for the learners success.
Discussion
At first we disagreed on the fact that the school should offer a better way to help
the newer students to catch up. Shant was of the opinion that since the families were
informed beforehand, the students should thus be responsible for their own assimilation
of the previous program. Jessica argued, and convinced Shant, that resources should be
put in place at schools to help students adequately reach an equal footing with the
program offered. We both agreed that three periods is not enough for proper instruction,
and due to the fact that an English teacher has so many individual students, it is hard to
give a lot of one on one undivided attention. An idea that we came up with was one that

would implement a core course, like the ethics class, that could be taught solely in
English. We believe that by adding an hour per week of English, we could help increase
the students ability to communicate in English.

Do you feel that teaching English as a second language is rewarding?

Teacher
Teaching is very rewarding to her. She is often proud to see her students leave
the school with a strong base in the English language, she explains that most of them are
not learning English as a second language, but it is often their third. As her students
graduate they have a choice to continue studying in French or alter their path by going to
an English college. She explains that it is gratifying that some of her students do chose
English institutions.
Shant
Teaching is often times filled with challenges. Teachers do face many hard days.
Miss Sylvia was my English teacher during my elementary years, and Im confident that
her influence on me was a positive one. At times, years must pass by to see the fruits of a
teachers labour. In my case she was able to see a former student become a colleague of
hers. Miss Sylvia has been teaching for so long, and has been able to influence so many
lives. She has been able to meet her former students after many years. They are now
young men and women who have entered the workforce and have given her positive
feedback. I hope that someday I will be able to see my students as active members of the
society as well. As a teacher, I cant think of a more rewarding thing than having taken
part in a students long journey towards their goals.

Jessica
I do share the same opinion that teaching English is very rewarding. I would go
even further than just for academic reasons. English is one of the main languages used
throughout the world. Therefore, by being an English teacher you will have the influence
impart a tool that your students can then use all throughout their life. The knowledge that
you built in school can help you with your future career. Take for example two

individuals that have the same abilities for a job. Candidates that are bilingual tend to
have a better chance at being chosen for a position than those that are unilingual. Since
English is an international language, we as ESL teachers are imparting a handy travel tool
that our students will be able to utilise during their travels.Which in turn, makes our jobs
even more rewarding.
Discussion
We both found that teaching can be very rewarding, but Shant had previously
solely based his opinions on the academic achievements a student. Jessica reminded him
that students may or may not use science and history in their daily lives. She claimed that
they will undoubtedly use English often and in a more pragmatic way. In the end, we felt
that teaching a second language was in of itself gratifying because it involved influencing
the students social abilities as well as the academic capabilities.

Conclusion
As teachers we are often faced with both the macro-social and micro-social
issues of our students. As a macro-social issue, we are at times faced by the impact that
social class and ethnic diversity can have on the childs behaviour and tendencies. Our
teaching approaches, communication styles and classroom management can be altered by
these complex issues. As Miss Sylvia explained, the macro social issues can at times
create certain differences in her teaching methods. The micro-social concerns of the daily
interaction between the teacher and her students, colleagues and parents are complex, and
at times filled with dispute. Reasoning, teamwork, and communication were considered
to be very useful tools in dealing with many of these micro issues.
In conclusion, after a lengthy discussion, we noticed that we were often
compelled to agree with the many insightful and creative approaches, methods, and hints
that were explained to us by Miss Sylvia. It is no easy task to deal with all of these
various issues, but as future teachers we must embrace and be up for the challenge that
we will undoubtedly face upon completion of the TESL program. The passion and
dedication of Miss Sylvia towards her students is one in which we should follow. Finally,
we both thought it best to point out that teaching is a passion and we must love what we
do.