Audio Samples

Nekeisha talked about where her family is from, when she moved to Florida, the language she uses at home and how much English is used. She talked about the obstacles she overcame when learning English. In this interview she also talked about whenever she works in small groups she is able to develop her BICS much more. One thing I found interesting is that she is not able to read in Spanish. She only learning reading once she became a student in Florida.

Interview with Nekeisha Rivera

T: teacher, Brittany Saylor

S: student, Nekeisha Rivera

T: Okay, go ahead and tell me your name.

S: Nekeisha

T: Nekeisha, Nekeshia how do you spell your name?

S: N-E-K-E-I-S-H-A

T: A, and what’s your last name?

S: Rivera, R-I-V-E-R-A

T: Awesome, and what grade are you in?

S: First…no, I’m in second.

T: You’re in second grade now. And were you born in Florida?

S: No

T: No, Where were you born at?

S: Boston.

T: In Boston. And what language did you learn first?

S: Spanish.

T: Spanish, Who taught you Spanish?

S: My mom and dad.

T: Your mom and dad. When did you start learning English?

S: When I moved, when I moved to Florida.

T: And how old were you when you moved to Florida?

S: About four years old.

T: You were about four. Um, and where are your mom and dad from?

S: Puerto Rico.

T: They’re both from Puerto Rico?

S: Yeah

T: Ok, um, Do your parents still speak Spanish at home?

S: Yes.

T: They still speak Spanish at home.

S: a lot.

T: A lot? Do they ever speak English with you?

S: yea, pretty much when I do my homework.

T: Just when you’re doing your homework. Do your parents know English pretty well?

S: My mom but not my dad.

T: Ok...alright, can you read well in Spanish?

S: No

T: No, you can’t read so well in Spanish?

S: No, I only know how to talk in Spanish, not read or write.

T: Can you read fairly well in English

S: Yes.

T: Alright, whenever you learn English is it ever hard for you? Like, what is it like for you to learn English?

S: Hard.

T: It’s hard?

S: Yes.

T: Why is it hard?

S: Because I usually speak a lot of Spanish at home. And I really speak Spanish with my mom and dad a lot.

T: And what about the rest of your family and friends. Do you speak a lot of Spanish with them too?

S: Well sometimes when my family speak English or Spanish if they like normally don’t speak Spanish. But with my friends English.

T: Your friends are English?

S: Yea.

T: What’s the hardest part about learning Spanish? You said it was because you always are speaking Spanish?

S: Yea, pretty much because I learned it when I was about two.

T: So when you were little. What about when you learn English at school? Are there any parts that make it hard?

S: Well when I first started school, actually I didn’t know that much English. I just tried my best.

T: Yea. And what about now? If you are learning English in class, you’re learning about things like nouns and verbs, are any of those kinds of things hard? Or do they just kind of come from learning English?

S: Um..come with.

T: Just come with learning English?

S: Yea.

T: What is fun about learning English?

S: Well, I get to speak a different language.

T: That’s pretty cool. Cause you’re, how old are you?

S: eight.

T: Eight. And you already know two languages! Do you know any other languages?

S: No.

T: Two is pretty cool, I can’t even speak two languages real well so that’s so cool. And how long have you been learning English?

S: About…three years.

T: Three years…so whenever you started kindergarten?

S: Yea.

T: Ok, How did you learn how to read in English?

S: Pretty much when I started school, um, I had to do reading stuff. I started learning to read in English. When the teacher started teaching me about like how to read, that’s when I started to read.

T: Got ya, What did you find easy about learning how to read in English?

S: Um…When…

T: Or maybe about learning how to speak English? Just English in general, was there anything that was pretty easy about it?

S: Like the easy words I know how to spell, those are the easy words. Like at, is…in.

T: What do you find hard? What did really hard?

S: The words that are really long and confusing.

T: Do you ever have words that they look one way but they sound like another? Like “th” with “the”.

S: Yea!

T: Yea, that’s kind of weird. What do your teachers do that help you learn how to read?

S: Um…we have garden reading. We go to the back table and our teacher she gives us books to read. And we read to her. And she tells us what the word is, and to sound it out, and all that stuf.

T: Ok, Do you feel like you are getting better at learning it?

S: Yea.

T: Yea. When did you start to feel like you were getting real comfortable with English?

S: first grade

T: first grade. Do your teachers do anything special for you since you didn’t start out speaking English?

S: I have a friend that speaks Spanish with me. And then she would tell what I was saying. ‘Cause she speaks Spanish and English.

T: And do you help her, or she helps you, or do you help each other?

S: We help each other.

T: You help each other learn English?

S: Yea.

T: Do you sit next to each other in class?

S: Yea.

T: Yea, are your desks squished together like a group? Or are they further apart?

S: Like a group.

T: Like a group, that’s really cool. What kind of books do you like to read? Or they don’t even have to be books; they could be stories or poems? What kind of things do you like to read?

S: Stories

T: About what?

S: About animals

T: What’s your favorite animal?

S: Cheetah.

T: ooo…al the spots!

S: and about birds…

T: and birds

S: and insects and um…dancing.

T: Ooo! You like to dance?! I love to dance. Do you know any Spanish dances? Any salsa or…

S: salsa, and (Cannot spell the name of the dance)

T: what is that?

S: It’s like break dancing

T: Oh I saw that on your video! Is there anything you’d do differently about learning English? About how learn, is there anything that would make easier for you?

S: Pretty much, no…

T: Your teachers do a pretty good job?

S: Yea.

T: Good. (Then we went into the reading…)