Interview
Parent: Allison Gonzalez
Student: Nicole Hernandez
Age and Grade Level: 9 yrs. old – 4th grade
Background / Questions:
1. What is your child’s first Language?
a. Her first language is Spanish.
2. Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
a. Aguadilla, PR
b. About 7 years.
3. Where did you live before?
a. Different towns, but we have always lived in Puerto Rico.
4. Is your family originally from Puerto Rico? If not, what other background do you have?
a. Our family is 100% Puerto Rican… As far as I know. (she laughs)
5. What are some hobbies your child enjoys?
a. Nicole likes to play volleyball, paint, or watch tv.
6. How is her social development; does she make friends easily?
a. She gets along fine with most classmates, but she has only 2 friends that are close.
I wouldn’t say she’s shy but also not super outgoing; somewhere in between.
7. Did your child have any developmental delays or missed milestones?
a. No, she has always been pretty average in her development, for example she was
walking by her first year. And she never had any trouble in school before
changing to an all-English school. But I thought it would be good for her to learn.
Although, she was a little behind on reading fluency before, and having to learn
how to read in a new language was even more challenging.
8. Does she enjoy reading?
a. If it is not in a difficult level. If it becomes too complicated, she can get frustrated.
I try to give her books that are easier words and topics she has interest in because
I want her to like reading.
9. How has your child been exposed to the English language?
a. Well not much at home since we only speak Spanish at home. She has been
exposed to it regularly like when we travel or watch movies. She will usually
watch a movie in Spanish unless it has only English audio and she will just read
the subtitles. She was officially introduced when I enrolled her in a new school.
The school is federal, and the classes are all in English.
10. Do you speak English as well?
a. A little bit. I had to learn a bit for necessity and to try to help her in school too.
11. When was your child first introduced to English language learning?
a. When she was 7 and entering 2nd grade, I enrolled her in this school which had
every class in English. Actually, they don’t even have Spanish class like other
schools here in PR, only an elective course called “Culture” which teaches some
Spanish and Puerto Rican culture.
12. Did your child know any English before?
a. Apart from some popular words and phrases (like yes, no, let’s go, ok, hi, bye, my
name is…, etc.…) not really and write it much less.
13. What school did she go to before?
a. A public school in my community.
14. How is the culture diversity in school different to the one your child was used to?
a. It is very different. Since the school is military, there are kids from all different
parts of the US, (Most who speak English as their first language). Many students
and teachers do not speak Spanish at all. There is a variety of race and culture in
the school, students from other states or countries like Italy or Germany, and
many more students with disabilities in the general classroom than other schools
we are used to.
15. Were there other ELL students in your Child’s school?
a. Yes, fortunately it is more common for this school to have ELL students in almost
every grade because the school is in Puerto Rico but functions as if it were in the
US. In her classroom alone, there were two more ELL students, so at least it was
easy for her to communicate with those students and feel identified with them.
16. Has there been anything particularly challenging for you or your child since being an
ELL student?
a. Yes. The abrupt change was hard for her at the beginning to adapt to such a
different school and immerse herself completely in the language. It was hard for
me to see her struggle at times, and on many occasions, not be able to help her
with school work. My husband’s work usually allows him to stay in Puerto Rico
but it is hard for Nicole to be away from her dad when he sometimes needs to go
off to training. (Her dad is in the Border Patrol).
17. What are some things that have helped ease the language learning process?
a. The school has an ELL program with teachers that specialize in helping students
like her. The fact that most teachers have been very patient and helpful, and that
there are other classmates that are in the same situation, has definitely made the
process more easy going.
18. On a scale from 1-10, how supported do you feel by family and community?
a. I would say 7 just because the family I do have close by like my husband and
parents-in-law, are morally supportive and I know they love Nicole, but
academically they are not able to help in the ELL process. Also, my parents and
other family members live far away.
19. What advice would you give parents and/or teachers of new ELL students?
Summary:
Allison Gonzalez, mother of 9-year-old Nicole Hernandez, provided valuable insights
into Nicole's journey as an English Language Learner (ELL) student at a military school in
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Nicole, whose first language is Spanish, was born and raised in Puerto
Rico. In Puerto Rican culture, your knowledge of English usually depends on having family who
are bilingual (family exposure) or going to a bilingual, usually private school (academic
exposure). This brings up questions of socioeconomic status as well. The fact is, you don’t
necessarily must be wealthy to acquire English in the Island, but if people have the economic
means to send their kids to private bilingual school their chances of being a fluent English
speaker are much higher. Nicole navigates a school environment where English is the primary
language of instruction, despite limited exposure at home. While the family has lived in
Aguadilla for about seven years, the cultural diversity and immersion in English at the military
school mark a significant departure from their previous experiences. Despite initial challenges
adapting to the new linguistic environment, Nicole has found support through the school's ELL
program, patient teachers, and fellow ELL classmates. Allison emphasizes the importance of
advocacy and seeking out resources to support ELL students, underscoring the need for
collaboration between parents and educators to ensure their success in language acquisition and
academic achievement. Through their experience, Allison and Nicole exemplify the resilience
and determination required to thrive in unfamiliar linguistic and cultural landscapes.
Advice for teachers:
1. Provide Differentiated Instruction: Provide Explicit Phonics Instruction: Incorporate
systematic and explicit phonics instruction into the curriculum to support Nicole's literacy
development. Focus on teaching sound-symbol relationships, phoneme blending,
segmenting, and phonemic awareness skills through structured activities and
multisensory approaches. Use phonics-based programs and resources tailored to ELL
students to strengthen Nicole's foundational reading skills and improve her decoding
abilities. Research suggests that systematic phonics instruction significantly improves
decoding skills and reading comprehension among ELL students by providing clear and
consistent guidance on letter-sound correspondences (August et al., 2005). Be patient
with Nicole if she doesn’t work at the expected rate since she takes longer to read and
process information in English.
2. Scaffold Language development and Integrate Multisensory Approaches:
Break down language tasks into manageable components and provide scaffolding support
to help Nicole grasp complex linguistic concepts. Use visual aids, gestures, and real-life
examples to reinforce vocabulary acquisition and comprehension. Incorporate activities
that target syllable, phoneme, and morpheme awareness, such as word segmentation
exercises, syllable counting games, and morphological analysis tasks, to enhance Nicole's
understanding of the English language's structural elements and promote oral language
proficiency. Multisensory instruction has been shown to be particularly effective for ELL
students, as it accommodates diverse learning styles and facilitates deeper understanding
of phonological concepts (Ehri et al., 2001).
Advice for Parents:
1. Create a Language-Rich Home Environment: Supplement Nicole's English language
learning by incorporating English into daily activities at home. Encourage reading
English books together, watching English-language TV shows or movies, and engaging in
conversations in English to reinforce language skills outside of school hours. You can
take this as an opportunity to further your knowledge as well.
2. Advocate for Support Services: Stay actively involved in Nicole's education and advocate
for the resources and support services she needs to succeed as an ELL student.
Communicate regularly with teachers and school administrators, attend parent-teacher
conferences, and inquire about additional language support programs or tutoring
opportunities to supplement Nicole's learning journey.
References
August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. (2005). The critical role of vocabulary
development for English language learners. Learning Disabilities Research &
Practice, 20(1), 50–57.
Ehri, L. C., Nunes, S. R., Stahl, S. A., & Willows, D. M. (2001). Systematic phonics
instruction helps students learn to read: Evidence from the National Reading
Panel’s meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 71(3), 393–447.
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