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1. To what extent do you practice your ethnically cultural traditions (example: to a great extent, to a medium extent, little to no extent)? Please explain.

2. Are you comfortable with talking about some of your cultural practices, games, and traditions with others who have a different culture or ethnicity? Explain why or why not

3. What is the primary language spoken in your home?

4. Is there ever an instance where you and/or your family members speak primarily English (if it's not already the primary language)? If so, when and in what situation?

5. How comfortable are you with your English language skills in: 1) informal conversation II) writing

6. Within the last year, have you ever felt like an “outsider” while around your peers? Explain why or why not.

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1) Think about your favorite teacher, why was he/she your favorite?

2) What did he/she do to help you?

3) What did he/she do differently than your other teachers?

4) What is the most important thing in your life right now?

5) What is your role in your family and at home? (e.g. chores, responsibilities etc.)

6) What is your favorite part of school? Why?

7) Is there something that helps you to learn better in class?

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Wow, I love your interview questions. They really hit the Cultural aspect of what you are trying to learn from them. I particularly like question 6 because, I'm sure they have felt like that a lot but are ashamed to talk about it. Nice job trying to create a safe space for your students to be open with you.

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Holly Lee-interview questions for 1st grade

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Holly Lee-interview questions for 1st grade

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1) What languages do you speak at home?

2) Who in your family do you spend the most time with?

3) What activities do you do with your family on the weekends? Nights?

4) What is your favorite thing to do or learn about in school?

5) Does your family tell stories or read stories to you? What type?

6) What are some of the holidays you celebrate at home? Do you have any special foods you eat with your family on these days?

7) What do you want to be when you grow up?

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These are great! They definitely touch upon the cultural aspects and dive deeper into students' lives. I'm not sure what grade you teach, but, these seem like it's geared more toward elementary students. One thing I'd add is an upper-level questioning component. For example, your question #4 asks about what they like to do in school/favorite subject. I'd add "Explain why _______ is your favorite subject"

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1. Can you tell us about your cultural background and the languages spoken in your family or community?

2. How do you feel your cultural background influences your experiences in the classroom and with your peers?

3. What do you think are the challenges you face in understanding and communicating in English?

4. Can you share an experience where you felt comfortable using your English language in the classroom? And if not, how did you handle that situation?

5. What strategies do you find most effective for learning English as a second language, considering your cultural background?

6. Looking ahead, how do you see your cultural and linguistic background shaping your future academic and personal goals?

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The set of questions are appropriate to grade 1 students. The questions targeted to know about the students culture and how the use of language affect their everyday life. On question #7, you may also ask what influences their dream? to dig deeper into their culture and possibly get more information what influences their decision.

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The set of questions are very specific and gives an idea that the target participants to be interviewed are the High School students. Questions are leaning to know how comfortable the students in using their language and how they are using English language in their lives. On #6, you could have a follow up question on how did they cope with the said situation so that they can expand their answer and get more data.

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These are great! The only thing I'd add is the upper-level questioning component as follow-ups to your questions. You have them on two (2) out of the 7. For example, your #4 asks "What's the most important thing in your life right now", and I'd add "Why is __________ the most important to you?"

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1. Where is your family from?

2. What languages do you speak at home?

3. How do you help your family when you are at home?

4. What do you like to do for fun?

5. What do you like about school?

6. What is something important that people should know about you?

7. What helps you to learn best in school?

8. What parts of school make you feel uncomfortable or make it hard to learn? What could a teacher do instead?

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Joleen Pilotin-Interview Questions (Gr. K)

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Joleen Pilotin-Interview Questions (Gr. K)

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1) What is your name and how old are you?

2) Who are the people in your family?

3) What do you like to do when you're not at school?

4) *show student a picture* Tell me about this picture.

5) How did you come to school today?

6) What do you like to do at recess?

7) Who are your friends in class/school?

8) What is your favorite thing to eat?

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Great questions, Donald. Would you revise these question depending on the student's English proficiency? It's great to see the difference in your questions for a high school student versus the ones I have for a kindergarten student. Your questions are great for learning more about students' backgrounds.

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Great interview questions, Jay. These are great for learning more about students. I agree with Donald's response about adding the "why", maybe depending on the grade level and the length of time the student has been in the US/Hawai'i. I think you'd get good information regarding how that student feels about school and their learning style.

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1. What name do you go by at school?

2. What subjects do you enjoy most at school?

3. What makes you want to learn more about a subject?

4. What types of activities do you enjoy in school?

5. Who are the people you feel the most influenced and/or supported by?

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Those are great questions to get to know your students better. I could probably use those same type of questions for High School and still be able to build relationships. I've always wondered at the Kindergarten level, are they shy or ashamed to answer in case they get it wrong, or are they more sociable and try their best to communicate even though they make mistakes? The Elementary level is so interesting because it is so different than high school and I am curious to compare the differences of personalities as an EL student in both level.

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1. What language(s) do you speak at home?

2. Who do you live with?

3. What are your interests, hobbies, goals, values, beliefs and dreams?

4. Which subjects do you enjoy the best? Why do you like these subjects?

5. Which subjects do you least enjoy? Why do you not enjoy them? If there were ways to better support you in all of your classes, what would that look like?

6. How comfortable are you with group work?

7. Do you feel like you work better in a team or alone?

8. Do you have friendships, relationships and support from people at your school? Is there an adult on campus that you feel safe speaking with?

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I love your questions Leaf!! I especially like question #3! Rather than asking students what they like or dislike, it actually forces them to ponder "what makes you want to learn more about a subject", regardless of which subject it is. I wonder if you can add to this question and ask students, "which instructional strategies are most helpful to you, when learning new content?"

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Holly Lee- response to Heather Belino's questions:

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Holly Lee- response to Heather Belino's questions:

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I love these questions, they really get into the meat of how students are thinking about their learning and how it has impacted their experiences in the classroom. I am assuming your students are high school level? How long have your students been speaking English? Do you think they will find the questions challenging if they have limited English? Will you possibly use an interpreter?

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I really like question #3- it will quickly highlight family obligations that might not otherwise be known, while framing it in a positive light: "How do you help your family". I also like question #6 because it is open ended and allows the student freedom to express any aspect that they consider important about themselves. Your questions are concise and easy to understand for EL learners but also allow for elaboration.

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David Tanaka Response to Brandi Spalding

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David Tanaka Response to Brandi Spalding

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Hi Brandi,

I liked that you are asking your students both which subjects they like and which they don't, and then having them explain why. I think there's definitely a lot we can learn from students both in terms of what they like, and what makes them feel uncomfortable. I just finished the reading for section two and was a bit surprised that "good teaching" strategies are not always "good teaching" strategies. Finding out what turns kids off can be just as important as what helps them. Thanks to your questions I'm going to revamp mine a bit!

Thank you for sharing!

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Hi Joleen,

I really liked question number 8. It reminds me of a connection I made with a "difficult" student last year. I asked students what their favorite thing to do was, and he responded with "eating." For the rest of the year we would randomly converse about different foods and things we liked to eat. Other teachers struggled with him at times, but I really feel that our ability to make that connection over something non-academic made it easier for him to feel comfortable in my class. He wasn't an EL kid, but it helped. I could see having a conversation about students' favorite foods could definitely lead to insights about their culture.

Question 4 also stood out to me. I am curious if the picture is of the student themselves, or a random picture you are using to spark a conversation. It reminded me of the breakout group I was in last session where much of our conversation focused on how providing visuals can help students make connections to language. I like the idea of bringing visuals into your interview to help get students utilizing language while you get to know them better.

Thank you for sharing.

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Brandi Spalding - Response to David Tanaka

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Brandi Spalding - Response to David Tanaka

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Aloha David! I really like question #6. I think this allows students the opportunity to share a little about themselves and to build that sense of pride in 'who they are'. Celebrating individuality is a wonderful way to show that each student is unique to the learning environment, and that everyone is valuable because of their own special gifts, talents, interests and abilities, that they share with the collective group! It could also be a way for students to share a little bit about 'what makes them tick' and how this may impact learning! I really appreciate your question. Thank you for sharing!

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1. What islands or parts of Micronesia are your family from originally? What language(s) does your family speak at home?

2. What cultural traditions, foods, or activities from your Micronesian background are important to your family?

3. Prior to moving to Maui, what was your experience with English or other languages? How comfortable were you speaking/understanding English?

4. What are some similarities and differences you’ve noticed between the education system in Hawaii versus your previous schooling experience?

5. What are some misconceptions others might have about Micronesian culture? How would you describe your cultural background to help others understand it better?

6. Who do you primarily speak Micronesian languages with in your day-to-day life? What language or mix of languages do you usually speak with friends?

7. What traditional Micronesian stories, music, artwork, or performances were you exposed to growing up? Do you still engage with any of these cultural forms here?

8. What are some Micronesian cultural values that are important for your family or community? How do they influence your life as a student here?

9. When you hear others being disrespectful to Micronesian culture, how do you feel? How do you react? What do you wish you could do to help the person being disrespectful?

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Hi, David,

Thank you for posting your questions. Your questions really get to the heart of the matter: helping our students by getting to know them. I really liked the third question because it talks about their home culture, something I can only guess at with most of my students. I have no idea about their home life. Since my class is such a small portion of their day, knowing how they help out at home is very interesting!

Well done!

Best,

John

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Hi, Jay,

Thank you for writing your questions. I imagine they will like to be in your limelight for a bit. I really liked your question about the role they play in the family. Getting to know a student's family is transformative to your relationship with that student. Additionally, I always want to know about the stories students read and hear at home. This is a great way to integrate their cultural background if they are ready and willing to share it in class.

Thank you for sharing!

Best,

John

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Michelle Santiago Interview Questions (Gr. 2-3)

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Michelle Santiago Interview Questions (Gr. 2-3)

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1. Where is your family originally from?

2. What language(s) do you and/or your family speak at home? How do you speak/respond to your family--in English or another language?

3. What are some activities you and your family enjoy doing together during the weekend or when school is over?

4. Do you like working by yourself or in a group? Why?

5. What do you like most about school? Why?

6. What is the most challenging part of school for you? Why?

7. What kinds of books do you like to read?

8. What job do you want to do when you grow up? Why?

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These are great questions Brandi! I'm guessing your students are upper elementary or middle school? I especially like questions 8--it's a great check-in question to make sure the student has a support system in school. Question 3 is kind of a lot, but you're probably planning on asking each thing separately. Values and beliefs may require some explanation/personal examples--I'm just thinking of the 4th and 5th grade ELs at my school and I know this would be a challenging question for them. Thank you for sharing!

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For reference I teach kindergarten which means my questions will seem quite simple in comparison to interviewing older students.

1. What are some activities that you and your family like to do at home?

2. What languages do you speak at home?

3. Who are your best friends? What do you like doing with them?

4. What are your favorite things to do in class? What is easier to learn and what's harder to learn?

5. What parts of reading and writing are challenging for you?

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Hi Joleen! I also teach kindergarten and can appreciate the simplicity that our interview questions share. I found it difficult for myself to come up with questions that I could relate to our first session and, like you, chose to ask questions relating to family, friends, etc. What caught my attention was your questions about coming to school, what they like to eat, and asking what their name and age is. Those types of questions didn't seem relatable to me, but I see now that they could be a way to build your relationship with your student. Are there any academia related questions that you would add on?

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Hi Holly! I think your questions are great and definitely age appropriate. I teach kindergarten and can see myself asking my students similar questions. I especially like your question #6 about holidays and special foods. That's something I never thought about asking and I think that it could spark a great interest in students! Would you consider asking your students what parts of learning they find difficult?

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1. Who is in your family and who lives with you at home?

2. What language(s) do you speak or hear at home or with family?

3. What do you love to do outside of school?

4. Who are your friends at school? Outside of school? What do you like most about them?

5. What do you love to eat?

6. (Show picture of community - Kihei in our case) - tell me about this place.

7. What is the best part of school? What is challenging?

8. What dream do you have for yourself as you get older?

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Hi Michelle,

I love your questions. I especially like the ones about how they best like to work - in a group or by themselves. This is very important for me to know working in a Project Based Learning (PBL) school. Thank you so much for sharing. Kacie

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Hi Joleen,

Thank you for sharing these interview questions! The one you shared about showing a picture and having the student tell you about it inspired me to do something similar. This picture will help elicit language that might not otherwise be shared. Thanks again!

Kacie

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Hi Heather! I really like your questions! They really dig into their own perspective on how their culture may affect their school life and work. I was in your group in the Session 2 class and if I remember correctly I think your students are in middle school? I do agree with Holly that the language of your questions may be challenging to some students, especially those who may still be learning English. Just a suggestion, but you might think about rewording your questions. For example, I would reword question 6 to "how can you use what you know about ___ culture and ___ language in school or your future job?"

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Hi Kacie,

I really like question # 5 about what you love to eat. I think talking about food is such a great way to start a conversation about culture. It gives students an opening to share about their culture without having to maybe feel like they are being put on the spot.

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Hi John,

Great questions! Question #9 is an important question. My question for you is how you would ask this question or in what format? It seems like a question that might be challenging for some students in a whole group setting.