ESL Teacher Interview Reflection

Photo by April Walker on Unsplash.com

I had the opportunity to meet with an ESL teacher and ask her questions about her journey in teaching. 

Meet Victoria Krupp, an ESL teacher at Castelear Elementary. She has been teaching for 5+ years and is an amazing person. 

What made you decide to be an ESL teacher? 

“As I am sitting here trying to think, I’m realizing that I really don’t remember what my thoughts were at that time. I think it was in college when I had a professor, Dr. Yvonne Tixier y Vigil, who specialized in that field. I ended up in an EL room during a practicum, fell in love, and never looked back. There was something about EL that spoke to me. It really fits my personality. I get to over emote and I get to move around a lot. I get the privilege of seeing a lot of “ah-ha” moments. Also, I’ve always had an interest in the acquisition of new languages. I took three foreign language classes on top of my English class in high school --- Spanish, Latin, and French. I learned a lot about what makes it easy and what makes it hard to learn a language. French was the most difficult, especially since I had been taking Spanish and Latin for years. They don’t pronounce over half of the letters in a word and there are accents going this way and that! Having this deeper understanding of how other languages relate to English has helped me to better teach my students.” 

– Victoria Krupp, ESL Teacher

What challenges have you faced that you weren’t trained/prepared for? 

1. ESL teachers can be moved to another classroom or school to substitute, and because of this, your lesson plans would be behind or tossed out the window. 

“You can get moved at any time to another school, to another position, etc. I was moved last year to a school where no one wanted to teach. I was put into a 4th grade classroom. The whole 4th grade team had quit the previous year, and 3 out of the 4 us new teachers had been “redeployed.” I was one of the last EL teachers moved. All EL teachers had been put on notice in the spring that some of us would receive an email or phone call telling us. The other EL teacher and I would jump every time we heard the *ding*. We took turns checking the email. It was so stressful being on edge every… single… day.”

– Victoria Krupp, ESL Teacher

2. Learning to support the classroom teacher and co-teach

“It’s not a bad thing, but I learned that you aren’t just a support for students, you’re also there for your staff. It’s not just about academics, either. I never had a class on how to coteach. In all fairness, back in the early 2000’s (I feel old), pushing into classrooms was rare. I’ve learned how to communicate that I am NOT there to observe or judge. The classroom teacher is the boss of their class; you are there to make their lives easier and support where needed.” 

– Victoria Krupp, ESL Teacher

What advice would you give to mainstream core teachers or teacher candidates interested in ESL and/or have a high population of ESL students?

1. "Never underestimate these kids. By that, I mean don’t give them level A books. I don’t believe in levels to begin with. It might take a little translating or a short acting performance, but always challenge them. It helps if you can communicate with your students in their native language, but don’t use it as a crutch. Always keep in mind that the goal is to get them to proficiency in English, so they have same opportunities as English speakers in the future. I want all my kids to achieve the life that they want. Be prepared for having students who do not share a common language with you."

2. "Be a safe space for the students, especially newcomers. Advocate for your EL students. If other students or teachers keep translating and say, “They don’t know English,” politely show them how to make that connection between the native language and English. I’ve seen my newcomers shutdown when kids say this because they figure they are saying everything incorrectly. The students are translating to be kind, but it really does hinder the student’s progression in developing their English skills."

What motivates you to keep going and some joys of being an ESL teacher?

“Seeing former students when they come to visit and telling me how they’re doing. Seeing the faces of my kids when they “get it,” for the first time. I have videos of a couple students reading for the first time; you can’t put a price on that. Getting letters from kids or teachers saying that they are doing better in class because of our small group time makes me smile. Every time I have felt like walking away, a letter shows up in my mailbox from a student. My colleagues also keep me going.

I also push into 3 rooms to co-teach writing. I adore co-teaching and getting to observe other teachers; I’ve gotten so many great ideas! By being an EL teacher, I can meet and work with pretty much the whole staff, [it] also gives me a tad more freedom and creativity in deciding what I teach.”

– Victoria Krupp, ESL Teacher

Do you think requiring an Intro to Teaching ESL/multilingual learners is a beneficial course for all upcoming teachers to take?

“Yes and no. I think being able to observe or volunteer in a class with EL students is the most beneficial. It’s something that you can’t learn from a book. I think college students who want to pursue this should shadow EL teachers for a week or two. Also, it’s different depending on what the school is like. My school isn’t very diverse, so what works here might not work in another school that has a greater variety of languages and cultures.” 

– Victoria Krupp, ESL Teacher

Again, thank you for your time and willingness to share your experience Ms. Krupp <3

This interview and perspective from an ESL teacher helped me realize the background of teaching and how it's not always how it seems. As I learn about teaching and out in the field, the things they teach you in class are sometimes glossed over the reality of what it's like alone in the classroom or following the curriculum. This should be a reminder to keep an open mind when you are observing another classroom and to ask a lot of questions to get the bigger picture. How can you, as a learner and future teacher, support yourself? 

I plan to support myself and my future goals by taking Ms. Krupp's advice and shadowing an ESL teacher for a bit at maybe two different schools to compare and see the difference in district and classroom teacher layouts. It will help me decide whether to become an ESL teacher or a core elementary teacher by next year when I teach!