Findings: Post-Intervention Interviews
All names, countries, and languages have been changed to protect the identities of the participants.
Post-Intervention 2
Interview with Mark March 17th, 2015 1:00 PM E: So, I’m going to start off by explaining what we are doing. M: Okay. E: It is only five questions. At the end I’m going to give you the opportunity to add anything that you feel you want to tell me… thoughts, advice, or anything else you want to tell me. M: Okay. E: Thank you for doing this. M: Of course. E: Based on the information that we learned over the last week, what information were you already aware of? What did you already know? M: Um, that I take or that I will use? E: Which information, when I was talking, did you think “I already know this”? If there is anything? M: So…. E: What about the facts that you wrote down with a partner? That we reviewed? M: Sorry, what is the question? E: What did you already know before class? M: Oh! What did I already know? E: Mmmhm M: Okay. Then, I guess which countries use English and which governments use English. But, what was new was how many countries use English and the percent of English speakers. The fact that… was it 80%? E: Yes. M: Yeah, then the fact that 80% of native-speakers are non-native, I guess. That was new. But I already knew that lots of countries use English. At least the native-speaking ones. So I already knew that. E: So that was new information to you? M: Yeah, that was really new to me. I almost didn’t believe it. Many of us can speak English, but I guess to really speak… I did not think that it could be as much as that. E: Yeah, I was surprised too. M: Yeah, because I guess it is not really a language used in Europe… used at home. I think Spanish is used more. Not English. E: Okay. M: English is business, I guess though. I just don’t think it is a language that non-natives speak at home. E: So how did that information make you feel? 80% of all English speakers were non-native? M: It made me feel part of the majority. I have tried to speak English with, and understand, many people to try to communicate with them. So when I heard that a lot of these people are like me I thought that is nice. And I am not alone. E: Exactly. You are not alone. M: It was this feeling, not alone. Also, when I went yesterday to the doctor she asked me since when I have been here in the U.S. and I told her since January and she was surprised. She said, “Oh, really! You sound really good actually.” So I guess when I speak it sounds really good. It made me feel a little bit proud. E: You should feel proud! You have worked hard for this! M: Thanks. E: So, what activity have we done that you have found to be really useful or informative. You walked away and were happy that we did that. M: About the accent. Yeah, it was really nice to listen to many people with accents and try to guess. I could understand many of the speakers and it didn’t matter where they were from. It was really interesting. E: What we did yesterday? The identification activity? M: Yes, yes. E: Did anything surprise you during this activity? M: Yes, for me the Belgian accent surprised me because I know a lot of French and Belgian people so when I couldn’t guess it I was surprised. E: So you found this useful? M: Yes. E: Good. So what activity did we do that you found to be the least useful? M: School is never not useful. E: Well, that is true. But if you had to pick? M: Okay, maybe the True or False Worksheet because it was more of a game and not really school. But, for me, school is always useful so it is only if I had to choose. E: Okay! Great. Thank you. And so by now you have seen the questionnaire I give to you guys and one question asks about your feeling of membership within the English speaking community. Do you have any thoughts on this? You wrote down that your feelings have been strengthened. Can you explain this to me? M: For me, I think it is a part of me now. English. I used to work in a company with a lot of people who speak English and use it in their vocation and use it a lot of time. Many people in my country say it is our country’s fifth language now. It is a language that we use to communicate with the people in our country and then also with people in other countries. Many times through business. E: Wow, okay! So English is used a lot in your country then? M: Yeah, we use it a lot of times. I do feel like it is a part of me, or I thought maybe it was. Now I really do. E: Good, good. Now, what have we done that has strengthened this feeling? M: Well, I said before. That 80% of the people are not native-speakers. Before, everybody in my company that speaks English was a native-speaker. I have to make sure I have correct grammar… E: You feel pressure? M: Yeah, a little bit. Because I want to give them the information, and get information, correctly. E: But now you are in the majority! I am the one, the native-speaker, who is in the minority. M: (Laughing) E: Yeah! So is there anything else you want me to know? Any suggestions you have for me? Any thoughts? M: Maybe it would be interesting to be taught about where English comes from, and how it is made up of other languages. The history of the language? The influence of French and Latin and other languages. E: That is a great thought. Thank you! |
Post-Intervention 2
Interview with Rayyan March 17th, 2015 1:30 PM E: I’m going to ask you five questions and at the end give you the opportunity to add anything in case you feel like you are missing something. Okay? R: Okay. E: Cool? R: Cool. E: Okay, so based on what we have done what information were you already aware of? You already knew? R: Most of the information was new. The level of teaching here is way better than in my country so the information is way practical. So, we don’t talk about accents, we don’t talk about countries, or nothing like that. So most of it was new. E: Okay, so when we talked about inner-circle, outer-circle, expanding-circle… R: That was new. E: Okay, but could you identify the five countries that use English as their primary language? R: Okay, USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and…. I know one, like Trinidad? E: Hm, maybe. You’re missing one country that we went over in class. That is right about America. R: Ah, Canada! E: You knew it. You knew it! So, you knew the basics but did you know that Spain is in the expanding-circle? When I was teaching you about each circle could you say that Spain is in the expanding? R: Not as much as Germany and Japan, but I guess… yes. E: Okay! So for the second question. What information was really surprising to you? Was there any? R: The fact that the USA doesn’t have an official language. And when you said that many American speak Spanish because I know that the USA has lots of immigrants but if you come to this country you should learn the language and the culture. You should get along with it. So it is kind of weird that people use Spanish even though they are in an English speaking country. E: Yeah, it is super interesting. When I was going through school they taught us Spanish. R: Huh! E: So, do you remember the true or false worksheet that we did? You know, like the statements, for example how languages are dying or that if you learn English before the age of six you can acquire the native accent… R: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn’t know if you learn a language before the age of six it will be better and easier to have the accent of that language you are learning. E: So when did you start learning English? R: Well it was when I was young, but then I stopped. So really around twelve, eleven, or ten. E: I see. Do you remember anything else that was interesting or surprising to you? R: I remember that there are a lot of English speakers that are not from the U.S. and Canada and places like that. E: Do you remember how many? R: Close to 90%, I think. E: 80%. R: Yes, 80%! That was cool. It means many people are like me. E: Exactly! So your first questionnaire you filled out said that you wanted to sound like a native-speaker. But the questionnaire you just completed did you say yes or no when it asked you about your goals? R: I said no – I don’t want to sound like a native-speaker. E: Tell me why. R: Because I don’t need it. I just need to be understood. It is my primary goal. I know a lot of people who speak with a Spanish accent, French accent, or whatever. And even if it not that good you can understand it. And that is how it should be. E: Very well put. So, in terms of this idea of identity.. which you know I’m researching. So the English language community is so large and spans so many countries. Do you feel like you are a member of this community? R: I think so. English is not just for English speaking countries. As well as Chinese, as well as other languages. You should be open to learn every language that you could. You know? IF people want to learn Spanish it is their language also. If they are able to speak it… I don’t know how to explain it… E: Keep going, you’re doing a great job. R: When people speak two languages you are bilingual. And so if you learn another language you say that you can speak it and it is yours. I say I speak two languages. I do not say I speak Spanish and someone else’s language. E: So you now consider them both to be your languages? To be yours? R: Yeah. I am so interested in learning English because, I don’t know, it is always good to understand everything and most of the things are in English. Most of the important things. So to imagine back in my home country, many of my friends don’t know English. So when your friends come to ask you to translate things or to help them you feel so good, because you know English. I can do something else for the community. I can do something else for me. To make me feel better and to make me better as a person. E: Wow, let me ask you – do your parents speak English? R: Not at all. E: Do you think you’re going to have your children learn English? R: For sure I will. E: For sure. So in terms of everything we’ve been learning. Has there been anything specific that was really helpful? R: I think most of the information was useful. For me, maybe the fact that somebody said that said that they would pay a lot of money to have an American accent was crazy. E: For you, you would not? R: No. You already have everything. E: So on the same page, were there any activities that you did not find helpful? R: Hmmm E: Like, you didn’t know why we were doing the activity. R: You know I am trying to think, but all of the activities were useful. They helped me learn new things and see things different. It is new stuff, so every new information is useful. E: Great. Is there anything else that you think I should add? Anything that you think I should know? R: I don’t know. I think that the people should feel confident while speaking English because I think if you say that you wish you want to have a different accent, you shouldn’t. Everybody is perfect because they are themselves. If you have an accent then you are yourself, you are being yourself. So if you speak like this, you have this accent, then I think you are perfect in your own way. E: Perfect the way you are? R: Yes. Exactly. E: Thank you so much. |