Let the Interviews Begin!

My field notes will not be one of my data sources.  My days and my notes are too variable to pertain to my research question about language learning plateaus.  My data sources will be interviews with students, interviews with teachers, and classroom surveys.  My interview questions were revised last week after my research questions were revised.  I reached out this week to some teachers and scheduled one interview for Friday afternoon and two for Monday.  I have a couple of emails out awaiting responses and a couple of verbal agreements to be formalized. 

I set off to Genesis Center, an organization that offers adult ESL classes, with my interview questions and consent form.  The teacher I interviewed is a white male, 38 years old, with 17 years of experience teaching adult ESL including a couple of years in China.  His post graduate degrees are in English literature, not Education.  I was never quite sure what pedagogical lingo to use with him.  He has many years practical experience and has been a presenter at the RI Adult Education Conference.  He was familiar with the term “fossilization” but not “language learner plateau” which I defined in general terms.  In the literature I have been reading, these terms are sometimes interchangeable, but fossilization more often refers to specific long-lasting errors in grammar or pronunciation or syntax, while “plateau” is used to describe the overall learning process and the leveling off of progress.

I looked at my watch to gauge the time.  I explained that I would try to keep the interview down to 30 minutes.  He predicted that he would talk more than I would want.  We went on for 50 minutes.  He seemed happy to share his thoughts and experiences and he exhibited a healthy air of confidence.  In asking my questions, I realized there was overlap.  This was initially intentional to ensure that the questions would be addressed, but in execution, this seemed to be awkward.  I took notes in the form of phrases or key words and I audio-recorded the interview.  During the interview I heard mostly non-specific responses and I thought there may not be much applicable data to analyze here.  But I was comfortable with the process.  My subject seemed comfortable with the process.  He asked for a repeat of the question a couple of times when he thought he may have strayed away from the topic.  We had an easy rapport and he told several anecdotes about his students and some of his teaching activities.  It was my first interview. I had mixed reactions.  The process seemed workable and easy, but usable data seemed elusive. 

Then I listened to the audio-recording two days later.  It was all familiar, but I noticed different connections I hadn’t noticed when the conversation originally happened.  It is really hard to be a good listener.  In the moments when the interview was happening, I was concentrating on recognizing and pulling out what I expected to hear.  And when I didn’t hear what I expected, I thought that there was nothing there.  But when I listened later, I heard what I wasn’t listening for, what I wasn’t waiting for.  I heard more of what was actually there.  It is really hard to be a good listener.  It is hard to stop expecting what I expect and just be open to what is there.  I must practice this.  Tomorrow is another day, another two interviews.  I will try to listen.  I will also continue to record the interviews, so I can have as many chances to listen as it takes for me to really hear what is really out there.