Introduction

Our ELL interview subject is Yunior Savon, a twenty one year old Florida resident. He was born and raised in a small province of Cuba, and attended public school in Cuba till he was in middle school, till he and his family moved from Cuba to Miami, where he was then placed in an ELL program. Throughout his education even in Cuba, Yunior was exposed to the English language, very similar to the manner that American students experience Spanish. Like most students in America Yunior didn't take the language extremely seriously until he was forced too. He described these classes as introductory, touching mostly on vocabulary and staying on the surface of the language, not focusing too much on the real structure of the English Language. In High School he was given the option, to either stay in his ELL history class or enter a full immersion, English only class. This was where he was finally pushed to fully apply himself to learning the language. Soon there after he was placed in honors literature and English classes, proving that practice and determination can be the push that children need in acclimating themselves fully to a new language. Two years later Yunior finished his ELL program and was fully immersed into English only instruction.

Throughout the interview Yunior was able to give us in depth information on what is important to learning another language, and the process one goes through when fully acclimating themselves to a new language. At first Yunior found science and math to be the easiest subjects as stated in the interview. He felt this way, because even though the science instruction was in a new language the concepts and ideas were still the same. Once he fully applied himself to learning English he found it to be more enriching and an easier task. For example Yunior stated in the interview that he was first motivated to learn English so that he could listen to the radio and watch his favorite television programs, then once his English improved enough, the reading of Literature played a important role in the furthering of his language development. He found that for him personally, special tools and manipulative did not play an integral role in his learning of English. Instead he found that reading and immersing himself in the culture allowed him to pick up on nuances and slang that he could not learn from a textbook.

In regards to the American culture, Yunior choose a photograph of a picnic. He states earlier in the interview "The most difficult part of learning a language is learning the culture, because if you cannot connect the language to the language, you will miss the important idioms and slang connected to the culture." Throughout his writing sample he articulates his own view of the American culture, a view that helped greatly in his understanding of the language. Yunior touches on the differences in American culture compared to Cuban, with his photograph. He highlights the inferred prosperity that comes with sharing food and leisure time, something that is not as prevalent in his home country. He emphasizes the concepts of freedom that we experience as Americans and the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Which he describes as fully represented in the photograph he has chosen. Yunior's perspective of American culture are is one of positivity and naivety. He has a fresh and innocent perspective. He sees the good in America, because where he came from is the antithesis of American in regards to freedom and prosperity.

During the interview Yunior seemed very comfortable and at ease with the questioning. He took his time to answer all the question, and responded with articulate and well thought out answers.  His expressed a lot of positivity about his journey with learning a new language, and gave us a lot of constructive feedback, that can used instructing future students. Helping us understand his perspective and what he found to be most difficult with our language such as blends like TH, and the differences with the sounds Z makes. These types of clues can help future teachers better understand how we can help students learn the language as well as Yunior did. Also allowing us to understand what motivational strategies worked (watching movies and the radio), and what didn't  can also help us eliminate procedures that aren't always helpful for our students. Throughout the interview Yunior expressed his full acclimation to the American culture. An interesting fact that we find prevalent in students who fully acclimate themselves to a new language, is their first language becoming worse as they become more proficient in a new language, a phenomenon that Yunior too experienced. He states in the interview that as he started to learn English his Spanish suffered, and soon he was even dreaming in English.