Interview (Other Analysis)
I interviewed my good friend Julieth who is from Colombia. Her primary language is
Spanish, but she also speaks very good English. Julieth is 26 years old, is married to a man
named Danielo who is also from Colombia, and she just had her very first baby, Emiliano,
three months ago. Julieth was born in Colombia and moved with her brother to the United
States when they were 12. In the beginning, they only lived with their aunt who did not
speak much English at all. Julieth and her brother were forced to learn English on their
own and in school. Julieth’s mother lives in Miami now with her brother and her sister and
they are all very close.
Growing up in Colombia, Julieth only spoke Spanish. When she came to the United States
to live with her Spanish-speaking aunt, Julieth had to learn English on her own with very
limited help at home. In school, Julieth was placed in an ESOL program where she worked
in a very small group for certain parts of the day (during reading, etc.) to learn English.
Julieth was very studious and determined, and did well in her program and learned English
quickly. She practiced with her friends and with her brother as often as she could. Julieth
acquired and learned her BICS by communicating with her friends, talking about how her
day went with her brother, and by listening to conversations between others such as when
she was in the grocery store or out to eat. Julieth also worked very hard to do well in
