Interview =)

                After interviewing one of my classmates, I was able to understand and apply certain reading skills she uses in her life.  I had a long list of questions to ask, but I realized that she was more interested in the steps she takes to choose/read a book, in other words, open-minded questions.  I started the interview by introducing myself, and thanking her for giving me the opportunity to enhance my research by interviewing her.  I provided a brief description on the purpose of the research, which is literacy development.  I first question I asked was “When and how did you learn how to read, and what was the first book you read?”  Thankfully, we were able to relate to each other with our learning and reading process in elementary school, which made the interview go smoothly.  I jumped into questions regarding books, and I asked her “Do you skim before you actually begin to read the book?”  With that simple question, I was able to learn the steps she takes to choose a book.  She usually doesn’t read books other than the assigned readings for school, but she is able to force herself to find interest in certain books.  I asked her if she needs to read a book more than once to grasp the meaning of it, and she said she doesn’t because she reads slowly, which helps her understand better.  If she gets bored while she’s reading, she usually takes a break and then comes back to the reading.  The title of a book usually grasps her attention, more than the picture of the book.  She also likes to read the summary about the author because it tells her a lot about who he/she is, and what the book might be about.  If the author seems psycho, she obviously won’t buy/read the book.  I started asking her questions about the research project, and I learned that she prefers reading journal articles, rather than checking out books.  She also prefers to read experimental articles (e.g. statistics, numbers, etc.), rather than articles written solely on deep information.  She also prefers reading journal articles because there’s easier access to the readings.  She also prefers to teach reading rather than being taught.  She prefers to read open-minded books that go deeper into the subject and can make different judgments, rather than reading factual books, such as historical books.  She enjoys reading other people’s works (e.g. friend’s essays, etc.) because she finds it interesting, and she enjoys reading her friend’s poems.  During summer vacation, she doesn’t read because it doesn’t catch her attention.

                I ended the interview by thanking her for her time, once again.  I learned a lot through this interview because it made me realize my comfort zone.  For instance, if I was a little nervous interviewing one of my classmates who I feel comfortable with, imagine how nervous I’ll be to interview someone outside my environment.  Therefore, I will prepare myself by writing an outline, and providing one for the interviewee as well.

See ya!

=) Peace & love

-Enlighten