Creating Lives: An Introduction to Biography

Oral History/Interviewing

To complete the project, students will need to learn how to conduct an interview since it is one of the main components of the final project, the biographical sketch. "The whole point of the interview is to get the narrator to tell her story." ³⁷ Active listening is a skill with which many have difficulty. In conversations, most people think about their next comments, what they want to say instead of intently listening to the person who is currently speaking. Managementhelp.org presents guiding information about the preparation for an interview, types of interviews, the general topics and wording of questions and how to sequence them, how to conduct them and what procedures to follow afterwards. ³⁸ My students have had little to no practice with interviewing, so reviewing even the simplest components of the interviewing process is important. Preparation is the key to a good interview, especially for these ELL middle schoolers. To begin with, a conducive environment is needed where there will be no distractions. This helps both parties to focus on the task at hand. The interviewer should then explain the purpose of the interview, indicate how long the interview should take, review the "interview contract" including the logistics of how the information will be gathered and written up, explaining how the interviewee can communicate with them if there is anything they want to add or if they have any questions later. Lastly, the interviewer should ask if the interviewee has any questions regarding the process before the interview begins. Recording the interview can happen in two ways: the use of paper and pen and/or taping the session. Permission should be obtained to use a tape recording device. ³⁹ Since my students are younger and ELLs, writing down all of their subjects' responses may be difficult for them. Most likely, despite preparation, they will be nervous while they conduct their interviews. I believe that given the circumstances of these interviews, it would be better for my students to record them. In doing so, students may return to them later to confirm what their notes say or what they may have missed to add or flesh out information in their biographical sketches.

Much emphasis will be placed on creating questions before students head into their interviews. Six question categories are of importance for interviewing:

1. Behaviors - about what a person has done or is doing
2. Opinions/values - about what a person thinks about a topic
3. Feelings - note that respondents sometimes respond with "I think ..." so be careful to note that you're looking for feelings
4. Knowledge - to get facts about a topic
5. Sensory - about what people have seen, touched, heard, tasted or smelled
6. Background/demographics - standard background questions, such as age, education, etc. ⁴⁰

The questions will be written in a brief outline form, mostly in an open-ended fashion. Not wording the questions directly will help to be certain that it does not "sound like a canned speech when you read it." ⁴¹ Questions should also be narrow and then focus on specific facts. ⁴²