Blog 2
For this interview I choose to interview a close friend of mine, Monica Medina. She was born in Houston, Texas but Spanish was her first language. Monica did not begin speaking English until she was in the fourth grade meaning she was a late bilingual, which is defined as, "someone who has become a bilingual later than
childhood" (Gass & Selinker, 27). To learn a second language is a difficult task for anyone, but someone to go through the public school system for 4 years speaking Spanish then have to begin not only learning another language, but also learning in another language is a task. Lucky for Monica she is a quick learner and was able to pick up on the new language rapidly. She also had a good teacher guiding her threw her language learning process which made it easier for her to be able to pick up on her English. Though at home they mainly speaking Spanish, through interactions at school with friends and teachers she was able to the English language to her vocabulary. Wright says that It was necessary for Monica to have good guidance in order to learn a new language.
Click here to watch my video
Click here to watch my video
Great Video. There are a lot of cases where, like your friend that you interviewed, students in America enter the education system not being as confident in English as they are in their L1. This is where us, as educators, need to hone in our skills in providing a fully inclusive lesson plan that caters not only to the rest of the class but also to the English Language Learners in the class. In the video “Second Language Acquisition Theories” by CLILandthings, Matthew Johnson discusses the famous experiment by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov that involved training dogs to have the same response to food as they do to a bell ringing. This experiment showed that in order to train a dog to understand a concept of communication, the steps have to be broken down into smaller “lessons” for the dogs to learn in order for them to gain insight into the bigger picture. (CLILandthings, 2016) This is now being used in education to show that scaffolding lessons and adding small components slowing in the beginning, will aid in the development or a bigger concept.
ReplyDeleteSo with English Language Learners in the classroom, an instructor should not assume that just by the student being in the classroom they will eventually learn English by proxy. If we apply the same concepts from Pavlov’s experiment to language learning students will be able to make connections from their L1 to L2 with more ease. The major points to consider from the experiment are creating language as a habit, repetition and by rewarding desired behavior while not rewarding undesired behavior. This may seem slightly primitive because the experiment is using dogs, however the overall strategy is great for younger second language learners.
Reference:
CLILandthings. (2016, Sept. 22) Second Language Acquisition Theories. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMdseB-EB8Y&index=3&list=PL0OpNdLwNL6sKxAfgm5bDB8OowlMswWs_
I completely agree with you Jerome. that some students come into the system and are not confident that they will be able to learn a second language, but us as educators need to ensure that students are confident and they also have to build upon that confidence. It is hard to learn a second language, I can say this from experience. Students need to be able to make connections between their language, whether it is with the use of visuals or it is done verbally, having those connections made will help build their language ability and also ensure that they are building on their new language vocabulary.
DeleteHi Nayab, I realy enjoy watching your interview video with your friend Monica and reading your reflection. As experiencing an ESL student, I find there are some similarities like your friend Monica when I first starting learning English as my second language in high school. According to Gass and Selinker, I also consider myself as a late bilingual, who is someone who has become a bilingual later than childhood (2013, p. 27), like your friend Monica. She has mentioned that English has become her dominant language since she has to use it primarily to communicate with her friends, coworkers at school, at work and everywhere outside of her home even though she is fluent in both English and Spanish. This is related to what I read from Rowland, she said “ for most [L2 learners], one language is dominant, and this is often the community language rather than the home language” (2014, p. 176). As it is forced to use English most of the time due to the living environment, her L2 becomes her dominant language and she only use her L1 as her native language whenever she speak with her family and other native Spanish speakers.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the interview, I also learn that teachers played important roles in helping ESL students learn English and overcome the language barrier. In most of the cases, I believe teachers are the first contact people of new languages that students learn from beside their friends. According to Wright said, “Teachers as agent of socialization. Students from immigrant and minority homes may find the culture of the school vastly different from the culture of their home, and the teacher may be their first contact with the social world outside the home and even, among ELLs, their first contact with English. Thus, the ways teachers organize their programs and practices help students adjust to the everyday practices, the system values and beliefs, and the means and manners of communication at school and in society. In this role, as in their role as communicators, teachers who respect their student’s home languages and cultures can be most effective in helping students make the necessary transitions without undercutting the role that parents and families must continue to play in their education and development (p.29).” Teachers are the people that affect mainly to the students’ process of learning a new language.
References:
Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.
Rowland, C. (2014). Understanding child language acquisition. New York: Routledge.
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Nayab! Monica is very lucky to be a quick learner. I would think that learning English in the 4th grade would be pretty tough, c since she had gone her entire life only speaking Spanish. According to Rowland, "one factor that has a major effect on multilingual language development is the age at which the child starts to learn each language" (2014, page 175). With that being said Monica was very lucky to learn English so fast and so well with no struggle! I'm sure, as you mentioned her teacher had a lot to do with that. As a future educator this is something I would really like to be successful at. ELLs really need our support and attention so they can feel encouraged to learn English.
ReplyDeleteRowland, Caroline. Understanding Child Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Hey Marissa I just wanted to comment on what you said about age being a factor in learning a second language. Ortega (2011) states that, "The evidence for a critical or sensitive period for first language acquisition in humans is strong, although it remains far less well understood than the critical period for the development of, for example, ocular representation in our cortex." (Ortega, p. 30) He alludes to there being a critical period for learning a first language, however there is not as much known about there being a critical period for second language acquisition. However, I would imagine that the younger a child is the easier they may have with learning a second language, maybe not initially but long-term this is beneficial.
DeleteReference:
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hi Marissa! I am glad that Monica is a quick learner because you are right beginning learning English in the fourth grade is difficult because she has been receiving her education in Spanish until then. The age at which you begin learning a language is critical, I believe that the younger you are the better it is, simply because you are able to build on it for a longer period of time if you begin learning at a younger age. Her teacher was a big part of her English language learning process, I feel that the right instructor is what can make or break an English language learning experience.
DeleteHello Nayab. Interesting interview considering that Monica was in born in America, but never learned English from the start. I have a lot of respect for people like Monica who even though sometimes forced, take the time and effort to learn another language. According to Ortega, "If age effects do set in as extremely early in life as age two or four, the long-held assumption that an early start guarantees complete and successful L2 acquisition loses much of its power" (2013, pg. 26). Not only is it super challenging to learn another language fluently, but it gets even more challenging to attempt the task the older we get.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Harlie, in my opinion I do not against to say that younger children seem to learn new language(s) better than adult. I think it is always good to expose young children to learn new language(s) at young age, because at their young age their brain develop much quicker which make them adapt and learn new things better. However, as learning any new language(s), people always need to make an input of using the language(s) by interacting and keeping practicing with the language(s) regularly in order to keep it last long. As same as adults, in order to improve their new language linguistic skills, they need to invest their time and effort to practice the language(s) every day with the native speakers, make the language(s) become more familiar in their daily use will most likely help them become more influent of that language. Like what Ortega has mentioned, “They concluded that older is better initially, but that younger is better in the long run (2011, p. 16).” Leaning new language has to have a purpose, not just for fun. People of all ages, no matter they learn it at a young age or older age, they always need to practice it and use it with native speakers of that language in order to maintain their linguistic skills.
DeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
I agree with you Harlie, I found it odd as well that even though Monica was born in America, her first language was Spanish. This is because her parents were not fluent in English, and still aren't. For this reason Monica grew up speaking Spanish in her home rather than English. Granted she was "forced" to learn a new language but I feel that in the long run, living in America, learning English is probably the best thing that could have happened for her.
DeleteNayab, I absolutely love your use of Wright's points in tandem with your own thoughts on Monica's need for guidance (2015)! I feel that guidance is a vital part of second-language acquisition. Otherwise, even the best uses of immersion cannot help students achieve a fluency or even mild proficiency in their second-languages.
ReplyDeleteDo you think there is an ultimate secret teaching method that provides students with the best possible chance of becoming fluent in their chosen second-languages? I know that Rosetta Stone likes to brag that they are effective, however, I find their methods only slightly useful to a narrow sample size of the population. I think there are several methods that work, however, not one that works for all students of any learning style.
Hi Ila, I agree with you, I also feel that guidance is key when it comes to learning a new language. You are right without students may not be able to achieve fluency or proficiency, I believe that is because you have to lay a proper ground before you are able to build up on it. I think that when it comes to learning a second language the one thing that you have to keep in mind that it takes time and lots of patience. Not every student learns the same, and not every student learns at the same pace. I feel that Rosetta Stone may be a good resource but I personally have never used it so I cannot say from experience.
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