Blog 4
I took this course, CUIN 4303, and CUIN 4361 simultaneously. I believe that doing this helped me achieve a great understanding of learning a second language. Throughout this experience, I learned that there are several factors that go into learning a new language, including motivation, age, and the role of an educator. Learning a second language whether it is English, or a different language puts a large amount of stress on an individual. When it comes to the English Language Learns they may, or may not, be new to the country and it could come as a shock to them. Having to move to a new country, and all of a sudden be thrown into learning a new language could potentially have repercussions. The student may not want to learn a new language, or they may struggle. As an educator, I believe that you have to make this transition, and learning experience, as smooth as possible. I feel that this class helped me get a better understanding of how to do that.
This course gave me an outside look at what it actually takes to work with English Language Learners, and also having the opportunity to interview the ELL chair of Gonzales High School was very beneficial for me. I learned that you have to find the best method when working with English Language Learners and use what works best for them. Most important of all you have to have patience. You have to take the time to understand how each individual student learns, some may need more verbal cues whereas some may need more visual cues, others may require hands-on practice to grasp the understanding of the language.
The use of motivation is also key when it comes to teaching English Language Learners. Several studies have also shown that motivation is a predictor of one’s language learning success. (Gass & Selinker, 2013, p.426) They may oftentimes feel discouraged in their ability to speak a second language. Using constant motivation in the classroom will boost the student's confidence and also ensure that they are putting their all into their learning and are using their full learning capabilities. While using motivation in the classroom is necessary, you also have to take into account the age of the learner. Age plays a vital role in the learning of a second language. “It is commonly believed that children are better language learners than adults in the sense that young children typically can gain mastery of a second language, whereas adults cannot. “(Gass & Selinker, 2013, p.405) Both of these factors go hand in hand with the role of the educators. As an educator you have to take the age of your learner into consideration, you can use this information to provide the right type of motivation as well as ensure that you are providing a good balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
If I have English Language Learners in my classroom I will ensure to provide adequate resources for them and also make that they are able to understand the material presented to them to the best of my abilities. Quite a few English Language Learners native language is Spanish, and since I do not know Spanish I feel this will create a barrier between the student and me, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that the student feels equally treated in the classroom.
Nayab, hearing about your experiences and thoughts on second-language learning strategies was interesting. Your views on Gass' ideology concerning motivation was especially impressive, as I agree with you on the value of passion in L2 skill building (2013). I am gad that you wish to accommodate your students should you gain any ELLs in your classroom. I think that there should be more teachers who value this type of approach. After all, alienating students or showing bias is the least effective teaching style I can think of.
ReplyDeleteI feel that you have to provide constant support for students that are English Language Learners, and providing proper accommodations is key. I am very passionate about the use of motivation in the classroom. It is seen motivation appears to be the second strongest predictor of success which trails behind aptitude. (Gass & Selinker, 2013, p.426) I feel like motivation is something that can encourage learning, and push the student to do their best in their language learning.
DeleteHi Nayab,
ReplyDeleteIt was enjoyable to read your reflection. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us. I agree with you that the teachers’ motivation play an important key in their students’ learning success. As experiencing an ESL student myself, I understand the challenges that ESL students have to face in their learning, such as: language barrier and cultural differences, when they move to a complete new environment. The ESL students always look up for their teachers’ assistance, support and motivation to help them overcome their struggles and adapt to the new language learning environment. When they can see that their teachers care and provide any assistance that they need in order for them to be success, they will feel motivated to have better academic performance. Similar to what Ortega said, “The most motivated individuals will develop high motivation (correlated to a self-reported strong intention to invest effort to learn the L2) and high levels of all motivational antecedents, including high instrumentality, positive attitudes towards the L2 speakers and culture, and general high interest in learning foreign languages. These motivated individuals exhibit this pattern because of a well-developed ideal L2 self. The highly motivated individual will be also instrumentally or more extrinsically motivated by anticipated pragmatic rewards and utility that we see in learning an L2 (2013, p. 187).” Therefore, as becoming a future teacher, I will want to be patient, kind, encouraging and supporting to my ESL students all the resources that they need in order for them to succeed. I believe teachers always need to be open to learn and understand the needs and struggles of every students are facing, so they can provide their best assistance to help each student overcome their obstacles, meet their needs, and accomplish their academic success.
References:
Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Trinh! I am glad you enjoyed my reflection. I think it is amazing that you were once an English Language Learner because it will give you the ability to make a connection with students in the classroom. You are able to have insight into how they learn since you have been through it. As an educator you can provide the proper motivation for students, and it is known that a social-psychological factor frequently used to account for differential success in learning a second language is motivation. (Gass & Selinker, 2013, p.426)
DeleteHi Nayab! I am glad you mentioned providing adequate resources for your students since there are many factors that can impact their learning such as the linguistic environment. It is important to remember that "what matters in the linguistic environment is not simply 'what's out there' physically or even socially surrounding learners, but rather what learners make of it, how they process (or not) the linguistic data and how they live and experience that environment" (Ortega, 2011, page 80). Educators should encourage their students to strive to have positive attitudes towards their target language and its speakers but also meaningful comprehension needs to occur. It is our job to present the material as best we can to our students so that positive attitudes and meaningful comprehension can occur.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hi Marissa,
DeleteI agree with you that it is important for teachers to encourage their ESL students to have more interaction and communication with their peers in order to develop and improve their language linguistic skills. Cooperative learning is one of the most effective teaching strategies that helps ESL students learn English quickly through meaningful communication among their peers. By working together as a group, this method motivates the ESL students to speak and express their thoughts and ideas to their peers to complete the group work. Similar to what Wright stated, “Cooperative learning focuses on the use of small groups within which students collaborate to solve problems or complete academic tasks. Cooperative learning appeals to language teachers because it offers rich opportunities for students to engage in meaningful communication and obtain comprehensive input as they interact to complete academic tasks (2015, p. 63).”
References:
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition.
Hi Marissa! I feel that having the resources available to you is also important, as an educator you can only work with what you have. I believe it is necessary to ensure that all students are receive equal opportunity to learn, and on a level learning field. Having a positive attitude is also essential, it all comes down to the student and their outlook on learning a second language. "Schmidt concluded that positive attitudes and an optimal environment will afford the linguistic data needed for learning, but that the learning will not happen unless the learner engages in active processing of those data. In other words, grammar acquisition cannot be successful without applying ‘interest’, ‘attention’ and ‘hard work’ (p. 173) to the task of cracking the language code." (Ortega, 2009, p.58)
DeleteHey Nayab! I enjoyed reading you blog post. I agree that motivation is extremely important for second language learners. Probably one of the bigger reasons for second language learners wanting to learn a second language according to Ortega, is friendship “fostering general friendship with members of the target language” (Ortega 2015, pg. 173). This make sense to me especially if they are immigrating to a new country, with a new language that they do not speak. This also relates to interaction as the more interaction nonnative speakers can get with native speakers the better the nonnative speaker will get at the second language.
ReplyDeleteReflection:
Ortega, L. (2015). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Samantha,
DeleteAccording to what Ortega wrote, “ John Schuman's prediction that the more acculturated a learner can become (that is, the closer to the target society and its members, socially, and psychologically), the more successful his or her eventual learning outcomes will be (2011, page 59).” I believe ESL children learn and develop their language linguistic skills effectively and quickly through interaction and communication with their native English speaker peers. ESL children tend to feel more comfortable talking and sharing about many things, such as: their hobbies, their story and their cultures, etc. to their other friends. Friendship encourages the ESL children’s excitement to speak and express themselves to others. Teachers should always motivate their ESL students to be social and interacting with their peers to improve their oral language skills better.
References:
Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Samantha! I am glad that you agree about the use of motivation in a classroom. I feel that the use of constant motivation is good for the students because it shows that you are trying to push them to do their best. I think you make a great point about friendship also being a reason for students to pursue learning a second language. Ortega states, "Three reasons for learning the L2 (for travel, friendship or knowledge) were associated to the two most self-regulated motivational types as well, whereas instrumental reasons (e.g. a better job) patterned very strongly with extrinsic motivation." (2013, p.177)
DeleteHi Nayab, I too took both CUIN 4303 and CUIN 4361 simultanoeously and like you, I believe that it really helped to expand my knowledge of understanding all that goes into teaching English Language Learners. As you pointed out, motivation is directly linked to a students success of learning a second language and that motivation often comes from students wanting “to be like everyone else.” Often, students possess that integrativeness which is “a genuine interest in learning the second language in order to come closer to the other language community (Ortega, 2019, p.189).” It is up to us to use that integrativeness and help students achieve second language acquisition.
ReplyDelete