Blog Entry 4 - Critical Reflection

Reflecting on Second Language Acquisition

As a monolingual speaker of English, I came into this class knowing almost nothing about how people learn another language.  I can honestly say, however, that I have gained a much deeper understanding of the second (or additional) language learning process.  This newly acquired knowledge will definitely impact the way that I interact with and instruct ELLs in my classroom.  For example, ELL students who are new to this country will undoubtedly need an adjustment (silent) period before they feel comfortable speaking in class.  Their L2 learning will greatly depend on their willingness to communicate (Ortega, 2009), which will in part by influenced by what kind of classroom climate they are in – friendly and welcoming vs. judgmental and condescending.  In addition, L2 learners need room to explore and negotiate for meaning in their new language.  They will need additional response time during classroom discussions as they consider how to translate from their native language into English.  L2 learners will also be greatly influenced by their first language.  Therefore, as an ELA teacher, I should expect cross-linguistic influences in both their reading, writing, and speaking.   Also, Ortega (2009) indicates that learning disabilities in a student’s native language will carry over into their new language; therefore, I need to be aware of what types of difficulties might be attributed to learning disabilities and know where these students can get the help that they need to be successful.

I understand that ELL students who are new to my class (and to the U.S.) may need to find their own type of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic).  I can help motivate students by finding opportunities for them to share their cultural background with their classmates as well as provide ways in which they can begin to identify with their school culture and surrounding community.  I also understand that successful L2 acquisition can only occur when ELLs are given plentiful opportunities to practice their new language.  I can facilitate their L2 learning by providing additional resources to help them with that. 

Regarding blog entries, I found the second and third blog entries to be the most helpful.  Through listening to others’ experiences in learning (or teaching) a new language, I was able to make connections between the textbook and other readings and videos that have been assigned throughout the semester.  Most notably, the different strategies used by bilingual teachers helped me to understand that there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to teaching ELLs.  Every learner brings to the table his/her personality, character traits, learning capabilities and strategies, and levels of confidence.  The trick is to get to know the students, and help them build on their strengths.  Watching the second blog entry videos helped me gain insight into what motivates many people to learn another language.  Many of the students in this class chose to interview a family member or friend who were motivated to learn English because they were new to the U.S. and needed to communicate in order to succeed in school, make friends, or simply interact with native speakers in their community at the grocery store, in restaurants or other public arenas.  By listening to/watching my classmates’ blogs I learned that many of them are L2 learners themselves.  This was a very neat revelation for me, and provided a unique insight into the path they had taken to get to this point in their college careers. 

With regard to suggestions for changes to the blog assignments:  For Blog Entry 3, I would be very specific about which chapters (e.g., chapters 6, 7, 8) to focus on for creating questions.  When viewing Blog Entry 3 videos, I noticed that quite a few students were basing their questions on material that had already been referenced in Blog Entry 2.  In addition, I would change the comment and response requirements as follows:  3 academic comments (150-word minimum) and 3 academic responses (150-word minimum) and have them all require reference to the course reading or videos.  My reasoning for doing this is because I believe if students are required to look for academic references, they are more likely to make more meaningful connections to the material that is being covered.

Blog Entry 3 - Interview with a HS foreign language teacher

Hello Everyone! 
For this blog entry, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing my sweet friend, Grace, a native speaker of Mandarin and 10-year veteran of teaching Mandarin at the high school level.  Please click here to watch: Interview with a HS foreign language teacher

REFLECTION:

Before our interview, Grace and I reviewed the questions I would be asking her just in case she had any problems with the vocabulary or content.  In spite of our “pre-interview run through,” we still had a few communication breakdowns, as clearly evidenced by her answers to some of my questions.  Whenever this happened, I did my best to rephrase my question so that she would have a better understanding of what I was asking.  As I later reflected on how the interview had unfolded, I was reminded of Long’s Interaction Hypothesis (Ortega, 2009) and how my interaction with Grace was a good example of how two speakers negotiate for meaning.

Grace’s method of administering corrective feedback to her students was great.   When giving oral exams to students in order to check for correct pronunciation, she does not simply provide the correct answer (e.g., recasting), but instead gives them clues as to how they may want to change their answers (Harvey & Velasquez, unknown date).  I really like this because it gives both she and her student the opportunity to laugh and perhaps break some of the tension and anxiety that comes with performance type of language assessments.

Ortega (2009, p. 148) indicates: “We all have admired someone who seemed to have ‘an ear’ for foreign languages, ‘a knack’ for language learning.”  Grace mentioned “hearing” as part of a student’s aptitude for learning Mandarin. This resonated with my own L2 learning experience.  I am a longtime vocalist and am particularly adept at recognizing pitch and quality of sounds, especially birdcalls.  Looking back, I believe that my aptitude for sound helped me learn Spanish during my high school and college years.  Grace also suggested that because she is a native Mandarin speaker, her students have an advantage in their Mandarin learning compared to what she experienced learning English from a native Mandarin speaker (e.g., inauthentic English accent).  Being able to hear, and thus mimic, the authentic intonations and accents of the target language is a valuable asset to any L2 learning process. 

One of the most useful personal insights I gained from this interview is the value of negotiating for meaning.  Sometimes having a conversation with someone whose L1 is different than your own can be a little frustrating.  However, taking the additional time necessary to better understand each other is well worth the time.

Blog Entry 2 - L2 Interview

Hello, and welcome to my second blog!  When I asked Audra for permission to interview her, I mistakenly thought she was 3-4 years old when she and her family moved from the U.S. to Peru.  I first met her a little over three years ago.   Since our initial meeting, she has resigned from teaching high school Spanish classes in a large city in California and moved to Houston where she and her husband have started their family.  She now spends part of her time tutoring ESL students in English. Before our interview, I sent her a copy of prospective questions that were based on my assumption that she learned Spanish as an L2.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered she was only one(1) when her family moved there and only remembers speaking BOTH English and Spanish her entire life!  

Since our time together was limited to one meeting, I chose to focus a portion of our interview on how and why she and her husband are teaching their young son to become bilingual. I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed interviewing her.

Interview Reflection

Since my interview with Audra, I have been surprised by the number of connections I have made with our course readings.  I am also amazed at how much my academic curiosity about SLA has been enhanced because of our conversation.  Rowland (2014) indicates that simultaneous multilingualism occurs when a child learns two languages from birth.  Because Audra was only one year of age and not yet uttering words when she moved to Peru, she only recalls speaking both Spanish and English.  I wonder if this qualifies her as multilinguistic?  Or, is she simply bilingual?  Either way, her proficiency in both languages appears to be solid. 

Admittedly, I have always been a bit envious of bilingual individuals.  However, I know here in the United States it is not unusual to be monolingual.  Audra is actually in good company as the majority of the world’s “children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously” (Ortega,  2011, p. 4).  She indicated that her mother wanted she and her siblings’ English to be perfect.  Growing up in Peru, Spanish was spoken everywhere she went  – in school, in the homes of friends, at church, etc.  However, she was homeschooled by her mother and was only allowed to speak and write English at home.  In addition, she does not remember a time in her childhood when she mixed words from both English and Spanish when speaking, which according to Rowland (2014) would have been indicative of a unitary language system.  I would like to interview her parents one day and ask them if this is truly the case, or if conversely, she simply does not remember.  Interestingly, Audra now considers English to be her L1.

When they became married and were considering a family, Audra and her husband (who is also bilingual) agreed they wanted to raise their children to be bilingual.  They now have a one-year-old son, and recently have decided to follow the advice of their pediatrician and only speak one language (Spanish) at home.  According to Audra, they both agree that this will provide the greatest opportunity for him to grow up to be bilingual.  Audra explains that their young son clearly understands both Spanish and English when they are spoken to him, but at his one-year check up was not yet uttering words in either language.  It will be interesting to see if he becomes a “balanced bilingual,” which according to Rowland (2014, p. 176) is extremely rare.  Interestingly, Audra did not learn to write proficiently in Spanish until coming to the U.S. as a teenager.  In retrospect, I wish I had asked her how (and if) she plans to prevent that type of scenario with her son.  What factors would contribute to (or hinder) the success of him learning to read and write in both languages?

Audra is currently spending one day a week tutoring ESL students who are learning English.  In the Forta.TV (2010) video, Dr. Doidge advocates for total immersion as the best method for second language acquisition.  Audra also supports the process of language immersion.  She tells her students to not be afraid to engage in conversations with native speakers because “very rarely will someone look at you weird for trying to learn a new language.”  That was helpful for me to hear because fear is definitely what prevents me from speaking what little Spanish I can recall around native speakers. 

This interview has given me a lot to think about in terms of my own desire to become more proficient in Spanish.  My hesitancy to seek out opportunities to regularly engage in Spanish conversation comes from my own fear that I have surpassed the critical age of language acquisition.  Maybe it is not too late after all.