Final
Course Reflection
I began this course with
the assumption that it would be focused on how to best teach ELL students. When
we had to make our first learning experience video in Spanish, a language that I
do not know, I quickly figured out what the acquisition part of this course
meant. I learned that with motivation, learning a second language is a bit
easier. When I started thinking about how I could connect to my futures student’s
families on a deeper level by learning their native language, or at least going
through the process of trying to, I could have more meaningful conversations
with them, and be able to relate to them in a way that I otherwise could not.
This helped me while trying to learn the basic bits and pieces of Spanish. In
the text I also learned how big of an impact age has on learning a second language.
Beginning the language learning process during the sensitive periods is
critical. Another section of the text that stuck out to me during this course
was the comparing and contrasting of a naturalistic learning and rule
memorization. “Language teachers across institutions all over the world hotly
debate whether students in their classrooms need to be directly taught grammar
and vocabulary in order to get the basic building blocks of a language first, or
whether it is better to somehow approximate in their classroom the richness of
natural language meaning-making processes” (Ortega, 2013, p. 8). Students will
naturally want to socialize with their peers so giving them time to do so during
class time would be much more beneficial to the ELL’s than giving them index
cards full of vocabulary words to memorize in their L2. One of the most
important things I discovered about learning a second language is that you
never stop learning no matter how old you are, the learning process lasts a lifetime.
This course will impact
my professional practice by giving me the opportunity to walk in the shoes of
my ELLs. Learning a new language is difficult and frustrating at times. Being
able to experience that frustration for a brief period of time made me feel a
lot more respect and appreciation for those who are bilingual. I now see how
important wait time is and repetition when asking questions or giving
instructions. I learned how much I can impact my ELLs learning of their second language
by my attitude towards the learning process and the strategies I implement in
my classroom. Visuals, repetition, and wait time are all musts for me since I
now see how much those things helped me while trying to learn Spanish. This
course will also impact my professional practice by getting the chance to
interview an ELL teacher to hear the wisdom they had to share about
observations they have made that their ELL students show each day in the
classroom such as a desire to fit in with their peers. "The more
individuals wish to learn a language because it is interesting and enjoyable,
and because the activity has value to them personally, the more they are likely
to learn the language because they wish to have interactions with members’
of the L2 community " (Ortega, 2013, p. 178). My interviewee almost
mentioned the need for the teacher to relate the student’s new language to
their old language. Making those connections for my students as often as I can
is important.
The topics I found the
most interesting in this course were how ELL students typically score higher
than monolingual students on state exams. I always thought it would be the
opposite. I learned this is the case because the ELL students have a much
stronger intrinsic motivation to learn so they typically put forth more effort
to succeed in school.
I took the Second
Language Methodology class over the summer where I experienced creating a blog
and submitting assignments through videos for the first time. I was excited
when I saw this SLA class operated in a similar form where we would get to
interact with one another through vlogs again. Having the opportunity to watch
one another’s videos makes the learning more personal and engaging. Being able
to watch and listen to interviews as opposed to reading about them helped me
understand the speakers point of view better and was far more interesting to me
than reading about it. I also enjoyed being able to go back and watch the first
video I made and compare it to the most recent video I made to see how much I have
grown in the way I communicate to others and present instructional content to
others. The vlogs helped make an online course feel more like a community for
me through the videos, comments, and replies. I liked getting to see how my
peers could make text and world connections to my vlogs and even share some of
their culture and personal experiences with me from parts of my blog being relatable
to their personal lives.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London:
Routledge, 2013. Print.
Tori,
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned that you were given the opportunity to walk in the shoes of ELL's. I think all of us can agree on this one. I, myself agree, even though I did experience learning an L2 when I was very young. Being able to go through the process again and understand the process that I was going through as child, really had me thinking about what each student goes through and like you said, how difficult and frustrating it can be. By doing all of this, I was also able to learn more about myself, which is something I talked about in my reflection. I was able to learn that I fell under instrumental orientation because I was "pursuing a higher level of education in the L2" (Ortega, 2013, p. 173). Since you are a monolingual, I think it is great that you were able to experience what a lot of us go through as children, especially if we come from a different country. Great reflection!
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Reply to Kenia under Tori T
DeleteI wish I had learned a second language early in life. It would be great to be bilingual. I wonder why languages are not introduced in elementary school instead of waiting until middle and high school. Younger students may not experience as much anxiety over learning and practicing of the language and they also may not experience as must much frustration. According to Ortega, students learning a new language may experience, “freezing up when asked to say something in the L2 in front of the class,” (Ortega, 2011, p. 200). Younger students may not be as bothered by making mistakes as older students may be. Because of this, younger students may practice the language more and therefore learn more quickly.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Kenia,
DeleteNow that I have experienced what it feels like to learn a new language as an adult, I am curious what different experiences I would have had learning a second language as a child like you did. The text mentions that when children learn a second language they grasp a deeper understanding of the language and they remeber it longer than adults. “The possible causes tentatively identified at the time were the loss of plasticity undergone by human brains by year nine of life” (Ortega, 2013, p. 12). The loss of plasticity after the age of 9 could be why learning a second language as a child differs some from learning a second language as an adult.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hi Kenia,
DeleteThis whole experience has allowed all of us to walk in the shoes of ELL's and for you, you got to completely relive the experience by learning French! Now that I have seen it, I can only imagine what you must have endured. The more I've spent time in this course learning, I have come to realize that I am a naturalistic learner, and it makes me wonder how you learned as a child. Since you were in school, "Instructed learners learn additional languages through formal study in school..." (Ortega, 2011, pg. 6) You had that opportunity, but because of your age I would love to know if learning helped or your peers more!
Comment to Tori Tilghman
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment on age playing a big part in SLA. In elementary school, we did a word or phrase each week from the Spanish language. Even though the language was not being formally taught I remember so many of those words and phrases. This may be in fact because I was younger or maybe also because these words were never tested and we always were able to practice in groups. According to Ortega’s text, “Those in favor of a critical period explanation posit that, after a certain age, it is biologically impossible for the human brain to use the same processes that were involved in learning the L1,” (Ortega, 2011, p. 29). So perhaps I remember more from my exposure in elementary school because the processes use in SLA came easier to me at a younger age. I did learn more in high school and a college, but I had to work harder to learn and remember words and phrases than I did in elementary school.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011.Print.
Stacey,
DeleteYou mention learning Spanish some in elementary school and some in high school and college. It is interesting to me that you said you learned more in high school and college but had to work harder to learn and remember the new content. During your younger childhood years is when the sensitive and critical time periods are to learn a language. “Contemporary SLA researchers interested in the question of critical or sensitive periods now consider it essential to take a long-term view on ultimate attainment and to evaluate the end state of L2 acquisition” (Ortega, 2013, p. 17). Although you learned more during your high school and college years I am curious to see the long-term view of the ultimate attainment of the L2 because many studies show as adults we tend to learn the words and phrases faster than children but forget about them after a few months whereas children can still repeat and remember them.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011.Print.
Thank you for an exemplary entry. I am glad to see that creating your vblog was interesting and helpful. Can you comment on the experience of taking the class in the opposite order? Did it affect your learning process? I imagine it must be funny to learn about SLA after you have learned about SL methodology. What about writing or creating something that you know is not only for your professor but your a limited audience of classmates? Do you think that interacting with your classmates helps? I read your entry and find things that I had not thought about in a while. For example, I am one of those who think that second language learners should not be taught grammar explicitly unless you see the need out of their outcome. For example, I realized that many of you lack the skills to write well-developed paragraphs so I decided to be more detailed in my instructions to write a reflection and the results are considerably better. I will include a section in the introductory module on good writing practices. Thank you for an exemplary entry.
ReplyDeleteHi Tori,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection. I like how you talked about how your attitude towards your ELL students can impact them and their learning. Ortega (2013) states, “attitudes towards the L2 and its speakers will contribute to increased or diminished L2 motivation” (pg. 174). It is very important for teachers to understand that their attitudes and thoughts towards different things are easily absorbed by their students. If a teacher has a negative attitude towards something, then their students will then develop a negative attitude as well. Once their negative attitude is created their motivation decreases, and it is just a snowball effect after that. Teachers should keep a positive attitude to their students and language learning in order for them to be motivated and succeed in their classrooms.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Mackenzie,
DeleteIncreasing student motivation in any way possible is very important for students to acquire a second language. With motivation students will have a desire to learn the new language and begin to create goals for themselves to accomplish. We as teachers have a huge impact in helping our ELL students develop intrinsic motivation. “When individuals engage in behavior that they understand as self-initiated by choice and largely sustained by inherent enjoyment in the activity (that is, as an end in itself, for the sheer sake of learning), they are said to be intrinsically motivated” (Ortega, 2013, 176). Like you mentioned speaking about the second language with a positive perspective helps develop this intrinsic motivation so they make the choice to want to learn.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Tori,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your entry! I thought it was very well thought out, and written amazingly! I completely agree that motivation to learn a new language is something that is definitely important. I believe in schools it plays such a crucial role because if an ELL feels like they are not proficient in English and want to make friends, then that will be their intrinsic motivation. According to Ortega, intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within (Ortega, 2013). I believe that motivation plays a huge role for our ELLs in regards to school work too. I have many ELLs, and some of them do not have intrinsic motivation to do certain things and I believe that extrinsic motivators should be something that should be necessary in a classroom. Personally, I like a token economy system or Dojo points. In regards to you learning Spanish, I feel the same way about me learning French. I felt like I was able to walk in an ELLs shoes, and for that I am very grateful.