Growing up I way always aware that there were many people
who spoke another language, or who even spoke many different languages. Being in a generation of Hispanic children in
my family that don’t speak Spanish showed me how diverse language acquisition
can be. For my grandparents Spanish was
there first language, for my parents Spanish was their first language but they
picked up English through school and social settings, and for my cousins and I
English is the only language we know. Since I was already aware of the
differences of how people pick up a different language a lot of what we have
learned this semester was educational in the sense that it taught me technical
terms and more research based findings.
The course this semester taught me what it was like for people to learn
a second language, the multiple processes they can go through, and the overall
effectiveness of certain techniques relating to the learner’s proficiency in
the L2. I understand that there are multiple ways a person can learn a language. Environment, motivation, and age as well as a
variety of other factors all play a role in how much a person acquires a second
language.
This class
will impact my professional career in the most positive ways. I now understand the impact of being in the
process of learning a second language and how it can affect a person’s
education if they don’t know the language the class is being taught in. I will be able to provide my students with
the best education because if I ever have a bilingual student or an ELL student
I will know how to teach them in a way they will benefit from the most. All students deserve to have the best
education they can get, and being a teacher who can understand the inner workings
of a child learning a second language will benefit them in multiple ways. For
one they will have someone who understands them, and they will have someone who
understands they may learn best by using different techniques like visuals.
Overall it is important that teachers take Second Language Acquisition,
especially in a state like Texas, which has such a diverse population.
In future
classes I believe talking about the effects of a teacher on Learner’s
motivation should be talked about a little more. As education majors it is important for us to
realize the effect we have on students and whether certain techniques are more
positive than negative or vice versa. I
think the vlog assignments that we have been working on for the past semester
is very valuable because it gives us videos and journal entries that contain
important information and resources. We
can always go back and watch these videos if we ever need to be reminded about
a certain topic. Another important
aspect about the vlogs is that we were able to learn more about ourselves, how
other professional’s work, and also receive feedback from peers.
Overall,
this class has been very valuable for multiple reasons. I will definitely look back on it and look
back at the various vlog entries created when I have a question about Second
Language Acquisition. I learned a lot during this class, and I hope to continue
to grow as a professional by learning even more about Second Language
Acquisition by taking more classes in the future.
