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.
Hi, Marissa. I really enjoyed reading your reflection on the class. I agree with you. As future educators I agree with how important taking this class was. Like you, I feel like I learned so much about SLA and how to give ELL learners the best education possible. Being that I am going to be a primary school teacher, I think this class is so important because primary school teacher build the foundation to everything, including helping ELLs exceed in their L2 languages. Ortega says “In terms of L2 ultimate attainment, most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language (p. 28, 2013). Since these kids will be around us the most in their primary years, I think it is up to us to build that foundation and taking this class has enlightened me and has made me feel more confident in doing so.
ReplyDeleteHey Asia, we are definitely on the same page when it comes to building the foundations for our students. I also would like to be a primary school teacher and agree with you about how we will be an essential building block with our students who are learning English as a second language. This class will definitely help us in ways I’m sure we never would have thought of prior to taking it.
DeleteHi Marissa! I agree with you and Asia in regards to the importance of this course and the importance behind it. As future educators we are going to be bombarded with different challenges, but this is one that we will feel more comfortable tackling. This course has given us the basic foundations to help understand how learning a second language takes place and I believe that the three text books that we read did a rather exceptional job at explaining the process that our future students will undergo. Again, I agree with Asia when she says that we will be the foundation for our elementary school students because they will be with us before they hit their "critical-period" but that is something we will not be to worried about because we are better prepared to serve them.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! Yes, we will for sure be a lot more prepared for students who are learning a second language now that we have taken this class. Like you said, as teachers we will face many different types of students with various challenges but we will be prepared for this type of challenge. We will be effective teachers and hopefully the knowledge we gained from taking this course will help our students for the better.
DeleteHi Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that motivation should be covered more in this course. While there is a lot of it mentioned in the textbook, it is important to note that there is even so much more than can be learned and utilized in the classroom. While we have nearly finished this class, it is important to note that learning does not stop here. We can continue to be lifelong learners by constantly reading new research. Ortega mentions that we can keep up to date with the newest research on motivation by regularly searching “the contents of recent issues of the following key journals: Language Learning, Modern Language Journal and System (in applied linguistics) and Journal of Language and Social Psychology and Learning and Individual Differences (in psychology)” (Ortega, 2013, p. 191).
Hi Chelsea! Yes motivation should definitely be covered more in this class. As a future teacher I would like to be sure that I am using the proper techniques and procedures for teaching second language learners. But you are right; we can keep learning and stay up to date with all of those things even past the end of this semester. It is our job to be the best educators we can be.
DeleteHi Marissa! I agree with you and Chelsea, motivation should be covered more. The book covered quite a bit about motivation and I learned things about it that I had not known, but I feel there is more. Ortega mentioned that "motivational changes... are at the reach of teachers and educators" (Ortega, 2013, p 190). I think as teachers there is much more for us to learn not only about how to help our students but to motivate them to continue to work hard. Like you mentioned, students deserve to have the best education and the way we can help with that is by continuing to learn and motivating them to continue to learn as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Alessandra! I for sure agree with you that motivating our students is one of our responsibilities as educators. Students need the best learning experience possible and to deliver this we need to keep ourselves up to date with new procedures and techniques that would benefit them. As Chelsea mentioned, we can always keep learning and keep ourselves up to date with any new teaching methods that arise.
DeleteHi Marissa. I also learned a lot about what it’s like for L2 learners. I did not grow up knowing or having to learn another language so I never really understood what it take until I got in the field and also took this class. Like you mentioned, there are so many factors that go into L2 learning. Ortega says “In some parts of our world, most children grow up speaking one language only. It should be underscored that this case is truly the minority in the large picture of humanity (p.3, 2013). Since we live in one of the most diverse countries it is important that, as educators, we realize the challenges for ELL kids so we can help them the best we can to get them to be successful.
ReplyDelete