Before Second Language Acquisition, I did not know that there were courses, studies, theories, and a multitude of people who dedicate their lives to researching how people learn a second language. Since I have been exposed to several languages but have never pursued bilingualism seriously, I did not know the details of what could affect a person’s language learning. Now, with a better understanding of Ortega’s Second Language Acquisition, I am able to see factors such as a learner’s age, motivation, environment, individual differences, cognition, and much more that are incorporated in the process of learning a language.
This new understanding of second language acquisition impacted my professional practice in a series of ways, one of which is how I can support my ELL students. In America, when ESL students are learning or have newly learned English, their academic performance in math, science, history, and English language arts can be the result of their language gap (Ortega, 2013). As a math teacher, there are words that we use that can cause misconceptions about the ESL student’s mother language. To support these students with content-related issues, I want to hinder on vocabulary strategies. In addition, to support the students emotionally, I want to demonstrate an interest in my students’ cultures (Kaboody, 2013). I feel like getting to know the students, their family, and their customs may impact the relationships I have with my students.
Regarding the class topics, I feel the class should have received less attention on cognition and the technical terms of language and more attention aspects like motivation and affect. Since this class is mostly catered towards teachers in training, education majors take many classes that touch on the emotional sides of the career. Learning about how to motivate students and how to create that classroom environment for the students to feel comfortable learning would be a greater benefit to my career. The technical terms of language and cognition would be a great topic to learn if I was extensively studying language and speech. However, I feel like the social and emotional factors of language could provide more opportunities for me to demonstrate my knowledge in the field.
In this class, we used a blog to show our understanding of second language acquisition. Personally, learning about this subject came with ease the second I started learning from my peers. When learning from others, I was able to see the information in a series of ways and perspectives aside from the textbook. In addition, the blog created a more visually stimulating medium for the class to share their ideas and collaborate, which are skills that are focused on in teacher-preparation programs. Blogs are a great way to broadcast information to others and can surely translate into grade school classrooms. The only thing that I would change in the blogging process is creating assignments with different formats other than videos to differentiate the learning. Overall, I am grateful that I discovered SLA and I feel like it gave me insight into what my ESL students may be going through.
Hi, Jordyn! I really enjoyed reading your reflection and I find it inspiring that you want to motivate and fully understand the language learner’s background and culture. It is very beneficial to connect with the student as well as with their families and to be on the same page as them. Building a bridge between the material being learned in the classroom and the student’s prior experiences with language is really encouraging and will help the student not only learn, but feel comfortable and motivated as well. According to Ortega (2013), “positive attitudes towards the learning context as well as the L2 community and culture (developed through prior positive learning experiences) and current satisfaction with teachers and instruction can boost motivation considerably. It follows that motivational changes, including changes for the better that can be planned and orchestrated in the curriculum, are at the reach of teachers and educators” (Section 8.10, para. 6). As an educator, it is important to be that positive role model for your students!
ReplyDeleteHi Alora, thanks for the comment! I actually focused a lot on culture because I feel like even moving from Hawaii to Texas when I was younger was a huge culture shock. Most of the reason why I did not like Texas in the beginning was because I did not like the experiences I had with the people. I feel like if I were to approach my students with a care of their culture that they will be more motivated to learn and learn about the L2 culture. Learning the culture attached to the language is just as important as learning the language in my opinion!
DeleteYou have a point regarding that issue of the social component in language learning. However, the idea with this class is to offer you the opportunity to learn about the different components of SLA. I really hope that you will explore this aspect in your research paper to have a better understanding of it. Additionally, in the SLA methodology class you will be learning more about it.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the majority of the class has to be about the components of SLA. What if our activities or blog posts could be more about the social aspect in relation to the components? I agree that is would be a great topic for the paper I am writing for the end of the semester. I would like to ask you because I am curious. What do you think is the most important chapter of the Ortega book, in your opinion, for future teachers to read? Thank you for commenting on my post!
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ReplyDeleteJordyn,
I enjoyed reading your blog and believe you brought up a lot of things to consider. Vocabulary is very important in all contents but especially in math. I would even go as far as saying that math has its own language that is hard to translate to our students let alone our ESL/ELL students. I also agree with you on the blogging process. I had not even considered how different this course would have been if we had the option of using other mediums other than videos. Great thinking on your part! I can see the benefits in differentiation in that sense. According to Ortega (2013) motivation is very important in second language acquisition. I know that you believe you would have been more motivated in this course if it had offered more strategies in teaching ESL/ELL students. Knowing that, does that change how you see motivation and how you would motivate your students?
Good morning, Stephanie! I think your point of math being its own language is actually really powerful. If you think about it, math has various symbols that represent certain words or concepts. In addition, the word similar in math (like in “similar figures”) means a lot more than just the same, which is the traditional definition of the word. That is why I feel like vocabulary sheets and word walls would be beneficial. As for your question about motivation, I feel like one point that I made in Blog Entry 4 that I can translate in my future class is offering different mediums within instruction/assignment work. Different ways to learn and show mastery can be engaging and motivating. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteJordyn, I think differentiating the way the content of our blogs would be a great idea for the future! Some people may be camera shy and would rather post information another way. I, personally, am a visual person so I enjoyed watching the videos of interviews conducted by others. However, I know not everyone feels that way. I agree that this class was very fast-paced and we were always learning relatively quickly all semester. I am glad that there is a second class that discusses second language acquisition in further detail! Thanks for sharing your insight!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Stephanie! I think your point of math being its own language is actually really powerful. If you think about it, math has various symbols that represent certain words or concepts. In addition, the word similar in math (like in “similar figures”) means a lot more than just the same, which is the traditional definition of the word. That is why I feel like vocabulary sheets and word walls would be beneficial. As for your question about motivation, I feel like one point that I made in Blog Entry 4 that I can translate in my future class is offering different mediums within instruction/assignment work. Different ways to learn and show mastery can be engaging and motivating. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteHey Jordyn, I really like how you brought up that knowing your students’ customs would maybe allow you to have closer relationships with your students. I think that it’s absolutely true. Getting to know the culture of your students is very important and beneficial. During the course of this class I found myself drawn to the social aspects of second language acquisition, like motivation. According to Ortega, motivation can make language learners succeed or fail (Ortega, 2013). I also agree with how touching on the social aspect of SLA and not the more scientific points would be more beneficial to my teaching career. I loved how you brought up how maybe learning through different mediums would have been a cool way to differentiate and have it be more accessible. In your opinion, what would be some specific things you would’ve liked to explore in this class? In regards to the more social aspect of SLA.
ReplyDeleteHi, Devin! Thank you for commenting and leaving an excellent question. Some components of the social aspect that I would love to learn more about is how ESL students are with their peers, how the social aspect affects the learning process, what teachers should and should not do when in the classroom, and how the family’s viewpoints influence the social relationships student have. I know that some parents are not supportive of immersing into American culture because they want to keep the culture of their home country. So, I would love to explore how family can be a factor as well!
DeleteJordyn, I enjoyed reading your reflection! You made a great point when you mentioned having relationships with your students. Building relationships with your students will set the tone of the classroom for the rest of the year. The relationships you build with your students will surely increase your students' motivation to learn in your classroom. According to Ortega (2013), students who see their teachers as controlling, show less intrinsic motivation (pg. 177). This is something that I never realized effects students' learning. Second language learners are heavily impacted by this because they are so new to the classroom and environment and they already feel different. Making them feel comfortable and having the understanding of SLA concepts that we do, will help us with assisting our English language learners.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of giving us a different choice with blogging. Though making the videos weren't so bad, I think it could have been nice to see pictures, hear conversations (audio), or read more about interviews. Differentiating the blogs is something I would recommend as well! I learned so much from my peers' blogs about different learning journey's individuals went through as a second language learner and enjoyed your blog a lot!
Good morning, Farah! The part of the Ortega book that you cited about controlling teachers was interesting to read. I wonder what makes teachers “controlling” in their classroom. Does this mean that teachers are not offering choice to where the students constantly feel told what to do? What if it means teachers implementing strict, unreasonable discipline like rules. If a person is controlled, they are not able to often think or act for themselves. Freedom definitely lacks with a controlling teacher. I wonder how I could give the students freedom in an efficient, respectful classroom. Thanks for sparking my thinking!
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