After taking this Second Language Acquisition course, I
feel a lot more knowledgeable about second language and especially in how to
teach my English Language Learners in the classroom. I had no idea there was so
much information regarding SLA and my lack of knowledge on the topic drove me
to want to understand it much more. My initial thoughts about second language
changed each time I learned something new.
For instance, my
knowledge was expanded in learning how age doesn’t necessarily play a huge
factor when learning about a second language as there have been findings that
adults have an advantage over children depending on when the critical period
ends (Ortega, 2013, p. 16). With my acquired knowledge on SLA, I can make my
classroom more welcoming to ELLs and understand what would be appropriate to
teach them and what will help get them to flourish and succeed. Mainly, my
perspective changed a lot about this topic as learned more each week in class
and it will help me plan out lessons more effectively for my future ELLs. I
know now what is in the best interest of those students and what types of
factors contribute to their learning process.
Also, something that I
learned from this class that I want to ensure my students have would be motivation.
Motivation combined with the help of antecedents (attitude, integrativeness,
orientations, social support, etc.) make it utmost effective (Ortega, 2013, p.
172). I think it is important for the students to be driven intrinsically as to
help further develop their positive attitudes towards learning a second
language. According to Ortega (2013), students should be able to develop, “positive
attitude towards the L2 speakers and culture, and general high interest in
learning foreign languages” (p. 187).
I really enjoyed
creating blog entries and I thought that they were a great way to learn more
from my peers, besides just from the textbook. I found this to be an
interesting and fun way to interact with my peers and not only teach them
something about Second Language Acquisition but learn from them as well. I
believe that reading all the information about SLA directly from the textbook
and then trying to remember key points is not as effective. I felt like through
the video blog entries, I was able to learn more about each of the topics we
covered in class. This student-centered activity was probably my most favorite
we have done this semester and I never had a class that asked us to create blog
entries like this one. However, a downfall I have noticed is that not everyone
would get enough comments on their blog. I think there should have been a
statement stating that if there are already ___ amount of comments on a
person’s blog, they should go find someone else to comment on. I think this would
be great to implement for future classes going onward to help even out the comments,
so everyone will get an equal, fair amount.
Overall,
SLA is something that I think that every teacher needs to be aware of and understand
so that all students are able to achieve greatness. How else will teachers be
able to make the classroom warm and inviting for ELL students and have them
feel comfortable in that environment? I am glad that I had the opportunity to
take this course during my first semester of Student Teaching I. It really has helped
me understand how to better educate my ELL students in the classroom and
utilize the information I learned from this class.
Hello Jessica, thank you for sharing your reflection writing with us! I loved reading everything you said about how this class impacted you. I think it is important for all of us to be eager to learn more about how to approach ELL learning. Based on your reflective writing I can tell that you are acquiring all this knowledge to benefit your future students. I found what you said about how age is does not necessarily play a huge factor very interesting. I have to agree to an extent. Ortega (2013) states “in terms of L2 learning rate, adults and older children enjoy an initial advantage over young children that may last over up to one year, sometimes up to three years, particularly if they are tested through tasks that demand cognitive maturity and involve metalinguistic skills (pg. 28).” I believe that age can be a factor for some people and for some people it does not matter. I loved reading your blog entry, wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Genesis that Jessica's reflection was great and how good she explained how the class has impacted her. I think it is important for all of us, bilingual or not, because there are many resources that we can also use and try with our students. I also believe that age can be a factor for some people but not all. I really enjoyed reading Jessica's blog and also your comment on it. Thank you both for sharing.
DeleteHi Genesis, thank you for your interesting comment. Your comment made me reflect more on age and how it plays a part of SLA. I see what you mean about how some people may think age plays a factor and how some may not. I can also agree with that statement as well after looking back on what we read thus far in this course.
DeleteHey Claudia, thank you for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I agree that even if one doesn’t know another language fluently (like myself), we get to experience the deeper meaning of SLA. I was able to learn a lot about bilinguals and how to teach students whose first language isn’t English. Moreover, through the interviews we have done, I got to learn more from my own mother and how she acquired both Spanish and English as a child. Not everyone learns a second language in the same way and it was fascinating watching our classmates’ interviews to see the diversity of SLA.
DeleteHello Jessica, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I really enjoyed reading your response. I am glad you learned a lot in this class, and I know it will go a long way towards your goal for being a teacher. Your idea about how age does not play in an important factor is subjective. It depends if you are talking about overall learning, or the initial development speed of the learning of the second language. According to Ortega, (2013) “They concluded that older is better initially, but that younger is better in the long run” (p. 16). I feel age is a factor, but it again depends on the individual rather than people as a whole. That is because just how there are many different ways that students learn, there are different factors that make a bigger impact to an individual. I agree with you about having the environment being warm and inviting to students. If they do not feel comfortable where they are, they will not be willing to learn from you, regardless of how engaging your lessons are.
ReplyDeleteHey Stephen, thank you for writing a comment on my blog. You mentioned my talk about age not necessarily playing a huge factor. I found this to be quite interesting. I can agree with your explanation on how it can depend on an individual, rather than as a whole. Also, yes, motivation is important for student learning and it can greatly impact the students learning.
DeleteHello Jessica!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog entry! I notice many other classmates are also commenting on how older children and adults can actually have an advantage over younger children when learning a L2. This was also very surprising for me. However, Ortega states, “young children may have a slow start when acquiring an L2” (p.28). I think it definitely has to do with the critical periods in a child’s development you mentioned in your blog. Once again, great blog. It was very informative!
Hey Jessica! Thank you for your comment. Yes, I’ve noticed it too and it makes me wonder how important age actually is when considering SLA. And you’re right, critical periods can be the cause of children learning at a slower rate than and older child or adult. Those specific periods can affect a child’s language acquisition. We have to be aware of that as a teacher to teach these students at the level that pertains to them to acquire language .
DeleteHey Jessica reading your reflection was really interesting. I also agree that taking this class during your student teaching is extremely beneficial. I for one, was able to take the things that we learned and applied them in the classroom that I am doing my student teaching at. I don’t know about your school, but I am working in a school that has a high number of ELL students, so this class was extremely beneficial to take. You mentioned motivation, and as a teacher, there are many ways that you can help your students be motivated in school. Ortega (2013), mentions how important motivation is for students who are trying to acquire a second language and I have seen first hand how true that can be. As a teacher, you should have a welcoming environment and make an effort to get to know your students. Why would ELL students be motivated to learn if you don’t take the time to get to know them and their interests.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed the blog assignments for this class. I had trouble sometimes getting the content from the textbook and videos, so watching/reading my peers’ blogs helped tie things together. This class was very differentiated and I think it met the learning styles of most students. I am excited to take everything we learned and apply it in our own classroom. Good luck in your future endeavors!
Hi Angelica, wonderful that you were able to take the information you learned in this class and use it in your field. I also am working in a school with a lot of ELL students. I have eight of them in my class to be exact and the strategies we used to help them that I learned in this course have benefited them immensely. And true, motivation is the key to a student’s success and I do my best to talk to them a little bit during lunch to get those students to open up and tell me things about themselves. It helps having their attention in being able to teach them better. Thank you again and good luck with yours too!
DeleteHey, Jessica! I also want to work on including student centered activities in my future lesson plans. I keep trying to think of ways to incorporate the research in the lessons in order to have student activities that are led by students in order to gain deeper insight into the their L2. Interviewing bilingual people and professionals did help to give me ideas on the sort of practices I could add in my own classroom.
ReplyDeleteHello Lola! Yes, student-centered activities would be great to use in the classroom. My teacher likes to make her students turn and talk with a peer and then share what they talked about with the whole class. My ELL’s loved it and usually are the first to raise their hands. We just did an activity that included music where students dance around the room and find a partner to tell three things about what they learned about fractions. It was amazing getting to watch the students all interact and have fun while learning from one another! Also, glad you mentioned the interviews. I also learned a lot from them and that they were great learning experiences for us as future teachers to know about and try to use in the classroom.
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