For this week's blog, I decided to interview my father. Click here for the link to the video!
Entry 2 Reflection:
For this
interview, I decided to interview my father who is from Mombasa, Kenya. Before
reading some of Gass and Selinker’s text, I never exactly labeled my father
under the term "bilingual." As a matter of fact, I never even knew
that English was not spoken to him at home and it was not until pre-school that
he learned the language. After gaining some background knowledge, I would
classify my father as an early bilingual, which is, "someone who has
acquired two languages early in childhood" (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pg.
27). Although my father's family spoke primarily Kiswahili in the household,
his pre-school's requirement of speaking, reading, and writing in English
greatly contributed to the success of his proficiency in the language. It
also helped that he moved to the states at the age of 17 and began his
undergraduate career here. By doing so, my father was in an environment where
English was the primary language and no matter where he went it was the first
language to be spoken.
In our
text, Glass and Selinker mention an author who states, “individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings, and the
distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the
foreign language and culture—both productively when attempting to speak the
language and to act in the culture, and receptively when attempting to grasp
and understand the language and the culture as practiced by natives” (Lado,
1957, pg. 2). Contrary to what Lado mentioned, I found it quite interesting that because my father has
been speaking English for majority of his lifespan, he says that he
interchangeably thinks his thoughts in both English and Kiswahili.
All in
all, one can see how learning a second language at a very early age makes a big
impact on the individual’s success in an L2 language. If it wasn’t for primary
school my father still would have most likely learned English, but it would
have been much more of a challenge for him.
Hello Alya, my dad also came to the U.S. at a somewhat early age, but his English is not as well developed as your dad’s, I applaud him for challenging himself to learn more! It really intrigued me when he mentioned that in school they had to learn English in order for everyone to have at least one common language. I had never paid much attention to that in the U.S. but in order for everyone to be able to communicate there must be one language, I guess it surprised me that they also do that in other parts of the world. Ortega mentions how “much in the linguistic environment, particularly in naturalistic settings, but also in today’s communicative classrooms, comes to learners in the midst of oral interaction with one or more interlocutors, rather than as exposure to monologic spoken or written discourse” (2013, pg. 60). This is relatable to what your dad experienced in the classrooms, or even outside of the classroom he mentioned how even when he played with his friends they would switch between English and Swahili the constant practice of communication enhanced his English.
ReplyDeleteHi Cesia, thank you! I truly applaud him as well. As Ortega also explains, I believe that my father "engage[d] by necessity not only in comprehending and negotiating messages but also in making meaning and producing messages" (2013, p. 62). I'm sure this happened when he was first learning the language at his young age. I can also see why it surprised you that other countries use English as a common language in schools. It makes sense as to why it would be the emphasized language in international schools located in the United States, but as for other countries it is quite surprising! I believe that it is beneficial however, for English is spoken almost anywhere we are bound to go.
DeleteHi Alya, I think it is very interesting that your dad was in a class with students who spoke such a variety of languages. English in a sense became their way to communicate with each other, as your dad mentions about the playground, and becomes their form of communication with their peers. Ortega (2009) explains that age impacts how effectively an individual learns another language, but also the environment that they are learning in (p. 17). Your dad mentions how he would use his native language as a foundation for being able to translate his thoughts and ideas into English. Ortega (2009) discusses how a person’s psychological perception of both languages effects how they learn and use the languages (p. 33). The younger a person can learn a language, such as your dad, the more successful they can be in incorporating both languages into their daily lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Devon, I definitely agree with all the points you made! My father's class was very diverse and so for them to all learn English at such a young age has made a huge impact on their proficiency in the language throughout all these years. His environment allowed for him to practice and learn English, yet it also allowed for him to still use his native language on a daily basis. Luckily, although he has been in the states for so long, he did not lose his proficiency in Kiswahili. Although bilingualism has several definitions to it, "SL researchers reserve use of the term for only those that are truly, as shown through some linguistic measure, the equivalent of native speakers of two languages (Gass & Selinker, 2008, p. 44). Based off this definition I would definitely consider my father as a bilingual, for both English and Kiswahili have played a huge role in his life.
DeleteAlya,
DeleteIt's great that your father was in such a diverse setting. I am sure that this helped him as he had classmates who had similar feelings as him. It's also great that he never lost his proficiency in his other language. Since he can speak English and Kiswahili, Gass and Selinker describe this as a balanced bilingual, which is having the mastery on two different languages (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 27). Tell him to keep it up and to never lose site on his L1!
Hi Alya, I agree with you saying that your father is bilingual. Your father would be classified as an early bilingual, which is, "someone who has acquired two languages early in childhood" (Gass & Selinker, 2008, pg. 27). I thought that it was very interesting and great how your father was not the only on that did not know English and his preschool had so many different languages that they could communicate and learn as kids do like for example when he was on the playground and that is how he communicated with the other children. When your dad was learning English he had a lot of factors that played a role in his learning. According to Ortega, "He proposed that L1–L2 differences account for the pace or rate at which certain morphosyntactic structures will be learned by different L1 groups. All L1 groups will traverse the same series of approximations to the target L2 system, and will be challenged, broadly speaking, by the same aspects of the L2" (p.35). Learning a new language can be very difficult and I applaud him for wanting to keep learning more.
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor, thank you for your positive words! I would agree with the idea that my father falls into the early bilingual classification. At first I was confused with the difference between bilingualism and heritage learning acquisition, but I came to find out that my father fit more into the former's category for the latter is those who, "... are, broadly speaking, those who have been exposed to a language of personal connection (Fishman, 2001)" (Gass &Selinker, 2008, p. 23). It helped a lot that the children he had grown up with were in the same boat as he was. Having English speaking teachers definitely helped them along the way.
DeleteHi Alya! Your interview with your dad was very interesting. Not knowing that English was his second language until later in your life is very similar to my interview with my boyfriend. I had no idea English was his second language for a very long time. Ortega says, “Much in the linguistic environment, particularly in naturalistic settings, but also in today’s communicative classrooms, comes to learners in the midst of oral interaction with one or more interlocutors, rather than as exposure to monologic spoken or written discourse” (Ortega, 2013, p. 60). I think that your dad living in the U. S. since he began his undergrad much have really helped him feel comfortable and confident speaking English!
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge; 2013.
Hey Hannah! I actually listened to your interview with your boyfriend, and I was able to make a lot of connections regarding my father's experiences of learning English to your boyfriend's. It's so interesting that we do not realize that English was learned by them later on in life because of their fluency and proficiency in the language. This really supports Ortega's beliefs of how the younger an individual is when learning a language, the better their proficiency will be.
DeleteHello Alya, I admire your dad for being so knowledgeable in regards to learning English at such an early age in life. Unlike your dad, my father had to learn English as an adult with only have learned English in a work environment. Although he did attend some night school classes to further his L2 language consider that my father was in his late 30s when he realized that writing it and reading it could be much more challenging. Your father was able to continue school here in the States when he arrived at 17 just like my father. I believe that because they are both intelligent men they were able to maintain that balance in both languages that we have read so much about. Ortega states that “knowledge of the L1 can often have a positive impact on the rate of L2 learning” (pg. 42, 2013). This just adds on to my earlier comment, their intelligence in their own L1 language is what allowed them to progress so much more in learning English.
ReplyDelete