Second Language Acquisition has been a very interesting
course. I never thought that the dynamics of learning a second language could
be so complex! The first thing I learned from this course that stuck with me
throughout were the different ways that one acquires a second language, and how
easy or challenging it may be depending on the individual. I have my own
experience in learning a second language, and in my experience I learned the
language from my parents and by going to the country of origin, which is Kenya.
Through hearing people at home and on the streets speaking Kiswahili, I
eventually caught on and acquired the language. The first time I went to Kenya
I was very young, and that is when I knew Kiswahili most fluently. This made
perfect sense to me when I found out that several theorists believe that
children acquire a language more successfully than adults do. I learned that
learning a second language effectively has a lot to do with confidence, a
proper attitude, and high levels of motivation.
This class
has allowed me to become much more open-minded about what it takes to acquire a
second language. The lessons learned will definitely be useful to me as an
educator. We are very fortunate enough to live in a very diverse city, and with
that comes the opportunity to work with children from a variety of backgrounds.
To work with bilingual children and with ESL students, it is important to find
ways to build their confidence and to motivate them in such a way that they
will be successful in your class. Most of this success comes from discovering
different approaches to teaching whether it is through songs, vocabulary words,
or hands-on activities. Second Language Acquisition allowed me to explore ways
in which I could accomplish successful teaching in my future experiences.
Everything
we have learned in the class has been very mind-stimulating an informative. I
caught on most with the topics of children being able to learn second languages
more efficiently, how bilingualism helps our brain, and how we could cater to
bilingual students in a classroom setting. One topic I think that future
classes might want to elaborate on is the theories associated with second
language. Oftentimes it is difficult to remember which theorist said what, so
we tend to quickly read through those sections and not keep the information in
our memory for too long. It would be great to understand who the theorists were
and why they came up with their respective theories.
My Vblog
played a significant role in my learning process, especially when I interviewed
my father and Mrs. King, a second grade bilingual teacher. It allowed me to get
out the comfort zone of turning in assignments the traditional essay or
discussion way. I learned several new things about my dad in terms of how he
learned the English language and when. I also learned what it takes to be a
successful leader and instructor in a bilingual setting. Overall, this class
has been quite interesting and I look forward to applying what I learned in a
real life setting.
Hi Alya! I completely agree with you that this class has taught us a lot about what it takes to understand a student in the process of learning a second language. I think it is very cool that you can relate to the class in your own way and you can understand what the theorists are saying when they talk about younger children picking up a language much easier than adults do. I also agree with you that this class will benefit us enormously when we are educators ourselves. I know for myself I would like to become ESL certified so this class will help me with that.
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa! I think the fact that you want to become ESL certified is amazing. Having that certification will open more doors for you, and it will also open your eyes more to how students acquire a second language. As Caroline Rowland mentions in her text, "a number of skills and abilities are required to acquire a second language" (Rowland, 2014 p. 2). As Educators, it is our duty to assist our students in acquiring those skills and building their confidence. As you mentioned, this class has definitely benefitted us when it comes to knowing how we should approach the teaching of a second language.
DeleteHi Alya, I agree with your thoughts on teachers finding creative ways to teach students a second language. One of the things we learned in this course is that all students acquire language through a variety of modes and methods and as teachers we must be creative. Students learn best through hands on and engaging activities and that goes for language acquisition. As you mentioned songs, books, and other hands on activities enrich the learning process and make second language acquisition more meaningful and purposeful. I also agree that doing the VBlogs pushed all of us outside our comfort zones because we were able to learn from those we were interviewing and our peers in the class.
ReplyDeleteHi Devon, yes creativity is a very important aspect of learning. We must put ourselves in the shoes of the students and ask ourselves, "if all i did were paper and pencil activities followed by an assessment, would I really be acquiring a significant amount of knowledge?" I was really glad that I had the opportunity to interview a bilingual teacher in her own classroom. By doing so, I was able to see all the colors and word walls in her room that contribute to a positive environment for bilingual students.
DeleteHi Alya! I love how you mentioned that you learned in the class what it takes to understand what a student is going through when learning a second language. Sometimes we may not always think what the student is thinking but this class had it to where you see what helps the student and how you can help them. I also agree with you, what you said about the Vblogs how you kind of saw a different view on it because we saw how they where feeling and what they went through so it was just another side of what we where learning in this class. Seeing different views and then seeing what we did in the classroom I think that it helped us learn a lot in this class.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I also agree with Alya on the comment that I finally know what it takes to understand what a second language learner is going through when learning another language. But, while I do agree with you on we learned about what may help us see, I didn't feel like I learned much on the strategies that we can use to help English language learners. But the Vlogs did give us a better understanding on what its like for English language learners.
DeleteHi Taylor and Leslie! I appreciate you guys agreeing on my reflection. It was truly great seeking a deep understanding of the dynamics of learning a second language so we can help students who are going through the process to the best of our ability. I'd have to agree with you Leslie that there were never exactly explicit strategies stated that we can use to help English Language Learners in a classroom setting. However, at least we now know the levels and the dimensions of motivation (enjoyment, investment, and effort) so that we can seek to bring up all three dimensions in each student (Ortega, 2009).
DeleteHi Alya! I also thought one of the main things that I learned from this course was that there are several ways students learn second languages and the challenges that come with learning an L2. I already knew that learning a new language came with challenges but this course helped me see understand it more in depth. I also enjoyed the interview that we were required to do with a bilingual teacher. I interviewed Mrs. Sosa who is also a bilingual teacher like Mrs. King and it was very insightful. I think that assignment allowed us to have meaningful discussions with the bilingual teachers at our campuses.
ReplyDeleteHi Joselyn, I too learned a lot about how there is more than one approach to the way students learn second languages. As Ortega states, "The details of people’s L2 learning histories can vary greatly, depending on where their studies, their families, their jobs and careers, and wider economic and political world events, take them" (Ortega, 2009, p. 1). It is most likely that students will acquire the bulk of a second language during school, for that is where they spend a lot of their time. So as educators, that means it is important for us to be able to effectively help these students acquire the language. The vlogs did help with giving us an insightful experience of how people acquire a second language.
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