Blog Entry 1: Introduction
This is my first blog entry, click on the video to watch!
Blog Entry 3: Interview
I interviewed a second-year bilingual math teacher for my blog 3 entry. When I asked about what motivated her students in the classroom. She talked about how making the content easily relatable to their lives, made it more interesting to them. In the text, Orientation refers to reasons for wanting to learn the second language. One of the reasons is knowledge; so, the language learner wants to become a more knowledgeable person. I think that this could apply to Ms. Ramirez’s students because they want to become better in their second language so that they can become more knowledgeable in math. Also for the students who are new arrivals Ms. Ramirez told me outside of the interview that they tend to be self-conscious for themselves and push to learn English because they want to be able to fit in with the rest of the students who speak English (Ortega, . This also fits with the other orientation of Integrativeness, which is where the second language learner has a genuine desire to becom...
When you mentioned how learning Spanish at a late age put things into perspective for you, I was immediately reminded of something Ortega explains in Chapter 1. According to Ortega (2009), there are “a number of universal influences that help shape the nature, pace, and route in the path towards learning a second language” (p. 9). The influences that might have played a part in your path to learning Spanish would be age and even the environment. While you may have grown up in a monolingual household, I applaud you for finding the motivation to stick with mastering Spanish, and setting a goal for yourself to become fluent. Moreover, I appreciate the fact that you included the part on cultural discontinuity. You are definitely right about some students feeling as though they have to choose between which parts of their culture they want to express outside the walls of their home because they are afraid of being ridiculed. I bring this up because I was one of those students who felt this way up until my high school graduation. With that being said, how will you try to foster a classroom that promotes diversity and respect for differences among students?
ReplyDeleteDevin, your motivation to learn another language is definitely inspiring. In my situation, my parents did not speak English so learning my native language, Chinese, was not really an option for me. I am very proud that I am able to carry that part of my culture with me! I applaud you for seeing the cultural side of language and want to promote culture identities to your classroom!
DeleteMaggie, diversity in the classroom is something that is going to be very important to me. I think that something I would do, would be to make sure that my students know that all opinions are welcome. Another thing would be to make sure that pictures or visuals in my classroom have students from diverse backgrounds, so that they can see themselves reflected in the classroom.
DeleteEmerald, culture is something that is very important to me, and it sounds like it is important to you too! Cultural identity is something that I want my students to be proud of. In reference to your native language, Chinese, are you trying to learn it now? If so, what difficulties are you running in to?
DeleteHello Maggie! In your video, you mentioned that you grew up speaking one language and consider yourself to be a naturalistic and formal learner of the Spanish language. We share a similar experience with learning Spanish in a formal way. I feel that in my High School course, it was mainly focused on vocabulary rather than practicing the language. I found that very little of the information stuck with me as a graduated. However, when I began working at my current job and learned the language in a naturalistic environment I retained an abundant amount of vocabulary and seek to learn more about the language to better suit my customers. Currently, I understand Spanish in the context of my job, but I hope to take it a step further and acquire the language formally. According to Ortega ( 2013), " Most people learn additional languages from a mixture of naturalistic and instructed experiences." I would also like to become fluent in the language to benefit my students and to accomplish a future goal of mine.
ReplyDeleteLaregilon, I too also learn the Spanish language at work, although it is a lot more fast paced than with my friend’s family. I ask a lot of questions regarding how to say certain phrases or words. I also had the problem of the Spanish not sticking with me when I finished the class, it was honestly one of the most frustrating things about high school.
DeleteHello Devin! I enjoyed learning more about you and your background with language. Many people in America are like you and were raised monolingual. According to Ortega (2009), your case is "truly the minority in the large picture of humanity" (p. 3). However, you should not feel ashamed. Since we are a part of a Western nation, it is more common to speak only one language. I admire your dedication to learning a second language, specifically Spanish, to better your teaching career. From knowing you personally, I can see how much your language goal will benefit the type of caliber of schools you want to work for (Title 1). Learning a language at an older age can be difficult but I find it interesting that you are able to practice your Spanish through your best friend and her family. You are able to learn more and more in a stress-free environment. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteJordyn, I am super grateful for my friend and her family, and how they listen to me stumble through the Spanish language. They have been super helpful and very patient. With native Hawaiian does your family speak the language around you? Does it help you pick up more of the language or is it the same words over again?
DeleteGood afternoon, Devin! Thank you for your reply back to my comment. My family does speak Native Hawaiian around me. However, they do not normally speak in full sentences. In the way that Spanglish is spoken, my family loves to use Hawaiian in place for some English words in day to day conversation. This does help me pick up more of the language but I learn new words mainly from music and from families that are not my own. My family has many "favorite words" that they use over and over again in daily interactions.
DeleteHello Devin, I enjoyed watching your introduction video and getting to know a little about you. I can see how only talking and knowing English your whole life can really make it hard for you to learn or acquire another language. Norman Doidge explained this situation well in his video titled Why Is Learning a New Language Harder After Childhood? In this video, he mentioned that it is difficult to learn another language because we will master our first language and will only continue to get better. Believe it or not, I have cousins who are from monolingual households yet they don’t speak or understand their native tongue. In other words, my cousins are like you who only speak English and are in the process of learning Spanish. One problem they face is when they face a few similar words that sound the same in English but they are not related with one another. It’s not easy but I can tell you are really committed to acquiring the Spanish language. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMary, do your cousins come from a family where there is more than one language spoken? I think that learning a language when you're immersed in the culture is the best way to learn the language. I have found that I pick up on the Spanish language way faster when I am with people who speak it fluently and were in a casual setting, rather than sitting in a classroom and trying to learn it.
DeleteDevin, I love how dedicated you are in learning a new language. As for me growing up like you I only knew English. As I took Spanish in high school I never truly understood the language. I just did what I had to do to pass the class. Now that I am getting older and the majority of my friends are Hispanic and their first language is Spanish it is difficult to communicate with their families. The fact that your best friend comes from a Spanish speaking background and you do whatever it takes to learn it amazes me. According to Ortega (2013), “In some parts or our world, most children grow up speaking one language only” (pg. 3). Even though the majority of us grow up only speaking one language we are still surrounded by people who speak other languages especially living in such a diverse country. Your video has inspired me to try and learn a new language and to communicate with my friend’s families that do not speak English.
ReplyDeleteEmily, trying to become, at least, a conversational Spanish speaker is a goal that I’ve had for quite awhile now. I just didn’t realize how hard it would be since I’m not around my friend’s family all the time. I have a really bad tendency to lose whatever I’ve gained. Hopefully through hard work I get better though!
DeleteDevin, I appreciate your commentary on your experience with Ebonics or African American Vernacular English. I assume having to navigate a dialect that is specific to an ethnic group granted you a helpful perspective when it comes to bilingualism. When you mentioned that you used context clues to understand what your relatives were saying, I felt that you were able to gain insight into what learning a language would be like for ESL students. I wonder how the information from this class could be applied to students who are fluent in African American Vernacular. In some ways, the dialect could be similar to having to learn an additional language. Whether the student knows another language, or is just fluent in another dialect, they would have acquired the "multi competence that Ortega mentions in the text. Its important to recognize that these students who are fluent in a dialect or language are both developing the "distinct competence" needed to "function in two or more languages" (Ortega 2009, 9).
ReplyDeleteLola, I would assume that having to use context clues for African American Vernacular would be extremely similar to how ESL students use context clues to figure out some parts of the English Language. I think you brought up an awesome point that it might have given me a new perspective when it comes to bilingualism!
DeleteDevin! Wow! It's great that your best friends family is helping you learn Spanish. According to Ortega (2013) language teachers all over the world debate whether grammar and vocabulary should be directly taught. What do you think ? Through Duolingo you are ble to learn Spanish vocabulary. Do you think it would be possible to learn Spanish vocabulary this way? How helpful is it? It makes me wonder if this is a way we can help our ELL students...Also how could we help those students learn math vocabulary when they have such a hard time with the English language? These are the kinds of things I wonder....
ReplyDeleteThat last comment was me. For some reason it says unknown? It's Stephanie Zuniga.
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