Entry 4: Reflection
In the beginning of the semester I had no idea that there
was a study of second language acquisition.
I mean I knew that people learned new languages every day, but I had
never put any thought into how they learned a second language or that maybe it
was learned differently than the first one. My own experience with learning a
second language was through my high school Spanish courses. Honestly, didn’t
spend much time thinking about the language itself or the fact that I could be
learning a new language. I took those classes for the grade and the grade only,
never to gain a new language. As the course of the semester I was kind of in
shock. There were so many things that affected the way someone learned a new language
and how proficient they were at it. In my own ignorance I never even thought of
how second language acquisition could affect me and my future students. I
understand know that there are many components to look at when dealing with
learning an additional language. Like the why, the how, and the age of the
person learning it was, if they learned it naturalistically or in a formal
setting (Ortega, 2013).
What I
learned in this class will affect my future professional practice because it
will shape the way I see my students. It is highly likely that I will have
students that are second language learners, and I need to understand how to be
able to understand what it is like to have to learn a second language. The
hardships that come with that, or maybe my students won’t be as confident with
their second language as they are with their first one. It is also important to
make sure to provide accommodations for those students who need it, like
pictures for math academic vocabulary so it’s easier to comprehend.
In this
class, in my opinion, I think the blogs should have a heavier focus. While I
liked the outside videos for the SLA quizzes, I often found myself bored and
not paying attention. Some of those videos were super long. I think if the blog
had more entries but less components to them it would allow for a more immersive
study of the content that we were going over.
One
of my favorite things about this class was the blogs. Even though there were
only four entries, I felt like each entry had a lot of parts that went into it.
I loved learning about my classmate’s and their personal stories of learning a
second language. I also really liked interviewing people I wasn’t so close with
to get a deeper insight about SLA. I think the blogs really helped tie in the
text with real life situations. I think it really helped myself and my
classmates to really be able to not only get to see our own interviews, but interviews
with a plethora of other people. Any changes I would make to the blog would be
more entries but less parts for each of the entry. For example, one entry be a
reflection and a separate entry be an interview, not both in one.
Hi Devin, I enjoyed reading your reflection entry and I would have to agree with your suggestions about making the blogs the main focus. I often found myself not being able to keep up with the videos for the quizzes and it was easier to understand our classmate’s interpretation of the readings, videos and applying that information to their blogs. I noticed you mentioned several different aspects of learning an additional language, and having those positive interactions with educators, according to Ortega (2013) “attitudes towards the formal learning context have been shown to exert a lasting and important influence on motivation”. Which is an important fact to take into consideration as future educators because creating that positive outlook can boost motivation considerably. Often people will make the comparison that math is like learning a different language or just as complicated. Besides providing pictures for vocabulary, what are some other accommodations you plan on providing your students?
ReplyDeleteDalis, as a teacher I believe that accommodations are very important, especially for the students who need them. For math I would use accommodations such as extra wait time, and especially the use of manipulatives. Another important accommodation would be the use of partner talk, this can help with the scariness of speaking in front of a whole group or whole classroom situation.
DeleteIt’s crazy that we were not aware of the study of second language acquisition before taking this course. After learning about everything that goes into acquiring a second language, I think it is so important for all future teachers to take a course similar to this. You mentioned that teachers should make accommodations for their students and I completely agree, but in order to make those accommodations the teacher has to get to know their students. Each student is different, which means their backgrounds, identities, and interests are different. Through the study of this class, Ortega (2013), has taught us how important all of those factors are in acquiring a second language. I believe that a teacher should strive to build a classroom where all students feel comfortable, because Stephen Krashen taught us how much of an affect anxiety and motivation can have on a students’ path towards their L2. Those accommodations that you mentioned have the power of making students more comfortable in your class and in the end their motivation to do good in your class can be positively affected (Ortega, 2013).
ReplyDeleteAngelica, I would definitely agree with you that every future teacher should take this course or a course similar to this. This class opened my eyes to the way a second language is learned and factors that affect the learning. Building a classroom where all students feel comfortable, is in my opinion, one of the most important things we can do as teachers.
DeleteHey Devin, I really liked what you wrote in your reflection. I can also agree that it was surprising that there was even a study on second language. My lack of knowledge on the subject was what made me interested in learning more about how second language works. I find your point on understanding hardships students may face to be very important. As teachers, we need to ensure students are feeling confident in themselves as well as when they are speaking an L2. Furthermore, a student’s “foreign language anxiety and communicative self-confidence are also considered key in predicting motivation” (Ortega, 2013, p. 173). It is beneficial to have students placed in a classroom environment that allows them to feel comfortable to learn in and even motivated. Yes, providing accommodations to students will definitely help them understand what they are learning about. Also, I liked what you mentioned about how blogs were a great way to branch out and talk to other people and learn more about SLA. I felt like that was the best part about the blogs and learning from our own classmates as well as teaching them something ourselves.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I completely agree with you. Especially for students who feel anxious when speaking in their L2, it is especially important to make sure that they feel comfortable in the classroom. Hopefully if you make the students feel comfortable then they in turn will feel more comfortable when using their second language.
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ReplyDeleteDevin, very insightful reflection! I agree with you. Though we have discussed and learned a lot about English Language Learners in our classes, I did not realize it is as complex as it is. There is so much to know and be aware of as future educators and I think you are on a great path from learning all you did this semester! You mention you may have students who will not be as confident in learning their second language and I did want to mention that Ortega (2013) mentions, students with low self-esteem do tend to perform low because of the intense environments they are in and the pressure that is put on them to learn a new language (pg. 201). Creating a safe and comfortable atmosphere for your students will greatly benefit your second language learners and help them feel more confident in your class and learning a second language. I learned so much from watching your blogs throughout this semester and am so glad to hear that you have learned so much and acquired new strategies to implement in your own classroom to assist your second language learners! I think you made a great suggestion about not having to make a video and write a reflection at the same time.
ReplyDeleteFarah, I believe that having a comfortable safe environment in your classroom, is beneficial for all of your students. However for those who are uneasy using their second language, feeling safe in your classroom could help them gain the confidence they need to become even more proficient in their second language.
DeleteDevin, you commented on the abundance of factors that can affect a student’s proficiency in their language. I wonder if there are any behaviors we can look out for as teachers that can tell us which factor is hindering our student’s learning. After identifying the factor or group of factors that may be affecting the student’s success, what do you think we can do as teachers to alleviate that stress? As for the blog posts, I feel like the interviews were helpful because it allowed us to connect what we have learned to teachers and L2 speakers and what they believe. I do think, however, there should be more reflection in our interviews. The reflection component of any assignment is where majority of my learning/connection-making comes from.
ReplyDeleteJordyn, there are a plethora of factors that can affect a student's proficiency in their second language. For example if a student has anxiety about speaking in their second language, I would recommend using the think-pair-share strategy. Not only is the strategy differentiated it also allows the students to share their ideas without being stressed about talking in front of the whole class.
DeleteHello Devin, I appreciate your honesty throughout your reflection. I believe that the knowledge obtained from this class will help us to better instruct our students by knowing their stories and providing suitable instruction. I also agree with the abundance of material presented in this course from the dense readings to the long videos. I think that choosing one or the other will be beneficial in that the material covered is new to a majority of us.
ReplyDeleteLaregilon, I honestly think the content learned in this class will positively benefit my students in the future. I think that all students learn in a different way and that to reach all of your students you should try to differentiate as much as possible and provide accommodations for your students when needed.
DeleteHi Devin! It still boggles my mind that there are several factors at work when an individual learns a second language. For example, I never considered the idea of motivation significantly impacting SLA. With regard to motivation, one of the many things I will be taking away from this course is that "Students who perceive their teachers to be controlling show less intrinsic motivation" (Ortgea, 2013, p. 177). Therefore, when I think about my future instructional environment, I want to increase the levels of intrinsic motivation not erode them. Like you said, we need to be able to understand what it is like to learn a second language, so that we can empathize, and present content in a way that will foster a love for learning and increase motivation and engagement.
ReplyDeleteMaggie, it's amazing to think that how controlling we are as teaching can affect how intrinsically motivated our students are. This is why we have to reflect often on our teaching and making sure that what we are doing benefits our students and does not harm them instead. Empathy is something that I need to have an abundance of because I did not learn a second language and therefore I do not personally understand what it feels like or the struggles that go with learning an L2.
DeleteDevin,
ReplyDeleteI also felt the same! It’s amazing how much there is to be learned in the field of SLA that was unknown to us before this course. I also agree with you on increasing the emphasis on the blogs and your thoughts on the outside SLA videos. While the videos were probably interesting to someone who has a lot of knowledge on SLA, beginners to the field like us I felt were often lost! I enjoyed your reflection and feel that you will make a great teacher based on your reflection.