BLOG 4: Reflection
Taking this class has broadened my perspectives and gave me a deeper insight as to what the process of acquiring a new language is like. Through this class, I have learned how longer or older ages can have an advantage or disadvantage when learning a language, or how motivation and anxiety can greatly impact the mindset of a person who wants to learn a new language. Prior to taking this class I had never given much thought to second language learners and what they go through, as well as the preparation of the educators.
Since I am not familiar with the process of acquiring a second language, I took the information in this class and solely applied it to how I could better myself as an educator. Although the current classroom I'm placed in for my student teaching does not having second language learners, I have been in a classroom environment where there were plenty second language learners and I was not prepared at all. It was hard for me to relate to them, difficult for me to empathize with them because I lacked the type of knowledge that is taught in that class. If I had known about motivation, and how cognition affects how a student learns their L2, I could have been much more of a help. The information on individual differences seems, obvious, but when the topic was explored in detail and at length, I see how I could've used that information in the classroom with second language learners.
The work Ive done in this class has helped me to make more meaningful connections with the information in the text. By having to do interviews with second language learner and professional, I have explore the various standpoints associated with second language acquisition. Commenting back and forth with my classmates has forced to me truly grapple with what I was learning, and keep up with a thought provoking discourse.
Moving forward, I will ensure that I integrate the information from this class with possible future second language learners. Being able to utilize this knowledge will help me to become a more well rounded educator. I will be able to reach all of my students, and not leave anyone feeling left behind, and not feel like I am ineffective myself. I will be able to create a safe and comfortable environment for everyone, as an educator should do.
As an educator, I am really glad to read your entry and learn that this course has been important for your professional preparation. I wonder if you could be more specific telling us, the readers, specific examples where you learned something by interacting with your classmates.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I would like to know what changes you would implement in this class and the rationale behind them. How could this class be better?
Hello, Professor.
DeleteI am happy to hear that you are glad to read about how this course has been helpful to me. To inform the readers more specifically about something I learned by interacting with classmates, I would like to note that I was educated on what the life of a student could possibly be like after acquiring their L2 and gained insight on the attitudes and schooling experiences an L2 learner might be exposed to. Many of my classmates learned english as their second language, and spoke in detail in their first blogs about how their lives were influenced by how they came about acquisition of the language, and how whether a home life where little or no English was spoken had an impact on them. The insight that was provided by my classmates helped me in developing empathy that was powered by knowledge and assisted me in understanding the text in a more practical way. When some of my classmates wrote about learning English though cartoons or playing games with L1 english speakers at recess, I was able to better comprehend Ortega's section on Long's Interaction Hypothesis and why the two way process of "negotiation episodes" makes "both interlocutors modify their utterances in ways that not only increase comprehensibility pf the message, but also augment salience of certain L2 forms... (Ortega p 61, 2013).
Changes that I believe could be implemented to improve the structure of the class would be to possibly decrease the amount of videos that are required to watch each week and remove and allow the option to write a response for the quiz questions that require audio files. Decreasing the amount of videos required every week would help students retain information more efficiently. Understanding second language acquisition is quite a task, and the terminology and overall verbiage of the book is dense and loaded with information and research. The information in this class is very new to me, as I have no frame of reference for second language acquisition, and I believe most of my classmates probably do not either. The lengthy videos are informative, but the videos combined with dense text, and the blog was overwhelming, and i found myself constantly trying to organize all the information, and then determine how and when to use what information, instead of actually analyzing and retaining the information.
I also believe allowing the option to submit a written response or an audio file would allow students to give the most through answer through whichever method allows them to express their thoughts the most eloquently. Even after planning out my oral responses, I still struggled to get my point across clearly, although I knew what I wanted to say. Had I been able to submit a written a response, my ideas and opinions could have been better translated, instead of them being muddled and having the thought of getting the the 3 minute requirement at the forefront of mind.
I really enjoyed how you sent out announcements each week reminding us of what was due and expected at the end of each week. The reminders were very helpful throughout the semester for someone like me who is also juggling five other classes.
Hello, Lola.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the theories and information we have learned in class has been beneficial to helping you understand second language acquisition better. I, too, have found the things we have learned to be helpful and applicable to my career as a future educator. Even though I went through second language acquisition myself, I had no idea it was so intricate. Learning about the different concepts was interesting because I was able to make connections to my own experiences. You brought up a great point about anxiety. Ortega (2013) mentions the idea of avoidance, which is the action of evading the use of complex grammatical structures in order to limit the errors that are made (p. 40). I have found myself guilty to employing avoidance strategies when I was younger and learning English, and I think this is something we have to be aware of with our future students. We have to encourage our students positively so that they can reach their maximum potential in second language acquisition!”
Anxiety in the classroom is an important obstacle to overcome in the classroom. Student anxiety can determine whether we as educators will have an honest assessment of the student's comprehension and skills, or an assessment that was negatively influenced by a classroom environment that fueled the anxiety of a student. Helping to nurture and shape the attitude of a student can alter an anxiety ridden mindset to a mindset that centered in growth and accomplishment. As an educator, want to hold myself accountable too keeping Dornyei's L2 Motivation Model in mind with my students. Dornyei"s model offers antecedents such as self reference, perceived instrumentality, and Attitudes towards L2 and FL's in general that influence how motivated an individual could be (Ortega p 186-187, 2013). With this model I can identify and assess which antecedents are influencing my student's attitudes that lead them to be motivated or not motivated, or impact anxiety levels.
DeleteHey, Lola! Thank you for sharing your reflection with us. As a former ELL and a fellow future teacher, thank you so much for being open minded and seeing the need to try to reach out to ELLs even though you have not have had a SLA experience yourself. I love how that more than anything this course brings awareness of the struggles and experience an ELL may face in their schools and in their environments. “Knowing that young children may have a slow start when acquiring an L2 can be an important research-based argument against harmful attempts to promote so-called sink-or-swim education policies that attempt to reduce or even completely withdraw the first and second language support that is to be provided to language minority children by schools” (Ortega, 2013, p. 28).
ReplyDeleteMy intention is to mitigate failure or stagnant progression is students that are caused by :sink-or-swim" policies I may deal with. My classroom will be based on trail and error and learning from mistakes, instead of allowing children to believe that they have only one or two chances to acquire an entire new language as well as master the academic content in school. Utilizing research to understand that many young children will have a slow start helps me to remind myself to be levelheaded with the expectations I have for my ELL students. Forcing so much pressure on students to do well only after the first few attempts at their L2 will likely not work in the favor of myself or the students. Pressure to do well affects all people differently, due partly too personality differences. Verhoeven ad Vermeer's 2002 study on the relationship between personality and ultimate L2 attainment demonstrate that the "personality factor most strongly associated with L2 attainment is openness to experience" (Ortega p 196, 2013). The pressure stemming from sink of-or-swim policies can inhibit the personality of a student, causing them to close off due to fear of failure and ultimately reduce their opens to experience. As an educator, I must remind myself that the openness and willingness to experience a new language is what is most closely associated with progress towards attainment.
DeleteHi, Lola! I’m glad to hear that you hope to advocate for children and stand against sink-or-swim school policies. I agree with you that it’s difficult to remember that ELLs are at different levels of fluency and may need more patient than students who are native English speakers. For example, the ELLs who I have worked with so far in my student teaching career do tend to have behavioral issues, however, that is due to the fact that they have a hard time understanding the material.
DeleteI hope that I will be able to integrate a classroom management plan in my classroom that is inclusive and considerate of behavioral issues that stem from lack of understanding. I am aware that the curriculum taught in the classroom directly affects the behavior of the students. When I create my classroom management plan, I will refer to the research outlined in our class text to assist me in making sure I am not leaving ESL students behind because of their behavior issues.
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