Remy, it's awesome how your inspiration comes in many different forms: daughter, wife, hobbies, and work experience- You are going to be able to connect with the kids right off the bat! I liked how you were not afraid to confess that you were envious of others who speak multiple languages, but you also had a goal in mind. Gass stated, “…studies in second language acquisition have made language teachers and curriculum designers aware that language learning consists of more than rule memorization” (Gass, 3). From your experience with German and the constant repetition, you were able to memorize phrases and introductions. I also had this problem after learning Spanish in High School, and I regret not continuing to practice the language after. One thing I have found students do after they learn a language is to take a field trip to the mother land of the language practiced. When students did this, they were given many opportunities to use their skills in communicating with the local residents of the country. This is something that I plan on doing eventually and just would like to share that thought with you.
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. (2008).
Hey Michelle! I love that you mentioned the idea of visiting the motherland of the language that you learn. Sounds like a motivator within itself to want to learn another language. I also agree with your citation and that it seems most educators are simply having students memorize the language. According to Ortega (2013, p. 8) some educators believe student in their classrooms need to be directly taught grammar and vocabulary in order to get the basic building blocks of a language first. I don't believe this to be so true. I believe that there are other ways to learn a language first.
Hey, Michelle! Thanks so much for commenting! You're absolutely right, my inspiration to become a teacher comes from many different forms. My wife and daughter re both a major influence on my life choices. I not only love working with children, but I want hands on experience in our education system so I am more aware of what my daughter will go through. My daughter is one year old and is just now beginning to say more words. Our text tells us that children complete the feat of acquiring their first language between 4-6 years of age (Ortega, 2013, p.12). This makes me wish I knew more languages to teach her. Children are so amazing in that they want nothing more than to obtain new information. As a father, you want nothing more than to provide as much information as possible.
Hey, Lesley! I completely agree with what you said. The idea of visiting the motherland of that particular language seems like such a unique and beneficial idea. I enjoyed reading about how you said that teachers just have students memorize a language, rather than truly grasp its context. I also think that the students choose to memorize it, rather than grasp it entirely. Basically the concept as a whole of teaching a language in school seems to fall short. Perhaps its the age of the students at the time, I'm not really sure. I feel more could be done to encourage students to learn a new language if we as educators stressed heavily on how beneficial that can become. Rather than students becoming receptive bilingual, or semibilingual, I would love to see a larger outcome of students becoming balanced bilingual from school. Of course, school does a great job teaching children another language. I just simply mean I would love to see an ever larger outcome. I think in order to do so children will have to choose to continue learning the language outside of school. Gass and Selinker give us the following definitions. Receptive bilingual is where they understand a language in parts but may not be able to speak or write it. Semibilingual is having insufficient knowledge of one language. Then balanced bilingual is basically being fluent in both languages. (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 28).
Hey Remy, it is really cool that you have that history is restaurant management. I think there is a lot of wisdom from that experience that can be taught to students. The work ethic from that experience can also apply to your desire to learn Spanish. Your parents' ability to have inside jokes is funny, and it will be great when you can join in. Spanish is a language I would like to learn as well. Ortega notes that "age may exert universal influences on the learning of a second language, but context moderates theses universal effects" (2013, pg. 17). If anything I hope this can be encouragement for us to learn the language despite not learning at a younger age.
Ortega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge; 2013.
Hey, Franklin! Thanks for the reply! The restaurant industry definitely taught me a lot of things. I have always prided myself on my work ethic because it is mandatory in running a restaurant. I obtained a lot of knowledge and I believe it will make it easy for me to establish a relationship with my students. The industry also helped in making me a very patient person. I am certainly not discouraged from learning another language. In fact, I am beginning to learn Spanish now and hope to become fluent one day. I enjoyed reading the quote you listed from our text. It also goes on to say that "adults may be able to use cognitive and metacognitive abilities and strategies to learn many aspects of the L2 initially faster" (Ortega, 2013, p.18). Reading this definitely gave me some much needed hope and inspiration to continue learning Spanish.
Remy, it's awesome how your inspiration comes in many different forms: daughter, wife, hobbies, and work experience- You are going to be able to connect with the kids right off the bat!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were not afraid to confess that you were envious of others who speak multiple languages, but you also had a goal in mind. Gass stated, “…studies in second language acquisition have made language teachers and curriculum designers aware that language learning consists of more than rule memorization” (Gass, 3). From your experience with German and the constant repetition, you were able to memorize phrases and introductions. I also had this problem after learning Spanish in High School, and I regret not continuing to practice the language after. One thing I have found students do after they learn a language is to take a field trip to the mother land of the language practiced. When students did this, they were given many opportunities to use their skills in communicating with the local residents of the country. This is something that I plan on doing eventually and just would like to share that thought with you.
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. (2008).
Hey Michelle! I love that you mentioned the idea of visiting the motherland of the language that you learn. Sounds like a motivator within itself to want to learn another language. I also agree with your citation and that it seems most educators are simply having students memorize the language. According to Ortega (2013, p. 8) some educators believe student in their classrooms need to be directly taught grammar and vocabulary in order to get the basic building blocks of a language first. I don't believe this to be so true. I believe that there are other ways to learn a language first.
DeleteHey, Michelle! Thanks so much for commenting! You're absolutely right, my inspiration to become a teacher comes from many different forms. My wife and daughter re both a major influence on my life choices. I not only love working with children, but I want hands on experience in our education system so I am more aware of what my daughter will go through. My daughter is one year old and is just now beginning to say more words. Our text tells us that children complete the feat of acquiring their first language between 4-6 years of age (Ortega, 2013, p.12). This makes me wish I knew more languages to teach her. Children are so amazing in that they want nothing more than to obtain new information. As a father, you want nothing more than to provide as much information as possible.
DeleteHey, Lesley! I completely agree with what you said. The idea of visiting the motherland of that particular language seems like such a unique and beneficial idea. I enjoyed reading about how you said that teachers just have students memorize a language, rather than truly grasp its context. I also think that the students choose to memorize it, rather than grasp it entirely. Basically the concept as a whole of teaching a language in school seems to fall short. Perhaps its the age of the students at the time, I'm not really sure. I feel more could be done to encourage students to learn a new language if we as educators stressed heavily on how beneficial that can become. Rather than students becoming receptive bilingual, or semibilingual, I would love to see a larger outcome of students becoming balanced bilingual from school. Of course, school does a great job teaching children another language. I just simply mean I would love to see an ever larger outcome. I think in order to do so children will have to choose to continue learning the language outside of school. Gass and Selinker give us the following definitions. Receptive bilingual is where they understand a language in parts but may not be able to speak or write it. Semibilingual is having insufficient knowledge of one language. Then balanced bilingual is basically being fluent in both languages. (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 28).
DeleteHey Remy, it is really cool that you have that history is restaurant management. I think there is a lot of wisdom from that experience that can be taught to students. The work ethic from that experience can also apply to your desire to learn Spanish. Your parents' ability to have inside jokes is funny, and it will be great when you can join in. Spanish is a language I would like to learn as well. Ortega notes that "age may exert universal influences on the learning of a second language, but context moderates theses universal effects" (2013, pg. 17). If anything I hope this can be encouragement for us to learn the language despite not learning at a younger age.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge; 2013.
Hey, Franklin! Thanks for the reply! The restaurant industry definitely taught me a lot of things. I have always prided myself on my work ethic because it is mandatory in running a restaurant. I obtained a lot of knowledge and I believe it will make it easy for me to establish a relationship with my students. The industry also helped in making me a very patient person. I am certainly not discouraged from learning another language. In fact, I am beginning to learn Spanish now and hope to become fluent one day. I enjoyed reading the quote you listed from our text. It also goes on to say that "adults
Deletemay be able to use cognitive and metacognitive abilities and strategies to learn
many aspects of the L2 initially faster" (Ortega, 2013, p.18). Reading this definitely gave me some much needed hope and inspiration to continue learning Spanish.