This introductory assignment had my mind reflecting on my
childhood, early adolescence, to the present day. As you can see, English
is my first language acquisition and I grew up monolingual. I was
surprised to see that children growing up speaking one language is truly the
minority in the large picture of humanity, with the exception of the Western
middle-class context (Ortega, 2013, p.3).
As I read Chapter 1, I reflected on the term bilingual
acquisition. This is the ability to learn two languages relatively
simultaneously during early childhood. As I continued reading, I saw
that according to Ortega, early childhood is considered, before the age of four
(Ortega, 2013, p.4). I thought to myself "If my son's father grew up
in a Spanish speaking home, why did he not learn to speak Spanish
fluently?" However, understanding that I was not exposed to any other
language besides English, prior to the age of four, helped explain why I
did not become fluent in American Sign Language nor Spanish.
Upon learning that my little brother, Jeffrey, had to undergo a
surgery that would prevent him from communicating in our first language, I
remember feeling confused. I wondered how we would communicate. My Mother
informed us we would be learning American Sign Language. According to Ortega, a
defining feature of L2 acquisition is that individuals vary in how fast and how
far they will go in learning a second language. This is based on individual
differences which encompasses language aptitude and motivation (Ortega, 2013,
p.9). Due to the nature, we were highly motivated at the time to learn a L2 in
order to communicate with Jeffrey. However, as time went on and ASL was no
longer needed, slowly the language began to fade because there was a lack of
motivation.
When my son was born I also had a high motivation to learn
Spanish. I wanted Dylan to be bilingual. However, after reading the chapter I
have come to realize that Dylan would have needed more frequent and consistent
exposure from his Momo and Popo. Dylan resided with his Father and I, both who
are not fluent in Spanish. We were the mother tongue he heard day in and day
out. Therefore, Dylan learned English as his L1 (Ortega, 2013,
p.5).
Reading this chapter has brought some clarity to the differences
between the terms; first language acquisition, bilingualism, and second
language acquisition. I am looking forward to diving deeper into the studying
of second language acquisition and effective instruction to utilize in my
future classroom!
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Hey there, Amanda! After reading your post I felt a similarity to your son’s, Dylan, story about learning Spanish to my sisters story of trying to learn Spanish too. I only have one other sibling, and I am the oldest. While growing up, Spanish was the dominant language in my house. When I began going to elementary school this changed drastically. Everything at home was now English in order to accommodate me living in the ‘real word’. During this time my sister was born, and similar to your son she wasn't exposed to Spanish as much during her early childhood. Unlike me, her L1 was English, and soon enough her L2 would be Spanish. My sister eventually learned to speak Spanish, but considering the fact that she was not spoke to as much in her L2 in early childhood; and the fact that as she got older the world around her was English she ended up forgetting a lot of what was taught to her, and now speaks broken Spanish. After reading chapter two I read that the possible cause of this is due to the lack of practice and consistency during her early years. Ortega mentions that humans undergo loss of plasticity in the brain by year nine of life (Ortega, 2013, p. 12). This then shows that there is a critical period for L2 acquisition and as we get older it becomes a bit tougher to stick to our L2, if not being used. Although re-teaching L2 is a possibility, it is interesting to know that we as humans have a critical time to learn something that could make our lives so much different.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hey there Amanda! Yes, it's correct that after I began elementary school everything in my life was starting to revolve around English. This kind of relates to what Ortega had to say about second language acquisition for children. “As children grow older and their life circumstances diversify, different adolescents and adults will embark on very different kinds of literacy practice and use language for widely differing needs.” (Ortega, 2013, p.4) In my case, my needs were to communicate to the outside world, whether it be at school with my non-bilingual friends or simply reading signs and communicating to people who don’t speak Spanish. Sometimes I needed to communicate to my parents in just English. That being said, my parents are bilingual too! My mother was already fluent in her L2 when I was born, but my father and I learned a lot English together. Thanks for your reply! Can’t wait to see your VBlog 2!
DeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hey Alexander! It is interesting to read your experience. You said that after you began elementary school, your family accommodated you by no longer utilizing Spanish as the dominant language, instead, they chose to speak English in the home. Do you consider your parents bilingual? Or were they learning to speak English as well with you to help you in the "real world?" I also found it interesting to hear that your sister's L1 is English and L2 is Spanish. However, based on the information provided in our readings, if there was a lack of practice and consistency I am not surprised that her L1 is English and L2 is 'broken' Spanish. Ortega states that a child learns their first language from parents, siblings, and caretakers during their first 4 years. These are the critical years of development (Ortega, 2013, p. 5). Your sister was exposed more to the English language during that time. I did my interview today for our VBlog 2. The woman's native language (she spoke until age 6) has now transitioned over to her L2 because of lack of exposure, practice, and consistency. Thank you for sharing. It is interesting to learn about second language acquisition.
DeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hello Amanda! I really enjoyed watching your introductory video! While reading your reflection I thought about my six year old nephew who is hardly exposed to Spanish from my side of the family. Ortega mentions that at some point in life, humans will learn a second language due to the necessity to communicate (2013, p.1). This has to be one of the main reasons why children growing up like my nephew who come from bilingual families won't learn the second language because there is always going to be someone to translate for them the way we do for my mom and my nephew when they communicate. Therefore I find that a useful learning experience is to expose children to a second language experiences through simple everyday interactions such as communication without organized instruction to become more naturalistic L2 learners (Ortega, 2013, p.6).
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Amanda! I most definitely agree with the fact that children can simply learn and practice a second language through peer interactions, such as play. Ortega mentions that there are those who will "spend much of their time using the L1" because through instruction in many cases they won't meet the language proficiency expectations (2013, p.26). Therefore, through play, children might not feel as pressured and can actually take the opportunity to absorb some knowledge without having to worry about technicalities.
DeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Nancy, I love what you had to say! I actually remember reading about humans learning a second language, or at least a few words, due to the necessity to communicate. I thought about how I know a few words because of consistent exposure. However, I can see your point. If there is consistently someone available to translate, they may not learn the L2, especially if your nephew has not motivation to learn. Ortega states that motivation and language aptitude are key factors that help explain individual differences in second language acquisition (Ortega, 2013, p.9). I also agree that it is useful to expose children to a second language through simple everyday interactions with and without organized instruction. As a matter of fact, the lady whom I chose to do my VBlog interview with had come to the United States at the age of 6. She only knew how to say "goodnight." Upon our interview, she told me that the way she learned best was through everyday interactions with peers. She said most kids just want to play and it was through those interactions she learned the English language the most!
DeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hey Amanda! I really enjoyed watching your introductory video. After reading your reflection, I want to dive deeper into the paragraph about your son Dylan. I think it would have been amazing to learn the language his grandparents speak. But without as much exposure from his momo and popo, like you said, I can see how that became difficult. However, Ortega (2011) says, children learn basic language at home and then hold a broader language level while in school learning how to read and write. Which I think is interesting, because you can teach a child a different language but the one you teach them reading and writing in predominantly is the language they will gain a broader understanding in.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Oh, I agree. I think it would be an amazing opportunity to have had him learn or myself learn two languages at the same time as a young child. I believe it is beneficial to be bilingual. Ortega states that children growing up speaking only one language is truly the minority in the large picture of humanity, with the exception of the Western middle-class contexts (Ortega, 2013, p.3). As individuals, (parents), we possess a certain level of language that we pass onto our children. However, in school when children learn how to read and write and are exposed to more vocabulary, it is understandable that their language level broadens. It is interesting to learn that whatever language reading and writing are predominantly taught is the language they will gain a broader understanding in. At the same time, it is understandable because when we learn to not only speak a language but also encompass that with reading and writing in that language, the effect is a deeper, broader understanding.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Hi Amanda! I am glad that you mentioned ASL as I believe you are the only classmate that has done so thus far. It is, arguably, one of the easiest languages to master in my opinion as the is no worry of an accent, and can be applied to a wide range of other content areas.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as I want to teach math, this language is extremely useful as a supplementary tool for my teaching style. I love the idea of diversifying my classroom by integrating other languages other than English in my everyday lesson plans. ASL is one of the easiest to integrate as it has a broad range of application for my students.
Do you think integration or immersion is better? What about in the context of teaching?
Thank you for checking out my blog! The idea of diversifying your classroom by integrating multiple languages may be a great way to meet the diverse needs of students. I know in high school they have ASL as one of the choices for electives. Having a teacher who opened the door to learning a second language within a math class will possibly provide additional exposure for students. However, I am not sure I can agree that ASL is the easiest language to master. I think that depends on the individual who is learning the language. What may be easy for one person may not be easy for another. We all have our individual differences. Language aptitude plays a vital role, as well as, the learners motivation (Ortega, 2013, p.9). I believe that will vary for each and everyone of us. However, your teaching style sounds beneficial for your class! As far as your question regarding integration or immersion, I am not sure. I have not experienced either or so my perspective is limited. I think that there are probably pros and cons to each learning strategy. I think integration would possess a slower pace of learning a L2 than immersion. I think immersion you have more of a need to learn it to survive, per se. However, I learned some valuable insight from my VBlog2 interview which has brought to my attention what it was like to experience immersion and I look forward to sharing her story in my next video! In the context of teaching, I look forward to gaining perspective from our interview of a teacher and sharing that
ReplyDeletein my third VBlog entry!
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.