Hi Cesia! My sister in law moved from Mexico after she graduated high school over there so she has been in America for about eight years now. I believe most of her English learning was from naturalistic learning (Ortega, 2013, p. 6) during her time being emerged in America. She did attend community college so she gained some of her English understanding through instruction but I would say it was majority naturalistic because she only took one course specifically for learning English. She also has a sister who lives in Dallas that has been in Texas longer and was able to help teach her like you had with your sisters. I am looking forward to taking this course so that I am more knowledgeable in how to reach every student in my classroom.
Emily, that's great to hear that your sister in law was willing to learn a new language with no hesitation. Often times, people are to shy to speak another language because of the accent they might have or mispronunciation they are afraid to come across. Especially, because she learned it through other sources unlike instructed learners. When I think about it I believe I fall under a mix of both now that I'm older it is purely naturalistic but I don't think I'd learn much if it was only naturalistic learning (Ortega, 2013, p.6). I applaud her for being able to discipline herself to learn another language on her own because I don't know if I could, learning another language is pure discipline. I hope you are able to learn more through this course!
Hey Emily, I would like to applaud you for wanting to teach 7th grade math! I would like to teach 6th but something I noticed with 7th grade is that they're more understanding something I struggle with from ST 6th grade. I'm glad to hear that your sister in law is willing to keep learning the English language! I know you mentioned that sometimes she will would ask you about certain words, is she a naturalistic learner or and instructed learned (Ortega, 2013, p. 6)? I for example, learned both English and Spanish through a naturalistic setting my parents placed me in bilingual classes in my early childhood through elementary school and I was also exposed to it outside of school especially from my sisters. It's great that you're taking this course because it is important to be informed of how students that are ESL. ELL's and more process another language. I know you also mentioned you didn't now many people growing up that knew two languages, so if you ever have any questions feel free to reach me!
After reading your comments, I can tell that your relatives had a great learning environment which was clearly very helpful in their language learning process. Ortega (2013, p. 71) discusses the types of feedback language learners receive and how it effects their learning environment. Your relatives seem like they had lots of support when attempting to learn new languages which must have benefited them (Ortega, 2013). When I was learning Spanish, I also had an overwhelmingly supportive surrounding environment. My peers and elders who spoke Spanish were always ready and willing to give me clarification to help me improve my Spanish speaking and comprehension skills. As an Educator, I want to create a supportive learning environment in my classroom for English language learners.
Hi Emily! I think it's awesome that you want to teach middle school math. Math was a difficult subject for me growing up, but you mentioned in your video that you love it so I'm ecstatic to see a passionate intelligent educator like yourself pursue a career in this subject area. With the knowledge and admiration you carry for the subject, I know you will be a wonderful teacher! I really admire that you took two years of Spanish courses, it demonstrates your willingness to learn and be open to other cultures. It is indeed a difficult language and I don't know that I would have pursued it if I wasn't born into it so I commend you for you attempts to learn it. The author states, that people can learn a second language "through formal study or in a school or university setting" (Ortega, 2013). That's exactly what you did, you were willing to be open minded and receptive to a whole world of foreign language that you knew nothing about and that's admirable.
I appreciate your encouragement! I hope to eventually to have more time on my hands to pursue learning Spanish more in-depth because from what I can remember it does make a lot of sense when it comes to the sentence structure and grammar. My issue was learning the vocabulary and being able to recall it while I was listening. My high school teacher would give us segments during our unit tests where we had to listen to a passage and answer questions about what was said. That was the most difficult portion of the course for me. I struggled a lot with making sense of the passages and realized the semantics (Gass & Selinker, 2008, p. 12) is what I got caught up on.
Hey, Emily! First off I'd just like to say I enjoyed watching your video. Even though we've become friends through the education program, I still learned so many new things about you by watching this. You and I share a similar passion for wanting to teach 7th grade. Although we both choose to teach different subject matters, I like how we both have the same desires for what age range we are most comfortable teaching. Again, we know each other through this program and I know you're going to make such an amazing teacher. I am both excited for you, and proud of you. I think it is so interesting that your sister-in-law is earning English as a second language. I imagine that brought the two of you closer together. What would you say was harder for her to understand, pragmatics or semantics? The book talks about English language learners not always following the exact "rules" of the English language (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 12). A better way for me to rephrase is to ask if she struggled with using English grammaticality correct as far its meaning, or was it harder for her to use it in its correct context? I took German in high school, and I remember I always struggled most with semantics. Although sentences can still be formed even if they are not grammaticality correct, I was sometimes so off that I wouldn't make any sense.
Hi Remy! I am so excited to continue through another semester with you and our cohort. I definitely have enjoyed observing 7th grade and still stand firm in that grade being my preferred choice even though I am currently student teaching in an 8th grade Algebra class. My favorite thing about my sister in law being someone I have been around through her process of learning English is being able to help her when she gets confused on different meanings. I would definitely say she has more trouble with the semantics like Gass and Selinker explained (2008, p. 12). There are many unusual English words that she will forget can have multiple meanings so this is where she might struggle. It is more likely to occur when she is listening to someone talk versus speaking herself.
Hello again, Emily! I think if I had a close family member that didn't speak English as a first language, that I would also enjoy being able to help out when they were confused. I think we share that quality in the types of people we are in that we enjoy helping others. It is interesting that your sister-in-law has more difficulty while listening to someone, rather than when she is speaking. However, that actually makes sense after reading our text. It talks about how the knowledge of semantics entails knowledge of reference of the words (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p.12). For example, when referring to a leaf in a table it may be hard to distinguish that considering a leaf can also be referring to a part of a tree. I see how someone speaking and using that term could become confusing.
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ReplyDeleteHi Cesia! My sister in law moved from Mexico after she graduated high school over there so she has been in America for about eight years now. I believe most of her English learning was from naturalistic learning (Ortega, 2013, p. 6) during her time being emerged in America. She did attend community college so she gained some of her English understanding through instruction but I would say it was majority naturalistic because she only took one course specifically for learning English. She also has a sister who lives in Dallas that has been in Texas longer and was able to help teach her like you had with your sisters. I am looking forward to taking this course so that I am more knowledgeable in how to reach every student in my classroom.
DeleteEmily, that's great to hear that your sister in law was willing to learn a new language with no hesitation. Often times, people are to shy to speak another language because of the accent they might have or mispronunciation they are afraid to come across. Especially, because she learned it through other sources unlike instructed learners. When I think about it I believe I fall under a mix of both now that I'm older it is purely naturalistic but I don't think I'd learn much if it was only naturalistic learning (Ortega, 2013, p.6). I applaud her for being able to discipline herself to learn another language on her own because I don't know if I could, learning another language is pure discipline. I hope you are able to learn more through this course!
DeleteHey Emily, I would like to applaud you for wanting to teach 7th grade math! I would like to teach 6th but something I noticed with 7th grade is that they're more understanding something I struggle with from ST 6th grade. I'm glad to hear that your sister in law is willing to keep learning the English language! I know you mentioned that sometimes she will would ask you about certain words, is she a naturalistic learner or and instructed learned (Ortega, 2013, p. 6)? I for example, learned both English and Spanish through a naturalistic setting my parents placed me in bilingual classes in my early childhood through elementary school and I was also exposed to it outside of school especially from my sisters. It's great that you're taking this course because it is important to be informed of how students that are ESL. ELL's and more process another language. I know you also mentioned you didn't now many people growing up that knew two languages, so if you ever have any questions feel free to reach me!
DeleteHi Emily and Cesia!
DeleteAfter reading your comments, I can tell that your relatives had a great learning environment which was clearly very helpful in their language learning process. Ortega (2013, p. 71) discusses the types of feedback language learners receive and how it effects their learning environment. Your relatives seem like they had lots of support when attempting to learn new languages which must have benefited them (Ortega, 2013). When I was learning Spanish, I also had an overwhelmingly supportive surrounding environment. My peers and elders who spoke Spanish were always ready and willing to give me clarification to help me improve my Spanish speaking and comprehension skills. As an Educator, I want to create a supportive learning environment in my classroom for English language learners.
Hi Emily! I think it's awesome that you want to teach middle school math. Math was a difficult subject for me growing up, but you mentioned in your video that you love it so I'm ecstatic to see a passionate intelligent educator like yourself pursue a career in this subject area. With the knowledge and admiration you carry for the subject, I know you will be a wonderful teacher! I really admire that you took two years of Spanish courses, it demonstrates your willingness to learn and be open to other cultures. It is indeed a difficult language and I don't know that I would have pursued it if I wasn't born into it so I commend you for you attempts to learn it. The author states, that people can learn a second language "through formal study or in a school or university setting" (Ortega, 2013). That's exactly what you did, you were willing to be open minded and receptive to a whole world of foreign language that you knew nothing about and that's admirable.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your encouragement! I hope to eventually to have more time on my hands to pursue learning Spanish more in-depth because from what I can remember it does make a lot of sense when it comes to the sentence structure and grammar. My issue was learning the vocabulary and being able to recall it while I was listening. My high school teacher would give us segments during our unit tests where we had to listen to a passage and answer questions about what was said. That was the most difficult portion of the course for me. I struggled a lot with making sense of the passages and realized the semantics (Gass & Selinker, 2008, p. 12) is what I got caught up on.
DeleteHey, Emily! First off I'd just like to say I enjoyed watching your video. Even though we've become friends through the education program, I still learned so many new things about you by watching this. You and I share a similar passion for wanting to teach 7th grade. Although we both choose to teach different subject matters, I like how we both have the same desires for what age range we are most comfortable teaching. Again, we know each other through this program and I know you're going to make such an amazing teacher. I am both excited for you, and proud of you. I think it is so interesting that your sister-in-law is earning English as a second language. I imagine that brought the two of you closer together. What would you say was harder for her to understand, pragmatics or semantics? The book talks about English language learners not always following the exact "rules" of the English language (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 12). A better way for me to rephrase is to ask if she struggled with using English grammaticality correct as far its meaning, or was it harder for her to use it in its correct context? I took German in high school, and I remember I always struggled most with semantics. Although sentences can still be formed even if they are not grammaticality correct, I was sometimes so off that I wouldn't make any sense.
ReplyDeleteHi Remy! I am so excited to continue through another semester with you and our cohort. I definitely have enjoyed observing 7th grade and still stand firm in that grade being my preferred choice even though I am currently student teaching in an 8th grade Algebra class. My favorite thing about my sister in law being someone I have been around through her process of learning English is being able to help her when she gets confused on different meanings. I would definitely say she has more trouble with the semantics like Gass and Selinker explained (2008, p. 12). There are many unusual English words that she will forget can have multiple meanings so this is where she might struggle. It is more likely to occur when she is listening to someone talk versus speaking herself.
DeleteHello again, Emily! I think if I had a close family member that didn't speak English as a first language, that I would also enjoy being able to help out when they were confused. I think we share that quality in the types of people we are in that we enjoy helping others. It is interesting that your sister-in-law has more difficulty while listening to someone, rather than when she is speaking. However, that actually makes sense after reading our text. It talks about how the knowledge of semantics entails knowledge of reference of the words (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p.12). For example, when referring to a leaf in a table it may be hard to distinguish that considering a leaf can also be referring to a part of a tree. I see how someone speaking and using that term could become confusing.
Delete