I decided to interview one of my
close friends in which I mentioned in my introductory video, Neiba. She was
born in Mexico and moved to America when she was around 7 years old. She has
now been in the United States for about 22 years and was enrolled in an
elementary school upon her arrival. Neither of her parents speak English even
now so most of Neiba’s English was learned through instruction at school
(Ortega, 2013, p. 6).
After my questioning with Neiba, we discussed some of the responses more
elaborately. I was curious to find out that she began in a classroom with only
ESL support. I found this odd because in past experiences during my observation
at schools, students who have little to no proficiency in English will usually
begin in a bilingual classroom and then as they begin to learn the language
will continue on into an ESL supported classroom.
At the time that I was asking about these specifics Neiba confirmed that
she explicitly remembers sleeping through most of 2nd grade because
she did not understand the language unless the teacher assistant translated.
This does correlate with it likely being an ESL supported classroom instead of
a bilingual supported classroom. She said that she remembers 3rd
grade being the year that she was in a classroom with more support specific to
native Spanish speakers which is where she learned most of her English. We
concluded that when Neiba first began school it is likely her elementary school
did not offer a bilingual class as it might not have existed until the
following year. These of course are all assumptions but it was something I
wanted to investigate since the information seemed odd with what I have
experienced in the past.
“Much in the linguistic environment, particularly in naturalistic
settings, but also in today’s communicative classrooms, comes to learners in
the midst of oral interaction with one or more interlocutors, rather than as
exposure to monologic spoken or written discourse.” (Ortega, 2013, p. 60) in
other words, Neiba benefitted greatly in her bilingual class where half of the
class was completed in English and the other half was completed in Spanish.
This reflects the successful result she received in the conclusion of her 3rd
grade year.
Neiba understood that her time learning English was an easier process
than it was for her older sister. She explained that even now, over twenty
years later that her sister still has a distinct native accent. It is stated
that, “…learners who began acquiring the L2 before a certain age, which these
studies locate to be around puberty, will tend to exhibit intuitions that are
very close to those of native speakers of that language.” (Ortega, 2013, p. 19)
Although age does not always guarantee it will result this way, it seemed to do
so in Neiba and her sister’s case as Neiba’s sister did not begin learning her
L2 until after puberty.
Overall, Neiba seemed to have a well respected process of learning her L2. Although most was learned through direct instruction it was interesting to hear her reference learning through television as well. Her Second language acquisition process seemed to be successful as it is a reflection of her knowledge now.
Overall, Neiba seemed to have a well respected process of learning her L2. Although most was learned through direct instruction it was interesting to hear her reference learning through television as well. Her Second language acquisition process seemed to be successful as it is a reflection of her knowledge now.
Hi Emily! I thought it was interesting how your friend, Neiba, had a similar experience with my significant other. Neiba’s older sister had a bit more trouble with learning English because she learned it at an older age. According to Ortega (2013, p. 28-29), “post-pubertal learners are not likely to perform in the native speaker range, regardless of the number of years they have resided in the L2 environment.” Since Neiba’s older sister learned English at an older age, she was unable to fully grasp the pronunciation of the English language. The same occurred with Howard’s older brother, so I thought it was interesting to know that there are other people who had a similar experience. I also liked how Neiba spoke very positively about her experience in learning English. Instead of comparing herself to others, she maintained her goal of learning English and stayed resilient.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
DeleteI agree! I found it admirable that Neiba was so determined to learn her L2 that the last thing she thought about was it being an unfair advantage at the time. As she reflected later it is now a huge advantage for her to be fluent in both languages. Gass (2008) mentions that there are many advantages to being bilingual which include cognitive advantages (p. 29). It was explained that bilinguals even have better abilities when comparing grammar accuracy than those who only speak one language (Gass, 2008, p. 29).
In the video, your friend, Neiba, also mentioned having support from the teachers and aides in her school. According to Ortega (2013, p. 171), there are antecedents that affect the learners’ motivation for learning their second language. I believe that Neiba has the social support antecedent because she was able to learn English with the support of her teachers who stayed by her side to translate the words and help her when needed. Due to Neiba’s social support from her teachers and family members, Neiba was able to stay motivated and successfully attain her fluency in English.
DeleteHey Emily! A constant that I have been noticing between the blogs is how the age of language learning effects acquisition. This is obviously backed by the research Ortega presents in the textbook, but it is one thing to read about it and then to actually see real life circumstances. According to Ortega, "a child learning an L2 language only has a small window of opportunity in which they can learn a second language with ease before reaching puberty" (2013, p. 13). This would explain why your friend Neiba had a much easier time learning English compared to her sister who learned it at an older age.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge; 2013.
Hey Emily, it was unique to hear the perspective of Neiba with her English development. Neiba mentioned that she was more fortunate than her older sister learning English. I could relate to her sister because I was the oldest, and I was a bit frustrated with my younger siblings with their ease of learning English. I found it admiring that her teacher was not just supportive to Neiba, but her parents as well! According to Rowland, “even children with loving parents will not acquire language unless they are exposed to it” (Rowland, 2014, p. 17). Although my parents spoke little of English, they tried their best to communicate with my siblings and I as well with the help of our ESL teachers in elementary.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle,
DeleteNeiba’s parents fortunately supported her during her acquisition process. Actually, Neiba recently received her citizenship and her parents were proudly there to see her make the oath. I love to hear stories like yours and Neiba’s regarding the support from parents. Your parents seem to understand what was meant by Rowland (2014) regarding receiving English exposure in addition to their loving support (p. 17). It probably would have been more difficult for you had your parents not made the attempt to communicate with you through English for you to gain more exposure during your acquisition process.
Hi Michelle,
DeleteI agree with you that Neiba's siblings were probably able to learn English with more ease since they had an older sibling who had already begun to speak English. Having someone in the household who can help guide an ESL's L2 development will definitely help. However, it's interesting to think about how learning from parents or from siblings will not completely prevent a child from developing misconceptions about verbs tenses, such as "the past tense form runned (rendered as ran in adult mature English language) or the utterance the car was crashed (when mature language speakers of English would say the car crashed) are used at certain stages by children who are learning English as their mother tongue" (Ortega, 2013, p.24) I would definitely be interested to hear how Neiba and her siblings fared in regards to verb tenses.
Chelsea, you made a great point that the learning development of an L2 could be sped up through the interaction at home with their older siblings. I also like how you mention the misconception about verb tenses. I think this is a downside from learning in a naturalistic environment. Compared to instructed learners, naturalistic learners do not have any organized ESL instruction at home or in their neighborhood (Ortega, p. 2009, p. 6). In addition, I think there is a lot of room for mistakes when speaking at home compared to school.
DeleteHi Emily! The friend that I interviewed had a completely different experience. She was placed in a regular classroom and was pulled out for English Language support. I also see this in the elementary school I am placed in now. So, I found it extremely intriguing that she was placed in a bilingual class. It's interesting how her older sister had a whole different experience and we all know that it's because her sister started at an older age. According to Ortega, "a child learning an L2 language only has a small window of opportunity in which they can learn a second language with ease before reaching puberty" (2013, p. 13) This seems to be true for Neiba!
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley,
DeleteIt is funny to see the different ways schools handle their ESL students. In my reflection I mentioned that I found it odd that Neiba would not be directly enrolled into the bilingual program first. I have been to schools where their ESL programs were more like a pull out program like you mentioned your friend experienced. I found it interesting that Rowland (2014) mentions that although research is still being conducted, children who are bilingual from birth and children who learn their L2 early in life have similar tendencies (p. 190). This explains why Neiba and her sister had different experiences acquiring their L2.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising to see so many ESL students mention how much easier they believe it was for them to learn English at a younger age. Your friend Neiba seems very proficient in English, which is phenomenal being that neither of her parents speak English up to today. This goes to show how much harder it can be when attempting to learn a new language at an older age. Ortega (2013, p. 14) describes the study of deaf infants who received hearing aids only one year apart. There was a noticeable difference in their speech development which shows how just one year made such an impact.
Hi Angel,
DeleteYou are definitely correct regarding the age importance when it comes to learning a second language. I have seen many classmates Vblogs demonstrate this through their interviews. Rowland (2014) does explain that it can take a lot more effort for someone to learn a second language later in life than someone at a younger age (p.190). This is something Ortega (2013) also mentions throughout chapter 1. I find it interesting that this trend keeps occurring. It will definitely be something I take away from this course.
Hi Emely,
DeleteOrtega (2013, p. 28) claims that in terms of L2 ultimate attainment, most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language. After listening to Neiba in her interview, she definitely seems to have benefited from the age which she began learning English. On the other hand, after watching other interviews, I can also agree that there are exceptional learners who observe successful L2 acquisition outside of the "critical period" (Ortega, 2013, p. 29). One thing I can take from this course is that each students success in L2 acquisition was influenced by multiple aspects of their learning process rather than just one.
Hi Emily, I think it's great that your friend Neiba was able to be submerged into the English language in second grade. I'm certain this made the transition and adaptation process a lot easier for her. Something I have frequently seen is how the age of a learner does play a role in the acquisition process. Ortega speaks about this in chapter one when she states, "A child learning a second language language only has a small window of opportunity in which they can learn a second language with ease before reaching puberty" (Ortega, p. 13). This is seen through Neiba's experience of being able to acquire a second language early on much easier when compared to her sister being in the seventh grade.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer,
DeleteWhat I found interesting is that Neiba herself even understood that she had the better odds of acquiring English due to her age against her sister’s. Ortega (2013) does mention that it is crucial for L2 learners to begin at a younger age to prevent the accent that might be acquired with a delayed learning of the child’s second language (p. 22). This is something Neiba mentioned regarding her sister who started when she was in middle school. The more I have gone through this course and completed the video blogs the more I see the accuracy of what we are reading through the textbooks applied.
Hey Emily, I enjoyed watching your video with your friend Neiba and her second language knowledge. I related to Neiba in the sense that English was learned through instruction at school (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). Having parents at home that only speak Spanish allow us to use both languages and the sooner the better. My parents were always supportive that I learn English because they were aware that I needed English as well to survive in this country and other communities around me. According to Rowland, “even children with loving parents will not acquire language unless they are exposed to it” (Rowland, 2014, p. 17). Just like Neiba, my parents wanted me to learn English but I was only able to do so as a student in a bilingual classroom. I didn't get to exit out of my bilingual classroom until 5th grade.
ReplyDeleteHi Bianca,
DeleteIt is interesting that see haw both you and Neiba have became proficient in English even though you were not able to practice your English skills very much at home. Ortega (2013, p. 29) mentions that early start does not guarentee successful L2 acquisition. Ortega (2013) goes on to mention that this can be associated with high L1 use over the L2. It appears that although you and Neiba mostly spoke Spanish at home, your L1, this did not effect your ability to become proficient n English.
Hi Emily! As a few of our classmates have mentioned previously, it is very interesting how your friend Neiba was able to learn English with such proficiency. As Ortega states, “learners who began acquiring the L2 before a certain age, which these studies locate to be around puberty, will tend to exhibit intuitions that are very close to those of native speakers of that language” (p. 19, 2013). This could explain why your friend had a much easier time learning English when moving to the United States than her sister did since her sister was older when coming to the United States and trying to learn English.
ReplyDelete