TESOL at Forty and Lightbown & Spada's Chapter 7

            I found the article reading this week interesting in that it illustrates the SLA through time. Unlike a lot of what we have read, it does not focus on one theory or a specific category of theories, but looks at SLA from a bigger picture. It is almost like an overview—and very well fits into our studies since it is the end of the semester.

            I especially found it interesting when the article talks about how intrinsic motivation facilitates empowerment. In this particular section, the article explains that through time our teaching values have shifted from “product-oriented and teacher-fronted pedagogies” to “process-oriented, autonomous, and experiential” pedagogies. This allows for our students to get more involved in what they are learning, as opposed to just listening to a lecture. Teaching methods such as these allow for students to pick up a language from practicing, and they also allow students to feel worthy in the classroom. The best kind of learning environment is a comfortable one, where a student feels comfortable enough to participate in class and interact with his/her classmates and teacher.
           Aside from the article reading, I found Lightbown and Spada's chapter 7 very enjoyable to read. I feel as if everything in this chapter has been what we have been talking about this entire semester, and works as a great wrap up. It is so important when the authors bring up these misleading "notions" that are believed and passed around our culture about language learning, because language learning is so very different for everybody. Realistically, there isn't a right answer to the best theory, or best way of learning a language. There is no formula, and as Dr. Seloni would say, it isn't a "one size fits all" process, so it is so important for us as future educators to recognize the "gray areas" of SLA.

Proposals for The Classroom and Academic and Interpersonal Competence

Lightbown and Spada’s Chapter 6:

            I found this chapter interesting because it actually gives prime examples of teaching in the classroom. Much of what we have studied and talked about has been theory that can be applied to our teachings, but this chapter specifically exemplifies applications, or as the authors call it “proposals” of teaching English as a second language. The six proposals are as follows:

1.     Get it right from the beginning

This proposal suggests that errors are corrected before they become habits. It is hard to get rid of a habit if it has not be corrected from the beginning, even when the student understands the error.

2.     Just listen… and read

This is based on language acquisition through comprehensible input from reading and listening.

3.     Let’s talk

In this proposal, the authors write about the importance of not just listening, but also talking and interacting with the teacher and other classmates. The authors state, “ …when learners are given the opportunity to engage in interaction, the are compelled to ‘negotiate for meaning’, that is, to express and clarify their intentions, thoughts, opinions, etc., in a way that permits them to arrive at mutual understanding” (150).

4.     Two for one

In this approach, students acquire the L2 as they study subject matter taught in that language. For example, in this approach a student would learn History in the L2.

5.     Teach what is teachable

This proposal means exactly how it sounds. Don’t try to teach a student something that is beyond his or her learning level at that moment.

6.     Get it right in the end

Proponents of this proposal argue that although form-focused instruction is important, not everything has to be taught. Many features of language will acquired naturally through exposure.

Saville-Troike’s Chapter 6:

            This chapter covers communicative competence, and distinguished between academic and interpersonal competence. It is interesting to recognize that there are different expectations for the two areas. It is even more interesting for us as future teachers, to recognize which we are teaching for. We obviously want our students to strive academically, but we also want them to be able to go out into the world after their educational career and be successful communicators. Something that I have never really considered before reading this chapter is the levels of reading that my future students may be. I mean, I obviously know that they will all be at different comprehension levels, but it is important to remember that some students’ L1s will use a different orthographic system. There is a lot that goes into learning a new graphic representation, as the author explains that it includes not only the learning of symbols that represent letters, but also “recognizing and interpreting new conventions of punctuation.”

Wong's Chapter Three:

            Wong’s chapter 3 is very interesting because it makes a valid point that is beneficial for every teacher and not just the ESL teacher. She explains that students cannot simply learn if they are not engaged. As future educators, we must move award from the traditional methods of teaching, and focus on strategies that engage our students. If our students are engaged then they will be learning without even knowing it. This is where the author brings in problem solving and the importance of it. Wong states, “When children are presented with manipulatives and a series of problems that involve grouping, they can, over time, figure out an abstract way to represent their actions. When they have figured out the process, they remember it and they can apply it to a new situations because they understand what they are doing” (87). Furthermore, Wong presents research where student teachers are asked to utilize problem solving through tool and mediation. In Charlie’s example, he wanted to teach his students “standard unit of measurement;” He did this by posing problem solving and engaging the students in a class activity. Through the activity, he asked the students further questions that got them thinking and helped them understand the concepts.

Alternative Assignment

Nesteruk, O. (2010). Heritage language maintenance and loss among the children of Eastern European   immigrants in the USA. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(3), 271- 286.           

This article is interesting and can be very helpful to my research paper because it explores immigrants and their language in schools and professions. It does a little bit of comparing the immigrants in an ethnic community to an immigrant who migrates amongst the U.S. in search of a job. The author calls this “highly skilled immigrants.” Furthermore, this article focuses on Eastern European immigrants  in America, exploring their children and heritage loss, school age immigrants, and immigrants in their professions.

Jiang, M., Green, R.J., Henley, T.B., & Masten, W.G. (2009). Acculturation in relation to the acquisition of a second language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 30(6), 481-492.

This article is beneficial to my paper because focuses on post-puberty Chinese immigrant students and the difference between L2 acquisition and acculturation. The authors state, “…the more positively identified with and the more psychologically integrated into the target language group, the more likely the learner is able to succeed in L2 acquisition (Jiang, Green, Henley, & Masten 2009). One of my main focuses is on the difference between language acquisition in an ethnic community versus an affluent area and this article does a whole lot of exploration in acculturation.

Devrim, D.Y., & Bayyurt, Y. (2010). Students' understandings and preferences of the role and place of 'culture' in english language teaching: a focus in an efl context. TESOL Journal, 2, 4-23.

In this article, the author explores the roles of culture within EFL classrooms. Furthermore, comparisons are made between native and non-native teachers. This article could have relevance to my paper because I am interested in specifically exploring the environmental differences and effects of those differences on l2 learners. Perhaps a native teacher could have a different influence on his/her students than a non-native teacher.

Crossley, S., Salsbury, T., & McNamara, D. (2010). The development of polysemy and frequency use in english second language speakers. Language Learning: A journal of Research in Language Studies, 573-605.

           This article points out a few aspects of second language acquisition in which I am interested in the frequency use in learning a language. In my research paper, I will be exploring both ethnic communities and non-ethnic communities; the frequency will be much higher in an environment where a non English speaker cannot communicate without having to attempt speaking English. I am interested in seeing the effects and influences of frequency use.

Communication in the Classroom

Dialogic Approaches to TESOL: Chapter 2

        While reading this chapter, a quote struck out to me and really got me thinking about my future career as a teacher. Wong writes, “Americans communicate ‘in order to assert independence, in the Chinese view one communicates in order to harmonize, silence often being a salient part of the process”’ (p. 46). This quote is so interesting because as I future educator I must be aware and conscious of the affect of one’s background on their speaking practice, class participation, and outlook on communication. What I mean by this is that I must be aware that if a student is more apprehensive to speaking up in class, it is not because they are not learning or paying attention, but that is the type of communication they are accustomed to.

Breaking Them Up, Taking Them Away”: ESL Student in Grade1

         I really enjoyed reading this article because I had never really considered the small details of a classroom such as seating and structure. While I find that Ms. Jones expected too much structure in her first grade classroom, I have to agree that structure is important especially with young students of varying English levels. However, there needs to be a balance, and it seems as if this classroom is lacking one. For example, the seating arrangement has all of the students with the same L1 separated, and has “normal” English L1 students in the back. While some of the other students probably require more attention in their school work, Ms. Jones is not only devaluing the importance of the education for the students in the back, having too much confidence that they will stay on task and pay attention. Secondly, completely separating students of the same L1 is too forceful. This disables them to talk with their friends, and enjoy their school environment; it may also add to discomfort.

        What struck me as shocking was the lack of communication and interaction amongst the students Ms. Jones’ classroom. ESL students should be interacting and talking as much as possible, especially at such a young age. This will build their confidence and give them practice using their L2. Additionally, these children are probably aged 6-7 years old, which according to Chomsky and other theorists is a significant age where L2 learners can acquire a language to a native level. 

Dialogic Approaches to TESOL: Chapter 1

            This week’s reading was very interesting to me in that it focuses on the political and social complexities for ESL and EFL learners. I really like that Wong started the chapter off with the realities and comparisons of schools and classrooms from one socio-economic status to another. This is a topic that we have not yet discussed nor really read about in our TESOL class, however, it is a very prominent and existent aspect for many English learners. By this I mean that many English learners who have immigrated to the US cannot afford to move into middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods, and are often stuck living in urban areas. Urban education is far behind suburban education, and urban education is often where ELL students find themselves. These schools lack proper resources, qualified teachers and involved communities. On page 2, Wong states some unfortunate and shocking statistics for every 100 Chicana/Latina students-- only less than half will graduate form high school, and only 6 will graduate from a four-year university. Numbers like these are a scream for help. These communities and students need help form their educators, and that help can come in forms of different methodologies.

            Further on in the chapter, Wong describes Clifford Prator’s approach to teaching in the form of three questions: What is known about the nature of the language? What is known about the nature of the learner? And, what are the aims of instruction? As a future educator, I believe that one of the most important traits a teacher must carry is flexibility and the ability to teach in a variety of different strategies. Furthermore, it is important that the student feels appreciated for his identity and culture. Prator’s last question, “What are the aims of instruction?” brings up valid points. “What is the fine line between helping our students become intelligible to other speakers of English and psychologically colonizing our students by insisting that their rendition of English match as much as possible British or “standard” American speech? At some level, accent is of a part of identity” (9). This is true, we need to focus on inclusion rather than adjustment.

            Finally after a brief history of the various approaches to teaching English, Wong points out Dialogic Pedogogy, which is according to the author is the newest methodology and reflects Prator’s question of, “ What is the nature of the learner/student?” There are four features to dialogic pedagogy:

1.     Learning in community: This refers to being immersed in the target language community, surrounded by multiple perspectives and opportunities for interaction.

2.     Problem posing: This focuses on exploration and the social nature of learning. “Students reflect on their learning strategies and draw from their own linguistic and cultural awareness as resources” (37).

3.     Learning by doing: Students learn the language through practice and communication.

4.     Knowledge for whom: Who is the student that is learning English? This questions the nature of the student and how can educational practices change inequalities within schools? 

LGG and Motivation

           I found the idea of a “good language learner” very interesting in that it examines whether somebody could be more likely to learn a language based on a variety of aspects such as personality characteristics, cognitive styles, attitudes, motivations, and past learning experiences.  I believe that yes, perhaps somebody can be assessed on these aspects, but can we necessarily label somebody good? And if there is a good, then shouldn’t there be a bad? In my opinion labeling can cause complexities as well as discourage somebody who doesn’t fit the idea of a gll. Never the less, there were many components of this study that I agreed with. According to “Changing Perspectives on Good Language Learners,” authors found that one of the most important aspects of whether somebody is a good language learner is their attitude and motivation. In my opinion motivation is key in language learning—one has to be willing to take chances and make mistakes, dedicate and commit time to learning and must be vulnerable. Lastly, I thought it was interesting that the article, “Social Identity Investment and Language Learning” distinguished two motivations; instrumental motivation which refers to the desire that language learners have to learn a second language for utilitarian purposes and integrative motivation which refers to the desire to learn a language to integrate successfully with the target language community. SLA learners have different purposes for learning and with different purposes come different motivations.

            The actual immigrant stories within these articles touched me since my parents and many of my family members are immigrants. As I was reading them, I was reminded of my mom, who still faces intimidation and embarrassment because her English isn’t perfect. She is a very outgoing individual, but might not seem so to somebody she just meets because her second language is still a struggle for her. Social identity is a big problem for l2 learners and it causes distractions and obstacles in their process of learning. Additionally, the ability of not being able to speak a target language not only disrupts social purposes, but even domestic purposes. In Martina’s case, her lack of English caused her to be dependant on her children, which in turn caused a disorder in her family dynamics. It was almost as if she had become the child, and her eldest daughter became the parent. It wasn’t until she had acquired some English, and was able to talk for her self is when she regained her caregiver role. 

Saville-Troike's Chapter 5

           Something that surprised me in this chapter was the gender differences among language learners. I have never thought of this idea before reading this, however I have experienced it. For Dad tends to use a lot more slang, and less formal English, while my Mom tries to speak very proper English. This is something I noticed, but have always associated with their personalities, however, perhaps it is a macrosocial factor.
           Unlike chapter four, which focused on the brain and the individual, this chapter put much emphasis on cultural aspects of L2 learning and interaction. I found this interesting because joining this class, I really wanted to expand my knowledge on SLA especially in a cultural sense. I was surprised with Kleifgen's study (106-107) when the teacher's modification of input had no significant change on the children, or there is no evidence I should say, but there was a significant evidence on the university students. This further questions age, and how much age contributes to somebody's ability to learn a language.

Saville-Troike's Chapter 4

             I found chapter four of Saville-Troike very interesting, in that it explores Language acquisition from a neurological perspective. It is most often that we hear about the actual methods of teaching, or the culture that we are exposed to when learning another language, but not too often do we focus on the brain, and what contributions it makes to the learning. It is interesting to note that L1 and L2 are stored and learned in different areas of the brain. Perhaps further research on the area that is most responsible for L2 could enhance learning methods and teaching strategies. Something that I especially found interesting was the research that indicates that different elements of language are located in separate parts of the brain (72). I was able to relate to this idea because I have a friend who can fully comprehend and understand Filipino or Tagalog, but cannot speak it. Actually, he can barely put a sentence together. I always found this to be very odd, and could not believe that he understands every bit of it without actually speaking the language. However, with these explanations of different areas of the brain controlling different parts of a language, I can now understand how his situation is not so unordinary.

             Aside from the insights on brain research and findings in L2 learners, I found the section on age interesting. There definitely are advantages and disadvantages with age, but from personal experience, it seems more common that somebody who studies another language at an older age ends up being able to retain more of the vocabulary and has a better sense of grammar. When I was in sixth grade, I took private Spanish lessons, however I retained almost none of the information because I was using memorization as opposed to comprehension. For example, I didn’t understand why I had to conjugate verbs. In high school, I once again took Spanish, but was a lot more successful at the comprehension part of it. I was old enough to understand why I had to conjugate my verbs, but I struggled with the comprehension of a subjunctive tense; but my freshmen year of college, I was able to understand the concept fully. Thus in my case, since I had started learning Spanish around the age of 11, the older I got, the more I was able to learn.

Wild Child

Question 5:

       Although, the movie "Wild Child" displays a boy who has spent most of his life in a forest, isolated from any human communication and found at age 12 not being able to talk or communicate, it is hard for me to say that this proves or supports Critical Period Hypothesis. My reason for this is that, nobody is certain when Victor was left in the forest or why  he was left in the forest. To me it seems that a parent who would abandon their child to die in isolation, could have also been an inflictor of domestic abuse. Therefore, Victor could have been a victim of abuse and suffered from mental issues. Additionally, Victor could have been born with disorders that were not examined and studied at the time such as autism. I am not discrediting the Critical Period Hypothesis, I am simply saying that Victor's case does not have enough evidence and information to prove the hypothesis.

Saville-Troike's Chapter 3

            In this week's reading of Muriel Saville-Troike's text, linguistics were covered in detail. The concepts behind these various terms can be very complex, but as in my previous post, I was able to connect many of the terms with personal and real experiences. Although, English is my second language, I learned it at a very young age and speak as a native speaker. My parents however, started to learn English in their 20's. Furthermore, they did not receive any formal learning; they didn't learn the linguistics and still today, they encounters troubles because they try to form a sentence the way it is formed in Polish. For example, Saville-Troike writes of types of intereference (35-36). For my parents, it is difficult to distinguish when to use an article before a noun because articles do not exist in the Polish language.
      
            In chapter 3, the authors writes this of social learning, "Although the capacity for the first language acquisition is inherent in the neurological makeup of every individual, no one can develop that potential without interaction with others in the society he or she grows up in" (32). This caught my attention because  it is very true. Language is really based off of the culture around us. My first language is Polish, but the Polish that I use here in America differs from the Polish that I start catching onto when I am visiting Poland for a longer period of time. As the author goes onto say, the purpose of language is communication, and therefore language is always changing. These changes cannot be obtained and used unless, one is exposed to them from their culture and society. My parents are speaking the Polish that was being used in Poland's culture in the 80's. Although the proper language is still the same, pop-culture and technology have changed many aspects of the language, and since I am not living in that country and not interacting with others from that society, I am not speaking the most everyday informal Polish.

Chapter One and Two:

            Chapter one sparked my interest in that I never really looked at L2 learning through a variety of perspectives. It has excited me to learn and explore the different perspectives this semester mostly because, throughout my reading, I was able to apply my personal learning experience with many of the bolded key terms. For example, my first language is Polish, my second language is English and my foreign language is Spanish. Also, I learned my second language through a combination of formal and informal L2 learning; however, most of the learning took place informally. That is to say that, while I took an ESL class as a young child, I was more so forced to learn the language from my surroundings because I only received a formal learning experience (ESL) for a short period of time.

            As mentioned before, the three perspectives pointed out in this chapter—linguistic, psychological, and social interest me and I am looking forward to exploring the ideas behind these perspectives individually as well as combined. For example, in my personal experience, through a linguistic perspective, one might say that it was easy for me to learn how to read and write Spanish because the sentence structure is very much similar to Polish, it can also be argued through the social perspective that it is not easy for me to actually speak the language because I have not been culturally exposed and immersed in the language.

            The second chapter of this text further explored the three perspectives. The author ponders and points out interesting insights on multilingualism and children L2 learners. For example, Saville-Troike writes, “The ability to acquire language could not be dependent upon intellectual powers alone, since children with clearly superior intelligence do not necessarily begin to speak earlier, or with better results, than children of ordinary intellect” (15). What is it that has the most influence on the learning of another language? This is a question that I would like to learn more about. Additionally, why is it that it is easier to learn another language at a younger age? Since I was exposed to English at a young age, quickly I learned the language and lost a Polish accent, where as my parents still have difficulty today with English grammar and vocabulary, and their accent is very thick. What is it that makes a child so susceptible to acquiring a second language fluently?

            I also wanted to point out something that the author states that truly stood out to me. “Regrettably, there is a common attitude among educators, sometimes pursued with almost religious fervor, that socially “inferior” or “uneducated” varieties of a language are a moral threat and should be completely eradicted” (12). As a future educator, I think that these “inferior languages” are something I will most likely encounter with many students, and I think that teachers need to realize that these are not inferior languages at all, but simply languages of other cultures. While it is important to teach proper grammar of standard English, who is to say that standard English is in fact the “superior” language. The acceptance, appreciation and acknowledgement of other dialects per say, is very important to a student. Additionally, language is always changing. This is to say that a very proper and grammatically correct standard English sentence today, could have been slang one hundred years ago. The main purpose of a language is for communication, and if a language needs to change in order for society to communicate better, so be it.