Sunday, March 4, 2018
ENTRY 3: INTERVIEW WITH SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHER
With my mother also being a second language learner, she is also a second language teacher! My mother has a Master's degree as a reading specialist and has taken many theory classes, but in all honesty, my mom doesn't worry about matching what she does to research or theories. She teaches based off of her students' needs and what she feels to be right, which is why it is eye-opening to see how my mom's natural teaching pairs with the readings. After reflecting on the video, I found that my mom believes that "speech cannot be taught directly, but "emerges" on its own," as said in Gass & Selinker's chapter 10 (Gass & Selinker, 2001, pg. 303). A question I should have asked should have been about the topic of input and output. I wanted to see my mom's insight and stance on the behaviorist view or "focusing on innateness and the innate system" (Gass & Selinker, 2001, pg. 308). If I had to guess, I would believe that she would gear towards focusing on innateness. She is big on building relationships with the students as said in the video and giving them the experiences and opportunities they need in order to grow as individuals. I think that with my mom being a second language learner herself, she has a lot of empathy and insight for her English language learners. It has truly been a privilege to see her in a different light and to experience what a great teacher she is.
Here is a link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yopRB_9Lft0&t=13s
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Shelly, I admire your mother’s desire to build relationships with her students. I also enjoy building relationships with my own students. This shows that your mother cares about the whole child, not just their academic needs. Our course and textbook discuss a lot about SLA theories. For example, Ortega states, “The growth of SLA continues to be prodigious today. This book is about SLA, its findings and theories, its research paradigms and its questions for the future” (Ortega, 2011). Therefore, it is clear that a lot of what SLA is made up of is based on theories. Although your mom focuses on the relational side of things, she is still practicing SLA theories with or without realizing it. She may not be paying attention to which theory she’s using, which is not a bad thing, but if she is an SLA teacher, she definitely uses theories she believes in every day. I am curious to know that if you gave her a list of SLA theories, which theories would she say that she uses daily in her classroom?
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London and New York: Routledge.
Hi Kaela! You made a great point that my mom is practicing theories without realizing it. I would like to extend on asking her about specific SLA theories and seeing which ones she uses in her classroom. Although she doesn't drive her teaching with theories, I'm sure she knows of them since she is an SLA teacher.
DeleteSometimes when you’ve been in the field for a long time, you forget about the logistics of educational theories. The principles of the theories just come naturally to teachers who have been teaching a long time, and they just implement them without thinking about what theory they’re using. Since this is your mom, I wonder if maybe you could observe her class one day. If you do, could you please tell me what theories you found her implementing?
DeleteHi Shelly! Thank you for sharing your Mom's interview! I definitely agree with your Mom that in order to be a supportive, caring teacher, they go to build a trusting relationship with the students and teach based on their needs. According to Ortega, "Information processing theories distinguish between representation (or knowledge) and access (or processing)… Bialystok and Sharwood Smith (1985) used a library metaphor to explain this distinction to their SLA audience: 'knowing what is in the library, plus how the contents are classified and related to one another, must be distinguished from retrieving desired information from the books at a given time' (p. 105)" (2011, pg. 83). As their future educator, it is important on how we are approaching and teaching ELL students making sure these students are seeing it visually and hearing it. This helps the students to processing learning information. To me, going above and beyond for your students is worth it. Your Mom is such an inspiration for all of us to become future educators!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response, Katherine! I like how you used Ortega for the lovely library metaphor because it really resonated with me. Having students learn by visuals and audio is so important, and I definitely want to use these strategies mentioned in our readings about implementing them in my future classroom.
DeleteHi Shelly,
DeleteYes, I definitely agree with you. Sadly, I do not see this strategy of visuals and audio in my student teaching classroom. I wish the teachers do care or do anything they can for those students. There is a ELL who I help by translating in Vietnamese and speak simple English words. During the beginning, I definitely drew a lot of pictures for her and wrote out the word of what it is. I say it slowly, pronouncing letter by letter then say it together then I ask the student to do the same time. Every now and then, I reviewed with her the words without myself saying the word unless the student struggles with it.
Hi Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI think it’s really cool how your mom is a second language teacher. I think having a teacher and especially a second language teacher is a good resource for you when you have questions or concerns. I like how you mentioned that your mom thinks that you cannot directly teach speech, but instead the language emerges from the learner. Gass and Selinker (2008), state that in order for students to understand they need “comprehensible input”. I think your mom is able to see the important of this when she is in the field herself. Students need to understand what they are learning in order to put it into practice. Overall I really enjoyed your video and learning more about your mom!
Hi Axa! Your in text citation from Gass and Selinker is exactly what I used to formulate my question I asked her in the interview! It is always great to hear when theory is being used in actual classrooms. From seeing proof that it is actually being put to use, it helps me better understand why it's so important to learn these theories as a future teacher.
DeleteHi Shelly!
ReplyDeleteI think it’s so interesting how your mother’s natural teaching doesn’t worry about the theories and yet follows them so well. I also found it intriguing that she believes that speech emerges on its own. Her perspective on innateness and building relationships with the students to help them grow as individuals is great for students to grow in their motivation for learning a second language. Thanks for sharing!
Jennie, thanks for your comment! I do think it's interesting how she believes speech emerges on her own. She got this from her own experience and how she has seen her second language learners develop. I do think that building relationships with your students is crucial, and I would love to learn more about the psychology behind second language acquisition as far as relationships go.
DeleteI think it’s so cool that your mom came from a different country when she was young, learned English, and now she is a teacher! I think ELL students benefit more from a teacher who used to be an ELL student themselves. She knows the real struggle of learning English and I am sure her not being from the United States probably motivates her students.
ReplyDeleteHello Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI thought that your mother's notion that language emerges on its own was of interest. I have to stop and ask myself, "Would a child learn to speak a language if not taught?" The answer is absolutely not if no one was around to speak to them. The answer changes dramatically if you answer that children learn a language at home when they are just spoken to, e.g. children learn a language without formal learning. I think that we underestimate the power of the L1 on the L2. Ortega says, "Knowledge of the L1 can often have a positive impact on the rate of L2 learning" (Ortega, 2013, p. 42). The students can naturally use what they have learned from their past experiences in learning their L1. I believe this information is useful for educators to remember since children have a natural tendency to rely on their previous experiences.