Learning more about the theory behind learning a second language in this course has immensely helped me understand the process of the matter. When reading various content of second language acquisition from Gass, Selinker, and Ortega and watching YouTube videos, it gives me a better understanding on the process of learning a second language and how I can help my future English language learners. This course’s organization and productivity compared to last semester’s second language methodology changed drastically. It was definitely more manageable and clear, which I appreciated. The weekly announcements and taking away the quizzes also helped a lot. If I had to change one thing, it would be the grading. There were times where I had points taken off for something that was not even stated on the rubric. Also, some of the feedback was off topic and about the people I interviewed, which was out of my control and not my fault, so I feel like sticking to the course material and the matter of the assignment would be more beneficial to me as a student. Other than that, I thought that this semester was so much better!
As far as the blog, I do think it is beneficial, especially for an online course. It inspires me to have my future students make a blog as well, of course scaffolded down for them. Especially since you can see videos of your online classmates, I feel like I know them and it does build a sense of community, which I think is really important. I learned a lot from my other peers and my favorite part was seeing how they connected the theory of second language acquisition to their blog entries. It was interesting to see everyone’s perspective, implications, and applications. Talking with others back and forth in the comment section allowed me to think more critically as well. Since the professor enforced us to cite a book or video in our comments, it really kept our conversations content-based, which I think was an important rule to stay on the right track of our learning in this class.
This class has already helped me in my student teaching experience with an English language learner I have, and I cannot wait to apply what I have learned to my future English language learners. Using a blog to build a sense of community connects with my teaching philosophy which focuses on the relationships built with my students. I want to use this strategy in my classroom and hopefully it will impact my children like it has impacted me. Learning what works with English language learners regarding how to help them acquire English is something I really needed as a future teacher. Without this course, I would not be as qualified, and it has motivated me to become certified in ESL as well. I strongly believe in setting my students up for success, and not failure. Communicating clearly and fairly is crucial and this class helped me understand the importance of this.
