Introduction
Hello! My name is Joselyn Hernandez. I am currently a senior at the University of Houston majoring in Education. My certification will be from early childhood to 6th grade. I am now in the student teaching phase of the program and have been placed in Alvin ISD at Don Jeter Elementary School. I have been placed in a 2nd grade self-contained classroom and I am loving it! This blog will be dedicated to my Language Methodology class that I am currently taking at the University of Houston.
Hello Joselyn! I am excited to share another class with you! Folse wrote that students require 10,000 words to comprehend academic materials, 5,000 to become literate in the new language, and only 2,000 to be a conversationalist in the language (2011). I agree with you that immersion teaching, and having students experience the language often greatly increases the student's chances of being able to use the language. What are your thoughts on Folse's rates of words? What about the age at which students "stop learning languages"? Personally, I do not think you can reach a point in your life where you can't learn the language at all. However, I do agree that being younger helps to learn the language skills faster.
ReplyDeleteHello Ila,
DeleteI see how it can take 2,000 words to become a conversationalist. To be a conversationalist is to be able to carry a conversation as opposed to being literate and able to comprehend academic materials according to Folse. I do agree that the more words you know, the more you are able to understand of course. Having a broader vocabulary lets you understand the language a broader range of situations. Even I find some trouble with reading academic material in my L2 which is Spanish. I think expanding your vocabulary in another language helps immensely. Also, I believe there is an optimal age to learn a language but there is no age where we are incapable of learning a language.
Hey Joselyn, I have been in a classroom with 5th graders since the beginning of the year and I can see how the exposure to English in the lower grades can really help the students grow and develop language skills that are needed to understand for more complex ideas as the students get older. Many of my students are new to the US and are struggling to keep up in the classroom because there is no Spanish on the STARR test at the end of the year. The best way we can teach them English is by having them observe and do many read alouds. Being in Houston has really exposed me to the struggles that ELL students go through and through my little experience of trying to learn Spanish I can't imagine how difficult it must be to learn a language while going to school.
ReplyDeleteHello Andrew,
DeleteAccording to Wright, “United States functions on the tool of assimilation” (p.14) and a lot of our ELL students are going through this process of language assimilation in trying to learn their L2 alongside their native language. I also agree that it must be a difficult task for our ELL students that are currently trying to learn English as their L2. I agree that observation and read alouds are helpful in helping our ELL students. Turn and talks are also great to develop communication skills.
Hey Joselyn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your video! I think it's interesting how you found difficulty in taking formal Spanish classes although you spoke primarily Spanish. For me, my feelings were the complete opposite. I am aware that there are probably other factors that contribute to you feeling that way but the way I was given Spanish instruction was just being built upon my prior knowledge (which are the authentic conversations I had at my grandma's house). Our coursework involved much of watching videos and practicing with our classmates what we learned, along the lines of authentic experiences. Another thing I wanted to speak upon is that Houston is indeed such a diverse city. According to Wright, “United States functions on the tool of assimilation” (p.14). I personally think we do an outstanding job at respecting different cultures that we are exposed to also with the uttermost respect. I look forward to watching more of your videos and I also think it's extremely important to discover engaging activities that can help ELLs with language acquisition while still being aligned to the curriculum.
Hello Anicia,
DeleteIn my case, I was in a native Spanish speaker class. Our teacher learned Spanish as her L2 and she knew very proper Spanish, which is not what we speak among my family. We speak Spanish the way they speak it in my parents native country which is not always the proper way. As every Spanish speaking country, they have their own slang and variations in wording. Also, my Spanish class focused on the grammatical aspect of the language which is not something that I learned growing up. I learned basic spelling but I never went further than that. In my Spanish class we were required to write with the accent marks and study all the tenses (subjunctive and indicative). This is something that I never really put thought into when I speak the language.
Hi, Joselyn!
ReplyDeleteYour video was great! I really enjoyed how you shared your experiences and adventures related to learning proper Spanish. It is interesting that you found it harder to learn proper Spanish seeing as how you are able to speak it so well. In terms of learning a completely new language I think that I agree with Folse who stated that learning a new language to the point of proficiency is more common among children. I also agree that submerging one's self in the language will definitely help with picking it up and can have a lot of positive benefits. It is also helpful to get a sense of how the language is properly written because all of these factors come into play when learning a new language. Great video Joselyn, thank you for sharing it with us!
Hi Marissa!
DeleteYes, I found it hard to learn the grammar and phonics behind Spanish. Specifically the grammar involved in writing the language. When speaking Spanish, it is not something that comes naturally to me because I don't think about all the grammar behind what I am saying. I also agree that being submerged in a language can aid in the acquisition of it.
Hi Joselyn! It was really interesting hearing your journey into becoming a teacher. I loved how you mentioned the amount of diversity found in Houston. It is absolutely true that Houston is very diverse and therefore we can expect our classrooms to be equally as diverse. That is why I think it is so important for us to have many different ways, in the classroom, for the cultures to intermingle and learn from each other. Wayne E. Wright suggest many ways to do this, one of the ones I like to use in my student teaching classroom is “Think-Pair-Share” (p.171, 2015). Think- Pair-Share is exactly what it sounds like, students think to themselves about a problem posed, then pair up with a peer and share their thoughts. I think this is an excellent way to have all students, whether ELL’s or other cultures, talk in relatively stress-free environment.
ReplyDeleteHello Karen,
DeleteAccording to Wright, “United States functions on the tool of assimilation” (p.14) and this is the process a lot of our students are going through in learning English as their L2. I also agree that think-pair-shares are great for our ELL students and all of our students in general! Turn and talks are great ways to get students communicating and exchanging ideas. This is something that we are currently trying to implement more of in our classroom right now.