Vlog III Interview Reflection
For my Vlog III, I interviewed
my mentor teacher Mr. Tran at Stevenson Middle School. He has been teaching for
eleven years, and he started teaching after graduating from the University of
Houston. Mr. Tran did mention that reading and writing were more difficult for
students who learn(ed) English as a second language, however, speaking is still
a difficult aspect for students. Even though they hear English throughout the
day, you cannot assess whether they are understanding or not. When they write
or read, there may be a harder time putting words together as compared to
speaking, because with reading and writing, you have spelling and grammar;
especially if there is an essay prompt or an assignment that requires them to
utilize reading and writing skills, there is a significant amount of difficulty
for those students. Mr. Tran also claimed that students that are bilingual do
use a higher level of cognitive demand as compared to monolinguals. The
bilingual students have a more diverse/wide vocabulary bank compared to
monolinguals, because they have to speak more than one language. Both
monolingual and bilingual students are similar because they understand the
language they are fluent in, however, bilingual students have more of a choice
(as far as vocabulary, or language type) when communicating with others, and
monolingual students do not really have a choice when it comes to language
type, other than their fluent language or L1.
Motivation does play a huge factor in
monolingual/bilingual students’ success. Mr. Tran stated that he has
experienced intrinsic/extrinsic motivators being used with English Language
Learners (ELL), but he has seen self-motivation more frequently within students
and their respective friend groups/peers; friends play a crucial role when
trying to learn a new language -- they know how to relate or explain things
better to their friends than maybe a teacher could to a student. Most of the
students come from households that only speak Spanish, or Vietnamese, or
another language other than English, which does affect how a student learns to
speak English. Difficulties arise for students who are learning English when
their parents have little to no educational background, they only speak
languages other than English at home, and students have no guidance outside of
school to help learn English. ELL students have to adapt when it comes to their
education because English is the primary language used. As with any skill or
trait, learning something new requires practice, repetition, and more practice
in order to become sufficient in something. Mr. Tran concluded the interview
with some advice to new English language learners; practice reading, writing,
and speaking English as much as possible, persevere through the difficult
times, and do not give up. The only way to achieve a native level of speaking
is to practice and become more and more fluent with that language. Ortega
explained, “the more individuals wish to learn a language because it is
interesting and enjoyable, and because the activity has value to them
personally, the more they are likely to learn the language because they wish to
have interactions with members’ of the L2 community” (p. 177-178).
Hello Chris, I enjoyed watching your interview and reading your reflection. I agree with your teacher about the great benefits of knowing a second language bring to the students. Speaking more than one language opens doors for more and great opportunities in life. My teacher mentioned that sometimes her students could not articulate what they want to say in English, so they switch language and continue with their thought. "How bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages" (Ortega 2013). This is one of the benefits of ELL students; they can switch between English and their native language whenever they want. I believe that ELL struggles in every area; reading writing and pronunciation. Some areas are harder than others but, all that depends on the person.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Thank you for taking the time to watch my interview Karla. I agree with you aswell; knowing another language other than your L1 can only benefit you. There's no downside to this unless the person who knows the L1 & L2 does not want to communicate in their L2. I saw in your interview that there was an advantage to knowing more than one language, and I see that their motivation levels correlate to their success in the L2. For the most part, at least in education, I believe a majority of the motivation will come from that person trying to learn the L2, "a sense of learned urgency to become functional English users in order 'not to be pushed away,'" as Ortega explained (p.181). I can also see why reading, writing, and pronunciation for a non-native English speaker can be difficult. As with everything though, practice makes perfect.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hey Chris! Thank you for sharing you and your mentors interview. I agree so much on the fact that someone who is bilingual have speaking so much easier than people who only speak one language, because if they get stuck on something they are trying to get out, they could simply say it in the other language. Also, how your mentor said he sees students struggle in reading and writing most. I have only been student teaching for a year, but I also see that in some of my students as well. Ortega said "When individuals engage in behaviour that they understand as self-initiated by choice and largely sustained by inherent enjoyment in the activity." (Pg. 176) With that being said, I think conversation with peers, reading something that interest the child or a book they could maybe make connections to are great ways to motivate students who are ELL.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hello to you too Kirstie! Thank you for watching my interview! I'm glad that we can all see firsthand how Ortega elaborates on much of the research conducted. She goes on about how motivation "is a concept that explains why people behave as they do rather than how successful their behavior will be" (p.185). Basically, someone's level of motivation will not depict how successful they will be at something, but it can play a huge role. Most of the students at my school now seem to have an 'ideal self' type of focus (the type of person we would like to be). Students can be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, but from a teacher's standpoint, I would like to see intrinsic motivation over extrinsic.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hello Chris! I really enjoyed your interview. I’m also glad to see you interviewed one of the teachers from our field experience schools. What a great way to form a rapport with our site coordinators. Reading and Writing is a very understandable difficulty for English Language Learners in the classroom. After interviewing my best friend, I can completely understand where Mr. Tran is coming from as he works with ELLS. Communicating with students orally can support this issue. Ortega stated, “Learners obtain comprehensible input mostly through listening to oral messages that interlocutors direct to them and via reading written texts that surround them, such as street signs, personal letters, books and so on” (Ortega pp.73 2013).
ReplyDeleteOrtega, Lourdes. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge.
Thank you for watching my interview Astyn! I absolutely agree with you and the extrinsic motivators, to an extent. What I mean by this is, yes, first graders would be okay to have that as a motivator, but do we want our middle and high school students being motivated by candy? I would honestly want them to be intrinsically motivated, as Ortega explains, "individuals who engage in behavior that they understand as self-initiated by choice and largely sustained by inherent enjoyment in the activity are said to be intrinsically motivated" (p.176). Praise is a perfect example of a good motivator because other students can witness and experience it first hand, which in turn will make other students want to be praised as well. I find it interesting that you are one of the few people who have said that math vocabulary is pertinent to their education. I respect that Astyn. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Thank you for watching my interview Kenielle! It was interesting hearing Mr. Tran's input on ELL's in his classroom and being able to connect exactly what he was talking about in the interview because they are my students as well. The two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, have been demonstrated in the classroom. A majority of the students speak another language other than English, and I can observe how a friend may be motivated to learn another language to have communication/contact with that person. As Ortega stressed, "without contact, they cannot form strong attitudes towards L2 speakers or harbor intense desires of integrating or being 'like them'" (p.178). Mr. Tran also noted that without practice, they will never be proficient or where they want to be with their L2. I feel grateful for having the opportunity to student teach at my middle school and witness firsthand exactly what Mr. Tran was mentioning.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Chris! This is the first video I have seen that is from a middle school teacher! I like the different perspective it gives me with ELL students. Reading that middle school ELL's also have trouble writing has me think it follows many students outside of elementary school.
ReplyDeleteWhen you speak about motivation, I think of how it also connects to elementary school students. A lot of the same things travel with these students from school to school. Keeping the positive tones and motivation is so important because these kids deserve that, and having teachers who believe in them!
Hey, Chris! I really enjoyed listening to your video and it was interesting to hear from a person that is in a middle school. I am student teaching in an elementary school, first grade, and a lot of the same things that Mr. Tran mentions applies to those of the younger ages too! I always think they are a lot different but sometimes I find that they have more in common than I think they do. Your quote from Ortega is really important for all age levels because anything, including language, is easier to learn whenever it is engaging and enjoyable (2013). When students can make more connections to things that they enjoy, it makes it easier for them to learn things that are so different to them. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.