Response#9

I think my L1 (Spanish) is a more emotional language for me. It is a lot easier for me to express love or hate in my L1. I think it has to do with the way I grew up. I feel that I find more words in Spanish to express emotion--my English falls short when I have to express too many feelings.
I see that as students begin to acquire the L2, for the most part when something very emotional happens they return to their L1 to express themselves. Again I think it has to do with finding the words.
When I got married to my husband who does not speak Spanish, I felt like I was having to learn more English. Sometimes I couldn't find the words to say--I've been speaking English most of my life but yet in Laredo where I grew up, I could always say a word in Spanish here or there and not have to worry about not being understood. Since then, I've had to work on my self to improve my L2 and better communicate with all. Coming out of a culture like the one in Laredo to one here in San Antonio or even Orlando where I lived for a couple of years can be a real language culture shock, it was for me.

Response #8

I think that as with much of the research we have read, a combination of the form-focused and communicative here is the best approach. In my understanding, the form-focused may be necessary to learn more of the structure and academics of language, the communicative is also necessary if one wishes to be successful speaking the target language. I did not see any of the proposals for teaching as methods that could stand alone in teaching and be completely successful. Each of them had its weaknesses and strengths.

As chapter 6 stated"many adult learners, especially those with good metalinguistic knowledge of their own language, express a preference for structure-based approaches." p139 There is research that supports both approaches in different situations. Some researchers encourage learners to develop fluency before accuracy and so a communicative approach would be recommended. I think that in choosing an approach one has to consider the learners style of learning, their background and many other factors that influence their ability and motivation to learn.

Response #7

One of the major affective factors I see in the classroom is that of students who are way too shy (introvert per se). I think this is the major one that interferes with learning. As a teacher we must give students the confidence to be successful and help them understand that just because they are in a different country--they are not different. If we teach our students to understand that we are all unique no matter where you are, they may gain the confidence that may otherwise interfere with their learning. I think it is important to build a relationship with students and help them to learn about each other and others around them. In the beginning of the year I create a bunch of interactive lessons that help students open up and in some way force them to talk to each other. It really does help. I remember one student this year, he would totally block everything and everyone out--he was too worried about his stomach hurting (poor thing, he was so stressed out) I would call his name and he wouldn't respond, when he finally did he would look at me with a blank stare--I had to remind him that I was speaking in Spanish--and so he could understand me. After a while he began to do better but he still dreaded his other classes where the teacher could not communicate with him in his own language. It took time, but he eventually became confident enough to ask for help and to get involved in the classroom.

I think that many of the students I have worked with don't have much motivation because there is no one behind them pushing them to do their best. Since most of my students are of very low socioeconomic status, they don't have anyone to look up to. I definitely think that there are ways to motivate students. Although motivation comes from within, we as teachers have the power to strike the chord that motivates them. Once that is done, there is no limit to what they want to accomplish and know they are able to accomplish.

Response #6

Please excuse my delay in answering this question--i've had technical difficulties. But since I mentioned excuse--this is a great example of how a phrase can not be translated. In English you can say "you are excused" but in Spanish the word saying "estas escusado" is not exactly what you want to hear. Although i've heard use the word "escusar" as excuse, it does not relay the same message. Escusado as many of you may know means toilet and is not something to say to be courteous. I hear many of these examples in my classroom on a regular basis.

In my classroom I try to look for literature that is culturaly diverse and that celebrates the heritage of my students throughout the year, not only on calendar holidays. Sometimes it is difficult because libraries don't have a wide variety of texts to choose from. I end up buying a lot of the texts myself. I also try looking for websites that will give me free stuff for culturally diverse lessons.

Response #5

CAH, Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis claimed that the principal barrier to second language acquisition is the interference of the L1 with the L2. While some aspects of the language may be easily transferable, others may not be at all related and so making the language learning more challenging.
CLI is cross-linguistic influence, it is said to be a weak version of CAH, as learners are learning the language and errors appear, teachers can use their knowledge o the target and native languages to understand sources of error. CLI suggests that we all recognize the significant role that prior experience plays in any learning act, and that the influence of the native language as prior experience must not be overlooked.

I think that as teachers, being aware of the different types of mistakes or errors our ELLs make can facilitate the areas of concern we should address in our instruction. We should view these errors as guides to a more desirable outcome without being negative. As teachers we are able to identify the needs of our ELLs before they are assessed in a state test. Unlike these tests, being familiar with the cross-linguistic influence in language learners enables us to be more effective communicators of instruction before our students are faced with tests that don't measure a degree of rightness.

Response 4

I think it is especially difficulty for researchers to agree on the CPH because they have all done specific studies to prove their theory correct. Each one of them has proven their theory in one way or another. I think that age has less to do with learning a language than all these researchers would like to admit. I think there are a combination of factors that influence language learning at any age. The laterization theory tells us that a child would have fully laterized the left side of the brain by the age they reach puberty or younger. I think we all know that there have been many people who acquire language at an older age and learn it well. I don't think that there is a critical period where people should learn a language. As a child, we don't just learn the language--you can't give a two year old the words, dad, mom, cookie and milk without showing them what they are and how to ask for them. We model with children and I think sometimes we forget that. We expect to give an older language learner a list of words and then say ok use them. That is not how it works. If a child wants a cookie, he has to hear the word, have the item shown to them and even get a taste--once they like it, then they'll remember 'want cookie' gets me one. I have met many adults who have learned a second language quickly. They were highly motivated and they did a variety of things like research, conversation and immersion to become fluent in a short period of time. There are definitely specific steps to take but I don't believe that there will come a period in a person's age when they will be unable to learn a second language.

Response#3

Reflection # 3

I believe I am a combination of auditory and visual learner. Although I have never taken a learning style inventory, I know that after I hear something, I must see it to fully understand it. I don't always have to see pictures, I mostly have to see what is in writing. I can follow written directions much better than just looking at a map. So its a bit confusing because I don't necessarily need pictures.

I know that I have different types of learners and so I try to use different strategies to address the different types of learners. I try to always have something visual and have things students can touch or play with aside from the lecture.

I think that due toy a bilingual program for their children. I had a parent tell me that she had two children, the oldest was put in bilingual education and the youngest was not--she still did not see the benefits since her kids were in 1st and 2nd grade. She didn't see it as a benefit for her older child to be able to read and write well in Spanish, she felt she was being held back. After a couple of years she realized that both her children learn to read and write English but one could do the same with Spanish. It took a while for her to realize this. I think it is up to educators to inform parents about the benefits of learning a second language. We see that the most educated poeple are those who seek to learn a second language. They know the benefits it will bring to their child.