Entry 1: Course Introduction
Kenia Reyes's Blog
Click here to watch the video
As you saw in my video, I am fluent in both English and Spanish. According to Ortega (2013), most children grow up speaking one language only. This was partly the case for me. Since I was born in Guatemala, I was born in a household where everybody spoke nothing but Spanish. Once I moved to the states, I continued to speak Spanish up until I had to start elementary school. It was in elementary school where I began learning my L2.
As I continued to read chapter one, I came across a sentence that stood out to me. "Human language manifests itself in spoken, signed and written system across more than 6,500 languages documented to date" (Ortega, 2013, p.2). I found this to be very shocking, but I could also see how it is true. Recently, my mentor teacher and I were on the carpet with our students and we were getting to know them a little better. We decided to ask how many of them knew how to speak or write in a different language. To my surprise, many hands went up. Not including English and Spanish, we were able to conclude that in our class solely, there are nine different language being written or spoken. I thought this was amazing and after reading that sentence in Ortega, I was even more proud that I could speak two of the 6,500 languages to date.
Ortega states, "...bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages, depending on a range of communicative needs and desires" (Ortega, 2013, p.4). As I reflect on my life as a bilingual speaker, I remember many times that I would not be able to explain something in English, therefore I would explain it in Spanish. Another example would be when I have to translate for my mother. I hear the words in English, then I process them in my brain in order to translate them into Spanish.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Click here to watch the video
As you saw in my video, I am fluent in both English and Spanish. According to Ortega (2013), most children grow up speaking one language only. This was partly the case for me. Since I was born in Guatemala, I was born in a household where everybody spoke nothing but Spanish. Once I moved to the states, I continued to speak Spanish up until I had to start elementary school. It was in elementary school where I began learning my L2.
As I continued to read chapter one, I came across a sentence that stood out to me. "Human language manifests itself in spoken, signed and written system across more than 6,500 languages documented to date" (Ortega, 2013, p.2). I found this to be very shocking, but I could also see how it is true. Recently, my mentor teacher and I were on the carpet with our students and we were getting to know them a little better. We decided to ask how many of them knew how to speak or write in a different language. To my surprise, many hands went up. Not including English and Spanish, we were able to conclude that in our class solely, there are nine different language being written or spoken. I thought this was amazing and after reading that sentence in Ortega, I was even more proud that I could speak two of the 6,500 languages to date.
Ortega states, "...bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages, depending on a range of communicative needs and desires" (Ortega, 2013, p.4). As I reflect on my life as a bilingual speaker, I remember many times that I would not be able to explain something in English, therefore I would explain it in Spanish. Another example would be when I have to translate for my mother. I hear the words in English, then I process them in my brain in order to translate them into Spanish.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hola Kenia. Mucho gusto en conocerla y espero que esta clase sea la oportunidad para que usted no sólo su español termal si no su lectura y su escritura. Por favor, trate de hacer comentarios y respuestas en español aquellas personas que expresan un conocimiento de la lengua castellana. Igualmente, le recomiendo que tome la clase de francés en vez de la de español ya que sería una buena oportunidad para intentar aprender otro idioma y así aumentar su repertorio lingüístico. Me pregunto qué criterios basa se basa para considerar que su español no es bueno. Aunque no esté interesada en una certificación bilingüe, es importante que le trabaje a su destreza lingüística ya que más adelante podría significarle mejores oportunidades laborales.
ReplyDeleteHey Kenia, I can relate to your comment about your mentor teacher asking your students about speaking or writing a different language. During meet the teacher night, my mentor teaching and I met a bunch of families. There were a few families in the room that entered our room speaking English, but later was speaking one on one to their child in L2. According to Ortega (2011), “…bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages, depending on a range of communicative needs and desires” (pg. 4). I think it’s great to have a class with so much diversity.
ReplyDeleteRachel,
DeleteI think it's great that you were able to meet the parents of your students and also see them first hand speak their native language. Ortega states that "...the bulk of language is acquired between 18 months and three to four years of age" (Ortega, 2013, p.3). I believe that this is something that some of your students have experienced based on the interaction you saw with their parents. Many of us who can speak a different language, learn the bulk of our native language during the very early years of our lives. Once we begin elementary school, we begin to learn about L2 and therefore switch and alternate between the two languages.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hi Kenia, it is great that you had that experience in ESL and can bring that into your teaching as a math educator. Just being able to teach math in another language must be very beneficial for students. I also want to teach math and wonder what strategies would best help an ESL student. Ortega notes that SLA "remains as strongly interdisciplinary now as it was in its origins" (2013, p.). This makes me wonder if learning math in English could also provide students support to their SLA. Are my inquiries relevant to any of your experiences in ESL?
ReplyDeleteFranklin,
DeleteUnfortunately, I have never attempted or had the opportunity to teach math in Spanish. Once I started elementary, my Spanish speaking skills slowly started to fade as I only spoke English at school. When I had to do observations during the teaching program, I was only able to see one class and it was during reading. Ortega states that "...most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously" (Ortega, 2013, p. 4). This is something that I experienced because although I did already know how to speak Spanish, I was in elementary school beginning to learn English and how to speak it in order to succeed academically.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hi Kenia!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the fact that you are able to take your background knowledge and use it during Student Teaching. There are so many students out there who can only speak Spanish and to have a bilingual teacher is ideal for them. "Policy makers and educators... debate appropriate
policies for minority children who speak other languages at home and need
to be schooled in the societal language." (Ortega, pg. 8, 2013) I think if we get more bilingual teachers like yourself, than we can make challenges such as language barriers less of a debate and more as a way to help these students who need their education.
Allison,
DeleteI believe that having bilingual teachers like myself can definitely help students academically in the classroom and also decrease the language barrier. Ortega states that policy makers "...also wonder how long it should take them to learn the majority language" (Ortega, 2013, p.8). As someone who came from Guatemala with only speaking one language that wasn't English, I think it's very important that students learn their L2 (English) very early because growing up in the United States with only knowing your native language can become very difficult.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hi Kenia
ReplyDeleteI love knowing your story, after watching your video I find myself somehow related to you. My first language was Chinese, and i didn't begin learning my second language until i moved to America when I was 10. At home, the only language my family will speak was Chinese and in elementary school is where I began learning my L2. According to Ortega "In some parts of our world, most children grow up speaking one language only."(Ortega, 2013, pg. 3). while listening to your story, I love how your mentor teacher asking the student about speaking or writing a different language. It's really important for the teacher to understand where their student's background information and the diversity of the students. I think is super awesome that you can speak another language, this gives you a great opportunity to help your ELL students.
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DeleteHello,
DeleteI am glad that you were able to find my story relatable to yours. There are many students like you who come to America at an older age speaking a completely different language. I think my life would have been completely different if I had moved to America at a later age. According to Ortega, "...mother tongue, first language or L1 generically to refer to the language or languages that a child learns from parents..." (Ortega, 2013, p.2). In this case, Chinese would be your L1 and English would be considered your L2. It's great to speak another language. There are many opportunities for us to translate for others and help them.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Kenia,
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome you are fluent in two different languages. Ortega states “In many parts of the globe, most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously. These cases are in fact the majority in our species” (Ortega, 2013, p. 4). Your transition to the states really seemed to work in your favor as you were able to pick up a second language at school. Being a bilingual speaker is a skill that definitely proves to be helpful, and in some cases, even present opportunities.
Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed watching your video!
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.