Entry 4-Reflection

Growing up I took foreign language classes as either a requirement for school or a hobby. At times I enjoyed it but I never gave it an afterthought. I looked at learning a new language as merely another language but I never considered the culture behind it. Taking this class and reading my classmates’ blogs, has allowed me to see learning a new language in a different way. Learning English as a second language while trying to understand and adapt to a new culture can be difficult and overwhelming. Language is the use of sounds, signs or written symbols used for communication and self-expression within a human society (Wright, 2015, p. 28). Language can differentiate between cultures. This difference is one of the attributes that make us who we are, but no one should have to forsake this attribute in order to be a part of another culture. Having schools and resources that allow students to learn English as a second language while maintaining their own language, also known as additive bilingualism (Wright, 2015, p. 21), is essential for the United States to be the beautiful melting pot that it is. All schools and the education system need to see that the home language and culture of English language learners; will help English language learners learn English (Wright, 2015, p. 3).

Having this new thought process and considering other individuals background when communicating, is something I will implement into my professional practices. Things can become misconstrued in the work place due to communication and the lack of understanding. Taking the time out to consider another person culture and language will prevent me from drawing conclusions that are false.

This same approach now correlates to my teaching philosophy. Being able to understand a student language and culture will allow me to be an effective teacher. Seeing pass the stereotypes will help me relate to the students, provide appropriate content instruction and be able to impact the community where I teach; in a way that will help implement policies and procedures that will benefit the students.

This class was enlightening but I would like to see more content on how to motivate students and different teaching strategies. In order for students to succeed, I believe, it requires several aspects but two of those aspects are motivation and effective teaching. Learning about different strategies and when and how to implement them; will help prepare teachers to teach students who have different learning styles. Also, learning different techniques on how to motivate students, what causes high or low motivation within students and what to look for if you think a student is unmotivated, coincides with being a good teacher. This is very important because no matter how much you lecture if the student is not motivated and you as a teacher cannot motivate them; than the likely hood of them learning are limited.

The limits that I unknowingly set for myself was pushed in this class. This class required me to do things I was not familiar with but encouraged me to see language in a new light. This was the first class I took that required me to write a blog and post it for everyone to see and comment. Of course many of us have a fear of being judged by our peers or classmates. Blogging and posting in this class helped remove some of the fear that I had. It also reminded me that this is a form of self-expression, self-expression is a form of language and language is a part of who we are; but most importantly it is what connects us.

Wright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.

 

Blog Entry3 with Ms. Abshire

I conducted my interview with Ms. Abshire. Ms. Abshire is an English Language teacher for Elsik ninth grade.  Ms. Abshire has been working in the school district for over a decade. She was able to share her experiences and views in regards to the education system and policies. She teaches intermediate English language learners and she has students at different levels. She explains how building on the English language they know helps them develop further. The book states that language learning is a conscious process that occurs at school (Wright, 2015, p. 51). She has her students practice, constantly read, learn new vocabulary and use affirmative assessments; to help the students continue to build a stronger foundation in their English language learning. Even though Ms. Abshire is teaching her students; her students learned knowledge is represented in their brain; which is the acquisition-learning hypothesis (Wright, 2015, p.51). Ms. Abshire students being on different levels of learning could be due to affective filter; which controls how much comprehensible impute the learner takes in and retain (Wright, 2015, p.52). This brings us to an important point which is English language learners ability to retain information can be caused by several things. How a student views his or herself as being a member of the group that speaks that language, self-esteem and anxiety can be reasons why each student has different levels of progress. This is called the affective filter hypothesis (Wright, 2015, p. 52).  With these theories and hypothesis where is the education system headed now? I asked Ms. Abshire where she sees English language learning in ten years. She brought up key points which are; that changes in the education system moves slowly, there aren’t a lot of people interested in teaching and those that are may be intimidate with the idea of teaching English language learners. With education policies being set by powerful institutions and governed by the dominant group (Wright, 2015, p. 67) how can English language learners get policies and the attention they need; when they are underrepresented in the groups who set these policies and governs over them? I truly believe that one way to improve this area is by widening the diversity of those who create these policies and govern over them.

Wright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, Publishing. Second Edition.

Self Introduction Entry 2: With JV

After sitting down to interview JV for my blog entry two, it was definitely clear that linguistics is an essential component in learning a new language. As JV points out that when coming to the United States, words were used that she didn’t use or either had a different meaning. The text book, Foundations for teaching English Language Learner, states morphology through compounding is a form of borrowing words from other languages to create new words (Wright, 2015, p. 32). This can be a major obstacles for many students when they are learning English as a second language. The reason I believe this is an obstacle is because the English language borrows from many other languages and many of the English words can have multiple meanings. This obstacle can be difficult to overcome but if teachers incorporate Filmore and Snow five functions which are; teach as communicators, teachers as educators, teachers as evaluator, teachers as an educated human and teachers as agent of socialization (Wright, 2015, p. 28-29), than the student will have a greater understanding of the language. Learning English as a second language is not just about learning a new language but also about understanding that language. Like with learning any subject in school, learning English as a second language doesn’t start and end within the classroom. JV states during the interview how communicating with others help her learn English. This can be done through acculturation which allows a student to integrate into the new culture they are learning without abandoning their own (Wright, 2015, p. 20). If we as educators find a way to incorporate our student culture and history while teaching them, we will have a higher success rate with educating our students.

Wright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.

Nicole Hill Blog Entry 1

 

Hello, my name is Nicole and I am a student at the University of Houston. My major is Print Journalism with a minor in Education. I grew up in Sugar land, Texas and I come from a large family who has always encouraged me to reach for the moon, and if I miss I can still catch a star. I am eager to graduate and complete one chapter of my journey at the University of Houston, so that I can move towards my next chapter. I look forward to using my degree, my experience and my education to help others. I remember my father always telling me as a child it is better to give than receive. I never knew the impact these words would have in the choices I’ve made in my life, education and career. I am grateful to my father, my family and loved ones for helping me reach my goals and the lessons they have taught me. I chose the University of Houston because it was close to my family, to my loved ones and it offered a wide range of opportunities like diversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IfyGC5Jqqc&feature=youtu.be