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.
