Interviewing an ELL was interesting. I loved hearing her experiences and what she feels had either helped or hurt her language development as an ELL. The person I interviewed has been my next door neighbor for nearly twelve years now. We have been friends who have spoke in English to each other ever since I can remember, which is even more so why their was such an interesting experience for me!
Like she mentioned in the Video, Laura was taught English and Spanish at the same time, however her English as well as he Spanish is very fluent. According to Ortega, there is clear evidence that accents are likely to develop when the L2 is first learned later in life (Ortega, 2013, 23).
When Laura mentioned how hard Morphology was for her, I did relate to her as well. I myself was also an ELL. I was never in Bilingual but I do Phonology was harder for me. However, for me it was certainly learning Spanish. I know that we focus on English language learning and that is very important, but I do feel as though learning any two languages can be tricky and a challenge that is easily overlooked since it i not English, when it should not be this way because the struggle and difficulties are still there.
I really have always believed that as educators we must do our part to understand what children need not where we think they should be according to age or ability. For instance, with Laura her teachers never took the time to talk about her pronunciation or her, they wanted her to seem as if she knew it sou they could do their job and move on. I like being an ELL because I hope and feel like I will want my kids to actually feel like they are hitting their mark in everything they possibly should be to truly understand a language.
Ortega, L. (2014). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Marina, I think that it is great that your friend is still fluent in both languages as opposed to regressing in one of her languages. Since Laura learned both English and Spanish at the same time she would be considered a simultaneous bilingual (Ortega, 2013). Learning any two languages at the same time can definitely be a struggle especially when learning them at a young age like your friend did. I can see how it can be difficult since she was learning both at a young age she was not proficient in either language yet, so figuring out how the languages worked could be a challenge for anyone.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hey Melissa and Marina! I love hearing different peoples stories about learning 2 languages simultaneously, because I always think about wanting to learn a second language and how challenging it would be now, so I can't imagine trying to develop two completely different languages at the same time. The good thing is that she was in the process of acquiring both languages at an early age so her brain was making connections and grasping aspects of each language easier than attempting the process of dual language acquisition later in life. Ortega points out "bilingualism favors the study of people who had a very early start with their languages," so even though Laura had her challenges being a simultaneous bilingual, I bet she is thankful she learned two languages at such an early age as opposed to a more difficult time later in life.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Melissa!
DeleteI think it is also very impressive that Laura was able to remain fluent in both languages. I know you speak Spanish and I do not know how you feel about one or the other but I feel so much more comfortable with English than Spanish. I feel like I wouldn't feel comfortable teaching Spanish because I do not write nor read it that fluently. If her definitions are correct, however, I consider myself an L1.
Ortega, L. (2014). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Megan. I appreciate your comment. I think learning a new language right now would be really difficult for me. I really do feel like learning even English at 3 years old was hard which is why it made me loose my fluency in Spanish. I hear stories about all these people when are fluent in other languages and I have no idea how they do it when I struggle with two. I feel like being a simultaneous language learner has its challenges for sure. In fact, according to Ortega it is better to learn languages young rather than older (Ortega, 2013).
DeleteOrtega, L. (2014). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Hi Marina, your friends story is one that I think struggling ELL students need to hear. That they can make it through. With her being a simultaneous bilingual, where she learned Spanish and English at the same time, I know that she had to face many challenges in elementary (Ortega, 2013). At my school they have a great program for ELL students and many of our students can speak two languages fluently, and do not have an accent. I believe this is because my school does not simply pass kids by like your friends unfortunate experience. As educators I hope that we can all be aware of our ELL students and find extra activities and ways to help them succeed in our classes.
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa and Marina!
DeleteThere are many challenges that ELLs go through when it comes to learning a new language and it’s great to hear that some schools help with that transition. As far as regarding accents, I think age is a huge factor. Ortega mentioned that "the evidence accumulated since 1988 overwhelmingly shows that foreign sounding accents are likely to develop when the L2 is first learned later in life” (2013, p.22). Individuals who learn L2 later in life are likely to have an accent compared to those who learn in their earlier years.
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Vanessa! I also believe that her story is one that if others heard would speak up and maybe make us realize we really are not helping ELL's as much as we should. She did face many challenges in school and in her home as well. Her mom wanted to her to learn but not forget her primary language. The thing is that living here our primary language become English without us knowing that. According to Ortega, the human cognitive architecture is made of representation and access (Ortega, 2013). So for her young mind hearing that was hard to balance and know what she really should be focusing on.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hi Kani! I agree with your comment and agree one hundred percent. I think there are so many challenges ELL's face that sometimes as teachers we might not see all of them. I do think accent is easy to identify but not easy to target and help through. Honestly I am thinking and the only way I would think would help would be through repetition. If it is not through repetition, than how else would we address that specifically? Taking these classes make us see and hope we are more helpful, but in reality how do you help that issue? According to Ortega, some researchers have shown that localization of language functions in the brain is less lateralized in late bilinguals. We just have to find a correct approach to responding to this in a helpful and professional matter.
ReplyDeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.