Reflection
In this interview, I interviewed Agustina Arena who learned
her second language, English, when her family moved to the United States. Growing up in Argentina, Agustina spoke her
native language, Spanish, in school and at home. Personally, I learned my second language,
English, at the same time I was learning Mandarin Chinese. I think because I learned both languages at such
a young age, I don’t have any accents when I speak either languages. I think it is amazing that Agustina can
communicate in both languages without any sort of accent as well. According to Ortega (2012), accents are
likely to develop in L2 languages if the language is learned later in life. This leads me to believe that at the age
Agustina learned English, it was still relatively early (p. 18).
Although Agustina did mention that she did have ESL classes
that helped her build her English, she did say that television, friends, and
the classroom itself helped her practice.
These strategies of learning language are naturalistic, meaning informal
opportunities that did not require organized instruction (Ortega, 2012, p. 6). Also, according to Rowland (2014), students
second language growth is impacted significantly depending on how much exposure
they get. “The more language a child
hears, the quicker they will develop language (p. 193).
I think that Agustina could keep her Spanish relevant
because she still spoke Spanish to her family at home. This gave her the chance to retain her L1
language and strengthen her L2 during school settings and at home when she was
watching TV.
During her learning process, Agustina expressed that she was
frustrated and unable to communicate.
According to Ortega (2012), learning a new language can be harmful to
ego, especially until higher levels of proficiency have been reached. This is because learners do not have good
control over what they say in the L2 language (p. 192). As Agustina learned more English, she became prouder
to know the language. This also made her
more comfortable and easier for her to communicate to others. I think L2
speakers that are thrown in an environment where they feel like they cannot
communicate flowingly with others often feel this way because it is hard to get
their point across sometimes. After more
vocabulary is built, students may feel like they fit in more and are more
comfortable with speaking the language because they can now communicate with
everyone else.
One thing that really stood out to me is how Agustina
mentioned how her Spanish vocabulary is now slowly diminishing because she
finds herself more comfortable speaking English. I can relate to the same situation because
now that most of my communication made to my friends, classmates, and
professors are in English. The only time
I get a chance to practice my Mandarin is when I speak to my parents or see my
extended family. I do think it is
important to hold onto my L1 language because it is a big part of my culture
and is what keeps me connected so closely to my family.
You state that "it is amazing that Agustina can communicate in both languages without any sort of accent as well."I wonder why this is amazing if we have read several times that one of the characteristics young learners have is that they have the possibility to learn the phonological features of the L2. Additionally, she states that she was 7 when she began learning her L2. Please explain to us why you consider this amazing when we know that it is normal for kids to do this. In the interview she stated that she was mad at her parents for all the challenges she endured. Did you endure those challenges too? You did not ask her about those details, why? You did not consider them important? If so, why not?
ReplyDeleteDr. Avellaneda, in my reference to it being amazing that Agustina does not have an accent, I think of the overall result of learning. I think it is wonderful to see how much our brains can learn and grow throughout time. According to Ortega (2012), “foreign-sounding accents are likely to develop when the L2 is first learned later in life (p. 22).” In Agustina’s case, she was able to learn her L2 language at seven which is why she does not have an accent. I do not remember enduring challenges as I was learning my L1 or L2 language because both were learned simultaneously. Agustina did mention to me after that the most frustrating part of learning English was learning new vocabulary to get through a basic conversation. According to Ortega, “Vocabulary presents a formidable challenge. The need to learn about 3,000 new words in order to minimally follow conversations in the L2 (2012, p. 88). I believe it is normal for a child to feel frustrated and blame parents for putting them in an environment where they suddenly feel that they are no longer in communication with society anymore.
DeleteHello Emerald, thank you for sharing your video and letting us get to know a little bit about Agustina and her background. As she stated she was very mad at her parents for moving her here not knowing the language. She said she struggled a lot in learning English and that it was very hard for her most of the time. I understand that Agustina was not placed in a bilingual classroom instead they just put her in a normal class not knowing the language. As a teacher’s perspective that is very emotional to watch, I have a student that was placed in our general classroom not knowing any English at all. The little girl was always lost and never knew what was going on in the classroom. It is very hard for students to learn a second language without given the proper instruction to learn it. Since Agustina was just thrown into learning English I would conclude that she is a naturalistic learner. “Naturalistic learners learn the L2 through informal opportunities in multicultural neighborhoods, schools and workplaces, without ever receiving any organized instruction on the workings of the language they are learning” (p.6). This is exactly what happened to her she never received any help from paraprofessionals learning her L2.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I agree that programs such as ESL may have helped Agustina transition into her new environment a little better. According to Ortega, “ESL programs provide more feedback is provided and responded to in parts of a lesson that focus on language rather than content of management (2012, p. 75).” This would have helped because some vocabulary and language could have been translated or broken down in class to something Agustina could better understand. I also think that motivation to learn a new language plays an important role in the success of learning. Also as a future teacher, it is important that students learning a new language in school get not only educational support, but emotional support from parents at home. Having a parent that understands the frustration will strengthen motivation, I believe. According to Stephen Krashen’s video, “Motivation is one of the several factors that relate to success in language acquisition (11:40).”
DeleteEmerald, yes I completely agree it is very important for a student learning their L2 language gets emotional support from home or even at school. If it is not already hard on them as it is getting thrown into the unknown. A child needs this emotional support especially for them to learn and understand the language more thoroughly.
DeleteHello Emerald, thank you very much for sharing your wonderful interview with Agustina. I was able to know more about her background especially because I have met her and actually had her in one of my classes this summer. When I met her, I had no idea she spoke Spanish so when she says in her video that now English comes natural to her instead of Spanish, I know why. I never heard her speak in Spanish until one day when I heard her speaking to one of the custodians that was cleaning the classroom that we were going into. She mentioned how it was challenging for her to come to a new state and not speak that language and how embarrassed she would get because she did not speak English. It is great to hear that she eventually developed confidence in her English and is fluent today. She mentioned that at one point that her mother would make her only watch English shows at home, which for Agustina at that point was hard since she was beginning to learn a second language. According to Rowland, "sometimes both languages are provides by the parents, so the child will be exposed to both languages in the home in roughly equal proportions" (p.175). This can be seen since her mom is exposing her to English shows only and speaking to her in Spanish at home. I liked how you talked about technology and how it makes a difference. Technology could have helped Agustina a bit more back then if it was as available as it is today. Enjoyed listening to your interview.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Sometimes once we learn our L2 language and have learned to communicate with it well, it may become the language we feel more comfortable speaking. I learned English after learning Chinese first, however, I speak more English now. I think with today's technology, learners can have more exposure to the L2 language as they are learning, making the learning process easier for some.
DeleteI really enjoyed learning about Augustina's experience learning English as a second language later in life. I myself learned both Urdu and English simultaneously as a child so I am fascinated by how different it is when you learn your second language later. I know you touched upon how Augustina did struggled at first due to not being able to express herself before she became more confident in her English. According to Ortega (2013) the environment in which we learn our second language influences the attitude that we adopt (p. 58). I can definitely understand why Augustina struggled in a classroom where she was exposed to a completely new language that she was never exposed to before. I think it is natural for her to be upset with her parents for moving her across the world to a whole new country. I am glad that she able to successfully learned English through multiple different sources and that she was able to change her attitude towards English once she became more comfortable with it.
ReplyDeleteNadia, I agree with the fact that Augustina should be upset with her parents for moving her half way across the country. As for a young child an experience like that can be extremely scary. She was just getting thrown into a new school where she also did not understand their language and had to learn it on her own. The fact that she did that and motivated herself to learn English is inspiring.
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