This semester in second language acquisition, my knowledge
has improved tremendously when understanding how much goes behind the scenes
when students are learning their second language. From what a student may have gone through in
the past, to their motivation and learning style, everything plays a factor in
how successful the student will be in mastering their L2 language. I have learned many things that will help me
consider motivation levels, their age, and the environment in the classroom. These were the three topics that we talked
about during the course that stuck to me the most and I feel made the biggest
difference to me in understanding second language acquisition.
As a future teacher, I have learned that different ways of
feedback can trigger student motivation in either a positive or negative way. It is important for us to understand what
works best for our students so that we do not discourage them with our words. There are many researchers who believe that
negative feedback is essential for classroom instruction. However, “most researchers argue that
negative feedback is beneficial for learning because it is the single most
relevant way for L2 learners to figure out what is not possible in the target
language (Ortega, 2012, p. 72). While
giving feedback, it is important that you get to know your kids first. That way, you know how you would like to
provide feedback that will allow the best response from your kids. Sometimes, prior experiences with other
teachers will shape this preference as well.
If we could spend more time in this class to focus on one
topic, I would like to learn more about transferability. Chapter 3 was so in depth and rather
interesting on how there are so many determinants that play a role in
transferability. Ortega explains, “What gets or does not get transferred is
also in part determined by: universal constraints and processes, such as
developmental sequences and markedness, that apply across all natural languages
and play a role in L1 as well as L2 acquisition; psychological perceptions of
transferability, inherent complexity of the L2 subsystem in question, and
proficiency level (Ortega, 2012, p. 53).
Because the tendency of two complementary principles is “what works in
the L2 may work in the L2” (p. 53), it is the responsibility of a teacher to consider
the two languages the student is working with.
This will help with forecasting upcoming challenges the student may have
because we can predict where disconnects may be.
The assignments and blog posts done in this class have
helped me connect my learnings from text to the classroom. Many bilingual teachers and colleagues I have
interviewed have had experiences that correlate directly to what research has
stated so it is interesting to see the connection throughout this course. I have always known that age and sociocultural
factors play a role in the quality and success of L2 learning success, but not
in the detail that this course has provided me.
I think second language acquisition is something that you will continue
to learn about in the field as you will see many other scenarios that supports
research.
Hi, Emerald! Thank you for sharing your reflection! I agree that most of the time, the progress of the language learner’s second language acquisition is due internal and external factors. According to Ortega (2013), “Instances of noticing can be driven from within the learner, as when she struggles to put a sentence together and express her thoughts and in the process discovers something new. They can also be encouraged by external means, for example, through a lesson orchestrated by a teacher, a question or reaction from an interlocutor, and so on” (Section 4.6, para. 2). As educators, we can help language learners become motivated and improve, but we must use approaches that are best suitable for the student since each learner is different and has various experiences with language learning. You made an excellent point that negative feedback can be beneficial and helpful for the student since it makes him or her learn what not to do, but we need to be careful of how to provide this feedback and understand the background of the learner. If the student is learning two or even more languages at the same time, it can be very challenging for the student to fully understand the message!
ReplyDeleteAlora, I completely agree! I think as future educators, differentiating to accommodate every student's unique needs can be challenging at times! It is our responsibility to make sure our students are learning to the best of their ability, but that also means taking the time to understand what each student responds to best. Sometimes that means having many differentiation approaches in your toolbox! Every learning experience is different!
DeleteI agree with you and Alora that negative feedback is important in language learning as in any other type of learning. One of my concerns about blogs and posts is the tendency I have observed among learners to agree with what others say, even disregarding what experts in the field say. I wonder if this tendency has to do to with the politically correct phenomenon or with the fact that learners do not like to lose face and therefore they prefer to say positive things so that they are only given positive feedback too. I wonder if at any time during your this semester you felt that your classmates were saying things that were incorrect and you refrained from contradicting them or if you feel that reading what your classmates wrote actually helped you learn about SLA.
ReplyDeleteDr. Avellaneda, I think you make a great point about positive feedback and correcting other peers. I think this is kind of similar to giving student negative feedback. Some students do not respond well to negative feedback, so I can see how many some people have avoided disagreeing with peers. However, I feel like when things are said in a respectful way, it is just a friendly discussion. Other times, maybe we tend to respond to blogs of peers who may have similar opinions!
DeleteTransferability was an interesting topic, and it would've been nice to lear a bit more about. There are also a couple of topics I would've wanted to learn more about, such as negotiation. I feel that I could use the information on negotiation in my own classroom, especially when implementing peer teaching between an ESL student and a non ESL student.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you stated about negative feedback. Negative feedback is used to describe what someone did incorrectly and how they can improve what they are accomplishing. I like how you stated that getting to know your student is important because it can got to improve the over all enjoyment of the subject for the student if you change small things to provide the content in ways that will cater to the individual then a life time learner can be gained.
ReplyDeleteEmerald, I was also able to make connections between the research that we learned and from the interviews that we did. This class did very well with differentiating the ways in which we received the content. There were videos, the textbook, articles, and the blogs. In a way, I feel as if this is what we should do in our future classrooms. We should be able to differentiate our class for not only our special education students, but also our ELL students and the gifted and talented. This class has taught us so much, but like you mentioned in your reflection, we have to keep trying to learn about the field of SLA. I believe that once we are in the field more we can see how to successfully make use of positive and negative feedback. Ortega (2013), states that negative feedback should be definitely used in the classroom, but I think that it is up to the teachers to determine how to use it without bringing down a student’s self-esteem or motivation.
ReplyDelete