I
had the privilege of interview a longtime family friend and neighbor for this
entry of the class. The woman I interviewed learned English as a second
language to Spanish growing up in Miami. She now owns her own home health care
business and she says that her knowing two languages has helped her be so
successful in the business of home health. She spoke in the video about how she
thinks the culture of Miami had a lot to do with how she learned English and I
thought that was interesting. I think we think of Houston as being such a
diverse place we do not realize that there are also places that although have
many people who speak a different language, they can be unified in the second
language most of the community speaks. Something big that she touched on
in the video is the age that she learned the English language. She said that
she only knew Spanish until she started school in pre-k and that is where her
English learning began, and that mostly all of her classmates were doing the
same. She states that she thinks starting at a young age helped her and she
said the “younger the better” when it comes to learning the second language in
her opinion. Ortega also states that there is a “loss
of plasticity undergone by human brains by year nine of life” (Ortega. P12) so
he shows that this gap after age nine they have found that it is in fact harder
for the brain to obtain a second language. I agree with this since I was
someone who wasn’t introduced to a second language until are 12, I think had I been
earlier I would have remembered more and been more successful.
Watch my interview here! https://youtu.be/VE7rJ6dNIqc
Hello Gabrielle! I enjoyed your interview with your family friend. I think its great she has her own home health care business. Being bilingual really helps in the professional environment. Most jobs and companies look for people who are bilingual or multilingual. It also interesting to know she didn’t start her English language learning until she entered school. Like your interviewee said, the younger the better when it comes to learning another language. Ortega stated, the bulk of language is acquired between 18 months and three to four years of age (Ortega 2013 pp. 4) This aspect most likely is what supported your family friends learning of English.
ReplyDeleteOretega, Lourdes. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge.
Hello Kenielle! Thanks for replying to my video! I also think it is awesome she has become a business owner, it shows what determination can do for anyone, even if they don't have English as their first language! I think it is so true that people look for employees who are bilingual, it can help so much when communicating with others across the board!
DeleteHey Gabby!
ReplyDeleteI must say, reading things always make me see things a little differently than the last. I have also always thought learning another language young would be much easier. I think this would have to be simply because it would have to be easier to absorb what is being learned. Ortega states that another important factor into learning a language would have to be the predisposition towards communication (Ortega, 2013). I agree with that too. Your neighbor must have been determined to learn especially because she was in a country where that was the primary language. I also wonder if education is better, or worse for ELL's in Miami? Thank you for your entry!
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge
Hello, I'm replying to this comment because I also agree with both of you about leaning another language at a young age being easier. "It is possible to conclude that age-related differences exist in how a skill or ability is learned" (Ortega, 2013 p.24). I also learned English when I was 12 years old and I believe that if I had learned it years before; the learning process would've been easier and more successful.
DeleteOrtega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.
DeleteHi Marina! Thanks so much for commenting on my video. I really liked that you pointed out how her age made the learning curve that much bigger yet she overcame it due to her determination to learn. The point you made about her being submerged in Spanish in Miami but still wanting to learn English does say a lot about her! I also wonder what is is like for an ELL so learn English in Miami, it would be interesting to find out the differences. I am curious if their standards are any different than ours and how they differentiate instruction vs how we do, great question!
DeleteHello Karla! Thanks for watching my video and replying! I am interested that we all agree on the learning of a second language becomes so different passed a certain point in time of a persons life! I personally have not learned a second language just because my age intimidates me! I think it is interesting you also feel like you could have become successful quicker if you had started learning the language before the age of 12.
DeleteHey there Gabby, I really like your video. In the videos it's very consistent that a lot of the ELLs feel that spelling is very hard to learn. I think it's very cool she thinks the older you are the harder it is to learn a new language because even Ortega states “with anecdotal observations that children were also adept foreign language learners when compared to adults.” (Ortega,2013, pg.12) It's crazy how much her life has changed from only Spanish for 4 years to now only English. And I sadly agree with her comment about her math or science teachers did not contribute because I feel in my science class it is not integrated at all.
ReplyDeleteHey Kate-lynn thanks for replying to my video! I loved that you pointed out how she stated that math and science teachers did not help her in her learning even back then. I agree that there is much more we could do to integrate second language learning in to our math and science classes. I think this would help out students so much and even help being a more positive light to second language learning for those students who thrive in the math and science subjects!
ReplyDelete