Entry 2: Interview

Hello! Welcome to my vblog #2.

For this vblog, I interviewed one of my friends Ben Alverez. Ben was born and grew up in Venezuela until the age of six. When he turned six, his family decided to move to the United States and start a life here. When Ben was put in school he had started off in a full English-speaking class. This is where he and his parents realized that class was not the best fit for him due to the fact that he spoke and had no knowledge of English.

As I was interviewing Ben, he was telling me how at first, he first started to learn English. Since his parents also did not speak English, he learned first from his teacher in class. Then, it moved to family friends starting to help him. Ben was saying that with the family friends he in a sort copied the way they would speak and how they spoke. This process reminded me of the text in which Gass (2008) says that “one-way internalization occurs is through imitation, which can be both immediate and intentional” (p. 284)

As ESL’s learn English or any new language, having them interact with peers is a helpful tool in progressing their learning. The more interaction the child gets from other children their age or near their age not just helps their speaking, but it also lets the children get more comfortable being/talking around others. As Gass (2008) states, “learning a language involved imitation as its primary mechanism, the language that surrounded learners was of crucial importance” (p. 304). The more interaction that children have with their peers and even adults plays a position that is inherent to their learning development.  

Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kIVmhShi-r3asFiI3Xuu9ht9sQGzddaK

Entry 1: Course Introduction

Caroline Lopez's Blog

Hello, welcome to my first entry! I am a senior at the University of Houston who is getting a degree as an EC-6 Generalist. I am currently student teaching in a third grade class where one period is an ELL group so, I am looking forward to applying what I have learned in the classroom.

Video:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aVGtsJ9E5zteMJkwSlwpQyhzLFPSLpnT


          Growing up, English has always been my first language. My parents spoke  and taught me how to speak in English. However, when I would go to visit my grandparents that would be where I had learned Spanish. Spanish is my families first language, it is what my grandparents language and my parents first language. However for me, it may have been my heritage language, but not my primary. As I have grown, I have lost most of my Spanish speaking skills. The main times I speak Spanish is when I a with my ELL students or in certain situations. I think it is interesting how Ortega (2013) points out that, "an individual may use their heritage language under certain conditions and understand it, but his/her primary language is a different one" (p.23). I find this interesting how ones heritage language can be brought to the surface when an individual is in a certain condition.

          I have only once been in a situation where I did not speak or have knowledge of the language. Tat time was when my family and I went to Canada and in the area we were in, they spoke French. It was interesting because my family and I had to adapt to the surroundings and figure out bits of what was being spoken along with having to converse back. With second language acquisition, Ortega (2013) talks about how it "generally refers to the learning of a nonnative language in the environment in which that language is spoken" (p. 7). This was what happened to my family and I. Which in this scenario, it had me to think that how must it be like for individuals coming from another county. As a soon to be teacher, I want to make sure that the students feel comfortable in the classroom and are able to pick up on certain words or phrases when they are an ELL put in an environment that is nonnative.

Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.