Chapter 6

I like this chapter especially when it talks about the importance of building relationships with the students and students towards other students. It is true that no matter how much knowledge a person tries to teach or impart to another person yet without positive relationship with the person, then the teacher's effort will still be unfulfilled.

Si Yu'os Ma'ase,' Julie and Joylyn, it was nice working with the both of you and the rest of the class.  I believe that collaboration brings a great senses of team effort. We were all able to process our work through reading, writing, speaking and listening.  Especially sharing each other's teaching strategies when focusing on student learning.  This allows us to provide individually the strengths and viewpoints as teachers to communicate effectively.

Chapter 5

Establishing basic reading and writing skills are essential in the L1 and L2 acquisition process. The book referred to implicit and explicit considerations that teachers make when introducing assignments that deal with oral, verbal, and written activities. Personally I find that normal English teachers focus more on the  pronunciation and the mechanics of grammar rather than English as a whole. In chapter 4 it was mentioned that language learning that emerges after the silent period should be taken with great caution. It is the same when it comes to implicit and explicit methods of introducing language. Teachers should think about how their student is internalizing all of the new information that is being given and how to maximize on the quality of what is being learned.

Chapter 5

Through learning this chapter, I realize again that learning a language is not merely understanding some contents, but 'ongoing' action. Implicit teaching strategies we learned in chapter 5 enables students 'acquiring' rather than trying to learn. Even reading and writing skills can improve as the students expose themselves to create the meaning of it. As the Figure 5.1. and 5.2. in the text show, the domains to expose the learners themselves such as home, school, community, and other environment are as important as the internal learning related component like prior knowledge, motivation, and cultural expectations.

Chapter 5

I really enjoyed tonight's class. It was really great to hear inputs from our classmates who are currently in the teaching profession. It was very informative and the tips regarding teaching strategies were very helpful. I also like all the presentations especially when each group gives scenarios about their teaching experience or what they do in their class. With my group, I tried my best reading Chamorro words. It was very challenging yet fun and worthwhile-- the chant/song added to the Sirena story was very creative in addition to the "jerk" dance which is popular to kids. I learned three (3) Chamorro words tonight (sad, happy, and angry) I don't know how to spell them in Chamorro so I just wrote the English words. :)All in all, it was a fun learning experience.

Chapter 5

Learning to read is an important stage in any language. With English as my L1, I can say that learning to read and learning to love doing so has awarded me the deep interest that I have in language and writing. I am a firm believer in the belief that reading is a vital step to writing well. Reading is similar to learning L1 in the way children learn their L1 by mimicing what they hear in their household and immediate environment. People begin writng in a style similar to the written forms that they are more familiar with. If people read more and different genres and styles, then they can mimic in different forms until they learn how to shape and improve their writing styles.

Chapter 4

I found that Chapter four had a lot of material that dealt with the conduct that students and teachers should follow in the classroom. I agree that in any classroom, especially an ESL classroom the students and teachers should both have input to establish goals and objectives. I also liked that this chapter debunked certain myths about teaching styles and strategies. This was helpful because the manner in which participatory teaching is conducted is often misinterpreted. The key to a successful class is the commonality between teacher and student to learn from the lesson of the day whether it is through dialogue writing or oral presentation. Lastly teachers have to remember that ZPD is not successful without resources for scaffolding.

Chapter 4

I particularly enjoyed the section of the details of strategic learning in this chapter. The recommendation made on listening, speaking, pronunciation, reading, vocabulary development, and writing all require the great motivation and participation of learners. I tried to minimized them by listing the most effective ways. For listening, "Don't be upset if you don't understand everything" and "Make guesses about what is being said." For speaking, "use repetition, gestures, similar words, definitions, examples, or acting out to help people understand you." For pronunciation, "look for opportunities to talk to fluent speakers." For reading, "do not stop reading each time you find an unfamiliar word or phrase." For vocabulary development, " use the new words or phrases in your own writing." Finally for writing, "rewrite, making whatever changes seem necessary." I realized again that education cannot happen by itself, but can succeed through interactions even by oneself like the students keep rewriting his or her essays.

Chapter 3 Reflection

It was good to hear other people's teaching experiences which will help us (future educators) know what to look out for when we finally have our own classrooms. Also, I thought that the poster papers and markers added as props in our jigsaw puzzle were very helpful as visual aid, especially for those who made diagrams and presented their points on the sections from the chapter just like what we did in our group, where we made a chart containing the differences and similarities in first (L1) and second(L2) language acquisition. It's a good way to bring out student's creativity.

Chapter 3

I really enjoyed today's class because we focused on how a second language is processed in the mind of the learner. I also enjoyed hearing the comparisons between L1 and L2. It was interesting to hear Vygotsky's overall theory being brought into this chapter because in most of my Linguistic classes Educational Psychologists rarely make an appearance in the textbook. However this is a second language methodology course so i am looking forward to seeing the mixing of Linguistic and Educational theories. Lastly the activity was a great refresher from the traditional cooperative learning groups. I really liked how we were able to draw, talk, and share diverse thoughts/experiences.

Chapter3

One of discussion questions for today’s class was “how is learning a second language like learning a first language? How is it different?” My group examined and discussed about similarities and differences between the first and second language acquisitions. We found that both the first and second language acquirers tend to over-generalize the rules such as past-tense forms of verbs, and they have similar patterns of vocabulary usages and gestures. The major differences are that: 1) the first language learners basically ‘acquire’ the language rather than ‘learn’ while the second language learners ‘learn’ the target language; 2) the first language learner is confident in his or her language since it’s learner’s mother tongue while the second language learner may create avoidance towards the target language; and 3) the first language learner learns the language and the concept at the same time while the second language learner just learns the new word for existing concept. I really enjoyed learn through today's activity.

I thought that chapter 3 was very interesting on how people process a second language and also the differences on how younger people and older people process a second language. Teachers today who teach a second language to students have many tools now for their students to achieve fluency in the target language that they are teaching. As social creatures, we find out that learning a second language must have that social aspect and a cultural aspect as well so that the learner would grasp the second language more. It is this holistic approach that students will gain the most of the second language that is being taught in our school.

                As for the assignment during the class time, it was very interesting because it is better to hear the perspective of other people on the same subject that you are learning. This gives us a deeper knowledge and understanding of the section that is being presented. It is also good to hear examples of lessons being taught in our school system and how the presenters are implementing them in their classrooms.

Chapter 3 Reflection

I thought that Chapter 3 stressed the importance of the social aspect of language in language acquisition. In this, L1 and L2 are similar in the involvement of social interaction. Linguistic studies always reveals the  importance of Sociology: the study of language within society and how people use it. With L2 acquisition, when contemplating self-teaching through grammar-translation or a form of Audiolingualism vs learning with others and practicing social language skills.

For a assignment in my course last semester, I discussed the aspects of L2 acquisition through translated text (within a classroom or self-taught) vs learning within the L2's culture and society. I spoke of the credibility of translated texts. Languages are unique in the fact that every culture and language group thinks and views worldly matters different. Some cultures put importance on something another culture would deem trivial. Keeping this in mind, we can understand how some translations are not easy to make or understand. There may be a translated equivalent, but more often one word or phrase has to be described in a learner's L1. With this, knowledge of the L2's culture and society would greatly benefit a L2 learner and social interaction is one step.

It was good to hear other people's teaching experiences, which will help us (future educators) know what to look out for when we are finally thrown into our own classrooms-- the world of teaching profession as they say. Also, I thought that the poster papers and markers added as props in our jigsaw puzzle were very helpful as visual aid, especially for those who made diagrams to present the point of their section from the chapter, or like our group, were we made a chart containing the differences and similarities in first (L1) and second(L2) language acquisition.

Language Acquisition

Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.     Roger Bacon

 Since I missed this evening’s face to face class, my reflection will be on Chapter 3’s topic in relation to my own classroom experience.  Chapter 3 discusses the sociocultural and cognitive model in regards to second language learners.  The author describes second language learners use the similar knowledge to communicate with the target language.  This is evident in some of my ELL students.  As part of my reading instruction last week, we were learning about past tense verbs.   As a whole group, we brainstormed “action words.”  From that list, the students added –ed to make the verbs in the past tense form.  Most of the students picked up the concept rather quickly but my ELL students had some difficulty with particular verbs.  Some of the words were:  ride (ride-ed)  hide (hide-ed) .  As we explored the rules of the English language on why some past tense verbs are not spelled with –ed, my ELL students responded with “...That’s why my mom says…”  The lesson continued with more examples and eventually my ELL student understood.  Despite my reading/ language arts lesson, could it be assumed that my ELL student acquired the skill? 

Image:  http://reginaquinn.com/

Chapter 2

                My experience with writing my philosophy of teaching was similar to when I wrote my first essay for ED 110. However I am in my upper level courses so I have formed a more cohesive perspective on what I believe in, currently as a future teacher. I still look to my previous high school teachers and some professors in the university that made my educational endeavor memorable. I hope that I am able to embody the expectations the School of Education has set in front of all the teaching candidates. Also I am glad we are able to interact through the blog and Moodle because it allows everyone to think beyond the classroom time limit.

                What I found most intriguing in Chapter 2 was the incidental focus on form and planned focus on form. I can relate to these two methods professionally and personally. I have seen out on observation most teachers use the incidental focus on form because it supposedly yields quicker results. However personally I have benefited planned focus on form because rigorous grammatical exercises trained me to be better at the target language.

Learning without thought is labor lost.  ~Confucius

In Chapter 2, the error analysis topic stood out for me.  As I read this portion, I thought of my ELL (English Language Learner) student, CJ, who made mistakes as he learned not only English but Chamorro in Culture class and Spanish in the FLES program (Foreign Language Elementary School). Despite the errors he would make as he was learning new concepts (in a new environment), CJ progressed after almost 2 quarters.  In addition to the regular classroom instruction, CJ did have the support of the literacy team, the ESL program and from home. 

The chapter talks about how the learner internalizes the second language and progresses towards proficiency; the less reliant the learner is on the primary language. With a good support program at the school level and the home front, ELL students should find success!   I would like to believe that CJ is on the on the path of progression with his second language.  After all, everything we say and do is a continuous learning process-with or without mistakes.

                                                                                                                                     

Image:  performancepyramid.muohio.edu

Reaction #2

At first I was not really sure on what to write on the teaching philosophy so I just thought I would write about on how I will be teaching in the future (if/when I decided to pursue a career in education). With the reflection on Chapter One, I wrote about my experience on the activities I did from my Linguistic course such as "Suggestopedia" and "The Silent Way". And I thought that the given Grammar-based and communicative approaches will be very helpful to use in a classroom.

---MJoy Guiking

Chapter#2

Krashen’s input hypothesis is that humans acquire language in only one way. If the input is 1 step (+1) above the stage the learner is at (i). For acquisition to take place, learner must understand messages and receive comprehensible input. There are supportive arguments for input hypothesis which are silent period, age differences, effect of exposure, language learners who do not have access to comprehensible input are held up in language development, success of bilingual programs is due to comprehensible input, reading hypothesis and writing. Three key arguments for input hypothesis are: 1) rule of simple codes, effects of instruction, and methods comparison research. I believe there is ‘acquisition’ without ‘learning’ which means that some people process second language without know rules consciously; there are cases where ‘learning’ never becomes ‘acquisition’ which means that some people know the rules but cannot follow it; and no one knows anywhere near all the rules.