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Entry 4: Reflection

Through this course, I have learned a lot of new things about the process of acquiring a second or additional language. There are several aspects that come into play when helping an English language learner (ELL) successfully acquire English. As a future middle grade teacher, I must take advantage of the critical period for language learning mentioned by Ortega (2013), by giving ELLs opportunities to practice using English and develop new vocabulary within my content area math classroom. I also learned that it is the responsibility of the teacher to create a supportive linguistic environment to motivate and encourage students to learn content area topics as well as the second language.  Learning about the ways I can improve my future students’ language learning experience had a tremendous impact on the way I will plan and design my lessons as a practicing teacher. One thing I felt really stood out to me was that learning a language is a social process. Ortega (2013, p.104) men...
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Entry 3

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It was interesting to learn about the experiences and ideas Ms. Rodriguez shared during our interview. It must be beneficial that the English language learners in Ms. Rodriguez's class have a teacher who can speak in their native language and translate content for them. Ortega (2015, p. 61) states that  learning happens through comprehension, and that the more one comprehends, the more one learns. The classroom environment along with the mixture of English language levels in Ms. Rodriguez's class is also very supportive of her ELL students. Ortega (2015, p. 66) Mentions a meta-analysis that  found that the gains for groups who used the targeted L2 forms during task-based interaction were substantial. Practicing explaining  mathematical concepts to peers in English is a great way for ELLs to improve grammar and communication skills in English. Practice  helps proceduralization of new knowledge by allowing the establish ment and strengthening o...
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Entry 2: An interview with...

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Hello and welcome to my second Vblog entry! After reviewing and reflecting on my interview with Danial, I was able to make several connections between what he mentioned about his process of learning the English language and what researchers mention. When I asked Danial if he felt like learning English at a younger age was an advantage to him, he mentioned how his relative who began learning English as an adult is still not very proficient in English, while he now considers English his most used language. Ortega (2013, p. 16) mentions that "older is better initially, but that younger is better in the long run." This proves true in Danial's case since as an adult he is more proficient in English than his aunt who still struggles with her English language skills. Ortega (2013) discusses how adults were able to retain more, but for shorter periods of time, while younger language learners were able to retain new words and phrases for longer periods of time.  Da nial g...
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Entry 1: Course Introduction

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Angel Foster's Blog Welcome to the first entry of my blog. In this video I will introduce myself and my experiences with learning languages. I hope you enjoy the video! Thanks for watching!
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