Final Course Reflection
As I reflect on what I have learned this semester
about Second Language Acquisition, I realize that there are many aspects that
are involved in how successful a learner may be in learning their second
language or an additional language. One aspect that was not quite as unexpected
was the characteristic of motivation. However, I was particularly surprised to
learn that the role of motivation was not as simple as I presumed. Ortega (2013,
p. 189) acknowledges that “being motivated nurtures more successful L2 learning,
but, conversely, experiencing L2 learning success also boosts motivation to
even higher levels, in a reinforcing cycle.” Therefore, when a learner is
motivated to learn their L2, they become more successful in their learning, and
when they are successful in their learning, they feel more motivated to learn
their L2. In addition to motivation, I learned that the learner’s age, their
first language, the environment they are learning in, their cognition, and
other individual differences can all play a role in how successful a learner is
in their L2.
As I
near the end of the semester, there were some topics that I wish received more
attention than others. One of the topics that I wish received more attention
would be the topic of affect and other individual differences because I am
interested in knowing more about how the individual differences that students
have can impact their L2 learning in either a positive or negative way. On the
other hand, one of the topics that I wished did not receive as much attention
was the role of age in second language acquisition simply because I feel that
this can depend on the individual as well. According to Ortega (2013, p. 27),
she mentions that “research suggest that a number of environmental…and
socio-affective factors…may mutually interact and become important predictors
of success at earlier as well as later starting ages.” Hence, it is difficult
to assume that age plays the most significant role in determining how successful
a learner became in their L2.
The
role of the VBlog entries were surprisingly helpful to my learning process in
this class in addition to the interactions I had on the entries with my classmates.
I feel that the Vblog was helpful because it facilitated my ability to reflect
on the readings and videos and form my thoughts into words. Additionally, I
enjoyed being able to interact with my classmates on the Vblogs as I could read
their entries and see what they found as interesting in the readings. Also,
being able to interact with my classmates on their entries helped me to have
some clarification over different topics that I did not understand as well or
even helped me to view a topic from a different perspective.
Moreover,
this class will impact my professional practice as I can take what I have
learned about Second Language Acquisition into the field. As a future educator,
it is important that I differentiate my lessons for all my students and after
having the opportunity to interview a bilingual teacher, I now have some ideas
about what I can do to help my students. Finally, this course also helped me to
recognize and perceive all my students as English Language Learners.
Hi Krystal! I also feel that this class has been extremely helpful and informational when it comes to understanding how many of our students are learning. I do agree that there are many topics and subject that could of been further discussed in the textbook, but I like to think that at least we have the foundation and can take charge of our own learning. Overall, Ortega, Rowland, Gass and Selinker's text book's have all enhanced our understanding of how students acquire a second language and this has prepared us to better serve all our students.
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DeleteHi Jessica! You bring up a great point about how this class gave us fundamental knowledge regarding second language acquisition and how we can always dive deeper into these topics on our own. Additionally, I’m glad that you mentioned how the texts we read throughout the semester touched on the different ways that students acquire a second language. Ortega (2013, p. 6) notes that “Most people…learn additional languages from a mixture of both naturalistic and instructed experiences.” Therefore, learners can learn their L2 through formal lessons, informal opportunities, or both.
DeleteHi Krystal and Jessica! I love how you noted on the fact that this class provided a great foundation on how to work with English language learners in our future classrooms. I am so excited to be able to take the materials that we have learned in the course and be able to put into real world application. It is important to be able to consider all of the factors that come into play with English language learners and students as a whole, and I find that this class helped with that.
DeleteHi Krystal! You make a good point about motivation. When we think of motivation we think it is as simple as someone eager to learn or do something. We learn about intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. I think with Ortega though it is explained almost as a cycle. The learner is motivated to learn the language then they are successful which then further motivates them and increases their success. Something I found interesting in the chapter about motivation was the L2 Motivational Self System (Ortega, 2013). I had never thought of motivation to learn a language like that, but when you think about the reasons some learn a language they summarize the main reasons. You make a good point about the topic of age in the book. I honestly enjoyed that section of the book the most but it was talked about more than it needed to be. I as well enjoyed the vlogs and found them helpful. I found myself understanding some of the text better.
ReplyDeleteHi Alessandra! I’m glad that you acknowledged how motivation can be perceived as a cycle in second language acquisition. I also found the L2 Motivational Self System interesting as it discusses three main components. Ortega (2013, p. 187) points out that according to this system, “Individuals with a lesser quality of motivation to learn an L2…exhibit less powerful motivation that is nourished by reference to the ought-to self rather than the ideal L2 self.” This is important to note because while these individuals are still considered motivated, the motivation is extrinsic.
DeleteHey Krystal! I also found that learning about motivation was such an important factor in L2 learning. We learned a lot about motivation and I actually wrote my research in regards to that topic because I find that it's so important for our second language learning students to be motivated in all ways. But overall, I do agree that this class was extremely helpful and I feel even more prepared to teach my future students who may be learning a second language. I also agree that this course was very heavy on age being such a strong factor even though it was mentioned in our textbooks that age doesn't have to be a factor on L2 learners.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley! I’m happy that you also appreciated learning about the factor of motivation in L2 learning since it is such an integral part to understand for our students. Additionally, I’m glad that I was not alone in feeling that age was a topic that seemed to be focused on a little more than necessary. Ortega (2013, p. 4) states that second language acquisition “happens later in life, whether in late childhood, adolescence or adulthood. Sometimes, however, the individuals learning an additional language are still young children when they start…” Therefore, while age may contribute to language learning, there is also evidence that individuals of all ages can learn a second language.
DeleteHi Krystal! It was great reading your reflection and seeing your perspective regarding all of the things you have learned throughout the semester. I like how you wrote a lot about the importance of motivation in your reflection and how you mentioned that it plays a factor in the students being more susceptible to deep learning. I agree that motivation is required to be successful, but most importantly when learning something new. Ortega talks about how motivation is used to be more successful in the second language, more motivation is gained and how this cycle will be continuous (p. 189). This idea goes to show the depth and importance of motivation as you talked about.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer! I’m glad that you enjoyed reading my reflection and that you also agree about how important motivation is for success in language learning. Ortega (2013, p. 177) expresses that “some students in compulsory foreign language courses say they do not know why they are studying the L2 or they express resentment at what feels like a waste of their time. These learners suffer from amotivation…” This is important to recognize because amotivation can negatively influence how these learners perform in their L2.
DeleteHi Krystal and everyone! It was so difficult to chose a comment to reply to because everyone made such great points. Motivation is a crucial factor in learning anything not just a second language. These motivations can come from a variety of sources and I believe that as future educators we need to be able to guide our learners and have them pull both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in order for their learning to fully take place. In an short reading that I did while working on my research paper I came across this statement "the role that a teacher plays in L2 classes are initiator, facilitator, motivator, ideal model of the target language speaker, mentor, consultant, and mental supporter" (Kaboody, 2013, p.48), this only reiterates, for me, that as educators we need to provide our students with the tools and different types of motivation in order to make their learning successful.
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