Welcome to My First Vblog
Hello everyone,
My name is Priscilla Sambrano and I
am a senior at the University of Houston. Currently, I am student teaching at Morton
Ranch Elementary for 3rd grade. However, my ideal grade level I
would like to teach someday is 2nd grade.
To start off, I am bilingual in
both Spanish and English. Growing up I was only introduced to the Spanish language
from my grandmother. When she would come and visit from Mexico, she would stay
for long periods of time and during those periods of time she would teach me
all the numbers and colors and letters of the alphabet. Over time, I started to
pick up on many phrases. However, once I entered Kindergarten, it was a little
difficult for me to succeed in school because I only knew Spanish and my peers
and teachers only knew English. However, the school provided me with great ESL resources,
so I could learn the English language, which according to Ortega this is called
Instructed learners, “learners in which learn an additional language through
formal study in school or a university, through private lessons and so on
(Ortega, 2013, pg 6).”
As time went by, it wasn’t until
third grade when I was able to completely and effectively read, write, and
speak fluently in the English language on my own. Knowing two languages in
which Ortega refers to as L2 acquisition, the mean of process of learning
additional languages,” has been very beneficial (Ortega, 2013, pg 5). Being
bilingual has come in handy when my workplace needed someone to translate for a
customer who only knew Spanish. It has also come in handy when traveling.
Furthermore, based on the
experience I had as an elementary school student, I know how important it is to
assist students who are English language learners, especially if they are completely
new to the English language. That is why as a professional, I will try my absolute
best to provide the best resources for my students, such as visual classroom
instructions, handouts, pair students into group, speak slowly, and provide
sentence stems. Of course, there are way more strategies and ways I could
assist my English language learners, but these are the only ones I could remember
as a child that helped me. Hopefully by taking this course, it will further extend my knowledge on English language learners and it will show other ways in which
I can assist my students and provide them a great learning experience.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London:
Routledge, 2013. Print.
Click here to watch my Vblog 1
Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading and viewing your vblog. I think it is such an asset to be bilingual. You learned English in a manner in which many children do, by being immersed in a school environment. Your Spanish was learned in your first environment, home. Ortega says,” First between the womb and the first few months of life, infants attune themselves and to the prosodic and phonological make-up of the language to which they are exposed and they also learn the dynamics of taking turns.” (Ortega, 2011, p.4) In this environment, Spanish was your main language. In school, your L2 became English. You really understand how the L2 learner feels as they begin not only school, but also a new language for the first time. Good luck with your courses this semester.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hi Stacy,
DeleteThank you and Yes! I am very grateful learning Spanish at such a young age. However, it was difficult at times learning two languages hand in hand because it kind confused me. At times I found myself mixing the languages up both verbally and through text. Which according to Ortega it seemed like I fell under the category of "most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously (Ortega, 2013, p 4). Furthermore, yes being bilingual is such a great asset, especially living in the state of Texas where it is becoming more diverse every day. Hopefully, we will both acquire some great knowledge from this course so that we can better assist our English language learners.
Good luck with your courses as well!
Priscilla Sambrano
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hola Priscilla. Mucho gusto de conocerla y espero que la clase de adquisición de segunda lengua sea una oportunidad para que usted practique su español escrito, al igual que la lectura. Espero que se registre para la clase de francés y así pueda aprender un tercer idioma y tener la experiencia de recordar lo que significa ser un aprendiz de lengua. Yo creo que usted es una combinación de un aprendiz mixto es decir que aprende el idioma en un ambiente natural pero que lo complementa con la instrucción que recibe en un ambiente académico.
ReplyDeletePriscilla,
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting that your grandmother taught you Spanish. Normally, you learn the mother tongue from your parents because they are generally the ones who are responsible for teaching you how to speak and say words. It is very great that you are bilingual because it is something that can help you out tremendously in the field and in life. You and I are also bilingual, and English is our L2 while Spanish is our L1 (Ortega, 2011). I also believe that it is a great idea that you want to have many extra things in your classroom like visuals. I remember growing up that visuals helped me a lot when I was learning English. I also like that your ideas can be applied to our other students who may have another L1 language like Chinese, Vietnamese, or Italian. In the Houston area we have many mother tongues that are spoken, and the ideas that you stated can benefit them too.
Hi Jennifer,
DeleteYes! When I tell people, I learned Spanish from my grandmother they wonder why I did not learn it from my parents. My mom was always working, so my grandmother was the only person who could take care of me at the time and so that's how I was able to acquire the Spanish language. That is so great that we are both bilingual. Growing up in a nation that is becoming more diverse every day, especially in the education system, has made it very beneficial for us to be bilingual, not only in Spanish language. It allows us to have an understanding of how English language learners may feel or think as they start to acquire the English language because we have also gone through the somewhat same experience as they are going through. Lastly, by both of us acquiring Spanish first, we have experience as elementary school students, in what ways knowing the Spanish language actually helped us in the process of learning the English language. With that knowledge it will allow us as educators to help our students during moments of frustration to understand that knowing a language, besides English, can actually be a good thing for the learning process according to Ortega (Ortega, 2013, p 42). Furthermore, it seems like we have both gone through a similar journey. Hopefully this course will provide us with even more knowledge on how we can better assist our English language learners.
Priscilla Sambrano
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print
Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteYou provided great insight into your upbringing and how it influenced your ability to be able to speak two different languages (bilingualism). We both are bilingual, but my L1 was English and my L2 was Spanish. At home we mostly spoke English, but I knew once I was around my father's family I would have to switch it up to Spanish. My paternal grandparents only spoke Spanish and that provided me with the practice I needed to become more fluent in Spanish. We both share the fact that our grandparents helped us become bilingual speakers. In fact, "in many parts of the world, most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously (Ortega, 2011, p.4)." I believe because we have this ability to speak two languages fluently, we are a great asset to our students. Especially those who are struggling with learning a new language.
You provided great insight into your upbringing and how it influenced your ability to be able to speak two different languages (bilingualism). We both are bilingual, but my L1 was English and my L2 was Spanish. At home we mostly spoke English, but I knew once I was around my father's family I would have to switch it up to Spanish. My paternal grandparents only spoke Spanish and that provided me with the practice I needed to become more fluent in Spanish. We both share the fact that our grandparents helped us become bilingual speakers. In fact, "in many parts of the world, most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously (Ortega, 2011, p.4)." I believe because we have this ability to speak two languages fluently, we are a great asset to our students. Especially those who are struggling with learning a new language.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was left by Brittany Davila
Hi Brittany,
DeleteWow! That is so wonderful that you acquired Spanish as your L2. I also find it amazing that you chose to embrace the language and actually try to learn it because your father's family spoke the language. According to Ortega, since your paternal grandparents only spoke Spanish around you I believe you learned the Spanish language through "life circumstances to fend for themselves in selected matters of daily survival (Ortega, 2013, p 1)." You understood that the most beneficial form of communication with your grandparents was through picking up on the language and actually learning it. By both of us being bilingual, it is going to be very helpful as educators because we have that understanding on how English language learners acquire the English language. As well as what resources we can provide on our part to better assist their learning process in the English language. I cannot even imagine what more we will learn from this course that will provide us with a greater insight on more strategies to better understand and help our English language learners.
Best of luck Brittany,
Priscilla Sambrano
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print
Priscilla –
ReplyDeleteI was particularly interested in your story because I hope for my children to learn Spanish, but it will be at the hands of their paternal grandmother, whose first language was Spanish and speaks it more fluently than who will be their paternal grandfather. I have felt unsure about the success of that due to my fiancé and I being unable to properly teach our kids anything besides English, but your story allows me to believe that although outside of our primary household, my children will be able to successfully learn Spanish. “By definition L2 acquisition takes place in humans who already possess one or more languages. This being so, the mother tongue (and any other known languages) universally influences the processes and outcomes of L2 learning (Ortega, 2011, p.53).” This makes me think about how I should introduce the Spanish language to my children – at the same time as English, or after basic English has already been acquired.
In addition to how Ortega defined Instructed learners, I would like to add that “the expectations that the teachers have for their own students play a large role with their learning process” (Gass & Selinker, pg 3). That is wonderful that your school had a class for those that needed help with English, though I hope that they placed proper standards for their students. Expecting students to have learned a use of language only through the act of repetition of exercises does not guarantee that the learner will understand the material. Based on the readings it seems clearer now that the way in which the learning process is carried out can ensure of lessen the chances of a L2 learner to learn enough to comprehend and reply.
ReplyDeleteCrystal Menjivar