Twice the Acquisition, Twice the Fun.

こんいちは～ お元気ですか？
Hello ~ How are you?

It's been a while my friends. Hehe. It's almost the end of 2014! How crazy is that? I just want to say really quick to all my readers: 友達でいてくれて有難う。いい年だたな。(Thank you for being my friend. It's been a good year.) It's been one h-e-c-k of a crazy year too, but I'm glad that I was able to mature and grow alongside you guys (well... most of you. ;] jokes). Let's make more memories together in 2015. :] #gg2014 #glhf2015 #newyearnewme

With that aside, my previous extra blog post addressed the start of my Japanese journey. My Japanese knowledge has definitely expanded since then; I have mastered reading hiragana, the characters used for native Japanese words. Most of the time, I don't know what the heck I'm reading, but hey! I can read! I can be a bit rusty, but with more practice, I'll be reading in hiragana as fast as sonic can run. I'm so lame, I know. Now, I just need to master kanji, Chinese characters used in Japanese writing, and katakana, the characters used for foreign words [ex. ice cream would be アイスクリーム(aisu kuri--mu). Foreign words are written in katakana based on phonetic sounds, not the spelling.]. Let's all wish me good luck because that's a hell of a bulk to memorize.

As to understanding words, I haven't advanced as much as I should have. I picked up a couple of new words by responding to my friends in Japanese (which annoyed them to no end), but that's pretty much it. I know, everyone should be disappointed in me. I am disappointed in myself too, but I have reasons! I've been busy with life matters and other things, so I didn't have the time to enrich myself with the input I need to learn. Haha. Joking. I have had plenty of free time once winter break hit, but I chose to spend my break reading books, playing League of Legends, and watching Korean dramas. I haven't immersed myself in anything Japanese. I don't know. I guess it's because I'm so accustomed to Korean pop culture that I find it a little difficult to switch. It's okay though, my precious anime. I will watch you once my Korean craze dwindles down.

Building onto the topic of my Korean craze, if you know me well enough, you are probably aware of my k-pop obsession and love for k-dramas. I'm all into that Korean pop culture, and my love for it just rekindled recently. This break, I binged watched k-dramas, finishing up a drama within three days (mind you, a korean drama has an average of 16 episodes that are each an hour long. I had no life this winter break.). I've watched so much that when I would hear people talk in English, my brain would recognize it as Korean. It was weird.

Of course, with all this Korean input, I was able to acquire a ton of Korean vocabulary and phrases. If you gain linguistic input from things you enjoy, like television or songs, you'll be able to pick up words of that language faster and easier. So basically, I kind of know more Korean than I know Japanese. I mean, hey. I guess I can learn two languages at the same time. More fun, right? I guess this will mark the beginning of my Korean journey. 하나, 돌, 셋, goooooooo~! (one, two, three, gooooo)

Try your language acquiring skills with this video of a cute Korean toddler being taught a valuable life lesson. There is a lot of repetition and because she's a child, she would exaggerate her words with some actions. Also, there are subtitles so you can understand. :] This video is too cute so hope you guys enjoy.

... [time lapse]

So, if you watched the video, you probably picked up a couple of Korean, didn't you? C'mon. Tell me at least you picked up the word "andwaeyo" which means "no" or "joa" which means "I like it." Those words were repeated a numerous amount of times and the subtitles provided meaning, so they probably stuck to you. Yayyy~ you have now officially acquired some Korean. Good job.

Well, I'm going to clock out now because it is currently 2:00 AM and I'm tired. Sorry if my words get all jumbled and you can no longer comprehend what I'm saying.

じゃね～

See you~

P.S. Yo, shout out to my mentor Karen Russikoff though because your girl got a B in her 300 class! I know, it's not an A, which makes my inner overachiever cry, but hey. I got a higher grade than 80% of the class, which is pretty impressive considering the fact that I had to cram for two finals that day and the class is a 300 class nevertheless.

Blog #10 : EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

• Yes, this EQ meets the rule of three.
• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
• Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• No, this EQ does not meet the rule of three.
• The wording on this EQ could be done better. "What is most important..." should be "What is the most important factor..."

c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• No, this EQ does not meet the rule of three.
• Like the previous EQ, the wording could use some improvement. "What is the most important..."Also, this EQ seems rather broad. It needs to be more specific.

d. How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• No, this EQ does not meet the rule of three.
• This EQ can be answered with just a recitation of facts.

3. Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project. The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

What is the most important factor in child language acquisition?

日本語 勉強 中 です。(My Japanese Study)

こんにちは!!!
Hello friends!

I am here doing my monthly blog post super early in the month so I don't nearly forget it in the future!!! /wink wink/ 私は　速い 　そして　私に 　賢い。（I am fast and I am smart)

 So, as you can tell, I have been learning some Japanese. Obviously, if you pop those characters into a translator or get a Japanese friend to translate my sentences for you, you won't get perfect Japanese. It's a work in progress, but hey, I'm learning and that's all that matters.

 Now, some of you guys are probably wondering, "Japanese? Why are you learning Japanese?" Because I want to. Duh. Ever since I was little, I was always fascinated with Japanese culture and language. I blame anime for sparking up my interest. I tried teaching myself Japanese when I was ten years old, but I never got as far as I wanted to because I get easily distracted. However, now that I am doing my senior topic on language acquisition, my interest for learning ACQUIRING languages is at it's peak. Of course, there are so many languages that I want to speak, but Japanese was calling to me after I took this picture:

Probably one of my favorite photos of me.

 Before I posted this photo in instagram, I thought to myself "How funny would it be if I captioned my photo in a language that no one understands?" I thought it would be pretty amusing. Since I'm holding a Japanese umbrella in the picture, I downloaded a Japanese keyboard on my phone to type in romanji. With the help of google and a numerous amount of yahoo answers, I was able to type up my ingenious caption in romanji. This was way back when I was just starting my Japanese journey so now that I have a better grasp on the language, my caption doesn't even make sense. "The American ji it is to become it to be possible, Be this" What? It doesn't even make sense nor was it close to what I wanted it to translate to. It should be:白いアメリカ人はこれに触れることができない。Find a translator and pop that in if you're truly curious as to what I wanted to put.

Ever since then, I just expanded my Japanese knowledge by watching anime with English subtitles to pick up new words and annoying my friends by replying to them in Japanese phrases. On Snapchat and Instagram, I would type things with my new Japanese keyboard.

Japanese and Chinese intermixed. /gasp/

Learning Japanese is pretty interesting and with the language tips my mentor gave me, I'm able to facilitate my learning experience. Hopefully, I'll reach intermediate fluency soon so I can learn Korean.

Also, an update on my Independent Component, YOUR GIRL GOT A 87% ON HER MID-TERM. I'M PASSING. However, I'm kind of upset at my score because I was 2 questions away from getting an A. The overachiever in me cries in disappointment.

じゃあね！！！（See you!)

ーAlyanna

Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

• What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?
• Honestly, I was very proud of my first lesson in all aspects. I was not expecting myself to present so well in front of the class because I always get anxiety when it comes to presenting in front of large crowds. Yes, I am an iPoly student (duh) and in our school, we emphasize public speaking so this is quite ironic. However, when I was up there talking about language, all my fears went away and I felt like I was talking to friends. From the introduction to the conclusion, I made myself proud with my execution.

2. Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

• P / AE

b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

• I feel like I did all the requirements needed in order to score a P for the Lesson 1 component. I also feel like I executed my presentation well enough to achieve an AE because according to other people from the audience, I was very entertaining, engaging, and passionate when presenting about my topic.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

•  I think a lot of the aspects of my lesson worked pretty well, especially my energy.  My bouncy personality was able to shine through my presentation and that's what seemed to keep the audience's attention.

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

•  I would probably pace myself to go a little faster when talking. Not to the point where people can't even understand me, but just so I can get my point across. Or I can just reduce the amount of detail that I would mention, but what fun is that? The very last minute of my presentation was just sonic minute. I had to go fast. I needed to be fast if I wanted to get my conclusion in. It's amazing that I was able to go just under the maximum time by .56 seconds. I'm pretty lucky.

Mid-Term Horror

If you have been following my blog, you know that I am taking ENG 323 up at Cal Poly for my Independent Component. My mentor, Karen Russikoff, teaches this class and it's absolutely enthralling. She's very lively and fun and it's obvious that she loves what she does through her teaching. On Wednesday, our class had a mid-term. (insert scream here) A great way to spook the students just in time for Halloween. Since it's a 300 class, the content on the mid-term was quite a heavy load and I had to spend hours studying just to make sure I cover all the topics. I even met up with some other colleagues in my class so we can study together, plus they gave me a free scan-tron because I'm too cheap to buy a packet myself. You should've seen me on the day of the mid-term. I was freaking out and studying non-stop just to make sure I would do well. Of course, being the over-achiever I am, I always feel inclined to do my best in everything I do and since this is a 300 class, I felt more obligated to do so. This was my chance to show everyone that I can take a higher level class and perform well because I am fast and I am smart. :] The laborious hours of studying paid off because I was able to zip past the test and finish within 20 minutes (quite impressive considering it was 100 questions. I surprised myself). I had time to double check my answers and even go as far as triple checking them before I felt like my test was ready to be turned in. Next week, I should be getting my results. Let's all hope that I get an [e]!

Alyanna out. \m/

Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

Title: Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

Label: Research

Due Date: Thursday October 16 by 8AM

1. What is your working EQ?

• What is the most effective way for a child to acquire a language?

2. What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.

• EQ: What is the most effective way for a child to acquire a language?
• Having daily conversations in what ever language that is targeted
• Association between the meaning of the word and symbols
• Introduce words to children by theme (example: cooking- "laddel", "spatula", "pot", etc.)

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

• The most important source I have used is an episode from the television series, "The Human Language Series." The episode I have watched revolves around language acquisition within children; more specifically, first language acquisition. The video goes into detail as to what goes on during a child's mind during the first few years of his life when he or she is acquiring his language and how children are able to pick up words, grammar logic, and new sentences without being taught. The video doesn't straight up hand me the answer as to what is the most effective way a child can learn a language, but it leaves me large puzzle pieces to put together and determine which learning pathway I feel children should take when acquiring language.

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

• My mentor is Doctor Karen Russikoff who teaches Language Acquisition up at Cal Poly Pomona. Because she is teaching my senior topic, she is a very helpful source to turn to when I would like to learn about any for of language acquisition (whether it be SLA for adults, SLA for children, or first language acquisition). She helped me narrow down what form of language acquisition I would like my senior project to revolve around by having me explore all the different forms of language acquisition. From that, I knew that I wanted to do language acquisition with kids.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1.For my 30-hour independent component, I am planning on taking my mentor's, Karen Russikoff, Language Acquisition course at Cal Poly Pomona.  

2. To show the thirty hours of evidence, I will file the homework and paperwork Dr. Russikoff will give the class into a portfolio, take pictures of class as it is in session, and ask Dr. Russikoff to give me my test scores so I may file them into a portfolio as well. Basically, I will all paperwork in a file and I will document a couple of pictures of the class to prove that I was actually attending the class.

3. Since it is a college course revolving around my senior topic, I feel like taking the class will benefit me greatly and provide me more insight regarding my topic. It will also educate me in the entirety of Language Acquisition (IPA, etc.) instead of just the one branch I have been focusing my research checks on. This class will help me make a better decision as to what branch of Language Acquisition is. There is more than meats the eye and this class will help me discover/realize that.

Mentor Madness

Finding a mentor for my senior project has certainly been quite the journey. I spent two weeks constantly e-mailing language professors requests for becoming my mentor (mainly e-mailing those who teach on an elementary level since I feel like they would know the important factors that come into play when learning a language). Because of my change of topic, I was forced to start my senior project fresh. I needed to start from the very beginning of the whole senior project process and that was finding a mentor that could take me under their wing. Within the first three days of my little request rampage for a mentor, I received a couple of no's but I didn't let those rejections crush my spirit nor tenacity. I believed that I was bound to find a mentor soon considering the fact that I was reaching out to nearly 10 people at the time.

Five days pass; some professors rejected me once again and some didn't even bother to e-mail me back! I felt my heart break a little at he thought of professors ignoring my e-mails (even though it might be best that I didn't mentor with them. Their personalities were probably terrible if they didn't have the common courtesy to at least respond!).However, I am persistent.

Six days: No luck. I e-mail more.

Nine: Again, a sea of no's. I'm nearly reaching the point of desperate. Blog #6 revolves around our mentor and the due date for that assignment was slowing creeping in. Claire Dix messages me on Facebook later that night and we both freak out about how neither of us are even close to finding a mentor. We're girls so of course we worry together about our problems. As we continue to complain about the struggles of finding a mentor, Claire becomes my saving grace and gives me details on Lara McConaughey's mentor for her senior project that revolved around Linguistics. The professor Claire referred to me, Karen Roussikoff, taught a whole class on Language Acquisition so I thought she would be a very suitable mentor for my project. I e-mail the professor that night.

Ten: No response throughout the day. Oh no.

Eleven: ... Blog #6 was due the next day.

Twelve: Blog #6 was due. Claire and I were still mentor-less, thus we rant about our sorrows again over Facebook Message and try to decide on what to do with our little dilemma. However, just as we were complain about our struggles, I received an e-mail from Dr. Roussikoff that said she would be happy to become my mentor! What great timing; just before blog #6. I was able to write about my mentor in time for the due date of the sixth blog assignment and I met with Dr. Roussikoff the next week.

Honestly, I felt so relieved and blessed to officially have a mentor hours before the assignment was due. It's crazy how life works out and I just happen to be one of the lucky ones. Now that one nightmare is over, it's time to over come the rest. Everyone wish me luck.

A-dog out.

Here is a funny comic about first language acquisition in babies, a topic that Doctor Roussikoff will go into detail with me within my mentorship.

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

• My mentor is Karen Russikoff, the professor of Second Language Acquisition classes at Cal Poly Pomona.

2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?

• What inspired you to teach your Second Language Acquisition class?
• What is the most important thing you have learned working at Cal Poly Pomona as a professor for Second Language Acquisition?
• How many languages do you speak? If you know multiple languages, what helped you learn them? What was the most beneficial approach you took in order to acquire those languages?
• Was Second Language Acquisition what you studied in college? If so, which classes did you find the most beneficial? If not, what did you initially study and what changed your mind?
• Why do you teach a class revolving around Second Language Acquisition in general as opposed to a language class (i.e. Elementary Spanish)?

Blog 5 - Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship. If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

• Since I have changed my topic to something that doesn't pertain to what I did for the summer hours, I am still searching for a mentor that will help me with my senior project revolving around Language Acquisition. So far, I've e-mailed about ten language teachers at Mt. SAC for convenience, all of them teaching a language at the elementary level. Many of the teachers I have e-mailed have given me a reply yet. I kind of question if they ever opened up their inbox in the first place (which to me, foreshadows a bad mentor). To the one that has replied to me, Professor Salinger, I interviewed him for the interview component in order to test the waters.  a great guy, but I didn't feel like I would enjoy having him as my mentor. Our personalities didn't seem to click and I couldn't see myself working with him for a whole year, thus I decided to just interview him. I am still currently in the search for a mentor.

2. What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

• I feel like the most important article I've read so far has been "Brain Development and Mastery of Language in the Early Childhood Years" by Elaine Shiver. It goes into great detail about what goes on within a child's brain as they live through their early childhood years, develop communication skills for first language acquisition, and try to learn a new language later on in life (more specifically once the child is 6 years old). This article also talks about why children are able to learn a new language faster and what periods of time should they learn a new language before that opportunity window closes off.

Indecisiveness, Deadlines, and Korean! Oh my!

Before summer break started, I was set on revolving my senior project around the topic of pediatrics. I thought that since I plan on becoming a pediatrician in the future, it would benefit me to build a project around it so I would have a good idea as to what I would be getting myself into. However, I wasn't able to find a mentor within that field and in my area. All the pediatricians I contacted were all too busy to have some teenage girl shadow them... or they just didn't want to get in contact with me (my bet is the latter).

Thus, with my plan A shot down to the ground, I moved on to something that I have recently become interested, fitness and nutrition. I was able to find a mentor at Gold's Gym in West Covina and I worked with her for 5 days. My mentor, Maria Vilchis, is a personal trainer and received the title as the "Top Personal Trainer of July", so she knows exactly what she's doing. I had the honor to work side by side with her in training other people to live a healthier lifestyle. It was interesting to see the different types of clients walk in and hear a variety of goals. Maria and I also grew to become really close friends. However, after working with her, I realized that I couldn't see myself building a project around it. Shadowing Maria has certainly sparked a growth in my interest for fitness and nutrition, but it just wasn't the topic for me.

Then comes the first day of school and I still haven't had a senior topic set and stoned! We had to finalize our topic by Friday and I still had no idea on what to do. I decided to stray away from pediatrics since two other students have decided to choose that as their senior topic. I wanted to do something different, but what? Video Game Production was a certain option of mine, but it would be difficult to find a mentor. I had no leads and it could take months for me to find one so I shut that down. Baking was another option, but I can't even melt chocolate so that was a no.

On Thursday, I was sitting outside on the benches with a couple of my friends. I had an SAT Subject Test Review booklet with me and I just happened to skim through the pages. I stopped at the Korean practice test which had the foreign, boxy Korean characters. "I can read this!" I proclaimed proudly. I taught myself how to read Korean a couple of months back. Surprisingly, I forgot. When I stared at the circles and corners of the characters, I couldn't comprehend any of it. That's when the idea of Language Acquisition dawned upon me. Languages have always intrigued me; I've tried to teach myself a numerous amount of languages in the past. Perhaps revolving my senior project around it would be a great idea. When I went home that night to do my Blog #3, I changed my header from Pediatrics to Language Acquisition.

No regrets.

...But I'm still indecisive.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan on interviewing? Why?

• I plan on interviewing Florence Erturk because she teaches Elementary French at Mt. Sac to many non-French speakers so I feel like she would know a lot about learning languages and what are the most important factors to consider when learning them.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions would you ask?

• What inspired you to teach French?
• What is the most important factor when it comes to learning a new language?
• Learning a new language can be difficult. How can someone facilitate their own learning process?
• What inspired you to learn English? How long did it take you to become fluent and what helped you in doing so?
• What are some tips you would give to someone who is trying to learn a language?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. List your topic here: Language Acquisition

2. Write a question that helps to focus your research this month: What is the most effective way to learn a language?

3. If you look to the right of this page, you will see my working bibliography under the Links list.

Summer Mentorship Component

L I T E R A L

1. Summer Mentorship Log
2. Maria Vilchis, Personal Trainer at Gold's Gym West Covina 502 Plaza Drive. 
Phone Number: (626)-480-7717
3.  Questions raised from mentorship:

• What has to be achieved when becoming a Personal Trainer?
• What do you have to do to tone up instead of building bulky muscle?
• Do I want to become a Personal Trainer?
• How do you motivate someone to push themselves when they aren't willing to?
• What effects do certain types foods have on our bodies?
• What exercises are most effective when building lean muscle?

I N T E R P E R A T I V E

4. The most important thing I have gained from this experience is that people have different goals when it comes to fitness. Every client Maria and I have worked with all have different body types, meaning that they have different objectives so it was imperative to know what type of training would fit the client's needs. We worked with overweight women who wanted to shed their fat and gain a healthier lifestyle, average clients whose goals were to build muscle, and underweight clients who wanted to gain weight. Before this mentorship, I thought only those with a heavier build make appointments with personal trainers because they want someone to help and motivate them to lose weight, but throughout the 10 hours I have spent working with Maria, I saw that people with different body types choose to work with personal trainers as well. They seek for the same help and motivation, but just for different things.

A P P L I E D

5. I am teeter-tottering between Pediatrics and Fitness and Nutrition. I was not able to find a mentor for Pediatrics during the summer, but it is still something I really want to pursue a career in because when I was little, my pediatrician impacted my childhood and she is someone I will remember for the rest of my life. I would like to have that impact on children as well. However, after working with Maria, I'm interested on doing Fitness and Nutrition as a topic as well because it felt amazing to motivate people on their journey of fitness. I was impacting their lives by helping them change their lifestyle and it was just a great feeling.

Blog #1: 2-Hour Presentations

1. What presentation did you see?

• Karate - Acuna, Lizzeth
• Editorial Publishing - Lam, Krystal
• Creating a Franchise - Mendoza, Gabriel
• Forensic Science - Castellanos, Arianna
• Video Game Graphic Design - Montoya, Patrick
• Hartlein, Jessica - Bikram Yoga
• Gaeta, Jackie - Woman's Nutrition and Health
• Computer Programming - Holmes, Garett
• Physical Therapy - Song, Daniel
• Rizo, Juan - Landscaping
• Gamboa, Daniel - Electrical Engineering
• McConnaughey, Lara - Linguistics
• Patena, Mark - Hip Hop Dance Choreography
• Salud, Allyana - Nursing
• Negrete, Tannia -Business Management
• Samonte, Miguel - Product Marketing and Advertising

2. What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.

• How much time has to be made (both talking and overall presentation time)?
• What are the independent components?
• How are the essential questions constructed?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presenations?

Based on what I have seen, the most important factors of the 2-Hour final presentation are:

• Making presentation time
• Having useful information to back up your three essential question answers
• Having your activity culminate your best essential question answer (probably not needed, but the presentations that did do this happened to be the best ones I saw)
• Organized presentation

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

• I'm considering doing a topic in Pediatrics because I have always considered taking on the career path of a pediatrician. I love working with kids as well as taking care of others and my parents want me to pursue a job in the medical field because there are always jobs open. I can explore pediatrics through my senior project and find more information to help me decide if this is the career I want to do for the rest of my life. Video game design is another topic that I am considering because video games interest me. More importantly, the graphics. I have always been fascinated with CGI and am curious as to how it the 3-D graphics are created.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

• I am searching for a mentorship under the pediatric branch in the hospital my aunt works in. I feel like since a family member works there, it might increase my chances of being accepted as an intern because of the connections my aunt has with the staff members. If not, I will search for an internship at the video game company my cousin works with for the same reason.