A Work in Progress...

If you have been keeping up with my blog, you are probably aware that my second independent component is teaching my sister's best friend's little brother, Lawrence, English. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit him much through-out this month of March due to a three-week long discrepancy between my sister and her friend and my busy schedule. However, I do plan on meeting with Lawrence tomorrow and at least record his knowledge on the English language. I'm kind of excited to see him since I haven't visited the Paje family in a whole month.

I've started reading this book called Beyond Methods my first interviewee, Aaron Salinger, Spanish teacher at Mt. Sac, lend to me. It's just this book that elaborates on ways to making learning a second language fun for any age, whether the student is 5 or 50 (probably not 50 though because whoa. that is too old to be learning.). I'll try to use the methods referenced in this book to teach Lawrence how to speak English.

My sister and I smelling the genius coming from Beyond Methods.

I also found some tagalog-english children stories I can read to him, which will help connect Tagalog words to English words since the translation is already on the page. I'm kind of excited to (finally) start my independent component. :]

Fourth Interview Questions

Title: Fourth Interview Questions
Label: Interviews
Due Date: Thursday, March 12, 2015

Content: Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. The focus of your questions should be on your answer to your EQ.

1. How many languages are you fluent in and what age did you learn these languages?
2. What helped you acquire these languages?
3. What do you feel are the most important factors of child second language acquisition?
4. Do you feel like there is a difference between learning and acquiring a language?
5. What strategies do you use when teaching the children English?
6. What makes being an ESL teacher enjoyable?
7. Why did you want to become an ESL teacher?
8. What are some special conditions to consider when analyzing a child's language competence level?
9. Do you feel like patience is an important factor to child second language acquisition, or are there more important things other than that?
10. Have you ever taught ESL for middle school students?
11. How can I elaborate on my three EQ answers?
12. Do you support the use of the child's first language within the classroom or do you prefer the students to stick to English only?
13. Which type of education do you feel is better for children learning a second language: bilingual education or ESL pull-out programs?
14. What do you do when a child goes through their Silent Period and refuses to talk?
15. How do you make your students more comfortable in the learning environment?
16. What is the most difficult obstacle you had to face when teaching children English as a second language?
17. How can you ensure understanding between the child and the teacher?
18. What are your opinions on writing drills?
19. Do you teach based on Krashen's Monitor Model?
20. What is some advice you can give me when it comes to teaching a child English as a second language?

Blog 17: Answer 3

Title: Blog 17: Third Answer
Label: Research
Due Date: Thursday, March 5th by 8AM

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and 2 post your:

1. EQ

• What is the most important factor of child second language acquisition?

2. Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

• If a teacher is patient with a child who is learning their second language acquisition, the child is more likely to feel more comfortable with the language later.

3. 3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

• Everyone learns at a different pace
• It's kind of like school; some people are better at certain subjects than others because the information will just click for them. Children may not understand the grammar and structure of the language at times, but that does not mean that they won't ever be able to understand the input. Sometimes, things just need to settle in the brain for a while before information starts to come together. Other times, the teacher just needs to keep clarifying and find other ways to explain.
• Silent Period
• Children learning a second language are most likely going to go through a silent period, which is a phenomenon where someone is silent and gives little output because they do not feel like they are ready to speak in a new language/they are simply uncomfortable. Forcing a child to speak during this period can make the child feel even more uncomfortable with the language.
• Patience lowers the affective filter
• If a teacher is patient with their student along with encouraging, the student would feel more comfortable, which lowers their affective filter and allows language to be acquired more easily.

4. The research source (s) to support your details and answer

• Hasan, Ali S. "Making Input Comprehensible for Foreign Language Acquisition." Damascus University Journal. Damascus University, 2008. Web. 19 Feb 2015.
• Krashen, Stephen D. "Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition." University of Southern California. n.p., n,d, Web. 8 Jan 2015.

5. Concluding Sentence

• As the old saying goes, "Patience is key."