Senior Project Reflection

Title: Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection
Label: Presentation
Directions: Please answer the following questions, and submit them to the blog.
Due Date: The day after your block presentation by 8:00 A.M.


(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

• I am most proud of the execution of my block presentation because I was able to hit the 30 minute time speaking time for my essential question answers. I did not have to drag on my presentation in order to meet that time criteria, which is something I'm proud of because I was afraid I will talk to fast or forget to say certain pieces of information that would leave me with a large amount of speaking time to fulfill. I am also proud of how I was able to execue my presentation so well without stuttering or crying (lol). Before my presentation, I was very nervous and anxious. However, the moment I began my hook activity, all that anxiety went away. I'm guessing it's because I prepared well enough.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE P AP CR NC

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE P AP CR NC

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

• My independent component 2 really helped me a lot in my senior project. I feel like it fit into finding the answers to my essential question perfectly since my EQ has to do with teaching a child a second language, and that is exactly what I did. My research went fairly well also. Since my mentor is an expert wth all these things, she was able to give me a lot of resources to look into for my senior project.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

• I feel my senior project was executed fairly well. I had an excellent mentor, had an abundances of sources for me to look into, had very relevant and reasonable independent components, and executed my lessons well (with the exception of my second one lmao). I am not sure if I would do anything differently.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

• My senior project has opened a window to a possible career choice. I entered my senior topic knowing little about it, but just wanting to explore because of my love for languages. I never expected to enjoy this branch of linguistics so much. Now, I'm actually majoring in Linguistics, and attempting to double major in linguistics and computer science in hopes of programming new and accurate translators.

Mentorship

Title: Blog 22: Mentorship
Label: Mentorship
Due Date: Thursday, May 14 by 8AM

Content:

LIA Response to blog:

Literal

• Done. 
• Mentor: Dr. Karen Russikoff - Cal Poly Pomona

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• I think all the foundation knowledge is the most important thing. My mentor has really given me a lot of information about my topic, from her class to our one-on-one sessions with each other. She was basically my Aladdin and showed me "a whole new world", the world being linguistics. I was able to learn about all the different branches of language acquisition, and that really helped me decide on what I wanted my whole senior project to revolve around on. If it weren't for my mentor and her interesting experiences with her TESOL summer classes in China, I would have missed out on something that I enjoy doing.

Applied
How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ? Please explain.

• My essential question is "What is the most important factor of child second language acquisition?"Since my mentor teaches Chinese kids a second language every summer, she has given me a lot of advice on how to give them a fun, but effective learning experience. I used the advice she has given me when I was teaching my sister's best friend's brother, Lawrence, English. Dr. Russikoff's advice helped me get Lawrence to open up to me and lower that affective filter, which allowed him to absorb more input. 

Exit Interview

Title: Exit Interview
Label: Exit Interview
Due Date: Thursday, May 7th by 8AM

Please be advised. The senior team will not conduct any exit interview in which the student has not turned in a passing research count and completing this blog. In addition, you are expected to dress as you would for a job interview.

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?

• "What is the most important factor of child second language acquisition?"
• Lowered Affective-Filter
• Comprehensible Input
• Patience
• Best answer: Lowered Affective Filter because when the affective-filter is up, no input will be acquired.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• When I took my English 323 class, my mentor explained the Affective Filter in great detail when she was teaching about Krashen's Monitor Model. She believes the Affective Filter is the most important hypothesis, and I agreed with her because I had some first hand experiences.

(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• After my ENG 323 class ended, it was more difficult for me to come up with resources to look at to find my third answer. I couldn't talk to my mentor either since she was always busy with other students. To resolve this, I began talking to some ESL teachers from my elementary school, and they were able to give me some helpful stuff to look into.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• My mentor: She has taught me everything I needed to know in order to kickstart my project. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't have been as successful with my senior project as I am.
• Stephen Krashen: His books are the life of linguistics.