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.