Sunday, February 11, 2018
Entry 2- Interview with Leilani
Interview Of Leilani
When I sat down to interview Leilani, I realized that there was so much about her background that I did not know. I had thought that Spanish had been her first language due to her heavy accent. It turns out that her upbringing in Los Angeles and her families’ culture had the heaviest affect on her. Her second language acquisition mainly rested on her mother’s teaching by vocabulary, or by the Grammar Translation Method. This kind of teaching relies on primarily memorization.
It was helpful that Leilani was old enough to understand the importance of why her mother wanted her to learn Spanish. As Ortega says in her text, “…teachers can only hope to teach successfully what learners are developmentally ready to learn” (Ortega, 2011, p. 138). By being of an age that Leilani understood why she needed to speak Spanish i.e. to communicate with her family members, she was able to take the process seriously and study with the guidance of her mother. Her acquisition differs from some due to it being non-immersive like many children. Her interactions with her mother were through the reading of texts. This is not the norm for many children who have parents that are fluent in the L2. It is also of note that Leilani’s motivation was hindered by her family when she would visit them in Mexico. In chapter eight of Ortega’s text, motivation is evaluated. The “Motivational Self System” is referenced, where one’s motivation to learn the L2 is seen in “Ideal, Ought-to, and the Learning Experience” (Ortega, 2011, pg. 188). Leilani’s view of herself in the “Ideal L2 Self” was what almost prohibited her continuing to learn Spanish. She has continued on into adulthood because of her motivation and being able to immerse herself in a Spanish speaking community.
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Hey there,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your interview and learning more about how Leilani learned Spanish and English. To start it was very interesting to know that she first learned English, then went on to learn Spanish. She stated that her parents spoke Spanish, but she spoke back to them in English.
Another thing that stood out to me was the method in which she learned Spanish. She stated that her mother taught her Spanish, in kind of a classroom setting. This aspect is also very different from what I have heard from others because while talking with second language learners most stated that they learned best by being immersed in the language they are trying to learn instead of learning in a classroom setting. Even though being immersed in the Spanish language would have probably helped Leilani the most, she chose to do the classroom setting because she was being made fun of and given negative feedback. According to Ortega, “Providing negative feedback in some form results in better post test performance than ignoring errors.” (Ortega, p. 75, 2009). In most cases I think that negative feedback is beneficial to most students. But when negative feedback is consistently given, it can harm a child’s confidence. Which might have happened for Leilani. Great post.
Hi Shawn,
DeleteI thought that her SLA experience was somewhat unique as well. I feel like with most Spanish speaking families, the children begin with Spanish at home and then move on to English when beginning school. I like that her mother gave it more of a institutional feel to her Spanish education since that may have been necessary for Leilani to take it more seriously. Her mother could have used the immersion method, but the main issue was that she kept responding back in English to her mother. This would definitely prevent immersion in the L2. Also, I love your point about how her confidence might have been harmed due to her family's feedback. I think that their feedback would not be marked as "negative feedback," but instead, it would be considered mockery, which is not conducive to learning.