I interviewed one of my great friends Kenia Reyes. Kenia was born in Mexico and moved to Texas at the age of two. At five years old she started Pre-k, where she began to learn her second language, English. She mentions having a hard time learning English and being in ESL classes until the the second grade. “Sometimes, however, the individuals learning an additional language are still young children when they start acquiring the L2, maybe as young as three or four years old. Thus, bilingualism and SLA can overlap in the early years, making it at times difficult to draw the boundaries between the two fields” (Ortega, 2013, p. 4) In the video, Kenia's accent is not as noticeable but after knowing her a few years, I know her accent can be stronger when she pronounces certain words. “…new phonetic contrasts will be processed through such an L1 filter, and hence it is more difficult, although not biologically impossible, to detect and produce L2 categories that are not salient. Ironically, then, foreign accents may arise ‘not because one has lost the ability to learn to pronounce, but because one has learned to pronounce the L1 so well” (Ortega, 2013, p.23). When I asked Kenia what the most difficult aspect of learning a new language was, she talked always struggling to complete homework because she had no help at home. Her parents did not speak any English when they moved to Texas and her older sister was going through the same process as Kenia was, so sadly she didnt have help at home. Kenia said her parents have learned their English over time of them living in Texas. She mentions that although they know some English, their English is very minimal.
Having to learn a new language, adjust to a new school, and
manage school work was difficult for her. She said that having a classroom with other students who were also learning English really helped her learn the
second language. Having the opportunity to listen to classmates and communicate
also helped her learn English. "Learners obtain comprehensible input
mostly through listening to oral messages that interlocutors direct to them and
via reading written texts that surround them, such as street signs, personal
letters, books and so on" (Ortega, 2013, p. 59). Additionally, Kenia mentioned
she was a visual learner when it came to learning English and that repetition
was a huge help as well.
Kenia is helping me to learn my second language, Spanish.
As someone who struggled in learning a second language, I thought she would be
very understand in helping me learn Spanish.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second
Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hello Rachel,
ReplyDeleteYour interviewee Kenia is a perfect example of what our text has been talking about when it comes to sensitive periods and critical learning periods for people to develop their L2. Kenia says she began learning English at the age of 4 in preschool. “The evidence for a critical or sensitive period for first language acquisition in humans is strong…” (Ortega, 2013, p. 13). While learning a new language at any age will pose its challenges, I heard Kenia say she believes being able to begin her learning process of a new language at such a young age was beneficial.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print
Hey Tori!
DeleteKenia did mention learning English at a young age being beneficial. Kenia is considered to have learned English in Child second language acquisition.
“Child second language acquisition refers to “acquisition by individuals young enough to be within the critical period, but yet with a first language already learned” (FosterCohen, 1999, pp. 7–8), or “successive acquisition of two languages in childhood” Gass and Selinker, 2008. p.123). I was able to determine this because I know that child second language acquisition is learning your second language at a young age, which she did.
Gass, Susan M., and Selinker, Larry. Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteWhile listening to your interview, I appreciated the fact that Kenia was able to learn English at a young age. Based off of what she said, she was able to learn English in her Pre-K classroom. According to Ortega, “Comprehension does not usually demand the full processing of forms. During comprehension (e.g. when children read textbooks and listen to teacher explanations in school), it is possible to get the gist of messages by relying on key content words aided by knowledge of the world..." (Ortega, 2011, p. 62) I would imagine that Kenia was able to pick up on the language as the teacher was explaining different directions or delivering her content. She was able to pick up on the English language in a classroom environment which is a great way to learn.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
DeleteHey Allison!
DeleteYes, Kenia learned her second language, English at the age of 5. Although Kenia mentions having a difficult time learning her L2, she mentions being in the English Language Learners program and it being beneficial. “SLA research has unveiled a number of universal influences that help shape the nature, pace, route and finish line in the path towards learning a second language” (Ortega, 2013, p.9). This must have been one thing that helped her when learning English.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hey Allison, you mentioned Kenia learning English at a young age. In her interview she mentions this language being more dominant than her Spanish. “Someone with greater proficiency in one of his or her languages and uses it significantly more than the other languages” (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 27). This is most likely because she was in school from pre-k till now being in school 8 hours a day and used English the entire time. Because she was using English significantly more than Spanish this could be why she is more dominant in English now.
DeleteGass, Susan M., and Selinker, Larry. Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteListening to the inteview, Kenia mentioned that her parents learned some English while living in Texas but it is still minimal. Which is understandable, when you live in a country so long and you are use to speaking the same language for years it can be very hard to change/adjust to something completely different. According to Ortega,"It is possible to conclude that age related differences exist in how a skill or ability is learned, and to propose explanations that do not invoke". Age plays a big role with her parents because they are alot older and it is more difficult for them to try to learn something new.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print
DeleteHi Katiana,
You are right! Kenia’s parents did not get to learn English in the environment that Kenia did, which was schooling. Kenia’s parents learned English through their work environment making them naturalistic learners. “Naturalistic learners learn the L2 through informal opportunities in multicultural neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces, without ever receiving any organized instruction on the workings of the language they are learning” (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). Her parents never formally learned English but managed to learn enough to get by in the work field.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI think you chose a great person to interview for this assignment. While listening to your interview I caught that Kenia started learning English at around the age of 4-5 in preschool. Kenia would be a prime example of what Ortega states in the textbook, “most learners who being acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers…” (Ortega, 2013, pg. 28) Just by listening, you can see how Ortega’s statement applies to Kenia with how she speaks English at a native level and she does not have any problems with any parts of the language. She speaks very comfortably and her speech is very continuous without any stops it would be very hard to tell she was born outside of the United States due to her speaking level.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
DeleteHi Joseph,
It’s very clear that Kenia speaks English well. During my interview I asked her if there are any words she struggles with or avoids saying. She said no, she has spoken English so long that she believes it to now be her first language. According to Gass and Selinker, “automatic acquisition from mere exposure to a given language seems to disappear [after puberty], and foreign languages have to be taught and learned through a conscious and labored effort. Foreign accents cannot be overcome easily after puberty” (Gass and Selinker, 2008. p. 406). I think this statement from our textbook goes hand and hand with Kenia’s language learning experience.
Gass, Susan M., and Selinker, Larry. Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI am sure that Kenia had a difficult time transitioning into living in a new country. Even though you said that she doesn’t have a strong accent, Ortega states, “there is clear evidence that accents are likely to develop when the L2 is first learned later in life” (Ortega, 2013. p.23). Maybe since she speaks Spanish at home, as well as growing up speaking Spanish that is why her accent sometimes comes through in her speaking. With her parents speaking minimal English at home, this can contribute to her continuation of being fluent in Spanish as well as the reason for her accent with certain words.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hey Mackenzie,
DeleteI agree with you about Kenia’s accent being stronger for certain words because she still speaks Spanish at home. According to Gass and Selinker, “automatic acquisition from mere exposure to a given language seems to disappear [after puberty], and foreign languages have to be taught and learned through a conscious and labored effort. Foreign accents cannot be overcome easily after puberty” (Gass and Selinker, 2008. p. 406). I think this is the reason Kenia does not have a strong accent today, she learned her L2 before puberty.
Gass, Susan M., and Selinker, Larry. Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.