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Entry 3: Interview with Amy and Reflection

Hello Guys!

This is my mother, Amy, who has years of experience in teaching 4th grade math and science. Ortega and Gass both have many points to say concerning immersion teaching, and the importance of motivation for students to succeed in learning second-languages (2013). Personally, there are few things better than motivation when it comes to academic success. I have always thought that motivation - either internal or external - where key to accomplishing academic goals.

As a future educator, I have found several interesting ways to incorporate motivations into other aspects of my teaching besides simple grade-incentives. By integrating second-language acquisition into my daily teaching styles, I can better motivate my students. My mother mentioned how vital motivation was for her students to feel confident and succeed in her classes. I find that, when students feel motivated and confident, they tend to become high performing students rather than low performing ones.

Additionally, she discussed the importance of communication and differentiated teaching styles. Whether it is students being translators for their families to the administration and teachers, or translating classwork so that the students' families can still feel apart of the classroom. I thing that, by trying to create more opportunities for students' families to interact with their child's class, the students will feel comfortable.

I enjoy the idea of differentiation in my teaching, specifically when it comes to instruction. I love using multimedia tools and projects that use a variety of methods for presenting the same information. I hope that, by providing many different teaching methods, creating a confident and strong channel of communication, and ensuring motivation is in abundance, that my students will succeed.

After completing this interview, I feel that I have missed a few key elements of teaching. One such factor being that there is a human aspect that I have lacked in my previous teaching assessments. With my time in the program coming to a close, I think I have become too engrossed in the research and proper teaching etiquette, that I have forgotten why I love teaching so much. I taught preschool as a high school class and job, and loved helping my students learn concepts and see them grow and evolve beyond where they began in the classroom.

Listening to my mom, and getting to talk with her about her own experiences, has helped me to reaffirm how much I love teaching.

Comments

  1. Yazmin MendezJune 22, 2018 at 9:29 PM

    It’s cool that the teacher you chose to interview was your mom. I think in some ways that allowed her to be more open about her experiences. Something both of you mentioned heavily was the importance of motivation. You mentioned in your reflection that “when students feel motivated and confident, they tend to become high performing students.” I think this resonates with Ortega’s (2011) statement in which “a number of … socio-affective factors (e.g. motivation) may become important predictors of success” (p. 27). It is also worth noting that “an individual’s affective negative predispositions towards the target language and its members (e.g. low motivation) may conspire to create what Schumann characterized as a bad learning situation” (Ortega, 2011, p. 59). What this means is that just how high motivation helps students succeed, low motivation hinders students’ second language learning by creating the opposite of a nurturing environment. What do you think are some other factors that may have a strong influence, such as the one motivation has, on second language learning?

    References:
    Ortega, L. (2011). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Routledge.

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    1. Ila HyamsJune 24, 2018 at 4:26 PM

      I may not agree with all of Ortega's points, but I have to admit his assessments on sociological factors and experiences are accurate. Like Ortega, I believe that success heavily depends on personal outlook (2011). As for factors that influence second-language learners' abilities to succeed... Personally, I strongly believe in environments and sociological impacts on student success rates. Specifically, if the environment (non-living details such as the textures, smells, and even colors around someone) and people (both through verbal and nonverbal communication) have great impacts on students.
      Would you say that, by controlling these factors, we can positively influence our students' second-language skills? Or is this too much of a controlling, manipulative, way of teaching?

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    2. Yazmin MendezJune 26, 2018 at 8:27 PM

      I’m not entirely sure about how inanimate objects in an environment impact students, but I can definitely see people as a means of helping second language learners advance. Gass (2013) mentions the interaction approach which is “learning through input (exposure to language), production of language (output), and feedback that comes as a result of interaction” (p. 317). The interaction approach would come to play whenever there is an interaction between a native speaker and a non-native speaker, and would essentially form as a type of practice. “Interaction involves a number of components including negotiation, recasts, and feedback,” (p. 317) of which can be described as instances in which there is need for clarification. To answer your question, it can be either helpful or manipulative depending on the degree of control. Interactions, in my opinion, should be normal and authentic in order for them to be helpful.

      References:
      Gass, S. (2013). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. New York: Routledge.

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  2. UnknownJune 25, 2018 at 3:27 PM

    Hi Ila!
    First off, it’s so great that you have someone so close to you in the same career field you’re going to be in and I’ve enjoyed this reflection because I’ve gotten a glimpse on just how passionate you are to become a teacher. When you speak about differentiation and the importance of communication, it makes me think back to Ortega Chapter 8.2-8.3 where he discusses integrativeness as an antecedent of motivation. In the book, integrativeness is defined as, “an attitude defined as ‘a genuine interest in learning the second language in order to come closer to the other language community” (Ortega, 2013). I think that your effort to reach out to other families in their L1 through translation will help bridge a gap and hopefully encourage parents and students build that interest so that integration is possible.

    Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.

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    1. Ila HyamsJune 26, 2018 at 3:40 PM

      Dani, I am glad that we agree that integration is vital to teaching our students - whether they are second-language learners or monolingual. Ortega's points are insightful in regards to how he discusses integration as a precursor to developing a deeper understanding of the language (2011). Would you say that integration of second-languages can create a more productive environment? Or does integration of another language in a non-second-language-acquisition classroom seem too confusing? I want to teach math, and would love to use these types of teaching techniques, yet I worry that my students may not enjoy the content if they feel that the information is useless or not pertaining to the main subject at hand.

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    2. UnknownJune 26, 2018 at 7:39 PM

      Hi Ila, I actually love the question you asked about integrating a second language in a non-SLA classroom! I think integrating subjects and content is ALWAYS a good idea, as long as it is done productively. I would love to hear some of the ways that you would plan to do that. I'm not sure that is what Ortega was referring to, though. He says that integrativeness can be “more productively redefined as a drive to close the gap or discrepancy between the actual self and an ideal self” (Ortega, 2013). In this passage he is referring to motivated L2 learners becoming the L2 speaking version of themselves. Either way, the motivation that they carry could stem from a teacher’s efforts to integrate the two languages, and maybe not fully submerge them into their L2 language all at once.

      Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.

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  3. UnknownJune 27, 2018 at 7:54 AM

    Hi Ila, I really enjoyed listening to the interview you had with your mom. I think it is so amazing that you can get this information and learn more about your passion first-hand from your mom. I also think motivation is so important when it comes to teaching students a second-language, but I do not think it is the most important thing to help them learn the language. Ortega says, “Neither positive attitudes towards the target language and its speakers nor abundant and meaningful comprehension of L2 messages are in and of themselves sufficient for second language learning to be successful, although both are certainly important ingredients in a highly complex environmental equation” (2013, p. 79). These factors help with learning a new language, but they need more for the language to stick with them. Being motivated ensures that they will want to learn more, but it will not always help them learn the language.
    I totally agree with you in missing a few key elements of teaching. For the students, it is more about getting to know them and how they work instead of what research says. To be a great teacher we need to work with each student as an individual and find what works for them instead of doing things based off generalizations.
    References:
    Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding second language acquisition. New York: Routledge.

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    Replies
    1. Ila HyamsJune 27, 2018 at 8:31 PM

      I also think it is a wonderful resource - having someone who works in my chosen profession who can provide insights such as this. I may not agree with Ortega's entire message, however, he makes key points concerning second-language acquisition that I can still find interesting. Firstly, I may not agree that motivation is vital to building language skills, however, your use of his concepts is interesting to read (2013). I especially love your ideas on getting to know each student personally to better cater to their learning strengths and weaknesses. I think teaching is extremely personable, and we should not be dependent on generalizations to achieve success.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousJune 27, 2018 at 10:55 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. AnonymousJune 27, 2018 at 10:57 PM

    Hello Ila!

    It is such a privilege to have a mother who is an educator herself as well because she can always provide to you one on one advice about teaching. Your mom practices integrativeness with her students by encouraging them that having the knowledge of two languages is beneficial in the long run. For example, when she stated that those students who want to become teachers in the future, she comments how that is enriching because they can incorporate two languages during teaching and as well receive a higher salary. Your mom really shows “favourable attitudes towards L2 speakers” and a “general interest in foreign languages” since she praises English language learners in the classroom (Ortega, p. 171). This definitely reinforces their self-confidence and I believe with that, they show willingness to learn in the classroom.

    References
    Ortega, L. (2009). Intergrativeness As An Antecedent of Motivation. In Understanding Second Language Acquisition (p. 171). London: Hodder Education.

    ReplyDelete

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