Entry 3
Entry 3 Interview with Bilingual Teacher. Click here to watch the video.
For this interview I decided to do Ms. Revollar which is one of our bilingual teachers on our second grade team. She went to school in Venezuela and graduated with her EC-6 degree. She was super nervous because she did not want to say something wrong. Her accent is very strong and so she said she did not want to make any grammar mistakes. Glass and Selinker talk about "how native speakers of a language know when certain sounds are possible in a word and when they would not be used"(p.9). She said that she doesn't know certain words in English and only knows them in Spanish so she was nervous to say something if she couldn't think of the English word so we practiced before we recorded so she could feel comfortable with her answers.
Ms. Revollar showed us some of her strategies for motivating her students and how she uses materials in English and transfers them to Spanish herself. A lot of Ms. Revollar answers to my questions went back to the motivation and how it is important for her ESL students to feel like they are doing a good job and her showing them that she sees them doing a good job. Glasser states "Being motivated nutures more successful L2 learning, but, conversely, experiencing L2 learning success also boosts motivation to even higher level, in a reinforcing cycle. Thus, motivation is indeed central in explaining L2 learning"(189,2009). Ms. Revollar uses her brownie points for whole group rewards and she also uses individual stickers for when an individual is doing their best.
For this interview I decided to do Ms. Revollar which is one of our bilingual teachers on our second grade team. She went to school in Venezuela and graduated with her EC-6 degree. She was super nervous because she did not want to say something wrong. Her accent is very strong and so she said she did not want to make any grammar mistakes. Glass and Selinker talk about "how native speakers of a language know when certain sounds are possible in a word and when they would not be used"(p.9). She said that she doesn't know certain words in English and only knows them in Spanish so she was nervous to say something if she couldn't think of the English word so we practiced before we recorded so she could feel comfortable with her answers.
Ms. Revollar showed us some of her strategies for motivating her students and how she uses materials in English and transfers them to Spanish herself. A lot of Ms. Revollar answers to my questions went back to the motivation and how it is important for her ESL students to feel like they are doing a good job and her showing them that she sees them doing a good job. Glasser states "Being motivated nutures more successful L2 learning, but, conversely, experiencing L2 learning success also boosts motivation to even higher level, in a reinforcing cycle. Thus, motivation is indeed central in explaining L2 learning"(189,2009). Ms. Revollar uses her brownie points for whole group rewards and she also uses individual stickers for when an individual is doing their best.
Hi Taylor, I really like how Ms. Revollar adapted the books in her classroom to accommodate her Spanish speaking students. It can be very challenging to find books that are ELL friendly, but she was able to come up with her own solution and adapt the books to the needs of her students. Ortega (2009) explains that depth of knowledge when it comes to vocabulary can be very challenging for students because when they first start learning their L2, they do not have that foundational knowledge yet to look at a word and be able to say what sounds the letters make or what context the word is being used in (p. 89). Ms. Revollar has made the learning of vocabulary readily available to the students by adjusting the books to have the L1 and the L2 translation.
ReplyDeleteHello Devon! I agree with you saying that is difficult to find resources as a bilingual teacher because we also have something that we use on the computer for the students but they do not have it in Spanish for the bilingual students to use it. I think it is very inspiring and motivational to see how Mrs. Revollar has adapted her classroom and the materials that she could find. According to Ortega, "The attitudes come from the collective values, beliefs, attitudes and even behaviors that are rewarded and modeled for the learner in the communities in which he or she participates"(Ortega, 2009, p.174). Mrs. Revollar has a great attitude and that helps motivate the class and the way her students learn.
DeleteAlso Devon, I like how you used the quote from the textbook about how they do not have the foundation knowledge yet to look at a word and be able to say what sounds the letters make or what context the word is being used (Ortega, 2008, p.89). That is what Mrs. Revollar does for the students and she is making what she can for the students because they do not have the bilingual resources.
DeleteHi Taylor! I loved your interview with Ms. Revollar. It was so interesting to see a bilingual teacher that was educated in for her entire life outside of the United States. I also love that you pointed out that she was nervous about her pronunciations before the interview, even as an adult. That is something that clearly is carried with second language learners throughout their lives, and having to learn how to say things correctly and be able to stick to saying things like that is a huge part of learning a second language. I think that the way Ms.Revollar is teaching English as a second language is a great way for her students to obtain the language and learn it to the best of their abilities and motivate them in such a great way. Motivation is such a huge part of language learning, and though it seems to be extrinsic (Ortega, 2009, p.176) it is clearly working for her students.
ReplyDeleteHi Noor! Ms. Revollar was very nervous before the interview and she told me afterwards if she said anything wrong to be sure to tel my teacher that she is practicing because English is a hard language. When she said that I mentioned to her thats how the kids feel and she told me that one student of hers cried on the first day because they had no idea what was going on. She said she knew exactly how that student felt and she just wanted to hold the student. Ms. Revollar does such a great job with her teaching and i think her attitude and her motivation (Ortega, 2009, p. 175) to learn more for herself and to set the students up to be successful really helps her teaching and gets the students to understand it is hard but together they are going to get it and understand it.
DeleteHey Taylor! I really enjoyed watching your interview with Ms. Revollar. It was interesting that she was nervous to say something wrong in the interview. I can only imagine how she may feel when teaching her students. It just goes to show you that even as an adult you can be self-conscious. This is probably her many reasons for believing that motivation is key in second language learners. Glasser says that “…being motivated nurtures more successful L2 learning, but, conversely, experiencing L2 learning success also boosts motivation to even higher levels, in a reinforcing cycle. Thus, motivation is indeed central in explaining L2 learning…(p. 189, 2009). Since she is doing this her ESL students will be able have more success at learning their L2 .
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley! Even though Ms. Revollar was nervous to speak in the video it does not affect her teaching because she wants to show the students that even though she is a teacher, as a teacher she even makes mistakes. The students can really relate to her because she went through learning another language as well and she understands and knows kind of what the students will struggle with so she doesnt attack the subject with full force. Ms. Revollar has a desire to learn more so that her students can learn correctly and get it. According to Ortega, "Desire to learn, which can be generally understood as how much personal investment in succeeding in the language people claim for themselves" (Ortega, 2009, p.170).
DeleteHola Taylor, I want to say it means a lot for Ms Revollar to go out of her comfort zone and teach students the same thing that she is learning. With adding more to her vocabulary and teaching students the same way, she is a brave person for being confident enough too. One thing that really stood out to me was when Ms.Revollar talks about how she feels insecure speaking her L2 when she hears you speaking it. Ortega says, "learning and using an L2 poses a threat to one's ego and makes people vulnerable" (2013, page 142). It means a lot for her students that realize that she is learning just like them, ESL students need real life examples this makes them feel better knowing this is a real life struggle even for adults.
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