I love to learn languages and I know the difficulties that I had as a Spanish language learner and it was interesting to analyze how a Spanish speaker learns English. Many difficulties I had experienced between the two languages now make much more sense!
http://www.slideshare.net/Danilc22/gallagherdata-analysisandcomparison1-10356011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Assignment 10 Activities
Topic 1: Language Variation in the U.S
-I have always been intrigued by all of the different accents in the United States! I have family friends who live in the New England States and they they never pronounce their ending -r. I have a good friend from Texas and I love his accent. His talks fast and you know that he is "southern". When listening to the different accents there are some that you recognize for sure because you are familiar with the accent being "southern", "Californian" or "Bostonian". I was surprised by others because they are similar to the standard English dialect and I sould not tell a difference. I believe that the IPA is important for areas which have a strong community dialect. It would make learning and understanding the English language much easier. My mother-in-law is from New Jersey and she has the strong Italian-Jersey accent...I still think that I could use the IPA alphabet to understand some of her words.
Topic 2- What would you do?
I feel that as a Spanish teacher in my school district I am prepared for these interactions, sentiments, etc. I teach in a small town very recently populated by Spanish speakers and I hear the controversies continuously, “This is America. Speak English.” My goal is to slowly impact my students in a positive manner and I find that they are opening up to different languages and cultures. They want to experience the language and interact with others. We recently had a Chinese family move into the district and the students are intrigued. They are always asking to learn new Chinese words and I think it is great that have been extremely accepting. This family is upper middle class and speaks fluent English and Chinese which may also be a factor. We have learned that socio-economic status, education, etc. play a role in the experiences of the learner. Some students have it more difficult than others, they worked instead of go to school or do not want to speak the white language” (Topic B). It is important to stay positive by continuously advocating for the needs of your students
Topic 3: Do you speak American?
America is compiled of different dialects and accents. One concept in the PBS articles is the African American dialect. I hear this dialect all of the time in the music that my students are interested in and I know that they speak it to make a statement. There are students which this language or dialect is all that they have ever known. In Topic B, Jamal Brown, an African American student was confused when he felt that his teacher wanted him to speak "white". It is also found that not just black people speak Black English. All Americans speak some sort of English. Some speak fast, some slow, or some pronounce letters differently than others. In some way it is all the English language because it is understood by English speakers.
-I have always been intrigued by all of the different accents in the United States! I have family friends who live in the New England States and they they never pronounce their ending -r. I have a good friend from Texas and I love his accent. His talks fast and you know that he is "southern". When listening to the different accents there are some that you recognize for sure because you are familiar with the accent being "southern", "Californian" or "Bostonian". I was surprised by others because they are similar to the standard English dialect and I sould not tell a difference. I believe that the IPA is important for areas which have a strong community dialect. It would make learning and understanding the English language much easier. My mother-in-law is from New Jersey and she has the strong Italian-Jersey accent...I still think that I could use the IPA alphabet to understand some of her words.
Topic 2- What would you do?
I feel that as a Spanish teacher in my school district I am prepared for these interactions, sentiments, etc. I teach in a small town very recently populated by Spanish speakers and I hear the controversies continuously, “This is America. Speak English.” My goal is to slowly impact my students in a positive manner and I find that they are opening up to different languages and cultures. They want to experience the language and interact with others. We recently had a Chinese family move into the district and the students are intrigued. They are always asking to learn new Chinese words and I think it is great that have been extremely accepting. This family is upper middle class and speaks fluent English and Chinese which may also be a factor. We have learned that socio-economic status, education, etc. play a role in the experiences of the learner. Some students have it more difficult than others, they worked instead of go to school or do not want to speak the white language” (Topic B). It is important to stay positive by continuously advocating for the needs of your students
Topic 3: Do you speak American?
America is compiled of different dialects and accents. One concept in the PBS articles is the African American dialect. I hear this dialect all of the time in the music that my students are interested in and I know that they speak it to make a statement. There are students which this language or dialect is all that they have ever known. In Topic B, Jamal Brown, an African American student was confused when he felt that his teacher wanted him to speak "white". It is also found that not just black people speak Black English. All Americans speak some sort of English. Some speak fast, some slow, or some pronounce letters differently than others. In some way it is all the English language because it is understood by English speakers.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Unit 9: The Fisherman Story
Topic 1:
Original:
His brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed. John loves fishing, but longs to be more successful. When he was feeling down, he painted his boat, “Troubled Waters,” blue and shined it up. John asked his brother what he thought of the new look, but his brother just laughed and said, “You’re always fishing for compliments.”
If John had had more energy, he might have argued with his brother, but instead, he began making more nets, with the hopes of increasing his catch the next day.
3. He is hoping (present progressive) to catch more fish tomorrow, but he doesn't know if it will be any better. (simple future)
In the TESOL video Azar claims that the goal of grammar learning is "to create an interlanguage which becomes increasingly fluent and accurate". She emphasizes "interlanguage" and that native-like fluency is not a goal because many students will never reach that point. Azar seems to think that the goal is not mastery of grammar but I find myself wanting to teach grammar because I think that students need a strong "base". I also agree that language and grammar should be taught to be used communicatively. I love to put my students in situations where they must use the grammar that they know to communicate and "survive". I found this video to be very informational!
Original:
His brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor when the economy crashed. John loves fishing, but longs to be more successful. When he was feeling down, he painted his boat, “Troubled Waters,” blue and shined it up. John asked his brother what he thought of the new look, but his brother just laughed and said, “You’re always fishing for compliments.”
If John had had more energy, he might have argued with his brother, but instead, he began making more nets, with the hopes of increasing his catch the next day.
Rewritten:
His brother bought land last winter, but sold it to the neighbor because he needed money. John loves fishing, but wants to be successful. When he was sad, he painted his boat, “Troubled Waters,” blue and shined it up. John asked his brother what he thought of the new look, but his brother just laughed and said, “You’re always wanting compliments.”
John did not argue with his brother because he had no energy. Instead, John made nets and hoped to catch fish the next day.
John did not argue with his brother because he had no energy. Instead, John made nets and hoped to catch fish the next day.
There are phrases that may be difficult for an ELL to understand and rephrasing these sentences could help learners. The phrase “economy crashed” could be better stated by saying that he needed money and “fishing for compliments” means that he wanted compliments. There are also word choices which could be made simpler; for instance “feeling down” means sad and “longs to be successful” means that he wishes to be successful.
Topic 2:
1. John is a fisherman
Simple present.
2. His brother bought land last winter.
2. His brother bought land last winter.
Simple past
3. He is hoping (present progressive) to catch more fish tomorrow, but he doesn't know if it will be any better. (simple future)
In the TESOL video Azar claims that the goal of grammar learning is "to create an interlanguage which becomes increasingly fluent and accurate". She emphasizes "interlanguage" and that native-like fluency is not a goal because many students will never reach that point. Azar seems to think that the goal is not mastery of grammar but I find myself wanting to teach grammar because I think that students need a strong "base". I also agree that language and grammar should be taught to be used communicatively. I love to put my students in situations where they must use the grammar that they know to communicate and "survive". I found this video to be very informational!
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