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Language and Language Development

Reflection
Take your four weekly postings on our discussion board, plus the Power of Babel
threads, and give a perspective of how these views reflect your teaching and learning.
What did you learn from you classmates, and was it within your zone of proximal
development.
After four weeks in this course, I have learned so much about language and culture, reinforcing
why I use certain teaching methods as well as introducing other valuable teaching methodology.
Other students in this class have helped to scaffold, and coach me in my learnings. This
reflection paper offers a summary of my key learnings as well as several examples of what Ive
learned from my peers and how I will utilize this new knowledge in the classroom.

There is a debate whether it is better and easier to learn a language at an earlier age, versus
during adulthood. In his book Brown writes, So, lower order processes such as pronunciation
are dependent on early-maturing brain functions, making foreign accents difficult to overcome
after childhood. Higher order language functions, such as semantic relations, are more
dependent on later-maturing neural circuits, which may explain the efficiency of adult learning.
(57) I agree with Brown. I have been speaking French since the time I was twelve and did not
pick up Spanish until college. According to my Spanish professor, I spoke Spanish with a French
accent. Browns case in point; I learned the French accent at an earlier age and was better able
to speak with an accent. So much so, that by the time I turned nineteen and learned another
language, my accent was not English nor Spanish, but French! Acquiring languages, based on
my age, had never occurred to me.

What this has taught me is to be mindful of a students comfort level when speaking out loud in
class, or even in a 1:1. Similar to my own experiences, the student may feel self-conscious

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about speaking a second language, or the student may be difficult to understand if the accent
isnt quite developed. I will encourage my ELLs to speak as often as possible and to come in for
extra help, if needed. I will group them according to their language level so that they may also
learn by Zone of Proximal Development, as discussed later in this reflection paper.

My peer, Karin Halvorsen, brought up a great point in her discussion post regarding language
acquisition. Her experience was that even though she spoke French since the time she was
five, it was not until she lived in France that she became fluent with the language. I too, had a
similar experience and have the same beliefs about language acquisition. Although I studied
French since seventh grade, it was not until I was 16 (and then again at 21) when I immersed
myself in the French culture, that I considered myself truly bi-lingual. It may take some time for
my students to identify themselves as bilingual, but I am confident that with time, practice, and
help, they will succeed.

Another lesson during this course was in taking the Multiple Intelligence Test. This test is
especially helpful in getting to know your students. Adjusting the class environment so that all
students have the opportunity to succeed should be a teachers goal. When I learn how my
students work best, for example, in a group environment, I can place that individual in
collaborative groups. If I know an individual to work better independently, I can give that student
the opportunity to complete the assignment on his/her own. I had never taken the Intelligence
Test before and find this to be a helpful tool as a teacher. I will have all of my classes take the
Multiple Intelligence Test at the beginning of the year, and plan my seating chart and lesson
plans accordingly.

Language and words were such a huge part of this course. I believe my peer, Michelle
Hernandez, summed it best, We as teachers should then ask ourselves how we propose to

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teach in a language that is subject to inconsistencies, to children that may or may not
understand the language, in a place where decades from now, the language will likely be
different? She goes on to state that we must take into consideration a students geographical,
cultural and linguistic differences and look at what is common and connected, versus what is
correct. Michelle brings up a terrific point. As a teacher, we must be cognizant of the fluency of
language. We must acknowledge this evolution to our students and account for what is
common, but not always correct.

For example, there are many words our students are using that are unfamiliar to us, words used
on the street. Our ELLs may be learning that language more readily and easily before they
learn the structure and mechanics of language. One idea sparked from this new knowledge is to
have students create their own list of vocabulary words. They will define them and teach them to
me. I will then use those words in a sentence, and the students can then identify parts of
speech. It will be a group effort and hopefully motivate them to learn more about the English
language, if given an opportunity to use words they can relate to on a daily basis.

I know that words are added to the dictionary on an annual basis, but it was not until this class
and after reading McWhorter, that I had an epiphany. Words are a sign of our culture. With new
words added to the dictionary yearly, future generations will understand more about our culture.
For example, in my response to the discussion question about knowing a word, I noted that the
word declutter was recently added to the dictionary. This is a profound word, giving insight to
our current state of being. We live in a world of stuff and the only reason the word declutter
exists, is because of the need to define our state of excess and the need to rid of it. As Michelle
Morlan pointed out in her response to my discussion post, declutter would not have been a word
commonly used during the Great Depression.

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Another moment of discovery was when Professor Oler responded to my post, referring to the
word, sick and how it is used in todays slang. Not only is an ELL struggling to learn the
English language, he/she must also understand the varying definitions of the same word (or
even homonyms eeek!). Slang terminology can be extremely confusing for generational
differences, as well as someone new to the American culture trying to decipher word meanings.
Now that my eyes are open to this discovery, I will change my behavior in the classroom. For
example, I will start defining more words during the course of our class. I will also check in more
frequently, asking students if they understand certain words/concept. This will not only benefit
ELLs, but I believe all students will benefit from this new teaching style.

In her reflection, Marian Lohne made an outstanding observation about language. She
acknowledged Browns position, that adults do have the ability to learn a second language if
they immerse themselves in the culture. She went on to say that she now acknowledges her
ELL students struggles and that potentially, by her speaking Spanish to them, they will soon
realize it is a safe environment. If their teacher can stumble over a language, it is okay for them
to do it too. This became an Ah ha! moment for me, as my fear of speaking French with native
speakers often keeps me from practicing the language, even when the opportunity presents
itself. If I expect my students to speak the language, surely I have to practice what I preach!
Knowing what I know about language now, this class has given me the confidence to put
myself out there.

It had never occurred to me that there was an actual name/theory for how I develop my lesson
plans. Lev Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development was a concept familiar to me, without
knowing its name or origin. For example, a KWL chart (what a student Knows, what a student
Wants to learn and finally, what a student Learned as a result of the lesson) is a highly effective
way to scaffold. It is best to learn what students know before teaching a new lesson. This has

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two goalsone of which, you can avoid re-teaching a known topic. The other important aspect
of the KWL chart is to scaffold; build on a students prior knowledge. I have used these types of
graphic organizers, almost intuitively and it was very interesting to me to read up on Vygotskys
precursor methods to what we now call collaborative learning.

Unbeknownst to me, I used Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development twenty-two years ago
when I first started teaching (before I took a 20 year hiatus). I assign roles to individuals in
groups that include writing, reading, speaking and leading. I mix groups according to ability
level (lower level learners with more advanced students) as well as ELLs with native language
speakers. Not only do the advanced students help the lower level learners, but this also
reinforces what the more advanced students know, when they are actually able to teach the
concept. It is highly effective.

I leave this class with a newfound appreciation for language. Between the discussion board, my
readings, paper-writing and peer comments, I have a better understanding for what it means to
be an ELL in a mostly-English speaking learning environment. I will take this new knowledge
about language and create better lesson plans revolving around concepts such as Lev
Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development and Multiple Intelligences Test.

Works Cited
Brown, Douglas H. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New York: Pearsons, 2014.
Print.
McWhorter, John. The Power of Babel. New York: Times, 2001. Print.