Hi all, below is my interview with someone who learned English as a second language as a child and my reflection. Thank you for visiting blog entry 2. Click here for interview video The interviewee Hung Phan is a close friend who learned English as a second language at the age of 11 when he moved from Vietnam to the United States. He began feeling confident in his L2 after 2 years and is fluent in both languages now. His learning environment at the New Arrival Center (NAC) program seemed to really benefit his second language acquisition. Hearing about the NAC program was interesting and new to me. Learning English with peers who are on the same level of language acquisition seemed helpful for Hung. Ortega notes “grammar acquisition cannot be successful without applying ‘interest’, ‘attention’ and ‘hard work’ to the task of cracking the language code” (2009, p. 58). Hung’s community of learners and attitude to his learning environment helped fuel that interest, attenti...
Hello Franklin!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching your video, I can say that I am very impressed in how many languages you have spoken/learned throughout the years. I commend you for that. Ortega states, “…bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages, depending on a range of communicative needs and desires” (Ortega, 2013, p.4). This is true in your case because like you said, every now and then you are switching up the languages in your head or you feel as if you fumble. I can relate to you in some way. In my case, I am switching up the words in Spanish because I have to in order to translate for my mother. Since my mother grew up only speaking Spanish and speaks very little English, I know that in any setting, I will have to translate for her in order for her to understand what is happening around her.
References: Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print
Nice to meet you Kenia, I appreciate that you are able to relate. I also have to translate for my mother in many situations. It is interesting that we can relate despite the difference in languages and ability. It feels a bit strange that technically English is my L2 although it is the more dominant language. Is English the more dominant language for you as well or would you be more of a balanced bilingual?
DeleteNice to meet you Franklin. I am glad to see that male students are interested in this important field, education. I wonder if your dominant language influences your mother language. Si vous avez etudié français, pouvez vous comprendre cet que je dis?
ReplyDelete.
DeleteHello Dr. Avellaneda, It is nice to meet you too. My dominate language definitely influences my mother language. Aside from the common lexical mixing, I will occasionally experience syntactic mixing speaking Vietnamese. I will put together a sentence that makes sense in english but does not translate authentically to Vietnamese. I resort to pragmatic mixing when I do now know what I want to say in Vietnamese and have to fill in the gaps with English. Also, thank you for the challenge. I can say that I could definitely make out the message of the sentence despite not know all the conjugated words. I checked the translation and it matched pretty much what I thought it said.
Hi Franklin,
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that you took retaining your mother tongue into your own hands. I don’t know a lot of people that would willingly attend Sunday school to enhance a language they already know as well as be a leader to other students, that is a very admirable trait! Learning French to feel more connected to your grandfather is also commendable as French is a hard language to learn. From my own experience I understand how Spanish can be difficult to learn since you are becoming older than you were when you learned the other languages. Ortega states, “it is possible to conclude that age-related differences exist in how a skill or ability is learned” (2013, pg. 24).
Reference:
Ortega, Lourdes. (2013). Understanding second language
acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hey Marissa,
DeleteYeah I do feel like I had an advantage enhancing my abilities in Vietnamese in my teens. Though I also feel the long term disadvantage compared to other people who had stronger support in their earlier childhood. This experience kind of parallels how early starters end up catching up to late starters in second language as Ortega notes. What I think is important in learning a language is to have the right environment to support this. I wonder what difficulties you had in learning Spanish?
Hi Franklin,
ReplyDeleteIt is really nice that you were able to learn both Vietnamese and English with ease as a child. I think it is interesting how you were compelled to join in Vietnamese summer camp in fear or your Vietnamese language skills deteriorating. This shows that you are passionate about your culture.
Research claims the there is a critical age, under age nine, where it is easier to acquire language skills (Ortega, 2013). Some of the evidence comes from research involving sadly famous cases of children who, due to tragic circumstances, were deprived from regular participation in language use and social interaction until about the age of puberty. Under such seriously detrimental circumstances, these adolescents could not learn the mother tongue to the level of their peers, even after they were rescued and efforts were made to ‘teach’ them language (Ortega, 2013). Younger years seem crucial for truly acquiring a language, but it can still be possible in later years. By building on the skills you developed in your younger years, you must have been able to become very proficient in Vietnamese throughout your middle years and currently.
Ortega, L. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge; 2013.
Hey Angel, Yeah I was fortunate to have learned spoken Vietnamese as a young child. Just the phonological development from hearing and speaking Vietnamese was really helpful officially learning it in my teens. Your comment really makes me reflect on what kind of bilingual learner I was, since I learned Vietnamese kind of at two ages. Maybe things are just confusing because my native tongue is dominated by my L2 English. These are things I will have to consider, thanks for your comment.
DeleteHi Franklin!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that in your situation with learning English and Vietnamese at about the same time, that your experience would be under the bilingual field of this study, which according to Ortega (2011) is centered around the mature bilingual capabilities of children or adults who grow up with two or more languages from birth (p.10). It is great that you decided still as a child that you wanted to brush up on your family’s language and I am sure catching it while still growing up was more beneficial than waiting until you were an adult. I think that making the personal decision to pursue fluency in a language is a big factor in the ease and enjoyment of L2 acquisition.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Hi Brianna,
DeleteI am nowhere near a balanced bilingual, but yeah I would considered bilingual. The thought had not crossed my mind much because I know my Vietnamese could be better. You are right though. It is fortunate for me to have the opportunity to support my Vietnamese at an earlier age rather than later. This sets a foundation if I would seek to improve my Vietnamese further. Thanks for your comment.