Entry 2: Interview with an ELL
For this entry I interviewed my
mother, Norma Gomez. She was born in the United States, but her primary language
was Spanish. Her parents are only fluent in Spanish, so that was the dominant
language of her household. She did not begin learning English until the age of
five. Most of her acquisition at such a young age is a result of communicating
with her peers and other fluent English speakers around her.
She
explains that she is still fluent is both English and Spanish, however, now
English is her dominant language. Her everyday routines require her to speak
English as she is constantly surrounded by fluent English speakers. This may
also contribute to the formality of her Spanish. She states that because she
does not practice speaking Spanish as often, the times she does speak it, it is
very informal and often slang. Due to her constant practice of English, she is
able to speak it formally and more eloquently.
After the interview, it was
extremely evident that environment plays a huge role in acquiring a second
language. Ortega states, “Languages are almost always learned with and for
others, and these others generate linguistic evidence, rich or poor, abundant
or scarce, that surrounds learners” (Ortega, 2013, p. 55). She expands on the
idea that much of the reason we acquire a second language is because of our
surroundings. Our environment affects our L2 more than we may realize.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second
Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Video link: https://youtu.be/D-zmJqHf_CY
Thank you for watching my video!
Hi Melissa!
ReplyDeleteEnglish is my L2 and I began to focus on speaking it at the age of 5, just like your mom. Today, I speak very little of my L1 but I am able to remember a lot of what I learned when I was young. Does this also apply to your mom, and does she find that it contributes to her Spanish today?
I think it is a shame that your mom did not feel she had the support she needed from her teachers. I hope that the field of SLA will change this for students now and in the future.
Age is a definitive factor of second language acquisition, but some argue that "...the degree of active use of the L2 ...matters when explaining degrees of brain activation" (Ortega, 2011, pg. 21). Because your mom was in an environment that provided many opportunities to speak English, she was actively engaged and participating in her L2.
Vivian,
DeleteIt seems as though you and my mom definitely had similar experiences acquiring a second language. Like you mentioned, she does find herself forgetting some of her Spanish because she no longer speaks it as often as she speaks English. Ortega states, “A number of environmental and socio-affective factors may mutually interact and become important predictors of success at earlier as well as later starting ages” (Ortega, 2013, pg. 27). In this case, these elements Ortega mentions has resulted in a high increase of L2, but a decrease in L1. This is interesting, as this does not often apply to many.
Hello Melissa,
DeleteI like how you mentioned that environmental and socio-affective factors are indicators of success in a language. I agree with how you said it has resulted in a decrease around her L1 language. I feel like your mom is a recessive bilingual because of this. According to Gass and Selinker, a recessive bilingual is "someone who begins to feel some difficulty in either understanding or expressing him or herself with ease, due to lack of use" (Gass & Selinker, 2013, pg. 28).
Hey Melissa! I enjoyed watching your video a lot! I think it is really interesting how your mom speaks English more now even though Spanish was her first language. My mother speaks primarily Vietnamese. Although my mom came over to America when she was in her 30s. I think that since your mom learned Spanish at age 5 that contributes to her speaking English so fluently. Ortega mentioned that children learn languages better between that ages of 18 months and 4 years old, and though 5 years old after that time period, it is still close enough to where her brain can still absorb it just the same (Ortega 2013, p3).
ReplyDeleteOrtega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Lam,
DeleteIt is interesting to hear about second language acquisition from the other side of the spectrum! How quickly did your mother transition to acquiring English in her 30’s? Do you think age was a big factor in her learning rate? Ortega stats, “In terms of L2 ultimate attainment, most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language” (Ortega, 2013, p. 28). Much like my mom, she acquired her L2 before puberty and speaks it similarly to native speakers.
Hello Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about your mother's journey of learning a new language while watching your video. As for myself, English is my L2 as well, and I didn't begin learning English until the age of 10. Both of my parents and most of my relatives only speak Chinese, so I speak Chinese as my dominant language in the family. Dominant bilingual is defined as “someone with greater proficiency in one of his or her languages and uses it significantly more than the other languages” (Gass and Selinker, 2008, p. 27). Even though I'm fluent in both Chinese and English, Chinese is still my dominant language. I know that your mother's dominant language is now English, but does she still have any struggles with speaking or writing in the language?
Fei,
DeleteMy mother definitely finds a struggle with English, her L2, every so often. She practices her L2 much more on a daily basis than her L1, Spanish, but she find herself sometimes mixing up basic rules of the two languages. She does find that the more she practices, the more she sees improvement. Ortega states, “The benefit of practice drops off at some point in the learning curve due to the power law of learning; the benefits of practice are skill specific” (Ortega, 2013, pg 106). My mom has found Ortega’s thoughts on the benefits of practice to hold true.
Hello Melissa
ReplyDeleteMuch like your mother, my father grew up speaking Spanish however he uses both his Spanish and English in everyday life. The mandatory use of Spanish with her parents and grandparents in a way creates a benefit of being able to continue to be able to communicate with them. Ortega states that “knowing about the language benefits afforded by the environment is thus important for achieving a good understanding of how people learn additional languages” (Ortega, 2013, p55). With the lack of necessity for the use of Spanish in her daily life the benefits (communicating with others) are not presents to ensure the further use of her L1, creating a disconnect but still holding on to enough of the L1 to speak with those in her life that only speak Spanish. I have forgotten the term for this situation of an L1 declining and the L2 becoming the main language spoken by the individual, but I think that it is great that your mother is still able to speak Spanish with others, more so due to the family connection.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Hello,
DeleteIt is true that it seems like her mom can use her English and Spanish effectively enough to have a conversation in both languages. According to Ortega, "bilingual speakers switch and alternate between their two (or more) languages, depending on a range of communicative needs and desires” (Ortega, 2011, pg.4). I feel like I can relate to Melissa's mother because I grew up speaking both English and Spanish but I now have some difficulty speaking Spanish because I don't use it as often. However, I am still able to hold a conversation in Spanish. Because of her L1 diminishing a bit, Melissa's mother is called a recessive bilingual.
Hello Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIt was great watching your video and I think your mom and I have some similarities when it comes to both of our L1 and L2. Your mother started learning English at the age of five even though she was born here and and her L1 was Spanish because of her household. Similar to myself, I did not start speaking English until around four years old and because of my Korean speaking household and how I was born in Korea. The textbook states that "..it may be impossible to determine whether the two or more languages in question are being learned simultaneously..." (Ortega, 2013, pg. 5) Relating to what Ortega said, your mother's English seemed to have surpassed her Spanish because even though they were being learned simultaneously because of more exposure to the English language. Similar to my case, my English is at a far higher level than my Korean because of my limited learning and using English majority of the time. It was great to see similarities between me and your mother in our language learning experiences!
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Joseph,
DeleteEnvironment and age definitely play a huge role in second language acquisition, and in this case, yours and my mother’s experience learning a second language. Ortega states, “Thus, age emerges as a remarkable site of difference between L2 and L1 acquisition” (Ortega, 2013, pg 12). My mom stated she felt that because she was begin learning her L2 at such an early age, it was easier for her to grasp, do you feel the same way? In what ways did the age you being learning your L2 impact your acquisition and overall experience?