Chapter I
Language, Learning and Teaching
· As you start(ed) your foreign language class, what is your overall emotional feeling? Are you overwhelmed? Challenged? Unmotivated? Is the course too easy?
I have been studying English at the University for two years and a half so far. In my early experience—first two semesters—I was very disappointed with the level of the course. I thought that it was too basic and too easy for me. This opinion was made without even knowing my level of English because at the beginning I thought I was going to be completely lost. After being in several classes of Language 1, I understood that I really knew the language and that it was really easy for me to understand and learn it. These are the reasons why I thought that the contents were so easy and, maybe, the reasons why I felt so unmotivated. For me, being in those lessons was a waste of time because I already knew the contents and I felt could learn more things.
However, English has always been extremely interesting for me. It is definitely my favorite course at the university because I love it. That is why I am very happy when I am in my language classes now. Moreover, there are so many things to do and to learn that I consider English as really challenging. What I like about English is that you will never stop learning new things for it is a language and languages change all the time. Also, there are so many fields related to English teaching I would like to explore such as Literature.
Language, Learning and Teaching
· As you start(ed) your foreign language class, what is your overall emotional feeling? Are you overwhelmed? Challenged? Unmotivated? Is the course too easy?
I have been studying English at the University for two years and a half so far. In my early experience—first two semesters—I was very disappointed with the level of the course. I thought that it was too basic and too easy for me. This opinion was made without even knowing my level of English because at the beginning I thought I was going to be completely lost. After being in several classes of Language 1, I understood that I really knew the language and that it was really easy for me to understand and learn it. These are the reasons why I thought that the contents were so easy and, maybe, the reasons why I felt so unmotivated. For me, being in those lessons was a waste of time because I already knew the contents and I felt could learn more things.
However, English has always been extremely interesting for me. It is definitely my favorite course at the university because I love it. That is why I am very happy when I am in my language classes now. Moreover, there are so many things to do and to learn that I consider English as really challenging. What I like about English is that you will never stop learning new things for it is a language and languages change all the time. Also, there are so many fields related to English teaching I would like to explore such as Literature.
In addition, it is amazing to see that in two years and a half I have been able to accomplish a good command of English. In so little time, I have learnt how to write, speak, read and listen in another language. If someone would have asked me when I was still at school if I thought I could ever perform in another language I probably would have said no, or at least not in so short time.
As a conclusion, I feel great when I enter my language class. It is so interesting and there are so many things I still need to learn. Being in my classes is not a waste of time anymore. At the moment, I am developing my writing skill and I love to write. Another thing that helps me is to know that I am good at English, so it is not something I need to struggle in order to acquire. I feel very confident in my English classes and with my classmates because, even though we are not close friends, we know, respect and help each other.
Chapter II
First Language Acquisition
· As you learn(ed) a foreign language, did you feel any of the learning was due to a “knack” you had for it? Think of some examples to illustrate either the presence or the absence of some ability to pick up the language.
It is so funny to imagine some examples related to this question because my learning has been full of “knacks”. I do not study for my language classes. What is more, I have never studied for an exam. And I imagine that would not have been possible if it was not for my own abilities in learning English. If I reflect about my English classes at school, they were normal lessons taught in Spanish. How did I acquire my pronunciation? I do not really know. Maybe—and this is what I truly believe—is because of my good ear. In my opinion, having a good ear is completely necessary in order to acquire second language skills. As I have a good ear, I have been able of correctly pronounce most of the words and also to gain fluency and accurate stress. Because of this ability, I feel really confident when speaking in front of my classmates or my teachers. If I think about it most of the times I just know something because it sounds right.
Another ability I feel I have to facilitate my acquisition of this foreign language is my memory. I have such a good memory that once I hear or read a word, I remember its context and how it can be used. The same happens when I look up for the meaning of a word. Even better, as I am a good reader I remember many words that come from my readings. This is a great ability I have so as to gain new vocabulary. I cannot really think of concrete examples, but what I can say is that I always guess the answers—most of the times correctly.
It is exposed in this chapter that sometimes your abilities are inherited from your parents. If I reflect on this, I cannot agree less. My parents have never been good at English. Furthermore, my mother had horrible grades at school and my father can only remember: open the door and close the window. Maybe inheritance is not my case.
Chapter III
Age and Acquisition
· Children might have some secrets of success: not monitoring themselves too much, not analyzing grammar, not being too worried about their egos, shedding inhibitions, not letting the native language interfere so much. In what way did you, or could you, put those secrets to use in your own learning?
Fortunately, I do not have problems in learning the language. Meditating about it and about the following: not monitoring themselves too much, not analyzing grammar, not being too worried about their egos, shedding inhibitions, not letting the native language interfere so much, I had reach to this conclusion: my learning English is similar to children learning their first language.
I do not monitor myself so much. I let myself go and be free in my language class. For example, I am not so aware of my grammar constructions; so many times I do not realize I am making a mistake. And if I do, I try to fix it right away. On the other hand, I do monitor myself in my speaking, especially after our phonetics course during this year’s first term. I am so conscious of my lacks in this skill that I am always aware if I am saying things accurately. This is really annoying for me because I think I am better than that, so I should not be paying so much attention in my pronunciation.
As I was saying in a previous entry, I have a really good ear. For this reason, sometimes I know things are right just because they sound right to me. For this reason, I am a student that makes guesses. Thus, I do not analyze grammar all the time. I am a more holistic type of learner. But, I have to admit that my lexico-grammar program has been really helpful for me.
About inhibitions and egos, I am sometimes afraid of making a mistake because I have always been a good student, so when I make a mistake my closest classmates make fun of me. I know it is only kidding, but it still makes me be afraid of making mistakes. I have some reputation to look after. Anyway, as I have a good command of English, I am not afraid of talking in the class, giving my opinions, arguing, discussing and so on. This has definitely increased my self-esteem and my confidence. It is amazing that English can make me feel so good about myself.
In other words, I believe I have put into practice all these secrets and they are undoubtedly working on my favor.
Chapter IV
Principles of Human Learning
· Rogers recommended “non-defensive” learning. Do you feel that you are learning to defend yourself against the teacher’s disapproval, or against your classmates, or against bad grades? Are your classmates your allies or competitors?
When I was in first year something very unfair happened. Two of my classmates were promoted to second year in language class only. I asked our headmaster why I could not have the same opportunity as my fellow classmates; she said they had special skills. In short, she said they were better than me. I suppose they were better, but I was very good as well. I could have taken so much advantage out of it. This has been something that undeniably has affected my learning and the way I feel about my classmates. Unfortunately, I believe that I am learning to defend myself against everybody. I need everybody to realize how good I am. I need to show myself that I am a good English speaker despite my headmaster opinion. I defend myself against my classmates as well. I need to prove that I am better than everybody in my generation.
Regarding grades, I also defend myself against them. My family does not have much money, so I need to have good grades so that I can study with scholarships. I have many plans for my future, but I need to get scholarships to fulfill them. Moreover, I am studying at this university with a scholarship and I want to study literature abroad. If I lose my scholarship, it would be really hard—if not impossible— for me and my family to pay for my studies.
Because of what happened, I believe my classmates to be my enemies. Unconsciously, I am fighting against them every day to be better. It would be a pity if I lose opportunities because other classmates gain them. But, believing they are my enemies does not imply that I do not help them or vice versa. I reflect that this is only on my mind; nevertheless my acts are not based on this feeling.
I believe that this should change. In my opinion, one should learn because he/she feels pleasure doing it. I think my learning would be so much better and pleasant if it was not for my resentful feelings about my previous bad experience.
Chapter V
Styles and Strategies
· Using the list of learning strategies (Table 5.2), describe examples of two or three of them that you have already used. Pick one or two that you don’t use very much and list them as your challenge for the near future.
Reflecting on my own learning there are several learning strategies I apply in different classes and contexts. Regarding my English learning strategies I have identified three that I frequently use. These are: self-evaluation, contextualization and cooperation.
Concerning self-evaluation, I am always evaluating my performance and the activities I am carrying out outside the classroom. Outside the classroom, I read books—especially Jane Austen’s novels and other writers such as the Brontë’s sisters and Patricia Cornwell—; I do exercises regarding grammar and vocabulary and I also speak by myself. When I execute these activities, I try to be very objective and evaluate if I am doing them right. Another thing I do is to read what I have written in previous semesters. Thus, I try to fix my own mistakes and I learn from them.
Secondly, I use contextualization. Contextualization is to use a word in a context. I use this strategy very much, principally with new words. So, whenever I learn a new word I use it as much as I can in all my classes. Consequently, I get every teacher to listen to it and if it is wrongly used they can correct me immediately. I think this is a very effective way of proving one’s understanding. For example, the other day I learnt the word somewhat. It was not completely new for me, but I did not use it so much. Therefore, I used it in my language class and even in an essay we were writing.
Finally, I really use cooperation. Nevertheless, I prefer to be helped by students that are better than me because many times my classmates do not see my mistakes so it is not really helpful for me. For example, we use cooperation very much in Sabrina’s class. When we write something she asks us to bring it before the deadline so that we can have one or two classmates correcting our paper. That way, they can see mistakes we—the writers—cannot see.
Although I use the described above strategies, I think I should start putting into practice the following strategies: note taking and self management. This would become a challenge for me, but I suppose I can make it.
I am horrible at note taking. I cannot get myself to take notes because I do not feel is necessary for me although sometimes I cannot really remember my classes or the explanations teachers give. I believe that note taking is really helpful so I will try to apply it to most of my courses.
I also need to apply some self management. I need to be conscious of the ways I learn to make my learning easier and more effective. I need to know myself in order to be aware of my learning processes. Otherwise, how am I supposed to understand my students’ learning processes if I do not know my own.
Chapter IV
Principles of Human Learning
· Rogers recommended “non-defensive” learning. Do you feel that you are learning to defend yourself against the teacher’s disapproval, or against your classmates, or against bad grades? Are your classmates your allies or competitors?
When I was in first year something very unfair happened. Two of my classmates were promoted to second year in language class only. I asked our headmaster why I could not have the same opportunity as my fellow classmates; she said they had special skills. In short, she said they were better than me. I suppose they were better, but I was very good as well. I could have taken so much advantage out of it. This has been something that undeniably has affected my learning and the way I feel about my classmates. Unfortunately, I believe that I am learning to defend myself against everybody. I need everybody to realize how good I am. I need to show myself that I am a good English speaker despite my headmaster opinion. I defend myself against my classmates as well. I need to prove that I am better than everybody in my generation.
Regarding grades, I also defend myself against them. My family does not have much money, so I need to have good grades so that I can study with scholarships. I have many plans for my future, but I need to get scholarships to fulfill them. Moreover, I am studying at this university with a scholarship and I want to study literature abroad. If I lose my scholarship, it would be really hard—if not impossible— for me and my family to pay for my studies.
Because of what happened, I believe my classmates to be my enemies. Unconsciously, I am fighting against them every day to be better. It would be a pity if I lose opportunities because other classmates gain them. But, believing they are my enemies does not imply that I do not help them or vice versa. I reflect that this is only on my mind; nevertheless my acts are not based on this feeling.
I believe that this should change. In my opinion, one should learn because he/she feels pleasure doing it. I think my learning would be so much better and pleasant if it was not for my resentful feelings about my previous bad experience.
Chapter V
Styles and Strategies
· Using the list of learning strategies (Table 5.2), describe examples of two or three of them that you have already used. Pick one or two that you don’t use very much and list them as your challenge for the near future.
Reflecting on my own learning there are several learning strategies I apply in different classes and contexts. Regarding my English learning strategies I have identified three that I frequently use. These are: self-evaluation, contextualization and cooperation.
Concerning self-evaluation, I am always evaluating my performance and the activities I am carrying out outside the classroom. Outside the classroom, I read books—especially Jane Austen’s novels and other writers such as the Brontë’s sisters and Patricia Cornwell—; I do exercises regarding grammar and vocabulary and I also speak by myself. When I execute these activities, I try to be very objective and evaluate if I am doing them right. Another thing I do is to read what I have written in previous semesters. Thus, I try to fix my own mistakes and I learn from them.
Secondly, I use contextualization. Contextualization is to use a word in a context. I use this strategy very much, principally with new words. So, whenever I learn a new word I use it as much as I can in all my classes. Consequently, I get every teacher to listen to it and if it is wrongly used they can correct me immediately. I think this is a very effective way of proving one’s understanding. For example, the other day I learnt the word somewhat. It was not completely new for me, but I did not use it so much. Therefore, I used it in my language class and even in an essay we were writing.
Finally, I really use cooperation. Nevertheless, I prefer to be helped by students that are better than me because many times my classmates do not see my mistakes so it is not really helpful for me. For example, we use cooperation very much in Sabrina’s class. When we write something she asks us to bring it before the deadline so that we can have one or two classmates correcting our paper. That way, they can see mistakes we—the writers—cannot see.
Although I use the described above strategies, I think I should start putting into practice the following strategies: note taking and self management. This would become a challenge for me, but I suppose I can make it.
I am horrible at note taking. I cannot get myself to take notes because I do not feel is necessary for me although sometimes I cannot really remember my classes or the explanations teachers give. I believe that note taking is really helpful so I will try to apply it to most of my courses.
I also need to apply some self management. I need to be conscious of the ways I learn to make my learning easier and more effective. I need to know myself in order to be aware of my learning processes. Otherwise, how am I supposed to understand my students’ learning processes if I do not know my own.
1 comentario:
Generally I do not post on blogs, but I would love to mention that this post extremely forced me to try and do therefore! really nice post. thanks, here's a similar subject you'll like [url=http://corina33.inube.com/blog/191722/the-benefits-of-having-a-natural-light-alarm-timepiece/]Old Clocks[/url]
Publicar un comentario