Entry 1: Course Introduction
Chelsea Sanchez's Blog
Welcome to the first entry of my blog.
My name is Chelsea Sanchez and I am currently a senior at the University of Houston. I am majoring in Teaching & Learning and minoring in Leadership Studies. As an aspiring educator, I am hoping to create a classroom culture where not only is every child accepted despite their differences, but they are embraced for being unique. I will promote diversity in the classroom by learning about different cultures throughout the year, especially pertaining to students in the classroom.In particular, I am looking to focus mainly on teaching 4th-5th grade because I believe this is when students begin to notice that they are different from their peers.
Growing up in a diverse household, I never knew exactly where I fell along the lines of being American or being Hispanic. While my family and I celebrated nearly all American traditions, we also celebrated many Hispanic traditions, however, it was hard for me to understand some of the traditions because I did not fully understand Spanish. I had grown up learning quite a few words and phrases because my family spoke the language and it was around me a lot of the time in the community through out stores and billboards, which made me a naturalistic learner (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). However, I knew that I still needed to learn much more in order to fully understand and appreciate my culture.
It wasn't until middle school, when I was 11, that I began to learn Spanish through formal instruction, which made me an instructed learner (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). Once I started to learn Spanish, I became more passionate about it because it connected me to my cultural history. While I am American and it is amazing to have grown-up speaking English, I fell in love with Spanish because I began to understand translations and jokes my family would make in regards to Spanish/English word play. However, I learned that acquiring a second language can be quite the challenge. It was one thing to know the words and the grammar rules, but when it came to combining all of these rules, known as interlanguage, it became much more challenging (Ortega, 2013, p. 6).
While difficult, I did remain focused on learning Spanish in school throughout high school, but since I did not use it on a daily basis and practice speaking the language, I slowly lost it. Some words and grammar rules are still engraved in my mind, but for the most part, I am unable to fluently speak, write, or listen to Spanish. Hopefully, when school and work slow down for me in the future, I will attempt to relearn Spanish.
Welcome to the first entry of my blog.
My name is Chelsea Sanchez and I am currently a senior at the University of Houston. I am majoring in Teaching & Learning and minoring in Leadership Studies. As an aspiring educator, I am hoping to create a classroom culture where not only is every child accepted despite their differences, but they are embraced for being unique. I will promote diversity in the classroom by learning about different cultures throughout the year, especially pertaining to students in the classroom.In particular, I am looking to focus mainly on teaching 4th-5th grade because I believe this is when students begin to notice that they are different from their peers.
Growing up in a diverse household, I never knew exactly where I fell along the lines of being American or being Hispanic. While my family and I celebrated nearly all American traditions, we also celebrated many Hispanic traditions, however, it was hard for me to understand some of the traditions because I did not fully understand Spanish. I had grown up learning quite a few words and phrases because my family spoke the language and it was around me a lot of the time in the community through out stores and billboards, which made me a naturalistic learner (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). However, I knew that I still needed to learn much more in order to fully understand and appreciate my culture.
It wasn't until middle school, when I was 11, that I began to learn Spanish through formal instruction, which made me an instructed learner (Ortega, 2013, p. 6). Once I started to learn Spanish, I became more passionate about it because it connected me to my cultural history. While I am American and it is amazing to have grown-up speaking English, I fell in love with Spanish because I began to understand translations and jokes my family would make in regards to Spanish/English word play. However, I learned that acquiring a second language can be quite the challenge. It was one thing to know the words and the grammar rules, but when it came to combining all of these rules, known as interlanguage, it became much more challenging (Ortega, 2013, p. 6).
While difficult, I did remain focused on learning Spanish in school throughout high school, but since I did not use it on a daily basis and practice speaking the language, I slowly lost it. Some words and grammar rules are still engraved in my mind, but for the most part, I am unable to fluently speak, write, or listen to Spanish. Hopefully, when school and work slow down for me in the future, I will attempt to relearn Spanish.
Hi Chelsea! I definitely like the classroom culture that you are trying to create for your students, and I also think that it’s important to be able to have such an open classroom and an open relationship with your students. I also understand growing up in a diverse household because my family was very similar to yours, and I also was a naturalistic learner of my second language (Ortega, 2013, p.6). I also like the way that you are still determined to learn the language in a more formal setting through instructed learning (Ortega, 2013, p.6) and find that this will most likely be the best way for the language to stick with you in the long run.
ReplyDeleteHello Noor! I am glad that we are on the same page when it comes to our classroom environment. As for our personal language learning environments, it's interesting that we both grew up in naturalistic environments. It's nice to learn a language in a naturalistic environment because we are given the opportunity to actively interact with others who speak the language, while also negotiating the meaning of certain words while we are speaking (Ortega, 2013, p. 61). In this way, we are able to practice the language thoroughly because the people we are around will correct and guide us. Additionally, when we learn in a naturalistic environment, the language becomes more ingrained in our working memory and solidifies into our everyday language because we are given constant opportunities to practice the language (Ortega, 2013, p. 89).
DeleteHey Chelsea!
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, I love how you look forward to promoting diversity in your classroom. It’s imperative that we instill that positive classroom culture in respecting different cultures and backgrounds to combat negative stereotypes. I can relate to your experience of learning Spanish through both a natural and instructed way (Ortega, 2013) however one difference is that I didn’t have the support of practicing that language at home. I grew up with 4 other siblings who were not learning Spanish through formal instruction, so it was difficult in retaining the information. A few times, I would have this bright idea where I would tell my family, “hey let’s only speak Spanish today” and many times it wouldn’t even last an hour. Also, they didn’t take my drive to practice seriously. I love how you mentioned the experience you had about saying “chancla” and not knowing it was a Spanish word, it made me laugh.
Hi Anicia!
DeleteIt's unfortunate that you didn't have the opportunity to full immerse yourself in speaking Spanish at home, which is understandable since not all of your family spoke and understood Spanish. Ortega mentions that "encouraging risk-full attempts by the learner to handle complex content beyond current competence, such conditions of language use may drive learning" (Ortega, 2013, p. 63). The experience of only being able to speak Spanish would have definitely pose a risk because you don't understand it completely, but the challenge would have greatly benefited you. Moreover, this would have given you more opportunities to practice Spanish, which would have led to "lower levels of neural activation, because with more practice the same processing task will consume less resources" (Ortega, 2013, p 22). This shows that by constantly using Spanish, it would have become second nature to use certain words and grammar rules.
Yes Chelsea,
DeleteThough being challenged may bring uncomfortable feelings to some, it is so rewarding regardless if positive or negative outcomes. Speaking about this reminds me of what we learned in Math class about fixed and growth mindsets. The fact that making mistakes aids brain growth is amazing. I imagine that knowing this information can spark student’s intrinsic motivation to step out of their comfort zones whether it is in speaking or learning!
Hi Chelsea!
ReplyDeleteI personally loved hearing your viewpoints on diversity in the classroom. When you discussed having a passion of learning another language at a young age of 11, and trying to dedicate yourself to it is something I find inspiring. You learning Spanish in a instructed way is something that I wish I would take the time to do. Ortega mentions that you an instructed approach of learning a different language is through, "formal studying school or university, through private lessons and so on (2013, pg. 6). You indeed conquered that and I feel this is the same way I am going to have to tackle Spanish as well. I too grew up in an American Hispanic household and felt as if Spanish was some sort of piece of me that I needed to represent. I have semi attempted to grasp Spanish but feel as though I give up throughout the process. You stayed dedicated and all though you may have lost it a bit I feel that your determination is what can help you to pick it back up, and that is something I love about your story.
Hi Alyssa,
DeleteIt's interesting that you brought up how determined I was to learn Spanish. I have definitely lost some of that determination since coming to college and becoming incredibly busy, but you are right that if I were to become determined to learn English again, I could definitely accomplish it. Ortega mentions the self-determination theory which ensues that “humans as volitional beings who are growth-oriented, that is, predisposed to life-long learning and development” (Ortega, 2013, p. 175). This means that we are always striving to learn, and when we are determined, we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to, such as learning another language. You also show this determination when you mention that growing up in a Hispanic household, you felt that you needed to learn Spanish. This is the same drive that I felt in my home. Language truly is a huge part of culture and in order to feel invested in our culture, we have the drive to learn the language.
Oh for sure Chelsea,
DeleteMy main goal is to learn Spanish so I can speak to my family fluently and confidently. I feel in order for me to accomplish this I am going to have to have a whole lot of determination. I agree with your remark on how language is such a huge part of culture and it helps us feel closer to who we are. Another main reason I am so determined as well is because being a teacher and knowing a second language is also extremely beneficial!