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Module 1: Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn by Barry McLaughlin

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Module 1: Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn by Barry McLaughlin

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In Myths and Misconceptions About Second Language Learning: What Every Teacher Needs to Unlearn by Barry McLaughlin, the author expounds on several common myths in second language learning that I have encountered multiple times in my career.

1.) Children learn second languages quickly and easily

This is definitely an idea that I have heard before, and I had always believed it until this article. I don't think I had ever given this notion too much thought, so that must mean that I was so on board with it, I never took the time to question it. It was especially interesting to learn that second language acquisition might in fact be more difficult for young children than adults because they don't have some of the same memory techniques and strategies to use. I'm really glad this myth has been debunked for me. How unfair an expectation to assume young children should inherently just acquire a language simply because of their age!

2.) The younger the child, the more skilled they are in acquiring a second language

It's safe to say I believed this myth as well! This is intertwined with the previous myth in my head, so I am glad to have it debunked. Again, I don't want to have an unfair expectation in my head, so I am glad to have learned the truth! I'm going to do my best to remember that "teachers should not expect miracles of their young English language learners."

3.) The more time students spend in a second language context, the quicker they learn the language

I was on board with this myth as well, simply because before reading this article, it seemed logical to me. I think this is a really important myth to be debunked because educators could easily fall into the trap of assuming that if their student is immersed in English (or whichever language they are learning) at all times, this will help their language acquisition. This could create a terribly overwhelming, isolating environment for the student, which of course we want to avoid at all costs. In the past, I have heard some teachers say they do not allow students to speak their home language in this classroom for this very reason, and it always seemed unkind to me. I feel a bit vindicated now in knowing that it is not only unkind, but it does not benefit the student in their language acquisition.

4.) Children have acquired a second language once they could speak it

I am excited to finally be able to say that I knew this one was a myth before reading the article! I remember learning fairly early on in trainings that there is a big difference between conversational English (or any language) and academic English (or any language). This information has always been a lifesaver for me because even though I am positive I could be doing more for my English language learners, I have always had this information in the back of my mind. I think it really helps to remember because it could keep you from becoming unfairly frustrated with a student, assuming that they are more proficient in a language than they are because they can carry on a conversation in their second language. This one seems so important!

5.) All children learn a second language the same way

I have never given this one too much thought before, but I think if I was presented with this list for the very first time and asked to identify one myth, I would have picked this one. It doesn't seem logical to me that all children would learn a second language in the same way. It would be the same as saying all children learn math in the same way, or how to write in the same way, or how to do anything in the same way. If that were true, we would have had this education thing cracked a long time ago and we would all be following the same formula to teach every single student the same way. We all know that is simply not the case, so it makes sense to me that not every child would learn a second language in the same way.

I really enjoyed this reading, I found it so helpful and interesting!

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What assessment practices shown in this video can be traced back to an immersion orientation toward language education?

Throughout the film, there were several practices shown that could be traced back to immersion education. The first that comes to mind is when the teacher is down in the dark, dusty, storage room, and tells her colleague that she is "looking for the old bilingual stuff." It makes it really clear that the "bilingual stuff" is not being used regularly, so much so that she doesn't even know where to locate it. Another could be when Moises is taking his test, and the teacher says she has to take his English to Spanish dictionary away, but he can ask her any questions if he needs help. This seems to be a well meaning gesture to make up for taking the dictionary away, but she doesn't speak Spanish, so she won't be able to understand any of his questions to offer him help, and without his dictionary, he might not be able to come up with any questions about the content other than, "What does this mean?" Another could be her conversational with who I am assume is the principal and is a Spanish speaker. He says that Moises is a nice kid and he likes him, but makes it clear that he isn't going to assist in getting the test translated.

How were Moises (the focus student) and Ms. Peterson (the teacher) impacted by this assessment experience and state and local policies?

After experiencing the aftermath of these policies, Moises almost gave up on taking the test altogether. His friend had already given up and had no motivation to try, and asked Moises why he would bother trying since he knows he's "going to fail." Moises seemed discouraged by the experience, and it was really difficult to watch. I kept nervously waiting for Ms. Peterson to reprimand Moises for speaking to other students in class to ask for translations, but thankfully that didn't happen. However, it was clear that she wasn't familiar with his English proficiency when she kept asking him to explain how he got his answer, even though his work was on the page, which was also hard to watch. I was worried she was going to remain insensitive to what he was going through, but I was glad to see she at least tried to get him a test written in Spanish, even though it didn't happen. It seems like Moises shouldn't just have the test available in Spanish, though, but opportunities throughout the learning process to have access to Spanish to help him access the content. Ms. Peterson seemed like even though she was trying, she wasn't terribly hopeful about finding him the resources he needed, especially when she asked for help and she didn't get it. Both characters asked for help from the people that could offer them help, but they didn't get the help they needed!

What do teachers need to know about their CLD students before they can assess them accurately?

Especially after watching this, I think teachers need to have a basic understanding of a student's language proficiency before assessing them accurately. As we have learned in this course, we can sometimes hear a student speak conversationally and assume that they are completely proficient in a language. But in the case it this film, it seemed like a very simple conversation with Moises would have shown her that he doesn't speak English. Moises was able to show her that he could do the math, his trouble just came from reading the directions and problems in English. I am not aware of every policy or system in place at the school in this film, but it seems like an example where scaffolds could have easily been put in place to help him succeed, which he was clearly capable of doing.

What scenes in this film encourage viewers to re-evaluate an experience or a belief involving immersion and/or bilingual education?

The scene that stuck out to me the most was after class when Moises drew Ms. Peterson a picture and was following her down the hall, looking and sounding desperate for some help. It was really hard to watch her looking distracted, a bit disinterested, moving most of the time, and not really stopping to show him she was listening to what he was worried about. As teachers, we have so many things on our minds and to do lists every day, so this is something that can happen easily. It really made me think about how when a student is speaking to me, I need to stop what I am doing, look them in the eye, and give them the respect they deserve by making them feel seen and heard.

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Module 4: Educating Emergent Bilinguals by Ofelia Garcia and Jo Anne Kleifgen - Chapter 9 

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Module 4: Educating Emergent Bilinguals by Ofelia Garcia and Jo Anne Kleifgen - Chapter 9 

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I really agreed with the part of this text that explained the difference between language proficiency and content proficiency. Even though this distinction would benefit CLD students, it seems like it could really benefit any kind of student. If a student is struggling with reading, has trouble happening at home that makes focusing at school difficult, or is experiencing any sort of barrier to their learning, it makes sense that we would want them to be able to display their content proficiency in a way that is accessible to them as well as a way that bolsters their confidence. I worry that if students who don't fit the traditional mold come up against failure after failure simply because of the rigid way we assess their knowledge, the less motivated they will be to stay in school. I think it is OK for learning to be challenging because we want our students to be able to productively struggle, but there is a difference between productive struggle and setting them up for failure. If a student never has a chance to succeed, why would they want to keep trying?

This reading reminded me of a quote I wrote down from My Trouble is English by Danling Fu, which she attributes to Adrienne Rich: "When somebody with the authority of a teacher, say, describes the world and you are not in it, there is a moment of psychic disequilibrium, as if you looked into a mirror and saw nothing." While assessing student understanding, if we only present one singular, "correct" way to show success, what are we doing to our students self esteem? How are we impacting their futures?

I really want to remember the importance of content proficiency, for CLD students as well as students who are not CLD but might not be reading at grade level just yet. It seems so much more important that they can show what they know in a way that works for them, rather than putting them in a box that does not allow them to share what they know because we are so focused on one specific way of assessing understanding.

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In Strawberries in Watsonville: Putting family and Student Knowledge at the Center of the Curriculum, the author seems to hold that assumption that her students and their families have valuable knowledge to share that not only is worth spending time diving in to, but can create a really valuable learning experience for everyone involved. The author clearly respects her students' families and their home knowledge, so much so that they want to honor it by incorporating it into the heart of her curriculum.

I really love and agree with the idea of taking the time to know what is going on with not only your student at home, but their entire family, and using it to make a learning experience more meaningful. I've given little surveys or questionnaires to my students on the first day of school to learn about them, and of course you get to know your students more and more as the year goes on. I even have parents fill out questionnaires about their students to I can learn more about the student from their eyes, but I have never taken the time to deliberately learn about members of a student's family in the same way. The only instances I can think of when I really dug deeply into what might be going on in a student's home would be when I was worried the student wasn't safe, never really for anything positive like in this reading. So I really love this idea of incorporating a student's home life into their learning at school, and it seems like it could be accomplished on larger or smaller scales. It seems to compliment much of what we have read about in My Trouble is English by Dangling Fu, where there were examples of the siblings feelings such disconnect from work they were simply completing. The exciting learning experiences happened for them when they were able to make a connection to their real life experiences, like their journey from Laos to Thailand to the United States.

This text really inspired me to dig more deeply into what my students have going on at home for positive purposes rather than safety purposes. I have been feeling a bit bored with some of the stories and texts I have been using to practice certain reading standards with my class, so I want to try to find some texts that align with what is going on in their home lives. I want to take some time to learn this information first from my class, and then perhaps create a list of topics to choose from that would be relatable to my class, and search for texts on those topics. This is a small starting point, but maybe it will lead to some more meaningful learning experiences in my classroom and perhaps to some ideas for some bigger projects! We have a month or so at the end of the year where we have completed our writing standard practice and have a bit more freedom, so I want to be thinking about some writing we could do during that time that would relate to their home knowledge.