Second Language Methodology

Mrs. Brown Interview Mrs. Brown is a Kindergarten teacher in Katy ISD.  Over the years in her teaching experience, she states that for some students, Kindergarten is the first time they have been in a school environment.  Her primary focus, especially in the beginning of the school year, is to have students understand school routines.  She does this by labeling most things in her classroom using pictures and words.   According to Wright (2015), “Labels not only help students learn the names of classroom objects in English but also send students the message that their home language is valued as a resource for learning in the classroom.   They can also help monolingual English-speaking students in the class learn vocabulary in the home language of the ELLs (p. 301).”             Mrs. Brown also stated that sometimes ELL students have a hard time communicating to the class what they wan...

Entry 2 This week, I interviewed Kiko Martinez, who is a student at the University of Houston pursuing his Mechanical Engineering of Technology degree.   Many other friends that I have spoken to regarding their experience with learning English as a second language is much like Kiko’s.   His parents and siblings would only speak Spanish at home, with the exception of watching TV in English.   Although he was born in the United States, Kiko did not formally learn English until he was in Kindergarten.   Although it was not until he started school, Kiko was only five, which helped him significantly in building his fluency and proficiency.   The Critical Period Hypothesis states that language learners benefit more when they begin at a young age.   According to Wright (2015), “a much greater amount of instructional time in K-12 educational systems” to learn a language than adults learning a new language and tend to “feel more comfortable usi...

Hello! Welcome to my blog! I am a Senior at the University of Houston.  After graduation, I am excited to see where I get the opportunity to build my first classroom! I hope you enjoy my first blog video! Blog 1