Entry 2: Interview with Kiko Martinez
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 using their new language” (p. 37). From Kiko’s transition to an English-only classroom,
he struggled with meeting the standards and expectations for assignments. Kiko mentioned how while one teacher
recommended for him to leave the bilingual program after fifth grade, his sixth
grade teacher recommended him to consider the bilingual program again. Besides the different viewpoints on what was
best to help Kiko academically, his father decided to keep him out of the
program in hopes that the increased exposure would help him academically. This experience shows that redesignation was
not certain in his case. According to
Wright (2015), redesignation means that, “the student no longer requires
specialized language and content instruction and is considered ready to
participate in mainstream classrooms” (p. 3).
With his young age and bilingual program, Kiko is not able to be fluent
in both his native language, English, and Spanish!
I enjoyed watching your video and hearing about Kinko experience as an English language learner. I believe as teachers we have to be willing to help our students instead of making assumptions of the students’ ability. As Kinko mentions how one of his teachers thought he should leave the bilingual classroom while another teacher thought he should give it another try. I truly believe that all teachers share in the responsibility of meeting the academic standards for English Language learners and their success (Wright, 2015, p. 2). Kinko also mentions how learning the English language was confusing because of the similarities of certain words. This is a perfect example of morphology when words are borrowed from other languages to create new ones (Wright, 2015, p. 32). This is one reason why I understand how learning a new language can be difficult. This can also lead to struggles within the classroom, which Kinko mentions happened to him. It is not easy adjusting to another culture while maintain your own culture (Wright, 2015, p. 20). Which is why so many parents speak their native language at home as Kinko stated his family did.
ReplyDeleteWright, W.E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Nicole, I agree with you! I learned a second language, Mandarin Chinese, when I was younger. However, for me, I do not remember getting English and Chinese confused because I was able to clearly distinguish the differences between the two languages. I can see how it can be easy to get vocabulary mixed up when two languages have so many similarities. I think this is important for teachers to consider because your language learners are not going to have the same background and learning experience.
DeleteHi Emerald! I enjoy watching the interview between you and Kiko. It was hard to hear how Kiko had to deal with his struggles as an ELL student and having to go back to the bilingual program. Learning a new language involves reading, writing, and speaking. Seeing that Kiko struggle with his assignments in 6th grade proves that having him leave the bilingual program in 5th grade was proven to be risky in his academic performances and English Language Skills. At least, one of his teacher gave him another chance to improve his language skills, but none of the teachers should make the assumptions that he'll be ready at a certain age. Students learn differently, depending on the background. According to Wright (2010), teachers need to know which language problems will resolve themselves and which problems need attention (Wright, 2010, pg. 25). Plus, teachers have to organize their programs practices based on how students adjust to everyday practices, the system of values and beliefs, and the means and manners of communication at school and in society (Wright, 2010, pg. 25). Out of curiosity, what do you think as a teacher would be a best to help out students who are struggling with a similar situation Kiko had to face?
ReplyDeleteWright, W.E. (2010). Foundations for Teaching English language learners: research, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Michelle, I think that keeping students in bilingual programs is not a bad thing. In Kiko's case, it was what he was comfortable with so I would have let him stay in the program. Making sure that your student's are comfortable in the classroom is also an important factor of their success
DeleteHi Emerald. I know keeping students in bilingual programs isn't always a bad things, since it would depend on their levels. I'm just saying that we shouldn't make bad assumptions or judgements on their performances and/or background. But I do agree it's important to make sure that the student's are comfortable in their classroom and enhance their academic performances.
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ReplyDeleteHi Emerald,
Thank you for sharing such an interesting interview with a fellow student at UH. One thing that I found interesting was that Kiko was not allowed to speak Spanish with his siblings and could only speak Spanish at home. I would be concerned with his learning in school (if in a mainstream classroom) if not for the fact he was placed in a bilingual program. He mentioned that the way he was taught was by being given a word in English and then writing the definition of that word in Spanish. According to Wright (2015), the ability to “transfer knowledge and skills means that students who have literacy skills in their first language will likely make rapid progress in learning to read and write in English” (p. 55). Like Mr. Martinez talked about in your interview, those word associations that he practiced in the program would help him strengthen his English learning. The fact that most of it was written helped him with his literacy as well since he was able to use both his first language and then practice writing in his second language. However, Kiko unfortunately had difficulty once he was in middle school since he was placed in a mainstream classroom. What strategies do you believe the teacher could have done back then to help him with his low Reading level?
Jessica, I agree with what you are saying. I think that in Kiko's case, he was able to read in English, however there was a disconnect between that and his fluency and comprehension. In my opinion, I think applying the language in speaking and practicing comprehension strategies would have strengthened his reading level. At a certain point, reading becomes more than just being able to say the words on the page. Thank you for watching my blog!
DeleteHello Emerald!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your interview with Kiko with us! His Spanish to English learning process was much like many others who have parents that solely only spoke Spanish at home. While watching, I was surprised that he was taken out of his bilingual classroom in hopes of more exposure because it seemed like he was learning fairly well in that class. “Encouraging ELLs to maintain and develop their home languages while they develop proficiency in English benefits the individual ELL and his or her family and community” (Wright, pg. 23). I believe that it is important to maintain both languages and not fully emerge a student to a general classroom so quickly especially when they’re still struggling.
Thanks for sharing!
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Taylor, I believe it would not have harmed him to stay in a bilingual class for longer if that's what he was comfortable in. As Kiko stated, his class would speak only Spanish. I think that it would have been more beneficial if the students were able to practice their speaking and eventually progress to using more English in the classroom just to receive more exposure. I think application is a critical component to becoming fluent in your second language. Thanks for watching!
DeleteHello Emerald,
ReplyDeleteKiko's interview was very interesting to see, as he talked about the struggles he faced with the transition from Spanish to English language, I can tell it challenged him a lot. Being in an ESL class all the way up to middle school, was extremely convenient, because he was surrounded with children that spoke his primary language. That helps student become comfortable to their primary language but I feel it doesn't challenge him as mush as it should. Therefore when his parents opted out of the ESL program in 6th grade he felt like a ton of brick fell on him because being in an all English class can really make you feel out of place. As he stated he had to write essays all in English and that was hard for him, because his literature level was not equal to his classmates. A pull-out ESL child stated, " The other kids wouldn't say anything, but i would feel lost. Here i go again. Why do i have to do this? I felt so dumb. I felt like I'm dumb" (Wright, 2015, pg. 107). I feel that Niko felt like they threw him to the wolf's because he was use to a different type of learning then things drastically changed in middle school for him. This way of transitioning to English has been criticized because it demands a lot from ELLs. Niko applied himself and he was able to adjust to the all English class which has helped him now with his career. Really great experience that was challenging but helped him along the way, it was a great interview with a fellow cougar.
Rubi, you make a great point. I agree that his schoolwork was not aligned to the other classes which was a disadvantage to him in the long run. I think that curriculum should not be changed to meet the needs of our second language students. Instead, our approach and interventions should help our students succeed in what the other classes are doing. I think gradual immersion to a English speaking classroom would have made Kiko feel less stress during the transition period. Thank you for watching my blog!
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