Blog Entry Post #2
REFLECTION
My SLA interview is solely focused on my mom’s experiences with second language acquisition, which in this case is English. She was born and raised in the Philippines. Tagalog is the primary or native language of this country and I found it very interesting to learn more about the Spanish and American influence on how individuals in the Philippines speak and communicate with one another. I knew that my mom had to learn English during her childhood since English language learning was specifically favored due to numerous motives. A particular reason that stood out to me was the fact that Americans wanted English to be the official language of the Philippines once the American occupation began in the country. Citizens of the Philippines wanted to learn and speak English, which made conducting the government simpler since it is a universal language. This resulted in English being taught in schools throughout the nation. According to Ortega (2013), “In many parts of the globe, most children grow up speaking two or more languages simultaneously” (Section 1.3, para. 2). This clarifies my understanding on how this is actually possible or the norm. For example, children could “learn additional languages from a mixture of both naturalistic and instructed experiences” (Ortega, 2013, Section 1.4, para. 4). This was the case for my mom, in which she learned English through both informal and formal opportunities. Children could even pick up various words and phrases from other languages as a result of the cultural influence on their first or native language, like Tagalog with influences from Spanish, English, etc.
It was nice to hear that my mom and her family practiced speaking and learning English on a daily basis. I did not know before until now that she was taught and encouraged to learn English at such a young age, probably before she even started going to school! However, this made me question about second language acquisition and learning a new language at a particular age since “age may exert universal influences on the learning of a second language, but context moderates these universal effects and needs to be considered carefully” (Ortega, 2013, Section 2.3, para. 3). Although it is extremely beneficial and simpler to learn a second language, “most learners who begin acquiring the L2 before a certain age, typically before puberty, will develop levels of morphosyntactic and phonological competence that are very close to those of native speakers of that language” (Ortega, 2013, Section 2.10, para. 2). However, this does not exactly guarantee that people learning a second language at such an early age will master or achieve native-like levels in the second language. Just like several individuals who are trying to learn or are practicing a new language other than their first or native language, the learner must not only exercise the language, but also have a strong level of motivation and quality of instruction or examples. I appreciate my mom as well as my dad for inspiring and ensuring that I learn and speak English, even while growing up in a household that speaks both English and Tagalog.
I find it so fascinating that the citizens of the Philippines wanted to learn and speak English because it made conducting the government easier. From your reflection, there was clearly zero conflict between your mother’s first language group and second language group when she began learning English. You mention that learners who begin acquiring the L2 before puberty will develop levels of phonological competence that are close to those of native speakers of that language. Has your mother ever been mistaken for a native English speaker? I can only assume that she has been because from your reflection you mention that she was encouraged to learn English before starting school. In the same way that your mother was encouraged to learn her second language, has she carried that experience over to you to learn Tagalog?
ReplyDeleteYour mom and my friend Sandra, have a lot common in regards to how they learned English. I find it interesting that in different countries the process of learning is english was the same and also heavily encouraged. I think foreigners are all very aware of how important its is to know english in order to have access to opportunities and to be treated with respect whenever they come to America if they choose to do so. I think the heavy encouragement comes from this understanding that English is very dominant and need for survival in Europe or North America.
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