End of interview and Conclusion

 

S10: Marcela describes her experience of raising bilingual children

Marcela describes that it is difficult to you raise bilingual children. Marcela tried to speak in Slovac when her children were little and living in Australia to help them retain their mother tongue. They then moved back to Slovakia so it was good that they knew some Slovac. When they came back to Australia, Marcela spoke mainly English to her children. Marcela said that her daughter was nine when they came back to Australia and she notes that it is known that if you learn a language before the age of nine that you usually don't forget it and you are then a bilingual child. Her daughter however, felt that she was forgetting Slovac so she asked Marcela to just speak Slovac to her and she also talked to her aunty in Slovac. Marcela describes how her son who was six when they came back to Australia, forgot how to speak in Slovac, including the accent but says he has some understanding of Slovac.

S11: Marcela reflects on her English acquisition experience

The interview concludes with Marcela reflecting on her early experience of learning English in Slovakia, where she said there was too much of a focus on grammar which was not good as "it is not real". She explains that she knew the English grammar well, but did not know English expressions, or how to apply the grammar to the spoken word. Marcela notes that she also had to learn grammar in her own language the same way, by rote.

My own experiences with teaching English as a Second Language

On reflecting on my own experiences when teaching primary school aged students English as a second language I have created a friendly, safe environment for the learner. The student's learn in a group, including students from various cultures. The student's are encouraged to talk, using both their mother tongue and English. The students work collaboratively using interesting resources including pictures, objects in the classroom, newspapers and books with real life images and stories. The lessons are individualised, as the student's interests and needs are incorporated into the lesson via the topic and level of language proficiency. Grammar is included, but is not at the centre of the learning. Learning also involves playing games such as "Guess Who", barrier games and story sequencing.

Conclusion

Through my exploration of language acquisition theories, I was able to apply what I learnt about second language acquisition to my interview with Marcela, and her journey as a second language learner. I discovered that her first experiences of learning English in Slovakia in primary and high school were mainly focused on grammar, with a non-native English speaker and involved memorisation and practice of grammar rules. Her acquisition of written and of the reading of English was somewhat achieved, but Marcela was still ill equipped to use her English knowledge past a basic level of written communication and she had no experience speaking in and listening to a variety of English accents. 

Marcela realised that in order to be able to work in a more professional capacity, she needed to acquire better English speaking. This was achieved through learning English while still in Slovakia, with the British Council and then when she went to a Summer School in England. Her experience of English language acquisition, in contrast to her earlier teaching, was more learner focused, taught by a native English speaker and involved collaboration between learners from a variety of different cultures. The focus was less on grammar and the grammar needed was embedded into the learning by using interesting, real life resources, which supported the grammar and English words that were being taught.

Marcela's English language acquisition substantially improved during the teaching in this formal setting, but also in the informal setting outside of the classroom. It was in this informal setting that Marcela had the opportunity to practice her English speaking and reading skills, by reading novels of her choice in English and by speaking in English to locals in the community.

These two different outcomes of Marcela's English acquisition, were linked during the blog, to the cognitive theories discussed.