Reflection Number 1:

Ortega chapter 1: Ortega Discussion and Reflection Introduction

Monolingual competence should be the default benchmark of language
development. If so, why is this significant? Why is it problematic? What is
monolingual competence? What has been your experience with this
approach?
Monolingual competence is the ability to understand, read, write and
speak in only one language. It does not allow for children or adults to learn
any aspect of another language, or to become second language learners.
The viewpoint of monolingual competence as being the default benchmark is
valid, because without knowing the basics of one language it is hard to learn
another. For example, if a student was to speak English at home and then
learn French at school it is likely that they would not be proficient at either.
They could end up mixing up the rules of both languages, or they could
possibly never learn all aspects of either language. I think that it is important
to at least learn the basics of reading, writing, and speaking before another
language is introduced into a childs life. However, I do see how this could be
problematic for students whose home language is not the same as the
language spoken at school or in social settings. Students who have to learn a
language to fit in, or to translate for their parents would have a hard time if
monolingual competence was the baseline for testing. When I was three my
parents put me in a Chinese preschool for two years and for those years I
could speak Cantonese, but as soon as I went to kindergarten everything was
in English so I never used Cantonese again. From kindergarten to grade five
there was no emphasis on any language other than English, and I think that
that helped me to understand the basic grammar and linguistic aspects of
the English language without having to try to learn multiple languages at the
same time. In my experience, learning and being efficient in a single
language was better for me, and allowed me to succeed in my education
because I could fully understand the language.
Reflection Number 2:
Ortega discussion and reflection: Chapter 3 >> Crosslinguistic Influences
On page 38, Ortega talks about markedness and L1 transfer. In your
language groups, discuss and explain the concepts in your own words and
provide an example of a form more marked in L2 (French/Spanish) than L1
and vice versa.
Markedness is a word used to describe a word or letter that is used in one
language but not in another. It is often a letter that can be easily pronounced
by speakers of that native language, but anyone coming from another
background could have some difficulties with the pronunciation of the letter,

or difficulty making that sound. For example, in the Spanish language the
letter r is pronounced with a roll of the tongue to make a rrrr sound,
whereas in English it is just an r. Therefore, those who have an English
language background could have troubles making the correct sound in order
to pronounce words such as escribir meaning to write could be difficult to
say. On the other hand, in English we can pronounce a j sound, but in
Spanish a j is either silent or pronounced as an h. So words like jump, or
joyful would be difficult for Spanish speakers. J words in Spanish like jugar
meaning to play is pronounced as hugar in Spanish but if an English
speaker were to say it it would likely be said as a j and not an h.
Reflection Number 3:
Ortega chapter 4 and Boys in FSL
What matters in the linguistic environment is not simply whats out there
physically or even socially surrounding learners, but rather what learners
make of it, how they process (or not) the linguistic data and how they live
and experience that environment. Discuss and reconcile this statement in
relation to the article boys in FSL.
I really like this statement because it is something that hits home for me.
When it comes to any type of learning regardless of the subject it is
important for students to be intrinsically motivated and to make something
out of what they have learned. It is about the experience that they take away
from the content, and not necessarily the content itself. In relation to males
in FSL I think that it is especially important to motivate them to want to learn
and to expand their thinking and engagement in a French classroom. Males
often get teased or bugged for taking a language course because it is not
cool, or it is a feminine thing, but in the end they are expanding their
knowledge, and knowledge is power. As teachers we need to be there to
support their learning, and to encourage them to live through their
experiences and their interactions with the French environment, by creating
opportunities for them to further their learning in ways that relate to topics of
interest to them.
Reflection Number 4:
Ortega chapter 5 and Principles of Interactive Language Teaching
The chapter on cognition discuss the following three distinct, yet
interrelated components of SLA:
1. Information processing theories
2. Memory
3. Attention vs incidental learning

Which approach have you experienced in your own learning of another

language? Was it/they effective? If yes, in what way? If no, explain. How will
you address the cognitive dimension of learning in your classroom?
In school there was a lot of focus on information processing theories and
memorization of the content and material. We were always working on the
reading and writing aspects of French or Spanish, and not so much on the
verbal and conversational aspects of the languages. I found that I was
always trying to memorize the rules and conjugations more than actually
trying to learn the language. Knowing how to read and write were key,
because that is what we were tested on. Our written tests were the majority
of our grades so actually knowing how to speak the language wasnt as
important in my teachers eyes. When I switched to Spanish however, my
teacher had us do a lot of talking, role plays, and radio show type activities
so that we were interested in the language rather than just learning the
different theories and rules of the language. I think that both of these have a
place in the classroom, but that the emphasis needs to be on conversations
and active activities rather than just reading and writing in that particular
language. As a future teacher I want to make sure that my students are
actually learning how to speak the language, and not just memorizing the
conjugations so they can get a good grade on a test so I want to do a lot of
hands on activities where they can practice the language while reading,
writing and speaking.
Reflection Number 5:
Adrienne Castellon, EdD June 28th, 2016
Growth Mindset
Growth mindset is all about the ability to develop and learn through hard
work and practice. It is not about getting the perfect grade, but working hard
to succeed the best that you can. For teachers the growth mindset approach
helps to make changes when students needs are not being met, and
language learning is appropriate and supportive. Teachers will need to have
the support of the school and the community to create a learning
environment suitable for all of the students in their class, but it will be worth
it in the end. Growth mindset seems to leave more room for improvement
and adaptions compared to the fixed mindset approach.
Personal philosophy in regards to ELL in the CF classroom
- I think that it is important that ELL students are included in the
classroom for CF, and that they should have the same opportunities
as every other student in the class. It may be more difficult for them
to grasp the concepts, but as a teacher it is our job to support them
and give them the time they need to learn the concepts and the
language.

In most cases ELL students start out in grade 5 at the same level as
the other students in their class, because it is generally the first
year that any of them have learned French before. It evens out the
playing field a little bit, but at the same time it could still be difficult
for the ELL students to learn a new language because the
comparison words will be in English, and without an English
background they may not know what words they are learning. For
example, if the teacher was teaching them the French names for
colours and comparing them to the English names an ELL student
may not even know what the words purple or blue describe. They
will be stuck trying to learn two languages at the same time, but
with the support of the teacher and the other students in the class I
think that is is still important for them to be included and supported
throughout the year.

Next steps or questions you have

- What are the best strategies for teaching ELL students two
languages at once (English and French)?
- How much support is too much support?
- How do I ensure that my students do not get overwhelmed trying to
learn multiple languages at once?
Reflection Number 6:
In order to explain the importance of the social environment, Ortega takes
up the metaphor of Chameleon. Why does she say "each representation
becomes false as soon as the scenery changes? ''
Context is what makes language development, and without the context there
is no language. It is harder to apply knowledge about one context to a
context that is completely different in setting. The context also shapes the
meaning of things, and different meanings can come from different contexts
or settings. I think that Ortega realizes that some things do not transfer from
setting to setting, so a representation can make sense in one scenery, but in
another it can be irrelevant. It is important for learning to be varied so that
students are able to apply the knowledge that they learn to more than one
setting or scenery. If they only learn in one context they may not be able to
transfer the knowledge or language that they learn from day to day, or year
to year. Students and teachers both need to be able to adapt and change
their learning and teaching styles to fit in to each setting and context in
order for knowledge and language to be gained and understood.