Reference: Tumin, R. (2011, June 21). Language of the Love of Teaching, Vineyard Gazette. Retrieved June 21, 2011 from : http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?30546
Summary
This article is written by Remy Tumin. She did an interview with Barbara Reynolds, a teacher at Edgartown School. Barbara is an excellent teacher. She has been teaching for more than 30 years. She is going to retire next September. She has tried many different methods such as plays, pictures and so on. She has taught English as a second language in a separate class for English learners. Being involved in such a program was a personal challenge. However, it was a great experience to teach them how to read and how to write in English. She give them a hand by using her amazing skills in order to cope with English language and she succeeded in doing so. Barbara is a great teacher; she love her job, but she is not going to be here anymore but in Italy.
Reaction
This article is an amazing one. I like what Barbara, the English educator at Edgartown school, did. She loves what she is doing and I think this is the secret of her success. She knew the needs of her non-native students. She know that they need to learn English in order to be able to attend the regular classes. I think this is a great step to start with. So, whenever they make a mistake, they won't feel embarrassed or nervous because there are no peers to think about. It is a big challenge to start such a program but since she likes and enjoys teaching, the process is going to be easy. People who love their jobs, they develop their performance more than who work just because they have to work. They might create new and fabulous methods rather than using usual ones. They will probably be more satisfied and successful in their life in compared with those who did not like their work.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
RRJ#3
Reference: Danek, E. (2011, May 29). Study finds small language gaps in children adopted from abroad. The Canadian Press, Retrieved June 10, 2011, from:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h-ryje9li6etIw9nM5NiEUH_gEzA?docId=6990975
Summery:According to this article, a new study suggests that there might be a slight difference in language development of an adopted child from abroad and Canadian-born peers. The Canadians seem to have better progress in their language development. Research shows some factors, which favor language development, such as middle and upper middle class families, older adoptive parents and having no children in the family. They mention that this gap is not noticeable and is nothing to worry about. This study was done on children between 7 months to 2 years. The scientist Genesee attributes their language-learning difficulties to the switching from their native language to another environment using a different language. Genesee warned parents to keep an eye on their language progress. Finally, they give an example of a Chinese girl who lives with a French family. They watch and try to develop her language by reading for her and so on. Now they no longer worry about her language progress because they care about her because she has a great progress.
Reaction:I do not fully agree with the article, “Study finds small language gaps in children adopted from abroad”. I totally believe that babies can have fabulous progress in other languages. We are not born with our language, no matter what our race, color, etc. is. Babies are able to learn languages very fast if they are in a suitable place. My friend’s daughter was 5 years old when she came to Carbondale. She attends an American school and she has a native speaker friends. Now she speaks English pretty well. I like her accent; it is like native speakers accent. Since they are young and have a normal level of understanding and live with native speakers I believe they can make progress on the language exactly like native-born babies.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h-ryje9li6etIw9nM5NiEUH_gEzA?docId=6990975
Summery:According to this article, a new study suggests that there might be a slight difference in language development of an adopted child from abroad and Canadian-born peers. The Canadians seem to have better progress in their language development. Research shows some factors, which favor language development, such as middle and upper middle class families, older adoptive parents and having no children in the family. They mention that this gap is not noticeable and is nothing to worry about. This study was done on children between 7 months to 2 years. The scientist Genesee attributes their language-learning difficulties to the switching from their native language to another environment using a different language. Genesee warned parents to keep an eye on their language progress. Finally, they give an example of a Chinese girl who lives with a French family. They watch and try to develop her language by reading for her and so on. Now they no longer worry about her language progress because they care about her because she has a great progress.
Reaction:I do not fully agree with the article, “Study finds small language gaps in children adopted from abroad”. I totally believe that babies can have fabulous progress in other languages. We are not born with our language, no matter what our race, color, etc. is. Babies are able to learn languages very fast if they are in a suitable place. My friend’s daughter was 5 years old when she came to Carbondale. She attends an American school and she has a native speaker friends. Now she speaks English pretty well. I like her accent; it is like native speakers accent. Since they are young and have a normal level of understanding and live with native speakers I believe they can make progress on the language exactly like native-born babies.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
RRJ #2
Reference:
Dreifus, C. (2011, May 30). The Bilingual Advantage. The New York Times. Retrieved Jun 2,2011 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?_r=1
Summary:
According to this article, bilingualism is the food of the brain. It makes the work of our brain stronger. It helps to delay the occurrence of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Studies show that a bilingual’s executive control system works better than a monolingual’s system. They are able to ignore the less important tasks and concentrate on the most important one. Moreover, their performance in multitasking is better than that of the monolinguals. Scientists also discovered that the working of their brain is not the same. They seem like they are have a different brain network. Bilinguals have to use and think in both languages they speak in order to make benefit. Finally, bilingualism used to be negative in the USA but it is not considered as a negative thing anymore.
Reaction:
I like the information that I have never heard about. It’s pretty new for me but I’m glad to hear so because I’m bilingual. I tend to teach my son 2 or more languages if I can. In fact, the desire of doing so has increased from this moment. I remember now my mom; whenever we were doing many tasks at the same time, my performance was better than hers. She considered that as the effect of age but now I believe that it might be the bilingualism benefit. I try to compare between bilinguals and monolinguals, and I just discover that yes, they may have a different way in thinking and finding the ways to solve their problems. It’s a pretty amazing and useful article. It is worth reading
Dreifus, C. (2011, May 30). The Bilingual Advantage. The New York Times. Retrieved Jun 2,2011 from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?_r=1
Summary:
According to this article, bilingualism is the food of the brain. It makes the work of our brain stronger. It helps to delay the occurrence of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Studies show that a bilingual’s executive control system works better than a monolingual’s system. They are able to ignore the less important tasks and concentrate on the most important one. Moreover, their performance in multitasking is better than that of the monolinguals. Scientists also discovered that the working of their brain is not the same. They seem like they are have a different brain network. Bilinguals have to use and think in both languages they speak in order to make benefit. Finally, bilingualism used to be negative in the USA but it is not considered as a negative thing anymore.
Reaction:
I like the information that I have never heard about. It’s pretty new for me but I’m glad to hear so because I’m bilingual. I tend to teach my son 2 or more languages if I can. In fact, the desire of doing so has increased from this moment. I remember now my mom; whenever we were doing many tasks at the same time, my performance was better than hers. She considered that as the effect of age but now I believe that it might be the bilingualism benefit. I try to compare between bilinguals and monolinguals, and I just discover that yes, they may have a different way in thinking and finding the ways to solve their problems. It’s a pretty amazing and useful article. It is worth reading
Saturday, June 4, 2011
RRJ#1
Reference: Tari, V. (2011, May 26). When a language dies, its culture dies. Retrieved 26 May 29, 2011 from kalkion.com
http://kalkion.com/blog/1183/when-language-dies-its-culture-dies
Reference: Tari, V. (2011, May 26). When a language dies, its culture dies. Retrieved 26 May 29, 2011 from kalkion.com
http://kalkion.com/blog/1183/when-language-dies-its-culture-dies
Summary
According to this article, there are many languages around the world. One among these languages die every 2 weeks. According to that, its culture, which had been built for a long time, dies. In fact, languages reflect their cultures. In some languages they have an exact word for gender, pretty similar colors and grammar. The precision of language reflects people's concerns and their way of thinking. It also depicts their behavior and reactions. That’s why people and cultures are different. If people stop using their language, their culture dies. So, in order to save cultures, people must save their language.
Reaction
It is amazing to read such an article. Scientists unveil why cultures are not same and why people from different cultures have different attitudes. I understand now why people with different backgrounds and cultures misunderstand each other in some situations. It is because the of language. It affects people's way of thinking. Our driver from India never understand the word "yesterday" because they do not have it in their language. Also to compare between our culture and the USA culture, we can see a clear difference. In our culture, when we invite someone, we never care about the exact time but about the gender, unlike the Americans, who care about minutes but never care about the gender. Moreover, learning another language affects your expectations and acceptance. We also may understand their behavior. So the language plays an important role in the culture. I strongly believe that whenever the language dies, its culture dies
According to this article, there are many languages around the world. One among these languages die every 2 weeks. According to that, its culture, which had been built for a long time, dies. In fact, languages reflect their cultures. In some languages they have an exact word for gender, pretty similar colors and grammar. The precision of language reflects people's concerns and their way of thinking. It also depicts their behavior and reactions. That’s why people and cultures are different. If people stop using their language, their culture dies. So, in order to save cultures, people must save their language.
Reaction
It is amazing to read such an article. Scientists unveil why cultures are not same and why people from different cultures have different attitudes. I understand now why people with different backgrounds and cultures misunderstand each other in some situations. It is because the of language. It affects people's way of thinking. Our driver from India never understand the word "yesterday" because they do not have it in their language. Also to compare between our culture and the USA culture, we can see a clear difference. In our culture, when we invite someone, we never care about the exact time but about the gender, unlike the Americans, who care about minutes but never care about the gender. Moreover, learning another language affects your expectations and acceptance. We also may understand their behavior. So the language plays an important role in the culture. I strongly believe that whenever the language dies, its culture dies
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