While children are learning their first language is the best time to learn the second language. At the age of ten to twelve the child loses the ability to learn the foreign language without an accent. I now know that children should be introduced to the second language while they are learning their first language. On the internet I was able to find a few pictures of items with the English word on one side and the Spanish word for the item on the other. I have printed them out in color, laminated them, and begun hanging them around the room, next to the item the card represents. I have a few students who are very intrigued by the Spanish words, and love to call the item by its new name. I hope to incorporate many more foreign language words into my classroom.
Sign language is another area in which I have interest. I have tried to incorporate it into my classroom some. I have a few students who have speech and language delays. Sometimes it is very hard to understand what they are trying to tell you. I have only used sign language at a minimum. When learning ABC’s I have signed letters, I showed them the signs for numbers 1-10, and just a few basic words and colors. I would really like to learn more myself and try to incorporate it into my classroom more.
Future research should focus on evaluating the relationship between the theory of teaching a second language, foreign or sign, and perceptual processes most effective for students who have speech and language delays.
Friday, April 13, 2007
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4 comments:
I agree that students should learn a second language when they are younger than when they are older. When I was in 5th grade our grade school offered a Spanish class for the kids in the advanced classes. They should have offered it to all students. Students who took that class were better prepared for Spanish in High School and received better grades as a result. Interesting about the accent. It makes sense though that the earlier you learn the language the accent will be stronger.
I believe that this day and age our nation is becoming more diverse. If one is bilingual they may have a better opportunity at getting a job,especially in the south and southwest. The main thing to remember about a second language is that you must continue to use it of you will lose it. I came from an Italian speaking family and had learned some Italian as a child but as those that spoke it passed on the language was never used and I have lost all that I had learned.
You have a very good performance here on this blog, and your comments on your colleagues work is also consistent with your presentation here.
Congratulations for a great semester!
Good luck in your career and keep coming back to this place share with your fellow colleagues your experience in teaching.
Your work here ties in with the article that I presented in small group discussion. Basically, in the article, the children who were taught using signs with the auditory language, had an easier time recalling the new items that were presented to them during the study. The more ways (visual, auditory, through movement, or music, etc.) you use to teach a concept, the more connections the child is making and the more likely the child will be able to recall that information. It is all very fasinating how our brains work and what we as teachers can do to help our students REALLY learn new things.
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