Beneath the Surface: Discussing the Interviews
TSJ (Triple Schooling in Japanese):
During the interview, Ugochi stated that language immersion is more effective because it forces you to speak the language. Although I agree with her statement, there are other factors that contribute to a student’s ability to speak a language when immersed in that language. According to Huang and Brown, being immersed in a language may have some cons that can affect the student’s ability to “accurately” speak that language. For instance, some students learned a foreign language in a country that is not native to that language. As a result, when immersed in that language’s country, they tend to apply the learning methods that they originally learned to speak that language (Huang and Brown 644). Students will have a difficult time comprehending the language after being immersed because of their difficulty of unlearning the methods they used when they first came in contact with learning the language (Huang and Brown 644). In Ugochi's case, she was semi-immersed because of the way her classes were structured: half of her classes were in English and the other half was in Japanese. Although Ugochi was semi-immersed, she never had to unlearn any methods to study Japanese because she was still in an American classroom setting versus someone who is being fully immersed in a language and it's culture. As a result, she doesn't experience the cons of being fully immersed.
- Liljuan Gonzalez
Huang, Jinyan, and Kathleen Brown. "Cultural Factors Affecting Chinese ESL Students'
Academic Learning." Education 129.4 (2009): 643-653. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
Parlons nous le Français!
Adam explores a very interesting perspective with learning multiple languages. He has studied french in a classroom for 7 years, and has experienced two immersion programs in France. In his latest immersion experience, he lived with a family in France for a month, and he said by being completely immersed and going grocery shopping, for example, he was really able to improve his skills in "le Français Courrant" (the daily french language). Adam supports the fact that "the only way to really learn a language is to be fully immersed in it" (interview). Later in the interview Adam also states that it would be very daunting to do immersion without any classroom learning background, and thus supports the combination of both types of learning. From my previous research, Tara Fortune believes that the way “teachers provide corrective feedback to students may inadvertently delimit student exposure to a more authentic range of linguistic forms within the confines of classroom interaction” (73). I really do agree with the point that Adam and Fortune are trying to get across. Learning a language is difficult, but with some of the general learning done before hand, the transition to immersion would not be as difficult. That said, the type of classroom learning is also very important becuase this step could act as a limiting force, like Fortune says, rather than what it is intended to be: a motivating force. What Fortune does not mention are the effects of the collaboration between classroom and immersion learning. I believe that sheltered classroom learning is okay, as long as it is followed by a true immersion program to allow a student to really learn the foreign language. Adam said that this combined learning method was one of the strongest ways his language skills improved, and he could not have made such jumps in his learning without the consistent daily classroom learning he experienced in high school and middle school OR without the strong immersion experiences he had either. Now he is still continuing to take French classes at Emory because he knows that learning a language must be practiced everyday in order to maintain and improve your skills. Adam has formed a very strong and honest experience with multilingual learning, and he was happy to share it with all of you!
- Talia Gergely
Fortune, Tara Williams, and Diane J. Tedick. Pathways to Multilingualism: Evolving Perspectives on Immersion Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2008. Print.
During the interview, Ugochi stated that language immersion is more effective because it forces you to speak the language. Although I agree with her statement, there are other factors that contribute to a student’s ability to speak a language when immersed in that language. According to Huang and Brown, being immersed in a language may have some cons that can affect the student’s ability to “accurately” speak that language. For instance, some students learned a foreign language in a country that is not native to that language. As a result, when immersed in that language’s country, they tend to apply the learning methods that they originally learned to speak that language (Huang and Brown 644). Students will have a difficult time comprehending the language after being immersed because of their difficulty of unlearning the methods they used when they first came in contact with learning the language (Huang and Brown 644). In Ugochi's case, she was semi-immersed because of the way her classes were structured: half of her classes were in English and the other half was in Japanese. Although Ugochi was semi-immersed, she never had to unlearn any methods to study Japanese because she was still in an American classroom setting versus someone who is being fully immersed in a language and it's culture. As a result, she doesn't experience the cons of being fully immersed.
- Liljuan Gonzalez
Huang, Jinyan, and Kathleen Brown. "Cultural Factors Affecting Chinese ESL Students'
Academic Learning." Education 129.4 (2009): 643-653. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
Parlons nous le Français!
Adam explores a very interesting perspective with learning multiple languages. He has studied french in a classroom for 7 years, and has experienced two immersion programs in France. In his latest immersion experience, he lived with a family in France for a month, and he said by being completely immersed and going grocery shopping, for example, he was really able to improve his skills in "le Français Courrant" (the daily french language). Adam supports the fact that "the only way to really learn a language is to be fully immersed in it" (interview). Later in the interview Adam also states that it would be very daunting to do immersion without any classroom learning background, and thus supports the combination of both types of learning. From my previous research, Tara Fortune believes that the way “teachers provide corrective feedback to students may inadvertently delimit student exposure to a more authentic range of linguistic forms within the confines of classroom interaction” (73). I really do agree with the point that Adam and Fortune are trying to get across. Learning a language is difficult, but with some of the general learning done before hand, the transition to immersion would not be as difficult. That said, the type of classroom learning is also very important becuase this step could act as a limiting force, like Fortune says, rather than what it is intended to be: a motivating force. What Fortune does not mention are the effects of the collaboration between classroom and immersion learning. I believe that sheltered classroom learning is okay, as long as it is followed by a true immersion program to allow a student to really learn the foreign language. Adam said that this combined learning method was one of the strongest ways his language skills improved, and he could not have made such jumps in his learning without the consistent daily classroom learning he experienced in high school and middle school OR without the strong immersion experiences he had either. Now he is still continuing to take French classes at Emory because he knows that learning a language must be practiced everyday in order to maintain and improve your skills. Adam has formed a very strong and honest experience with multilingual learning, and he was happy to share it with all of you!
- Talia Gergely
Fortune, Tara Williams, and Diane J. Tedick. Pathways to Multilingualism: Evolving Perspectives on Immersion Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2008. Print.