Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning

The teacher understands how children and adults learn and develop and can provide
learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal development.

Artifact II for Standard Two: Knowledge of Human Development and Learning

Name of Artifact: Reflection – FL561 Language Learning History

Date: Fall 2010

Course: FL561 Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice

Rationale

Human development is a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and

change throughout the lifespan (Berk, 2007). Growth is by nature a dynamic process, and

human language is subject to the same dynamism as the human body and mind. We learn

our 1st language as children, or maybe even two 1st languages. We change our

environment and possibly learn a new language, which may result in forgetting or losing

part of our original one. Our vocabulary increases with age, but eventually our memory

declines and words that came so easily in the past, may slip away like elusive ghosts.

In support of Standard 2, Knowledge of Human Development and Learning, I

offer the artifact “Reflection – FL561 Language Learning History,” which is a summary

of the full language learning history that I created for FL561 Teaching Second

Languages: Theory into Practice in the fall of 2009. This artifact showcases the highlights

of the personal reflection about language and 2nd language learning that I conducted and

discusses my coursework and experiences in FL561 and in the MATL program. I am

including this artifact in Standard 2 because writing the language learning history

required me to reflect on my own language learning (both 1st and 2nd), and relate this

developmental process to my academic coursework in the MATL program. I am

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 Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

confident that my current knowledge about human development and learning will serve

me well when I became an ESL teacher, and also serve as a basis from which I can add

new knowledge.

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 Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

References

Berk, L.E. (2007). Development through the lifespan (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Allyn and Bacon.

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 Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

Artifact II: Reflection - Language Learning History in FL561

Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice FL561 was a practical

introduction the 2nd language teaching profession with Dr. Joanne Burnett. The major

assignments for this course were five classroom observations, a discipline and

management plan, a lesson plan and a language learning history. These were intense

assignments; most especially the language learning history, an 18-page document in

which I recalled learning my native English and my early experiences studying French

and Spanish, summarized my occupational history and undergraduate studies, discussed

my reason for deciding to become an English as a second language teacher, and outlined

my experiences in the Master of Arts in Teaching Languages (MATL) program at the

University of Southern Mississippi (USM) up to that date. In this reflection, I'd like to

briefly summarize the highlights of this language learning history.

Language Learning and Cultural Experiences: Childhood to Pre-MATL Program

The language learning history required us to reflect on our early language learning

experiences. I cannot recall my learning my native language, but when questioned, my

mother said I started talking around 13 months and that was I actively reading by age 6.

In high school, I took 2 years of French and Spanish and loved the experience of learning

other languages. Rural south Mississippi, at least in the 1980's, was a fairly homogenous

culture, but upon moving to Dallas, TX in the 1990's I received my first real exposure to

individuals from very different cultures. These individuals fascinated me and I spent

hours asking them, all English as a second language (ESL) speakers, about their native

languages and customs. After a series of different careers, I decided to return to college

and study psychology. During a developmental psychology course I became interested in

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 Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

the process of 2nd language acquisition, recalling my love of learning languages as a

teenager, and my friendships with adult immigrants to the US who were learning their

2nd, 3rd or even 4th language. After finishing that course I decided that I wanted to pursue

teaching ESL as a career. I wanted to help others fulfill their American dream, and in

order to do so they must be able to speak, read and write English.

The MATL Program and Learning How to be a Language Teacher

In the fall of 2008, I began classes in the MATL program at USM and started

studying French concurrent with my graduate coursework to meet the 2nd language

requirements for native speakers of English. The MATL coursework was intense and at

the time of writing my language learning history in December of 2009, I had completed

the following courses: FL663 – Introduction to Linguistics, TSL692 – Teaching

Vocabulary, TSL612 – Options in the Teaching of Grammar, ADE545 – Sociocultural

Context of Adult Education, TSL692 – Teaching Culture and FL561 – Teaching 2nd

Languages. In addition, during this time I had also worked as a volunteer ESL writing

tutor and conversation partner, and participated in a French immersion program in

Quebec, Canada, The volunteer and study-abroad experiences proved to be excellent

arenas for understanding the complex material I was learning about linguistics and

2nd language acquisition in the MATL program.

Conclusion

In this reflection, I summarized my language learning history for FL561. I am

well aware that the profession of language teaching is something that must be

experienced before I can understand it fully; however, on the cusp of my new career as an

ESL teacher, I feel my broad life experience has much to offer my future students as my

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 Standard 2 – Knowledge of Human Development and Learning Artifact 2 Joely Rogers

earned wisdom, coupled with the thorough education I've received through the MATL

program, can help me serve as a catalyst to helping them become confident, capable

speakers of English.