My interview with Thaddeus Walker III was extremely interesting
to say the least. I learned so much about the hardships and also advantages in
learning English as a second language. Thaddeus is a native Yoruba speaker,
from Lagos, Nigeria. He was born and spent his early years in Nigeria until he
reached the age of 5. Thaddeus, his mother, and two older sisters followed
their father to the US, and he began public school immediately after. According
to Ortega, majority of children grow up speaking two or more languages instantaneously
just like Thaddeus had “bilingual acquisition” where he was learning Yoruba and
English during his early childhood (2011, Pg. 4). Although, Thaddeus struggled a
lot at first because of Nigerian accent, he quickly began to catch on and learn
more and more practicing at every chance he had. According to Lourdes Ortega, “…Newcomers
to their societies allegedly refuse to learn the language of the majority and
persist in settling for rudimentary survival language skills only, even after
decades of living in their new country.” (Ortega, 2011 Pg. 8) However, this was
not the case for Thaddeus, he embraced his new surroundings and took the new
language as an advantage in learning a new culture. The hardest part for
Thaddeus was his accent and learning to speak and write English. He stated, many
times he suffered because he was afraid to speak in public due to accent and
many not being able to understand him as well as respect him. I could see how
difficult it is for a child to use English during school and come home to
strictly speaking Yoruba. “Pre-existing knowledge of the mother tongue
influences interlanguage developing by accelerating or delaying the progress
learners make along the natural, developmental pathways”. (Ortega, 2011, Pg.
53) Often times he was made fun of and he often struggled writing papers in
English as well. Since Thaddeus has now been living in the United States for
over 10 years now he has learned the slang and American culture. Thaddeus is
currently a Senior at Texas State University for his BS in fine arts and
minoring in psychology. Though he stills speaks and continues to study his
native language Yoruba and culture Nigerian; he is very much connected to his
American side and second language English.
Click here to learn
more about Thaddeus Walker III. Hope you enjoy!
Ortega,
Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print
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ReplyDeleteAwesome Interview Jolie! I think its very cool where Thaddeus came from and his experience learning English. The person I interviewed as well also struggled in her writing when learning English because of the dynamics of it. Both our interviewees began learning English around 6 years old and I think that it plays a part in the struggling of learning the language both written and orally. Ortega states that, "differences are detected in the written and spoken performance of extremely young L2 child starters, if researchers take care to recruit participants who began L2 learning at such early ages (e.g. below 6) and if they employ fine- grained elicitation and analysis procedures.," (Ortega, 2009, pg. 25). Thus being an older child although still young, they still were struggling to comprehend the new language they were learning, which affected their oral and written skills.
ReplyDeleteSara,
DeleteThank you so much for taking the time to comment on my interview with Mr. Thaddeus Walker III; it’s interesting your interviewee and mines have a lot in common. When speaking to Mr. Walker he explained exactly what you mentioned about learning English at a young age. Although, it was easier than when his parents learned because they were much older when they were introduced to English he still struggled quite a bit because, he was still accustom to his native language and because the embarrassment of speaking aloud often held him back. Ortega mentions how children are able to pick up languages quickly when in fact that isn’t always true especially when pertaining to my interviewee as well as yours (Ortega, 2011, Pg.6). I’m curious to know did Ms. C ever take specialized classes in order to help her with her English written and oral? If so, did she prefer that better than being in her homeroom classes?
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print
Jolie, Ms. C did attend a specialized class throughout early childhood and Elementary school, but most of the learning was either in the classroom or her home where her parents spoke both English and Spanish to her, which would help her not lose her native language skills.(Ortega, 2011, Pg. 16). I think Ms. C preferred being in her regular homeroom classes because she was able to learn from her everyday peers.
DeleteHi Jolie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed getting to know about Thaddeus Walker and his struggles coming to America. I think it is noble of him to be so strong minded with learning a second language. In the beginning of the interview, Thaddeus mentioned his mother wanted to integrate English into his life at a younger age so there was an easier transition. Did his mother use mother tongue to start teaching him English? “As a useful shorthand, SLA researchers use the terms mother tongue, first language or L1 generically to refer to the language (in the case of monolingual acquisition) or languages (in the case of bilingual or multilingual acquisition) that a child learns from parents, siblings and caretakers during the critical years of development, from the womb up to about four years of age” (Ortega, 2011. Pg 4). I think it is so important and respectful that his mother wanted the best for him and his siblings to incorporate English in their home life. It is important to maintain the children’s first or home languages as this has a significant role in shaping identity, language development and increased cognitive development. Continued development of first or home languages gives the children access to opportunities for learning in the early years by building on knowledge and competencies that the children have already developed. With his mother incorporating English at such a young age, would you say that he is an instructed learner or a naturalistic learner? I really enjoyed Thaddeus’ comment where he acknowledged there was a step in becoming fluent; writing and then communicating.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print
Jessica,
DeleteFirst I would like to thank you for taking the time out and reviewing my interview. Secondly, I would like to answer your questions when pertaining to my interview with Mr. Walker. Honestly I would say Thaddeus is both, a naturalistic learner and an instructed learner; because although he was guided at school he also learned a lot from the things and nature around him. Mr. Walker was able to learn English in his home from the little things his mother studied and was being taught as well as in school from specialized classes receiving “guided” or instructed learning’s However, around his peers at parks, and different outings he picked up English based off his surroundings and hands-on learning. Mr. Walker in my opinion was very lucky growing up learning a second language because her English skills became more fluent when his mother continued communicating with him at home in English, though he never lost his native language. (Ortega, 2011, Pg. 16). Many times children aren’t as privileged to be able to learn both their native and second language at home.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print
Jolie,
DeleteI agree with you many children aren’t as privileged to be able to speak both languages at home. According to Ortega, “Policy makers and educators in different countries debate appropriate policies for minority children who speak other languages at home and need to be schooled in the societal language”. (Ortega, 2011. Pg. 8). I think the reason children are not as successful with being able to speak both languages at home is because many of the parents are foreign and do not have the same opportunity to learn that language as the children do in school. Parents typically do not go to school once coming to America to learn English, I am sure they become naturalistic learners and just pick up the language by their surroundings.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print
Jolie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your interview video. It was quiet different and learned many new things within your interview as well. It can be really difficult for many individual to comprehend many different things in English at a very young age if they didn't start speaking English throughout their life with their parents. It was great to know how Thaddeus overcame his fear with English because he was struggling with writing in English as a young boy. With people making fun of him and laughing at things he may write about or speak within the class would let his self esteem drop down. Because students normally gain confidence from their teachers because they are always supporting them and encouraging them to continue trying and not give up. However, with friends and classmates making fun of you can make you struggle even more. Researchers have stated, "Age may exert universal influences on the learning of a second language, but context moderates these universal effects and needs to be considered carefully." (Ortega, 2011, Pg. 17). Many often times students age always gets in the way when it comes to learning second language. Because the older the students may get the worse experiences they may have. Since other students are usually letting their self confidence come down. However, for Thaddeus with the help of the ESL teacher he received additional help where his confidence level boosted back up. Now he is really successful in his life and will be graduating from college soon as well.
Seemin,
DeleteHappy you enjoyed my interview and thank you for your kind words and feedback. You were absolutely right when you mentioned, “Thaddeus had a difficult time comprehending many things and wanting to speak coming from a different country”. I think a lot of people struggle the most with acceptance when learning to speak English as their second language, due to a language barrier from their native language. It was truly a pleasure speaking to Thaddeus because he genuinely wanted to learn more English to better himself in the near future and that’s rare these days. The fact that Ortega states how people learn more faster, and better when they have a goal, or intention, and are committed to learning” (Ortega, 2011) is evident in Thaddeus. The fact that he was able to persevere throughout all adversity and challenges speaks volumes and I hope one day he uses that as a stepping stone to help others.
Ortega, Lourdes. Second Language Acquisition. London: Routledge, 2011. Print