The Challenges Of Learning A New Language English Language Essay

The Challenges Of Learning A New Language English Language Essay During my time in Voc. Ed., I developed further into a mediocore student and a somnambulant problem solver, and that affected the subjects I did have the wherewithal to handle: I detested Shakespeare; I got bored with history. My attention flitted here and there. I fooled around in class and read my books indifferently the intellectual equivalent of playing with your food. I did what I had to to get by, and I did with a half a mind. Mike Rose, I Just Wanna Be Average I can recall a certain part of my life when I had to learn English as my second language. It was the year 1998 when I first moved from the Philippines. During that period, I was living in San Pablo with my parents, who were illiterate at the time. Technically speaking, I did learn some English in the Philippines but not the kind of English one would expect from America. What was on my mind when I stepped in a room full of kids in a 2nd grade environment? One word, nervousness. Based on my memories, I remember being the quiet/shy kid who didnt make many friends because I The Challenges of Learning A New Language 2 couldnt speak the language. It wasnt until later on that I gained some confidence in speaking the language, and also being able to write in a basic manner. Its self-evident that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to English (or any other subject for that matter), but I will tell my story of the struggles I had to face learning a new language (and for that matter something I still need to work on today). In some ways, my parents illiteracy transformed my life. It wasnt until my middle school years that I realize that Im fortunate learning English as a second language and performing decently well in school unlike my parents, who were struggling to write and speak English. In the beginning, however, I struggled to speak even the most basic words in English. I did okay in all other subjects except English, which I received a below average. My memory cant recall most of my Elementary years but from what my parents tell me is that I was basically a struggling student trying to make ends meet when it came to grades. Fortunately I do remember my 5th grade teacher Ms. Pamela telling me that I was doing extremely well in all of my subjects. I also recall the time she nominated me as the best-improved student in the class and that made me feel good about myself. This was also the year where I made a good amount of friend and interacted more towards my peers. The kinds of friends I had were rel iable and trustworthy, and for the most part, were one of my main sources of help besides the teacher. For the most part I was a reserved student so being able to interact and communicate with my peers The Challenges of Learning A New Language 3 improved my overall well-being. It was that moment of time that I gained the confidence I needed to try harder and succeed. But that confidence suddenly disappeared at the start of 6th grade. At that time, there was an English placement test to check for proficiency in English. My score was ELD 4 (English Language Development; Level 1, 2, 3, 4) so I was one level away from moving up to regular English. Even though my parents both went to college in the Philippines, they couldnt use what they learned and ended up in mediocre jobs. I was struggling, for the most part, in middle school and had that feeling of self-doubt. For a short period of time (8th grade in particular) I felt liberated in the sense of finding a new positive direction in terms of my self-doubts. It was during 8th grade that I was able to move up from a remedial class to an advanced English class. I was surprised when I found out that I was going to take an advanced class rather than a normal English class, and at that time counselors werent widely available so I just let it be. At first I was indifferent until I met Ms. Floe, who was in wheelchair, with one disabled arm. Her way of teaching was difficult at first, however, throughout the course, she taught with an open-mind and inspired her students. Even though I never got an A or B in the class, I learned a lot even though the level of difficulty was beyond me. It was from this moment on that I knew that advanced English classes werent for me but at least I never gave up. At least in the end I got a C. The Challenges of Learning A New Language 4 High school was the start of a new era in terms of reading and writing. For the most parts I had astounding English teachers starting my freshman year. Mrs. Monroe was my one of the few English teachers that thoroughly checked for every single mistake in terms of grammar, clarity, focus, and etc. Since her grading scale was more extraneous, I never got a high grade on my essays; however, there were a lot of comments and improvements she wrote making it easy to know what needs to be refined. Sophomore, junior, and senior years were the same teacher and her teaching style was something I wasnt fond of. Somehow I was able to survive and do well in her class even when she never graded our essays thoroughly and gave explanations of what need to be fixed. In my opinion, I never learned as much as I should even though I got mostly As and Bs in my high school career. My definition of a teacher is someone you can look up to and or someone who inspires you to learn. One of the professors that inspired me to learn and to learn about life in a whole different manner is Professor Begonia. He taught Psyche and Behavior of Pilipinos and we didnt just read a book and write about something, but we got into groups and had our teammates with our own group name and group motto. And this quote he said during one of his lectures was quite inspiring to say the least and defines what a teacher really is. The poor teacher tells. The mediocre teacher tells. The superior teacher demonstrates. But the truly outstanding teacher inspires. I never pushed my limits to try harder because something was preventing me The Challenges of Learning A New Language 5 from doing so. That reason is that I was diagnosed with bi-polar mania or manic depression in the summer of 2010. The doctor explained to me the possible causes and the one that caught my attention was that this disorder can make it hard to concentrate; i.e. reading, writing, being worried all the time, etc. It explains a lot of how and why I had such a hard time concentrating in school. I look back and I see the how this experience shaped my attitude, choices, and overall experience in my academic life. Today, more than a decade later, I still struggle with reading (not so much) and writing. Yet I am optimistic that everything will be okay and I can move on from my past. Sometimes I still have doubt that I wont do well in English but I just have to focus and try harder no matter what. To me, were like a firework waiting to ignite and it just takes time to realize our true potential and sometimes that takes time.

Prejudice in Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan :: essays research papers

Esperanza Rising Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan is a novel about prejudice. Prejudice is when a superior being looks down on colored, sex, lower classes or different races of people. There were many obstacles in this novel that dealt with racism and mistreatment with Mexicans. Mexican immigrants in the 1930's suffered greatly because of the prejudice in the hearts and minds of the farm owners, lawmakers, and the American people. Business owners were prejudice against Mexican migrant workers. Miguel was very capable of working as a mechanic at the train stations, but ?they will only hire Mexicans to lay tracks and dig ditches, not as mechanics.?(120) Prejudice was also shown when the farm owners said, ?The Mexicans can only swim on Friday afternoons, before they clean the pool on Saturday mornings.?(218) Business owners were very unfair and prejudice to the Mexicans, they treated them like lower class citizens. The laws and government didn?t treat the Mexicans as Americans. Some of the Mexicans that were citizens were protesting for better pay, but immigration officials came to the fields to send them back to Mexico. ?! Americana! ! Americana!? ?yelled one woman and she began to unfold some papers.?(206) The guard ripped the papers up, he didn?t even give her a chance because she was causing problems for the government. Prejudice was shown in the laws in Mexico against women. ?As you know, it is not customary to leave land to women and since Luis was the banker on the loan, Sixto left the land to him.?(30) It was very prejudice that women couldn?t own land and it was sexist. Americans were not their cover page, free and equal, they treated Mexicans as dirty lower class citizens. Isabel?s teacher didn?t choose Queen of the May by the best grades, she chose a pretty blonde American with blue eyes. ?I did not win Queen of May!?(226) Isabel had the best grades, but her teacher was prejudice against Mexicans. Mexicans went out of their way to go to Mr. Yakota?s store because, ?At this market, no one stares at us or treats us like outsiders or calls us ?dirty greasers?.?(187-188) Americans didn?t treat Mexicans like people, they were unfair. I believe prejudice is still going on today in America and all over the world. Some women are owned by men and have to cover all over their skin completely.

Movie Review: Gomorrah Essay

The film features five people whose lives are influenced by organized crime. Don Ciro is a fearful middleman who dispenses money to imprisoned gangsters. In a delivery, Ciro is attacked by two gangsters who seek revenge from their traditional affiliate clan. To save his own life, Ciro offers his services to the two gangsters. Ciro explains that he can lure the clan to a trap where they can kill them. The two gangsters attacked the clan headquarters and killed everyone. Ciro is spared. Totois a delivery boy who witnesses drug dealers dump a bag of drugs and guns during a police raid. He takes the bag and returns it to the gang. The gang convinces him to join them. Toto agrees. Toto attends the initiation rites. After which, he is accepted as a member of the gang. At a particular instance, he witnesses one of his gang killed by a drive-by. The gang decides to exact revenge by choosing a particular victim. Maria Nazionale is chosen as the victim because her son joined a rival gang. Salvatore lures Maria to a particular place where she is killed. Roberto is a skilled worker working in a waste management firm. Franco, his immediate boss, illegally dumps toxic wastes in abandoned quarries. In a particular operation, toxic waste is accidentally dispersed on a driver. Instead of saving the driver, his boss hires a group of children to drive the trucks. Roberto resigns from his position in disgust. Pasquale is a skilled tailor who works for a garment factory proprietor (who is associated with the Camorra gang). He accepts a night job at the garment factory. Because the factory is a rival of the Camorra factory, hired gunmen open fire on his car. He escapes the gunning and leaves town for good. Marco and Ciro are teenagers aspiring to be top gangsters. They profit from buy and sell of drugs from African clients. The two infuriates the top bosses who conspire to kill them. Finally, the two are killed in a supposedly disguised operation. Success and Arrogance. Marco and Ciro’s success has infuriated the top mafia bosses in town. Their immediate boss warned them not to engage in rouse behavior in the street. Ignoring the warning, the two steal a set of weapons owned by the Camorra gang. To celebrate their success, the two fire off rounds in the banks of a canal. At a club, the Camorra gang warns them to return the stolen weapons. The two remain arrogant. The bosses try a different strategy. One of the bosses offers them to work for the mob. The boss offers them 10 000 Euros in exchange for the stolen weapons and a murder request. The two immediately accept the offer, not knowing that this is a pre-conceived trap. At the supposed target, the two are gunned down. Success, in this case, is manifested by the following behavior: 1) cheating the Africans of the volume and price of drugs, 2) firing off rounds in the banks of a canal, and 3) accepting the offer of the local boss. ‘Basking in immediate successes,’ the two are confident that they could outwit the local bosses. Indeed, their rouse behavior has infuriated every gangster in town including their immediate boss. Their successes are not sustained by rational speculation. Indeed, the two perceive the offer as an additive to their success, failing to realize that it was a pre-conceived trap. In any case, their successes have left a powerful impression on their egos. Both are confident that success is part of their self-consortium – that failure does not exist within their self-imposed bounds. In reality, this is a prelude to a tragedy. Arrogance is the mirror image of self-reinforced success. Arrogance is manifested by the following behavior: 1) ignoring the warning of their immediate boss, 2) refusing to return the stolen weapons to the Camorra gang, 3) ignoring the threat of the gang, 4) refusing to negotiate with the local bosses, and 5) failing to realize the existence of a trap. The environment of the scene can be described as serene, non-violent, beautiful, and economically prosperous. Yet, behind this aura of calmness lies a great evil. The town is a bastion of organized crime. From a macro perspective, crime organizations have persistent influence on the police, the local government, and the neighborhood. At night, drug dealers roam on the street looking for potential clients. At day, the local bosses engage in illegal transactions. The neighborhood is subservient to these bosses because they offer protection. The police is reluctant to arrest the bosses because of fear. Synchronous Sound. Sound is matched temporarily with the movements occurring in the image, as when dialogue corresponds to lip movements. A case example: when Ciro and Marco are gunned down, the credits rolls down to the song ‘Herculaneum’ (by Massive Attack). The thematic content of the song corresponds to the scene itself. Backlighting. Backlighting is deemphasized because the environment is serene and condescending. Backlighting is essential in scenes where hasty drug transactions are depicted.

Teaching And Learning Styles And Teaching Essay - 1610 Words

‘Pedagogy’ is the term that is used to describe different practices of teaching and learning. Teaching Australia (2008) defined pedagogy as ‘the art and science of educating children, the strategies for using teacher professional knowledge, skills and abilities in order to foster good learning outcomes’ (p.3). Teaching and learning is a two-way process. Teachers choose the effective instruction modes to disseminate knowledge. Students adapt to different learning styles and use different learning strategies to help them process the information. When teachers receive evaluations and feedbacks from students, they revise, reconstruct and re-enact their teaching mode in order to match students’ learning styles. Teaching refers to different teaching approaches such as lecturing, practice drills, directed questioning, discussion, constructivism and problem solving. Marsh, Clarke and Pittaway (2015) mentioned that effective teachers are capable to use a wide range of instructional modes in teaching that reflects their flexibility in their teaching. Learning refers to the strategies that children used to assist their study and digest the new knowledge. Strategies to help learning are chunking, story-grammar training, self-questioning, summarization, mnemonic images and concept mapping. These methods are useful for the process of retention, which means the ways by which knowledge is retained in our memory for later retrieval (Mclnerney, 2015a). The first section of the essay willShow MoreRelatedTeaching and Learning Styles1266 Words   |  6 Pagesfeatures can play a part in the type of learning style the child prefers. The personality and genetic makeup of the learner also affects the way in which they perceive and process information differently to other learners. (Gregorc, 1982) According Ellis (1985, p.14) a learning style is â€Å"the more or less consistent way in which a person perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and recalls in formation.† Therefore it is extremely vital that teachers adapt their teaching styles within the classroom so that eachRead MoreLearning Styles And Teaching Styles1877 Words   |  8 Pagesa multitude of different learning styles, the highly-Recognized ones being Visual, Aural, Verbal Physical, Logical, Social and Solitary Learning. It is imperative for teachers, especially young teacher who may lack experience to understand the dynamics of all these different learning styles. It is also important for teachers to be flexible in their lesson plans and overall teaching strategy’s because not all of your students will learn best from the same teaching styles and no one student will useRead MoreLearning Styles And Techniques Of Teaching898 Words   |  4 Pagesmathematic teachers. Through those observations I have gained great knowledge and understanding. I was exposed to different teaching, learning styles and techniques. Being able to observe a few different classroo ms has given me an opportunity to witness different aspects of teaching. Through all of my observations during college of teachers I am confident that teaching is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I will touch on a few topics from my observation throughout my paper such as,Read MoreTeaching Learning Styles And Strategies Essay1855 Words   |  8 Pagesapproach. In this process of learning the language learners adopt their own methods and strategies depending on their styles of learning. They select the more appropriate strategies to fit their learning styles. This paper focuses on the role of learning styles and strategies in a language classroom. It is the responsibility of the teacher to be aware of the learning styles of the learners so as to make the learning teaching process an effective one. Moreover the learning style of one learner is differentRead MoreEssay on Adapting Teaching Styles to Learning Styles2023 Words   |  9 Pagesallow them to retain the most information. The key to learning is not simply repetition, but being able to understand a concept. That is how a student can be sure that he or she has truly learned something. Teachers must be able to accommodate their students by tailoring their methods of teaching and materials. Different teaching styles obviously suit different learning styles, and no one teaching style can be effective for all learning styles. Because of this, teachers must be flexible in their methodsRead MoreTeaching Strategies For Learning Style Preferences853 Words   |  4 Pagesthat Beck matches three teaching strategies to learning style preferences. During which he attempts to link the 4MAT system, Dunn’s LSI, and the Renzulli Smith’s LSI to teaching strategies associated to display individual learning preferences linked to the brain’s hemispheres. The 4MAT system and Dunn’s LSI is teacher driven teaching strategies while the Renzulli Smith’s LSI allows student input into their teaching strategies. In linking the 4MAT system to teaching strategies, Beck furtherRead MoreCooperative Learning Is A Revolutionary Style Of Teaching Essay1421 Words   |  6 PagesCooperative learning is a revolutionary style of teaching that offers students a chance to work together, communicate, build social skills, and acquire self-confidence. It is important to inspire students to be excited about learning and to encourage their involvement in the learning process. There are many studies that offer important information and have determined that cooperative learning not only helps students improve academically, but that it also shows that stu dents take pride in the factRead MoreTeaching Styles And Methods Rather Than Learning946 Words   |  4 Pagesother youth ministry classes that I have taken. In this class we discussed more about teaching styles and methods rather than learning about how to deal with adolescents. For me this class really helped me to become more confident that I can be a youth minister. To help relate this experience for me into a paper I will discuss the different historical elements of how to religiously teach, the learning styles, and some of the things that I will take with me as I go out into the field. The historyRead MoreThe Effects Of Emotional Intelligence On Teaching And Learning Styles868 Words   |  4 Pagesintellectual quotient (IQ); it also depends on how well you can use your emotional intelligence (EI). From my experience teaching in higher education, I have observed that not every student learns through the same methods, is motivated in the same manner, or acts in the same way in a classroom (live or online). So, it seems apparent that recognizing differences in teaching and learning styles, as well as being able to connect with your students, is important to produce a beneficial outcome. The term emotionalRead MoreEssay about Teaching Techniques for Different Learning Styles771 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching Techniques for Different Learning Styles As teachers we will be faced with many difficult tasks one of which will be finding creative ways to motivate the children in our classes to learn. There are so many teaching techniques it may be overwhelming for new teachers. With the emphasis on test scores and the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† Act many teachers may fear being creative in the classroom. This paper will attempt to explore some creative teaching techniques. Recently there has been