Reflection
My interview with Dr. Velázquez allowed me to make a
connection between what I have read in my SLA class and real life. Initially,
she explained to me that Spanish is her mother tongue, English is her second
language and that even though she studied French before English, she is only
able to read French due to lack of speaking practice. Dr. Velázquez is an instructed
learner of both English and French and these two languages were learned
in a foreign language context (Ortega, 2013, p. 6).
Dr. Velázquez explained to me that learning English in her
home country was not common back when she was young but that her motivation and
curiosity for languages were eminent since she was young. She wanted to learn
English and other languages to travel and be able to communicate with speakers
of other languages. This idea corresponds to what Ortega (2013, p 173) explains
as orientation or the
reasons for learning the L2, because they contribute to the setting of goals
that will propel and sustain motivation of varying intensities and qualities.”
In other words, she was intrinsically motivated to learn
English and they may explain why she has achieved high levels of communicative
competence (Ortega, 2013, p. 176).
According to Dr. Velázquez,
her initial learning was English grammar and vocabulary but she would also listen
to music in this language. She considers that age has a key role in language
acquisition and explains that…
It is astonishing how much Dr. Velázquez has accomplished throughout her lifetime. She continuously challenged herself to learn new languages, especially going as far as to seek professional instruction to refine her English-speaking vocabulary. Her reason for learning English, as well as other languages stuck out to me. I never thought of learning a different language for the sole purpose of being able to travel. I like how you asked Dr. Velázquez about her interaction with English. According to studies, interaction plays a strong role in language acquisition. After conducting studies on adolescents who were not exposed enough to their native language, researchers found that “these adolescents could not learn the mother tongue to the level of their peers, even after they were rescued and efforts were made to teach them language” (Ortega, 2013, p.13). Your interview with Dr. Velázquez forties this research claim even further, as Dr. Velázquez mentioned how she required professional instruction to master the English language.
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