Active Engagement in Learning!
Role playing, storytelling, drama
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Learning a second language in the classroom would normally at first reaction for most people would be nerve wrecking, but with the proper understanding and at minimum awareness would eliminate that fear/nervousness. After going over chapter two, it reminds me of when I was immersed in the language of Turkish. I walked in down town Adana, a part of Turkey near the border of either Iraq/Iran, I forget? But anyways, while walking into one of the alleys because I saw children playing. This experience immediately immersed me in the language. I was prepared with my Turkish dictionary to say hello (merhaba). My curiousness of learning the language and culture drowned the fear of being afraid in the alley. I didn't even realize until the adults all came out that I could have been in danger, but they eventually calmed down and accepted me. They started talking back at me in Turkish. They gave me the hospitality of being at home and part of their people. This motivated me to learn even more. So I wonder, how would fossilization of the language occur if you are just exposed to the cultural and survival need to communicate? I think I understand the part that says we subconsciously store words til a later time.
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What a wonderful experience that must have been! I went to Japan last year with my mother and sister and as the only person in our group who spoke some Japanese, I was to one who was tasked with ordering food or helping paying for items. This really helped me have to speak the language being every person there I asked (in Japanese) if they spoke English said no. I felt really proud of myself though when we all became lost in Akihabara and I asked a girl in a maid outfit for directions. She knew exactly what I was saying and I followed completely what she said. Sometimes I really think if people are forced to use the language they are learning they can see how far they have come in the language.
ReplyDelete-Kaylynne
My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I took a trip to Portugal and we had such a difficult time communicating with the people. I thought that maybe I could try to understand a few words because I thought, being ignorant about the language, Portuguese would be similar to Spanish, like how Tagalog is similar to Spanish. Not in the least. I couldn't make out what they were saying. It was truly difficult. Only a few locals spoke English, so it was even harder. My husband and I were almost taken advantage of on our cab ride to our hotel because I noticed he turned off the meter as soon as we hopped into the taxi. But I spoke up, pointed at the thingy and he turned it on. There's people like that everywhere. When we took a trip to Amsterdam, same thing. The cab driver was charging us $50 (USD) for a 5 min ride to the hotel. I finally called the hotel manager out and he spoke to the driver who then apologized. I don't know how I came to this discussion. Oh, you were all sharing your travel experiences. Sorry. Just wanted to share the negative aspect of not being able to understand a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting experience! It was great that you were able to interact with people of another language. Because you were motivated to become acquainted with the culture, you provided yourself the opportunity to learn a new language. If I was in your shoes, I probably wouldn't have attempted to try the language if I didn't have a translator with me.
ReplyDeleteThere was one thing that really stood out to me regarding your experience. You did not know one word in Turkish and yet you were trying to get a message across. They could not understand you and you could not understand them. However, gestures and body language can be a basic form of communication. I think this is how the Turkish people knew you were not dangerous and were eager to invite you into their culture. Communicating without words is difficult, but all messages can be sent through a "universal" language.
ReplyDeleteFina, I like how you said "communicating without words is difficult but all messages can be sent through a "universal" language." Most non-English speakers do use the universal language to get their point across. Back home not everyone speaks English so when we have outsiders on our island elders would use the universal language to get their point across.
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