In this week’s readings, I was especially interested in the identification of two good language learners and how they came about learning the language. The first person is Eva,a young Polish woman lived in a neighborhood in which little English was spoken. Eva’s motivation to negotiate entry into the social networks in her workplace made her a good language learner. On the other hand, Julie, a 5 year old Polish girl was identified as an ESL learner. Julie showed success through her motivation and strategies that led to her success in language learning. Both learners, Eva an adult and Julie a child, showed exceptional performance, and the question is how they both did so?
Eva’s boss did not see it as his responsibility in the development of Eva’s communication skills, rather it was Eva’s responsibility to learn the language. In Julie’s case, in contrast, the teacher saw it as her responsibility to help Julie and other ELL’s improve their English skills. But, both learners set up counter discourses in which their identities could be respected and their resources valued, thereby enhancing the possibilities for shared conversation.
According to this article and the information provided on these two language learners, it seems to me that researchers should spend less time focusing on language structures and focus on individual learners. Moreover, by looking at social resources and the community that language learners live in will help in their research. In all, good language learning requires attention to social practices in the contexts in which individuals learn L2s.
Eva’s boss did not see it as his responsibility in the development of Eva’s communication skills, rather it was Eva’s responsibility to learn the language. In Julie’s case, in contrast, the teacher saw it as her responsibility to help Julie and other ELL’s improve their English skills. But, both learners set up counter discourses in which their identities could be respected and their resources valued, thereby enhancing the possibilities for shared conversation.
According to this article and the information provided on these two language learners, it seems to me that researchers should spend less time focusing on language structures and focus on individual learners. Moreover, by looking at social resources and the community that language learners live in will help in their research. In all, good language learning requires attention to social practices in the contexts in which individuals learn L2s.
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