Hi, my name is Briana Clausell. I am a senior here at the University of Houston. I am a native Houstonian, and have been here all 21 years of my life. I look forward to starting my career in education. Thanks for watching! :) Click Here To Learn More About Me
Hello Briana!
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you know some Spanish! We have had classes together for at least a year now and I somehow missed that fun fact! I completely agree with you that learning another language takes both written and oral practice to become fluent. I also believe that immersing yourself in that culture or surrounding yourself with people who speak that language will also help you better understand another language. Its really sweet that you and your coworker help each other learn and practice another language. Thanks for sharing!
I don't really like to put it out there that I understand most Spanish. Oftentimes at work, customers tend to think I speak Spanish, so they walk up to me and ask me questions in Spanish. Depending on what kind of answer the question requires, I will respond with the answer, or that I don't speak Spanish. If it's a question of if we sell something or where is the restroom, I answer. If it is something that requires a long answer, I will tell them I don't speak Spanish and will get someone to help them. I think I should try to answer and respond more often in Spanish to start building my confidence.
DeleteI can understand how that may be overwhelming and be nervous to answer your customers. I think it is awesome that you at least try to put an effort to help them and what more could you want for customer service! Maybe your time working with students this year will boost your confidence with speaking Spanish!
DeleteHello Briana!
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you that learning anything must have a purpose to be meaningful. That is why I also believe the Communicative Approach is most effective because students feel the need to use the language. Practicing your Spanish when you are with your family is a perfect example of this Communicative Approach. Being immersed in the culture is also very important. I was not even thinking of all the subtleties in different languages that you can only acquire from natives when I was making my presentation, especially words with double meanings. It seems like you had the Grammar Translation Method in your early years of Spanish classes. That method usually lays a foundation that helps a person have a framework for further learning. Arabic is similar to Spanish when it comes to conjugations and gender usage. The more languages you learn, the easier it gets to learn another!
I so strongly feel that when learning a second language, it is so crucial to learn the culture as well. When learning the culture, it helps with understanding the slang and the regularly used words and phrases by the people who speak that second language. I also think in the long run, being culturally diverse can help you understand others and why they do certain things they do.
DeleteThank you for sharing your story with us. I enjoyed hearing about your background. You said that being immersed in a culture is a great way to learn a language, and I could not agree more. I believe that this teaching style, also known as “communicative teaching” (Brown, pg. 32), is the best way to teach a foreign language. Wouldn’t it be great to bring the real world context into our classroom? I am excited to learn about more ways to do so. Based on your high school Spanish course experiences, it seems that your teachers taught you using the “Grammar Translation Method” for the first two years and then the “Audiolingual Method” the last year (Brown, pg. 18 and 22). Both of these methods rely heavily on “memorization,” which in my opinion is not the best way to learn any subject. I have been through courses in which all I did was memorize facts, and I can’t remember any of it to this day.
ReplyDeleteBrown, D. and Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by Principles. White Plains:Pearson
Hi Briana! I think it’s awesome that you can speak and understand Spanish and are continuing to practice it. It’s really nice that you have family and friends who are willing to help you out with practicing by speaking with you. I find it difficult and confusing to learn Spanish because of all of the rules and the genders. It sounded like your teacher taught using the grammar translation method that consists of memorizing vocabulary, grammar rules, and included translation exercises (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 18). It’s difficult to learn a new language without constant exposure to it and effective practice. It is also interesting that you have a student who does not speak any English at all. It may be the fastest way to teach him English by completely immersing him in only English instruction by your teacher. I believe that being bilingual can help you in many outside situations, but it also sounds like something interesting to teach!
ReplyDeleteJennie, you are 100% correct that it is difficult to learn a new language without constant exposure to it. There is a saying "if you don't use it, you lose it" that is often used when discussing the learning of a second language. The more you practice, the better you become at it and that applies to many things, including learning a new language.
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ReplyDeleteHey Briana! I really enjoyed your video and how much I have learned about you. After knowing you a bit, I found it very interesting that you know how to speak Spanish! You definitely need to teach me some when we see each other again! I also enjoyed how you explained how your Spanish classes were. It allowed me to compare and contrast how my years of Spanish were like. When you were talking about how you would get tripped up in Spanish because of the different grammar and such, it reminded me of how the book said "For adults, automaticity is sometimes impeded by overanalyzes of language forms, which become too focal, too much the center of attention" (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 69). I do believe sometimes languages are sometimes too overanalyzed that it becomes hard to speak it fluently. But I believe you did very well! Thank you for sharing about yourself!
ReplyDeleteHello Briana! I was blown away by your video and the use of your second language! I love that you had the confidence to speak in your second language even though you are not most comfortable using it. I myself understand very small amounts of Spanish, so it was nice to hear you speak at a slower rate because I was able to understand most everything! I usually fall behind in conversations because other people will speak too fast. I love that you included your experiences with Spanish and how they relate to your education and especially with your family. When comparing our education with spanish in public school, the courses I took were not nearly as rigorous as the ones you described. I am glad that your three years paid off! I believe that being fully immersed, like how you are with your family when they are all speaking Spanish, can really benefit certain individuals. While I know that there are several approaches, I feel like each student differs from one another and should be approached accordingly to their differences. So when considering the student in your class who does not speak any English, would you consider this approach to be full immersion? Also have you and your mentor had a chance to look into his background? I know when teachers aren’t provided the necessary background information they are left to their own devices in assessing and carrying out a plan of action when making sure students who do not speak English are being helped in the most effective way possible. It seems as though you both are participating in Communicative Language Teaching or as though you could by encouraging “real-life” communication in the classroom (Brown and Lee, 2015, p.31). This seems like something you will get to utilize which is exciting because you mentioned it being a theory you favor! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI was definitely nervous to speak another language for this video. Like you noticed, I definitely had to slow it down in order to ensure that I was pronouncing everything as best as I could. I am glad that it helped! You make such a great point about the fact that every student differs from one another, and should be approached accordingly. For the student who does not speak English, she has two different teachers who are taking two different approaches. One is planning on using English only (full immersion), and the other is planning on using more of a bilingual approach. It will be interesting to see the different approaches and the results that come from them.
DeleteHey Briana!! I absolutely loved that you spoke Spanish in your video. The more you practice, the better your pronunciation and grammar will become. Did you have someone help you with any of the grammar part? I wish that I had immediate family that lived in a different area where only Spanish was spoken so that I could visit and have that practice. As I wrote that sentence, I realized that my brother lives in Paraguay... I should reach out to him to come visit. I completely agree with you that learning anything must have a purpose in order for it to be meaningful. So many students become bored during learning, especially in second language learning, because they don't feel that it pertains to them. We would run drills during my Spanish classes with words that I felt like I wouldn't need or not put together sentence so it had no meaning for me to connect with.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed to me that your teaching made good use of the Audiolingual Method during your last year of your learning. My teacher used the less useful Grammar Translation and it wasn't as useful with making a personal connection. Your video was well done. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the compliments! I was very nervous about speaking Spanish for this video. To answer your question, I did not get any grammar lessons until I took Spanish class in middle school. She emphasized it so much at that time, that I definitely think it paid off in the fact that I am pretty good with the grammar. In fact, I have many friends whose first language is Spanish and can speak it fluently, but they never had any training on writing the language, so they struggled quite a bit. That was very surprising to me. Go visit your brother! :) It is an awesome experience being a part of another culture, even if it is only for a few days.
DeleteHey Briana,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your video. I think I can relate to a lot of the struggles you went through in learning your second language, as well as relating to other feelings you must have had when you were thrown in a more advanced course. Hearing about you overcoming self-doubt in order to learn was very encouraging. I also appreciate you understanding your teacher's teaching strategies and planning to use them in your classroom in the future. I think I was most interested in how you would handle a student who spoke only non-English. Although it would be a difficult situation, I think that you are thinking about handling that type of situation appropriately. Where I agree with you most is in practicing making perfect. Learning a new language is hard enough when having to do it in school, but not practicing it when out of school will make learning that much more difficult.
I definitely had a lot of self-doubt in regards to speaking the language. I just had to realize that the only way to get comfortable was to practice. For the student who does not speak English, she has two different teachers who are taking two different approaches. One is planning on using English only (full immersion), and the other is planning on using more of a bilingual approach. I am excited to see how the student will progress throughout the year!
DeleteHello Briana! I never knew that you knew a bit of Spanish. It was amazing to hear you speak the language. I agree with you about feeling a bit overwhelmed if you are surrounded by others who speak a language you do not. I often feel this way when I am at work, but quick to forget this feeling when asking for help. I struggle a lot with feeling comfortable with speaking back in Spanish. Thank you for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteSurprise! I don't really flaunt the fact that I understand some Spanish because like I said I feel uncomfortable. I definitely want to get to the point that I feel comfortable speaking Spanish back and forth with people. I know that with practice and time, I can get there and so can you!
DeleteYes, I totally agree about not feel super comfortable speaking Spanish in front of others. Like you I do understand a large portion of the language. Maybe over time we can both help each other out with words we do not know. Knowing another language is super useful in America.
DeleteHi Briana,
ReplyDeleteI think it is a great opportunity to be able to speak two languages. I had no idea that you were a Spanish speaker and know that it can be very advantageous in many situations for students who speak Spanish as well. I think you do a great job of speaking English fluently and were able to portray your thoughts successfully whenever we were in class together. I would not be able to guess that English would have been your second language. You did a wonderful thing by taking Spanish classes in middle and high school because that has helped you in a positive way. I think cooperative learning can be very helpful and a more enriching way of learning any language to a higher extent. I believe that you are going to be a great teacher and have a great experience by having a good philosophy to be able to look back on.
Briana, your Spanish sounds really good! I am glad that going to Puerto Rico often helped you develop your Spanish speaking skills. I am glad that you stopped doubting yourself and that you realized that by doing that you got to learn more. I am also happy that you have a coworker that can help you practice at work. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi there Briana! I think my favorite part of the video is that you acknowledged that Spanish isn’t your strong suit, but you still continued to speak Spanish in part of your video. This shows your grit as a student and will make you a wonderful teacher. You also talked about how you can be discouraged from learning, but if you put all of that aside, you will realize that it isn’t that hard! You overcoming your self doubt in order to learn Spanish demonstrates self-efficacy. As a student learning Spanish, you were determined to put in the work in order to achieve your goal (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 90). I thought it was crazy that your first Spanish class was only in Spanish! I related to this idea to teaching because it shows that you can show your students something they don’t know at all and allow them to discover and basically teach themselves, which is more student-centered learning (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 45).
ReplyDeleteHi Brianna!
ReplyDeleteI like how you are making the effort to learn Spanish and taking the time out to practice it. I truly believe that with the exposure to the environment and people you are surrounded with will help you strengthen your Spanish even more. Someday I also hope to be knowledgeable about Spanish enough to help my future native Spanish speakers in the classroom, since I’m fully aware of the community that lives within the area that I’m planning to teach.