Language Learning Reflection

Jacquelyn Davies
Student ID: 301033377
Educ 480
June 28, 2016

Learning a new language can be a very arduous task. In the

textbook Understanding Second Language Acquisition, by Lourdes
Ortega, Ortega presents many helpful theories that help one
understand second language acquisition (SLA). Theories from chapter
four and chapter ten, from Understanding Second Language
Acquisition, blend together to help one understand that how the
learner interacts and chooses to interact with their experience and
environment is essential, because all learning is social.
In chapter four, The Linguistic Environment, Ortega discusses
many different factors in ones ability to acquire another language. The
factors for SLA range from the learners: attitude(Ortega,2013,p.58),
ability to work with words or concepts that may be harder than what
the learner knows (2013,p.5859), interaction and negotiation for
meaning (2013,p.60), and observation skills. Almost all the factors
stated in the previous sentence showcase the belief that:
Whatmattersinthelinguisticenvironmentisnotsimplywhatsoutthere
physicallyorevensociallysurroundinglearners,butratherwhat[LEARNERS]
makeofit,how[THEY]process(ornot)thelinguisticdataandhow[THEY]live
andexperiencethatenvironment(Ortega,2013,p.80).
With the learner being the one who dictates their SLA journey, it is
important for teachers to come alongside them, and help guide and

correct the learner while not being the motivating or dictating factor in
the students learning process. During my experience in learning
Spanish, I had two different teachers. The first teacher came alongside
me, allowed me to self direct, and was able to anticipate what I might
want to learn due to the previous conversations we had had in class.
Although she gave me structure and taught grammar, I was the one
who was able to direct and ask questions about words, phrases and
ideas that I wanted to communicate and learn. Our dialogue was
always challenging for me, helping me become a stronger Spanish
speaker. My ability to speak and communicate in the language grew
exponentially that year. The second teacher, however, had an agenda
and did not consider my interests or what I wanted to learn. The
learning situation felt forced and dictated and I did not interact well
with the environment surrounding me. During my time with my second
teacher, my language ability grew very little. My experience can be
seen as a testament to Ortegas belief that learning happens through
comprehension, and that the more one comprehends, the more one
learns (Ortega,2013,p.60) and that the learners choices, their forms of
investigation and their ability to interpret meaning are very important
in how one develops as a Second Language Learner (SLL).
With the previously stated idea that the SLL is the one who
ultimately decides their SLA success, it is important to remember that
attitudes are not the only or the most important explanatory

mechanism for L2 learning success (Ortega,2013,p.59). In Chapter 10,

Ortega stresses that all learning, from grammar to sense of self is
social (Ortega,2013,p.216). When looking at SLA it is, therefore,
important to look at the fact that humans are social beings and learn
through social settings. To help understand that all learning is social,
Ortega uses Richard Tuckers metaphor of a chameleon (Ortega,2013,p.
217). The chameleon changes colour to fit in with its surrounding but
when the backdrop changes the chameleon no longer blends in. The
chameleon will also change colour due to social mood swings when
interacting with other fellow chameleons (Ortega,2013,p.217). Just as a
chameleon will no longer fit in if the environment changes or it will
change colour due to its social settings, humans are the same. An
example of a human changing in the same ways that chameleon is the
way that I spoke, interacted and navigated life in Guatemala and how
different that was from the way that I spoke, interacted and navigated
life in Mexico. Although both countries speak Spanish, the way in which
the language is spoken is very different. In Guatemala, my host mom
told me the word for shower was doucha but in Mexico my host mom
told me that doucha is very formal and to use the word bao
instead; my word choice made me stand out when the setting changed
and my accents and word choice changed when speaking to a different
group of people. In my process to acquire Spanish, I rely on: people to
help inform me about the language, different tools (such as signs,

flyers, and even books) and self-talk; all of which are social constructs
(Ortega,2013,p.220). By looking at the different social resource one uses
in learning, it is essential to remember that when it comes to SLA one
must focus on experience that is lived, made sense of, negotiated,
contested and claimed by learners in their physical, interpersonal,
social, cultural, and historical context, (Ortega,2013,p.218) since
nothing can be known if it is not known in a given social context
(Ortega,2013,p.218).
Understanding that all learning is social and that the SLL is the
one who needs to be directing their own learning are two essential
theories in understanding SLA. Once one is able to understand these
two theories, the ability to grow in ones own SLA or help someone else
in their journey of SLA, becomes more attainable.

References
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. London
and New York: Routledge.