For my VBLog Entry 2, I decided to interview my friend Kani
who I met my Freshman year at the University of Houston. I started the
interview with a few basic questions to understand what language Kani was first
raised learning, where she was originally from, and at what age she began her
journey with learning English in a US school. I moved on to ask Kani about anything
special her teachers did that helped make the process of learning English
better and she pointed out that things that helped the most were when teachers
used pictures and made things visual, when she got to read books to start
understanding the meanings of English words, receiving an English dictionary
that she studied, and being partnered with a classmate of hers that was
proficient in both Urdu and English. Wright points out that “semantics is the
study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences” when she points of the
five “subsystems of language traditionally studied by linguists,” (2015, p.
31-33) which I connected to Kani’s ability to start picking up word meaning by
continuously using and looking back on her English dictionary as a helpful
resource. The textbook also states that “pragmatics is the study of language
from the point of view of the users, especially in terms of the choices they
make, the constraints they encounter in using language,” (Wright, 2015, p. 34) etc., which made me think of when Kani pointed
out how helpful it was getting casual opportunities daily to listen to the
class, speak when possible, and getting partnered with a classmate to help her
make that Urdu to English transition, all of which highlight this pragmatics subsystem
of language that probably proved to be the most beneficial to Kani. She also
pointed out that one of the most challenging aspects of learning English was
her inability to be able to communicate the things she wanted or have someone
understand what she wanted to say, she pointed out that it was a feeling of being
trapped in another world. She said she would try to get a few words out and
sometimes resorted to acting things out, pointing, and drawing pictures and
arrows, which reminded me of when Wright pointed out that “with modified
interaction… speakers may make several modifications as they converse to get
their meanings across (which) may include simplifying the language, reducing
the rate of speech, and using gestures” (2015, p. 53).
Wright, Wayne. Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon, 2015. Print. Second Edition
