Motivation Is Not Always Present For The Classroom At Milby High School

Looking back at my early childhood filled with many events and memories, I remember one in particular when my parents taught me my native language, Spanish, by reading books to me any chance they had. Beginning at the age of 8, I would bring home a variety of books from school eager to read them and learn new words. I spent a great amount of time reading that I eventually decided to move into short novels. This helped me improve so much that I never had trouble speaking Spanish. I vividly remember in my small class of 15 students, me speaking Spanish more fluently than any of my other classmates. Proud would be an understatement. This soon changed when I began second grade in the fall of 2006 with Ms. Magaña.

“One of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time”, Federico Fellini once stated that “A different language is a different vision of life” and I, in my turn tend to say that he was perfectly right. A person who speaks more than one language can experience multiple personalities, visions and reflections consisting which language is he speaking. High School students should comprehend the real benefit of speaking a foreign language. Being a multilingual myself and speaking fluently four languages and studying another two, I consider that I am qualified enough to persuade that my argument is strong, plausible and not ultimately-right. In the following paragraphs I am going to address the following three reasons why should other High School students learn at least one foreign language? Firstly, learning a new language enhances performances in the academic domain and makes you smarter. Secondly, knowing a new language is a high estimated and a very valuable characteristic in your professional CV. Thirdly, international travel is more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.

Although I did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, it always fascinated me that my father, having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, spoke two languages fluently. As a child, it felt like he could communicate with everyone. As I grew, I realized that speaking two languages was an advantage not all people experience. There’s a camaraderie people feel when you can speak to them in their native tongue, and this inspired me to take my Spanish language studies seriously. I wanted to become part of my own culture, and heritage. I felt exhilarated when I was inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society. In learning to speak Spanish I felt one step closer to embracing my roots.

I’ve been drawn to Spanish class since I was in 10th grade. I haven’t regretted to choose Spanish since the first day of class and my passions to Spanish class is added but not deleted. I have furthered this interest inside of classroom by learning basic Spanish academic parts in different ways, sharing Spanish-speaking countries’ culture and history and outside of the classroom by put knowledge we learned in class into reality communication with Spanish people and improved my communication skills of second language.

Against odds appearing as though they could never get conquered, I’d managed to climb out of an inescapable hole. Upon reaching the halfway point of a six-week Summer 2012 crash course in Intermediate Spanish, my grade stood at an awful 74% (or a solid C). A big opportunity for redemption soon arrived in the form of an assignment to give a four-to-six-minute presentation in Spanish about someone who has affected my life in a profound and powerful way. Using notes taken during a visit one weekend to Grandpa’s house, I gave a speech Professor Almonte thought was bueno enough to merit an ‘A’ grade. Feeling my confidence bolstered, I tackled the remaining tasks with a renewed dedication and completed what was back then my greatest academic turnaround

According to a study by the University of Phoenix Research Institute, “demand for American workers who speak foreign languages- particularly Spanish and Chinese- will rise over the next decade”(“Rising Demand for Bilingual Workers among Employers”). As the United States continues to diversify, being bilingual or multilingual is becoming a key part to be successful in life. A student’s school education, beginning at the first day of kindergarten, is supposed to build and prepare a student for the future, so why is properly learning a new language not a priority from the start? The teaching of a foreign language should begin elementary school because learning at an earlier age is optimum for an easier and effective learning process and provides significant benefits that can last a lifetime.

A in Spanish proved to me that you could do anything you work hard for. I started to realize how to

Not many languages possess subtle nuances, beautiful pronunciation, and rhythmic speech patterns. Spanish possesses all three. Throughout my entire life, I have always wanted to speak and understand Spanish. Passing phrases and conversations would captivate my mind and give me a brief insight into the culture behind the language. So, pressing forth to help achieve this goal I enrolled in Spanish in college. Spanish is important to me and has changed my outlook on life because of the benefits it offers, the doorway it has opened for intercultural connections, and the general act of learning the language.

Throughout my sophomore year of highschool I had a hard time in Spanish and faced many challenges all year. About two weeks into the school year, there was an issue with my teacher and she was forced into retirement. This left myself and the rest of class with no teacher for over a month. Learning a new language was not the easiest thing for me and I could feel myself moving more behind the longer I went without a teacher. I had three more Spanish teachers that year making it harder to get into a routine to succeed in that class. By the end of the school I had to make the decision of whether or not I wanted to move on to the next level of Spanish. I felt that if I continued I would be setting myself up for failure in the language because of

The researchers argue that it is more helpful for these students to continue to communicate in their home language while learning a second language. Everyone obtains the language of their surrounding environment and is comfortable with that form of communication. The success comes, it is said, when the second language is acquired. In effort to put this into action, the solution that researchers Cummins and Kenji Hakuta recommended was to use teachers who were bilingual

If you use Spanish in your classroom, why do you think this may be more effective than using English exclusively? Findings constantly show that learners benefit from using their native language in education. Children are best served by using their first language as a resource for achieving academic success and English language proficiency. First, by using the L1 learners are more likely to engage in learning process because it allows them to make suggestions, ask questions, answering questions, and even create and communicate new knowledge with enthusiasm. Thus, it gives them confidence and helps to affirm their cultural identity. Second, using their first language is important to acquire English and it will help them to learn the English needed for academic success. Their progress in acquiring English is linked to the levels of their first language and literacy skills. Third, it is easier to understand concepts and skills in your first language and transfer your knowledge to your second language.

Effective teaching is more than just helping students to become knowledgeable and skilled. It helps to make certain that students absorb information in a way that shows the student has a full understanding of the information that is being learned. “Teachers can have great influence in creating opportunities for students to engage in learning…” (Wery and Thomson, 2013). Teachers put in all the time and effort needed to help a student be their best. Effective teaching is teachers who put together games and tutor students in their free time all so students can achieve great things.

As humans need for water, food, and shelter are of great importance to survival, so productive work environments are imperative to motivating personnel to flourish in the school setting. Everyone who invests in others cannot do it alone effectively. There must be strong leaders at the helm to point the school toward a common theme and purpose. Lack of vision will keep a school from moving forward and meeting the needs of all students who attend. Not to mention, those who are new to the education field need a strong induction program to help strengthen and mold their teaching practice to reach a variety of students along the way. Engineers realize the importance of foundation and will work overtime to establish a strong beginning at the base floor before constructing an entire building. Likewise, teachers who are part of an induction program that focuses on the whole teacher will become better than they ever thought they could become. Motivating personnel with a productive work environment and a strong induction program will benefit all employees on a school campus.

Imagine being in a foreign country, with no in-depth knowledge of the language or culture there. Being educated in a foreign language could have helped immensely on such an excursion. Knowing a foreign language would help people better grasp the worlds multicultural society, better their native tongue through understanding the grammar and structure of this different language, and also provide people with the knowledge to compete with large business, who have branches in foreign countries. Unfortunately, many students neglect taking the time and putting the effort into learning another language. Over the years, budget cuts have been made to schools of all kinds. In these budget cuts, foreign language education is almost always the first to go. Students do not seem to express an interest in learning another language, mostly likely because it requires them to work hard in improving many skill areas. To combat this lack of interest, and to make the United States a more prosperous and accepting nation, high schools should require their students to take a foreign language throughout their high school careers.

Comparing between National and International Primary schools in their usage of motivation relation with the second language acquisition