December Post

What do linguists do under mistletoe?
Make quadrilabial clicks 

As first semester comes to a close I am quiet happy about where I am with my senior project. I finished my ENG 323 Language Acquisition course for my independent component and earned an B+. Being that the course is an upper division level course I am quite happy about my big fat B+. I learned so much from the course and am ready to apply that knowledge to my senior project to answer my essential question. My mentor is a very busy person so I have decided to also try to find another mentor somewhere else. I also plan to observe more ESL and and SL classes. I hope this new year brings joy to all! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

November Update

As the end of fall quarter at Cal-Poly rears it's head, my independent component will also come to a close. I have learned a lot in my ENG 323 and am excited to apply my new knowledge to the rest of my Senior project. I have my final for this class on Wednesday and have been studying Language one and Language two acquisition theories. One of the reasons I have learned so much and enjoyed the class is because of my Professor Dr. Russikoff. She is also my mentor. Lately I have been grading papers of ESL students for my mentor ship. I analyze these papers and compare them to what I am learning in class. I've have been very busy lately because of college apps however my senior projected helped me write one of my college app essays. I hope to continue exploring the world of languages. For now a fellow classmate showed me this video of a Hyper-Polyglot. I know how to speak three languages, but compared to this high school senior that isn't really impressive.

EQ

1.   I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.
Essential Question
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Takes a stance (Allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria.
• Tell why it does or why it doesn't

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

         -This EQ meets the rule of three because you can argue on why one factor of weightless is better than another, there is a lot to research on the topic because it's not a yes or no question, and the wording makes sense.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

         -This EQ meets the rule of three because there isn't one answer to the question, one can research criminal convictions to answer the question, and the question makes sense

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

         -This EQ meets two of the three requirements the format is correct, you can take a stance, however you can't find much evidence about hairstyle satisfaction.

 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
         -This EQ meets the three criteria because it calls for research of medical articles, is not a yes or no question because there are many answers and the question is formatted in a way where you know what it's asking

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.

-What is more important in first language acquisition nature or nurture?

Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

What is the most important factor in language acquisition?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.  
-Being in an environment where one gets continual exposure to the language. Continuous exposure allows one to build vocabulary as well as acquire grammar naturally.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
I believe the most important source that has helped me come up with answers to my EQ is a book called How Langauges are Learned by Nina Spada

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is Karen Russikoff a professor at Cal-Poly Pomona. I am volunteering at Mt. Sac and Cal-Poly in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. By observing the classes I am able to see which individuals acquire a language fast. I am also able to see the best ways to acquire a second language.

Blog 8

"Man has an instinctive tendency to speak as we see in the babble of our young children, while no child had the distinctive tendency to bake, brew, or write." -Charles Darwin
I have ended my fifth week in my Acquisition of Language class. I am taking this class for my Independent Component 1. I have learned many things such as the IPA, the language acquisition theories, and the MLU.
I am really intrested in the class and am eager to lea

USC Interview with Dani Byrd

(USC Phonetics Research)

Last wednesday I drove all the way out to USC in LA because Dani Byrd, the Vice Dean of student affairs at the USC Dornsife college and a professor of Linguistics at USC, was kind enough to let me interview her. Dr. Byrd specializes in phonetics, the study and classification of speech sounds. She is currently using MRI's to look at how the tongue, larynx, pharynx,vocal fold, etc. move when we talk. The video of these MRI's are actually on the USC SAIL website. She showed me the difference between the movement in the mouth when people talk in different languages. For example she played an MRI that was of her mouth while she was saying an English sentence; then she played a MRI of her colleague speaking in Tamil, an Indian dialect. I found it really interesting that you could see the back of the throat being utilized more with Tamil than it was utilized in English. It was also really hard to see each individual movement of each individual part of the vocal system because speech happens really fast; therefore, by having someone sing (Shown above) instead of talk the movement is slower and the one is able to better observe the different parts of the vocal tract being utilized. She also gave me names of some computational linguists I could contact and maybe do mentor ship with.

When I asked her what books I should read that pertain to linguistics she gave me a copy of her book (pictured to the left). I have started using this book as one of my sources. Although I am not particularly interested in phonetics, it is an important aspect of linguistics. I need to understand phonetics if I want to go into computational linguistics and especially if I want to study how one can create artificial speech. Dr. Bryd told me that studying phonetics can help us understand and even correct or help with stroke victims who loose speech abilities and natural born speech impediments. My Interview with Dr. Bryd inspired to study Linguistics to help people that have speech disabilities. Her broad knowledge of so many topics also showed me how diverse of a field linguistics is because it ranges from the hard sciences to social sciences to history and everything in between.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.I plan to take a college class at Cal-Poly Pomona for my independent component. The class is a Junior level class and is taught by mentor Karen Russikoff. The class is called acquisition of Language. The class covers the development of the first language from birth through adolescence  Adult and child acquisition of second and subsequent languages. Linguistic, biological, and social factors that facilitate and retard language learning. Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Ortega took this class when they were at Cal-Poly.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
I will Provide a transcript of the class with the my grade on it.  I will also bring in any essays and/ or homework that I completed during the class.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
This class is one of the classes that people take when they are majoring in Linguistics. The class will give me a better understanding of how a language is acquired which is a big part of Linguistics.

Second Interview Questions

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work? 
My Mentor I Karen Russikoff. She is currently a Professor at Cal-Poly Pomona. 

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?
What is your highest level of education?
Where did you receive your degree(s) from?
Outside of teaching at Cal-Poly how else are you involved in the field of Linguistics?
What did you write your dissertation on?
Was Linguistics always your main focus of study?

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 

(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

---As a result of all the things I have completed so far my knowledge of the field of Linguistics has grown. Also what I have done has helped solidify linguistics as what I want to major in in college. 

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

---My interview with my mentor helped improve my understanding of Linguistics immensely. My mentors field of work is in applied Linguistics, meaning she uses what she learns about Linguistics and applies it to teaching English to ESL (English as a Second Language) students. She told me that Linguistics is divided into many sub sections such as morphology, semantics, special language study, neuro-liguistics, psycho-linguistics, Computational Linguistics and many more. The people who study linguistics either go into applied Linguistics or do research. I think that I would like to study computational linguistics because technology is the future and I do not wish to go into academia
. 
(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

---Doing things a head of time has definitely worked for me during this project. I hope I will be able to keep this habit up when young scholars classes start.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?  

---I feel like everything has worked pretty well so far; The only thing I have had problems with is the font size and the format of my blog.

(5) Finding Value: 
What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

---What is the future of languages?

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it. 

--- For my mentorship I plan on sitting in on my mentors ESL classes and observing how language is learned.I also have contacted people at UCLA and USC to see if they will let me help with research or help collect data.

A Hazardous Gift

        As I dive more into the complex world of linguistics it occurs to me that I have taken for-granted the fact that I can choke on food. That last sentence may sound absurd and you may now have the question; why would the scientific study of language make me start to appreciate a potential hazard to my life? Well the fact is choking is caused by our larynx  being placed further back in our throats, making contact between our esophagi and airways possible. This contact also gives humans the great gift of sophisticated and well articulated speech. Unfortunately, unlike our pet cats, this makes it impossible for humans to breathe and swallow at the same time. Don't let that get you down though because remember you can speak and your cat cannot. 

[Sources: (The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson pg.21-22)(Lecture Notes Linguistics by Ed Stabler)]

Blog 4 Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan to interview either my mentor Karen Russikoff, UCLA Professor Kathleen Dahlgren or both of them. I plan to interview my mentor because she has a PHD in Linguistics from USC and I will also be taking her class this fall. I plan to interview Kathleen Dahlgren because she has a PHD in linguistics from UCLA and also is currently a adjunct professor at UCLA. Dahlgrens affiliation with UCLA is important to me because I would like to go to UCLA to study Linguistics; UCLA has the 3rd top Linguistics program in the world.

         

Kathleen Dahlgresn                         Karen Russikoff

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

What inspired you to study the field of Linguistics? 

What Language do you find most fascinating?

Do you believe computational linguistics will help enhance artificial intelligence?

What job fields or careers are their for Linguists?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1. Linguistics

2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

• iPoly Citizen: To show growth as an iPoly Citizen I plan to get more involved with the school. Last year I spent almost all of my time up campus and lost touch with the iPoly community. This year although I am still spending most of my time up campus I plan to spend just as much time at iPoly. I will do this by joining HOPE club, tutoring my fellow classmates and underclassmen, attending the senior and iPoly events when I can, and joining as many committees as I can. 

• Effective Learner: To show growth as an effective learner I plan to be prepared for every class, take notes more deligently and not be tardy to class. Also when approaching home and projects I hope to take from previous experiences to creatively solve any problems that I may face. 

• Effective User of Technology:To show growth as an effective user of Technology I want to better master the mac interface. I currently use a PC, but have purchased a mac over the summer. The whole school uses macs so I think it would be best if I switched over to. 

  

• Effective Communicator:To show growth as an effective communicator I plan too step down in class and listen more to my peers. I am usually a leader and not a follower. I am usually the person that has not problem stepping up and directing the class, but this year I plan not to take as many leadership roles and instead sit down and observe how others lead.

Summer Mentor-ship Component

Literal:  

1. Summer Mentorship Hour Log

2. Dr. Karren A. Russikoff - (909) 833-5374 

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?  List them. 

Why is it that some students can get the pronunciation of words completely correct when others struggle? 

What is the best way to find out the level of ones proficiency in a language?  

What is the best way to teach idioms?
When does an idiom become out of date?
Should language classes be taught in two languages or strictly in the language being learned?
Is it possible to gain proficiency in a language without ever hearing a native speaker speak it?


4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
  
I believe the most important thing I gained from my experience is that I was able to see how language is taught. Usually I am in the classroom learning a language not teaching it. When the tables were turned I was able to apply my experiences as a student to the way I taught. I was also able to observe how students apply their own language to the language they are learning. For instance the Chinese students would use Chinese syntax to form an English sentence. This all helped to better understand how languages are acquired which is as big part of linguistics.
   
5. How did what you did help you choose a topic?  

My experience as an english teacher helped me choose my topic because I thoroughly enjoyed observing students learn a language. Also the teachers I taught with, who all had their master in english, said that all their favorite classes they had to take for their major were Linguistics classes. 

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

  Literal:  

1.  (Know) What presentations did you see?  Name the topic and the person's first name.

•  Marathon Running- Bobbie R.
• Designing a Haunted Attraction- Lucas A.
• Horticulture- Danielle C.
• Criminal Investigation- Gawen G.
• Social Media Networking- Mariah C.
• Dance- Valeria N.
• Firefighting- Joseph L.
• Fashion- Arista D.
• Theater Technician- Dolores R.
• Music Journalism- Jose C.
• Marine Conservation Bio- Eric R.
• Body Building- Dina S. 
• Homelessness- Lauren D.
• Equine Assisted Therapy- Amber M.

2.  What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said. 

• When do we have to decide on our essential question?
• Can we change our essential question? Or once we decide do we have to stick to it?
• Can we have more than one Mentor?
• How many science components are their?
• Are we allowed to have guess speakers in our senior presentation?

Interpretive:

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

• I believe the most important part of senior project is the mentorship. When I was watching the presentations I observed that  the presenters who really liked their mentorship and learned a lot from their mentorship, had more interesting presentations. The mentorship also seems like a key part to the senior project because it is where one gets the most information and "hands on" experience in whatever their senior topic is. 

Applied:

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

• Linguistics- I would like to major in Linguistics in college. I find the field of linguistics very interesting.
• Dance- I love to dance and it is one of my passions.