Third Answer

EQ: What is the most important factor in language acquisition for a non-native speaker.

• Proximity of a persons native tongue to the family group of his or her target language is the most important factor in language acquisition for a non-native speaker.
• When languages are in the same family group they share lexicon making lexical acquisition faster. For example German and English are in the same language family (Germanic) and they share words like: Wanderlust, Blitz, Kindergarten
• When languages are in the same family group they share similar syntax. For example Spanish and French are both part of the same language family and therefore have similar syntax like: Subject Verb Object to emphasize the object
• Language family groups can cause positive or negative transfers between the native language and the target language. For example if a Chinese man were trying to speak a Germanic language using Chinese syntax the transfer would be negative. If the same man used his Chinese syntax to speak Cantonese the syntax transfer would be negative.
• The closer a target language is to a persons native tongue the faster they will be able to acquire the target language.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

Grandparents house Tian-Liao Taiwan

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
Over break I was unable to do mentor ship because I traveled to Japan and Taiwan;however, I continued to work on my senior project on the airplane and whenever I had time. I mostly "had time" on the airplane because the flight over to japan was ten hours. I brought the book I have been using for my RC called Discovering Speech, Words, and Mind. I read three chapters in this book while I was on the airplane. I will go back and do cornell notes and reread the chapters when we have RCs. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did an why?  What was the source of what you learned?
I think that the most important thing I learned from my readings was something called the Pimsleur approach to learning a second language. The text briefly mentioned the method, but I was intrigued so I went online and researched what/who Pimsleur was. I think that this method is important because it may become one of my first answers for my EQ. Like I said before the source of this knowledge was first the book which sparked my interest and then the internet for further research.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
I think I would either talk to my mentor again or another Professor in the English department up at Cal-Poly that has majored in linguistics. I would interview one of them because I would like to conduct my next interview about the Pimsleur method of second language acquisition and they would be the most qualified to answer my questions.

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 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.

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.