1

Language Acquisition Autobiography

Language Acquisition Autobiography

Luz Garcia
LAPU
Professor Dr. Pastor Smarr
ENGL 420 Princ of Lang (010) FA2 2023
10/10/23
 2
Language Acquisition Autobiography
My earliest memories of the language spoken and written is Spanish. Growing up in a Mexican
household, Spanish was spoken 95% of the time. I do not remember my toddler years. My
earliest years of memory are at the age of 4 or 5. Once I turned six years old, we moved into a
bigger home, where my dad's parents moved in with us. After that, my dad's siblings came from
Mexico to stay with us until they could get on their feet or get married. My family prioritized
speaking Spanish. It was necessary for my parent that my siblings and I could communicate with
family at all times. My family hardly spoke the English language in my home. My mom speaks
English fluently. My mom came to the United States at a young age and attended a school where
she learned the English language.

Returning to my care memory and how I was introduced to English in kindergarten. I was getting
introduced to the English language at school and felt intimidated by other students who did speak
English fluently. I got extra support from Kinder to 3 grade through the ELL program. I did not
feel confident about reading in English aloud or participating because I thought the other kids
would make fun of me if I did not say a word correctly. I remember being able to read and write
big words in third grade. I was so excited when I learned to spell "because" that word was
difficult because of my language acquisition. After third grade, I felt more confident. I started to
read chapter books and participate in class. Throughout the years, I still felt that my English
could have been better, and I still felt a little intimidated when reading out loud in high school.
Junior high and high school was scary. There were more kids I did not know, and seeing them
bully other students made me return to my 1st-grade self.

My experiences have inspired my career path to help students who are struggling. I can see
myself in students from other countries; English is their second language. I want to teach them to
learn so that whatever they learn can stick with them. Everyone learns differently and at their
own pace. It takes patience and consistency. I want my students to feel the excitement of
achievement like I felt in third grade.

I would give my students the extrapolation to continue learning and reading books. With my
experience of struggling in my younger years, I will encourage my students to keep going to
achieve their goals. In my classroom, we have goals for each student. One goal is for the whole
year, and another goal is monthly. Having goals for me is important even now as an adult. It
 3
Language Acquisition Autobiography
impacts the brain to develop the likelihood of the child's success academically, social-emotional
and long-lasting relationships.

Early language and literacy negatively affect people's feelings about language and literacy. I have
seen it when students struggle with reading and writing in the classroom. When they do, they
tend to have a bad attitude and start acting out. Not having an early language and literacy
development affects the person later in life negatively by having social-emotional issues, lack of
intellectual development, high poverty rates, high incarceration, low-paying jobs, drug addiction,
and higher health risks.

Early language and literacy are the foundation of a person's learning and will positively affect
later in life and attitude towards education. People introduced to language and literacy early will
likely become lifelong learners, continuously seeking knowledge and engaging in intellectual
pursuits (Voyager Sopris Learning, 2023). They will be able to succeed in anything they put their
mind to and accomplish their goals.

What is Language Acquisition? According to the Scholarly Community Encyclopedia (2023),

"Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and
comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand
it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate." Language acquisition is
the first language a child speaks when they are toddlers. Language acquisition requires many
tools: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and an extensive vocabulary.

What is Language Development? According to the article Structual Learning (2023), "Language
development in children is the process through which we gain the ability to comprehend and
communicate through speech." Children can understand language development by processing to
comprehend verbal patterns and their vocabulary in different stages. In these stages, the child can
understand the spoken language before they can read and write (Structural Learning, 2023).

Both theories of language acquisition and language development are very different. Language
acquisition is the native language we are born hearing and speaking as a child. Language
development is when a child learns through various stages of their developing milestones.

These theories helped me understand the difference between language acquisition and
development. Also, it has helped me realize that just because the students know how to speak
 4
Language Acquisition Autobiography
English, their native language, it does not mean they can read and write it. It has given me an
extensive perspective on my students' learning disabilities. When working with each of them, I
was getting frustrated. For example, one of my students, I would go over, over, and over the
letters and sound of the letter "T," he would forget. I ask myself why he is not learning these
letters. He is in sixth grade. I do not remember the disability he has. He is not able to retain
anything that has to do with language or literacy. With him, my goal is to know all his letters,
sounds, and ten three-letter words like cat, dog, fat, mat, sit, fit, and more. I do not know if he
will be able to strengthen his language development.

I come from a fluent Spanish-speaking household and have struggled in my early years in school.
With my perseverance, I have come a long way. Now, I want to inspire all my students and give
them hope that they can learn how to read and write and be whatever they want in life.
Sometimes, it takes me some time to understand what I am reading and what I am going to write,
but that does not stop me from accomplishing my goals.
 5
Language Acquisition Autobiography
Resources

Language acquisition. (2022, November 18). https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/35237

Main, P. (2023, February 5). Language Development: A Teachers guide. Structural Learning.

https://www.structural-learning.com/post/language-development

Regis College. (2023, June 30). Child illiteracy in America: Statistics, facts, and resources.

Regis College Online. https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/child -

illiteracy/#:~:text=Illiteracy%20can%20cause%20immeasurable%20damage,individuals

%20learn%20and%20socially%20interact.

The power of early literacy: building strong foundations for lifelong learning. (n.d.).

https://www.voyagersopris.com/vsl/blog/the-power-of-early-

literacy#:~:text=Early%20literacy%20sets%20the%20stage,and%20engaging%20in%20i

ntellectual%20pursuits.

Theories of the early stages of language acquisition (article) | Khan Academy. (n.d.). Khan

Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/processing-the-

environment/language/a/theories-of-the-early-stages-of-language-acquisition