LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1

Language Acquisition Autobiography

Melissa Bermudez

Los Angeles Pacific University

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In learning about spoken and written language it has helped me remember about my time

and my memories when I first began to learn. I don’t remember the exact time when I first

started writing or talking but there have been some impactful memories due to learning language

that have impacted and stayed with me. I was born in Mexico and moved to America when I was

a couple months old. I used to live in this neighborhood where everyone around was Hispanic

and when I started going to school, they only spoke Spanish too. I went to a preschool and

kindergarten school where they only spoke Spanish, my teachers, my friends, and family. I

learned to speak, read, and write Spanish at a young age. Once we moved from this

neighborhood to my current home now, I was in culture shock and everything changed.

I moved to a new city and started the first grade my teachers only spoke English and most

of my peers only spoke English too. This had such a big impact on me because it was very

difficult and different to learn a new language when all I had learned up to this point was

Spanish. I had a hard time with my accent and pronunciation of each word. I remember this

particular example I wanted to ask a peer if I could sit in the chair next to them and I said “shair”

instead and I remember how they made fun of me and the embarrassment I felt with this incident.

Not being able to pronounce words correctly was a big issue but so was learning how to write

and read.

Learning to write and read English came with its own problems. For example, in Spanish

we say words the way they are written but in English this isn’t the case. The pronunciation of

words can be different even if they seem similar or have similar writing. This is also the case

when it comes to reading English. Some words may sound the same when you are saying them

but it when it comes to spelling them or reading them, they will look different than what you

think. “English is one of the most difficult languages to learn to read. From word to word, the
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same sounds in English are often spelled differently, or the same spellings are pronounced

differently. Research has shown that English-speaking children take more than twice as long to

learn to read as children who speak most other European languages.” (Niels) This made it

difficult to learn how to read and write English.

My family did prioritize learning our native language first. They knew that when I went

to school I would learn how to speak, read and write English but they didn’t want me to loose the

opportunity to know two languages so they prioritized Spanish. My parents couldn’t help me

develop my English because they themselves were barely learning as well. I remember my mom

going to take English classes in order for her to learn how to help me once she realized I was

having a hard time learning. I also started watching more tv in English and I would practice

repeating the words they said on TV in order to get better at pronunciation. Experiencing and

understanding the struggles of learning a language has played and impact on how I feel about

English language acquisition.

I currently work in a preschool autism program, the site I work at are for low-income

families. I have noticed how the difference in language barriers causes more of a strain in

communications between parents but also for the students. I think having my personal

experiences has helped me be more patient and compassionate with my students. It is already

hard with the fact that the students can’t communicate but language barriers can make it hard for

them to understand what their teacher is asking them. I think the language barrier as an educator

made me think more about why their may be behaviors or defiance in children it could be that

they simply don’t understand me. I think my experiences has showed me to be patient and more

understanding with my students.

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Language exposure is important to the humans because without it our history and

everything we convey though language we wouldn’t be able to without it. The theory that I was

able to connect with the most was the learning theory of language acquisition. “The learning

theory of language acquisition suggests that children learn a language much like they learn to tie

their shoes or how to count; through repetition and reinforcement. When babies first learn to

babble, parents and guardians smile, coo, and hug them for this behavior. As they grow older,

children are praised for speaking properly and corrected when they misspeak.” (Khan Academy)

I think this theory out of the other ones is relatable because I feel like children learn from their

parents. They grow up learning language from them and communicating in similar ways. It

makes me think of certain phrases that I say and the way I say them it sounds very similar to the

way my dad speaks. I think we continue to grow and develop language similar to those who are

around us. I think this way of expanding language continue to happen even when we are older.

We continue to use phrases or have similar tones when conversating with some peers. This is

why I feel like this language theory is the one I relate to the most because I really do believe we

are praised when we use the correct words or when our language is developing appropriately.

Language is important part of our life, not only speaking but writing and reading also. I

think understanding the development of language can help me as an educator. It can help me

understand how developing certain sounds may take longer than others and staying positive

thought it. I think taking into consideration my own experiences and how language development

was for me will help me be patient in experiences with other students. I hope to continue learning

more about language development throughout this course.

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References

Niels. (n.d.). Take It Easy: 7 Useful Strategies for Smooth Reading in a Foreign

Language. FluentU. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/reading-in-foreign-

language/#:~:text=English%20is%20one%20of%20the,same%20spellings%20are

%20pronounced%20differently.

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

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

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