← Return to the LING 1900 blog index.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Naomi Pederson #1

Once I met with Youngsil, I knew it was going to be fun. Difficult -- but fun. She is always so full of energy, it's almost impossible for me to keep up! She is so cheerful, it’s just infectious. She and her family moved here from Korea, and her brother is also part of the program. I know she is a really smart girl, and that makes it difficult, because she knows that she can communicate her thoughts, but doesn't quite know the proper way of saying them in English. It also makes it difficult to pick out books, as well. She is somewhat of a perfectionist, and her inability to comprehend the books that she wants to read is definitely a sore point with her. We try to pick out books that are at her reading level, but I get the feeling that she thinks they are either boring or stupid. When she does get interested in a book, though, she'll often read a few passages, until she stumbles a bit, then shoves the reins into my hands. Of course, we are supposed to be reading to our Little Buddies, but I also wish that if she just tried a little more, she would feel more accomplished, rather than dejected that she cannot read at the level that she understands.

Recently, though, as I've mentioned the fact that we will be working on a book together, she closed up, or became so uber cheerful that we almost ran out of time to talk about it -- she's very good at changing the subject or avoiding things that way. I think it's because she is afraid of reading out loud to people. She mentioned that at school, her entire grade is performing and singing something for an audience, and she is really scared -- except for when they sing a Korean song. I think she's afraid of making mistakes and faltering. She never says so, though, only that she doesn't like it, or that it won't be fun. I really want to be able to boost her confidence, but I am also afraid of pushing too hard and making her dislike reading and writing.

Being a part of Reading Buddies has definitely been changing how I look at learning language, especially for a second language learner. My mother was born and raised in Japan, and moved here 20 years ago. I've always known that it's difficult to uproot and learn not only a new language, but also an entirely different culture, but never really understood, you know? My brain could understand why it would be difficult, but not really grasping the entirety of the difficulty. With Youngsil, it's so apparent. Her brother is farther along with his English (maybe because he is older?) and I know she speaks Korean at home and often with her friends, but I can see her frustration when she cannot get the word or phrasing correctly in English. We picked out one book, Happy Hanukkah, and she didn't understand the concepts, rather than the words. We talked about Christmas, but I could tell it wasn't really talked about in her home. What must it be like to be her -- just starting to talk, and then not being able to communicate at all? Or when the words make sense as words, but not as sentences and thoughts? So much of what we say relies on understanding meaning beyond the words -- history, shared knowledge, etc. It just boggles my mind, especially since it happens quite often when young families travel. I know that I want her to fall in love with reading, but I also want her to be confident in herself enough that reading out loud isn't an ordeal.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Family Learning Center Experience Thus Far

I must say that I am really enjoying my experience with the preschool at the Family Learning Center. It really is amazing how positively my mood can change from the time I come in to volunteer, to the time I leave, the kids that go there are all little rays of sunshine. It is such a moment when the kids look sad to say goodbye, but good to look forward to the next visit. I feel welcomed there and hope that I am setting a good example for the preschoolers. The first time in was an adjustment and time to soak in how they operate there. I was able to quickly catch on to their routines, usually when I first come in at one in the afternoon; they are having a snack and then shift to group time. During group time we all sit around as a whole and sing kids songs as well as count the days of the month and check on the weather outside, with songs accompanying all these activities. They are definitely very community-oriented at the Family Learning Center. After all the students are together, I separate with Mona’s classroom where the more one on one sessions begin.

The classroom I help out with consists of about 15 kiddos who are all very sweet and personable. I think over the weeks they have become comfortable with me being around once a week and are starting to be able to call me by my name, as I am for them as well. A little blurb I wrote about to share with friends and family is that I am “Developing a soft spot for preschoolers at the Family Learning Center here in Boulder. All the little girls ask me to draw them rainbows and flowers... One strange request was a fly, which actually turned out pretty cool. They hold my hand willfully and ask me what my favorite color is. The boys tend to keep away from me, but one of them told me I was a giant. I’m 5 foot nine and these kids must be about max 2 in a half feet tall. I read to them all about Curious George, insects and butterflies. I’m finding that reminding everyone they have inside voices and the ability to share, it's key.”

It seems that my role in helping these kids is to be there to help with reading and to set an example of how to draw basic things, just like the rainbows and flies, as I wrote about earlier. I notice, especially with a little girl named Isabelle, that asking questions about what words mean to her really helps her pay attention to the story. For instance, when we are reading a book about insects, and I continuously have to point and ask what things are, like “What is this?" As I point at the tarantula, and then Isabelle will say spider! And then I ask what kind and point to the words that say tarantula and then she says "Tarantula!" The only thing I find to be a struggle is having the power to get the kids’ attentions and keep it going so that they are able to learn and associate their understandings on completing a task. For instance, with one of the boys I work with, It was really hard to be engaged with asking questions with him because he just wouldn’t respond or even look me in the eyes. I just had to keep on being persistent in my intention in helping him solve the word finding game, it was a challenge but we both took what we could out of the shared experience, and I look forward to continuously help him and the other preschoolers with their daily activities. One more thing to note is that my prior know ledge of Spanish is really helping me connect with these bilingual kiddos with basic vocabulary, When I am reading and I know a word in Spanish and in English I will try to say both for a full understanding for both parties.

The Family Learning Center Experience Thus Far

I must say that I am really enjoying my experience with the preschool at the Family Learning Center. It really is amazing how positively my mood can change from the time I come in to volunteer, to the time I leave, the kids that go there are all little rays of sunshine. It is such a moment when the kids look sad to say goodbye, but good to look forward to the next visit. I feel welcomed there and hope that I am setting a good example for the preschoolers. The first time in was an adjustment and time to soak in how they operate there. I was able to quickly catch on to their routines, usually when I first come in at one in the afternoon; they are having a snack and then shift to group time. During group time we all sit around as a whole and sing kids songs as well as count the days of the month and check on the weather outside, with songs accompanying all these activities. They are definitely very community-oriented at the Family Learning Center. After all the students are together, I separate with Mona’s classroom where the more one on one sessions begin.

The classroom I help out with consists of about 15 kiddos who are all very sweet and personable. I think over the weeks they have become comfortable with me being around once a week and are starting to be able to call me by my name, as I am for them as well. A little blurb I wrote about to share with friends and family is that I am “Developing a soft spot for preschoolers at the Family Learning Center here in Boulder. All the little girls ask me to draw them rainbows and flowers... One strange request was a fly, which actually turned out pretty cool. They hold my hand willfully and ask me what my favorite color is. The boys tend to keep away from me, but one of them told me I was a giant. I’m 5 foot nine and these kids must be about max 2 in a half feet tall. I read to them all about Curious George, insects and butterflies. I’m finding that reminding everyone they have inside voices and the ability to share, it's key.”

It seems that my role in helping these kids is to be there to help with reading and to set an example of how to draw basic things, just like the rainbows and flies, as I wrote about earlier. I notice, especially with a little girl named Isabelle, that asking questions about what words mean to her really helps her pay attention to the story. For instance, when we are reading a book about insects, and I continuously have to point and ask what things are, like “What is this?" As I point at the tarantula, and then Isabelle will say spider! And then I ask what kind and point to the words that say tarantula and then she says "Tarantula!" The only thing I find to be a struggle is having the power to get the kids’ attentions and keep it going so that they are able to learn and associate their understandings on completing a task. For instance, with one of the boys I work with, It was really hard to be engaged with asking questions with him because he just wouldn’t respond or even look me in the eyes. I just had to keep on being persistent in my intention in helping him solve the word finding game, it was a challenge but we both took what we could out of the shared experience, and I look forward to continuously help him and the other preschoolers with their daily activities. One more thing to note is that my prior know ledge of Spanish is really helping me connect with these bilingual kiddos with basic vocabulary, When I am reading and I know a word in Spanish and in English I will try to say both for a full understanding for both parties.