I have attached the instructions and an example. You will interview a non-native speaker of English who started to learn English between the ages of 6 and 8 in a United States Public School (Puerto R

She speaks Spanish at home with family and even at work. Mariela stated that she does not speak English at home. She only practices it when she must communicate with cowo rkers or supervisors in her job or at public places like stores, restaurants, or centers of entertainment. Mariela is from Mexico. She moved to the United State at the age of 16. In Mexico, Mariela receives formal education in her native language from kind ergarten to 9th grade. In Mexico, Mariela did receive some classes in English, but it was basic vocabulary such as the alphabet, colors, and numbers. When Mariela moved to the U.S. the high school, she enrolled in, made her repeat 9th grade. She was placed in ESL programs to help her learn English.

During this study, the relevant themes found from the learning experiences of the subject of the case study will be deeply discussed as well as some suggestions made by the subjects for teachers to consider when teaching emerging bilinguals. School experiences Mariela's transition to another culture to learn English and continue with her education was not an easy task. She struggled to get used to her new life in another country. Mariela mentioned in her interview that her first days in school were like a “nigh tmare” for her. Mariela described that some of her classmates were rude to her. They made fun of her, and even joke about her accent when she practiced speaking English and denied helping her get assignments translated. Mariela stated that she felt alone most of the time with no one to look up for help when she could not understand school assignments. While adapting to her new school, Mariela’s family was having economic issues which add to Mariela’s feelings of frustration, stress, and low self -esteem. Mo reover, Mariela pointed out that some of her teachers were not a source of support Case Study for her. Some teachers were not showed concern about whether students, ELL, like Mariela understood the material in classes. She said that some teachers provided instruction s to all students as a class, but not individually to ELL students. Sometimes they were only provided with a dictionary to help them translate assignments. For these same reasons, there was a time when Mariela wanted to drop out of high school to get a job or go back to her country Mexico. She mentioned that if it were not for the support, she received in her ELL classes and from the other ELL students who became her friends she would not be in this country anymore. The school was for sure the most common p lace where Mariela could practice her skills in English. Public places such as restaurants and stores. Mariela recognized that she used to help her dad get some landscaping jobs done because she likes to engage in conversations with the owners of, the hous es her family used to clean; it was her initiative to practice the skills she had learned in English. When Mariela’s family moved to the U.S., her younger sister was also enrolled in school. Mariela’s sister started learning English at a younger age, she was 12. Mariela claimed that her sister’s English learning processes seemed faster and that her accent was not as strong as hers. Mariela also found support for her little sister.

She helped her learn new vocabulary and showed her different learning strate gies. Based on the information provided by this informant and the research, the following two themes were selected for further research:

Affective Barriers and Age concerning language acquisition. Themes of L2 Research The first theme on second language acquisition that would be discussed in the experience of Mariela learning English is Affective Barriers. Affective barriers include psychologically unbalanced emotions that work as impediments in learning. According to Ahmed, psychological impedim ents affect people’s ability to express thoughts or communicate effectively with others in a second language (2019). Some emotions that are included in the psychological affective barriers and that were present throughout Mariela’s descriptions of the lear ning experience in L2 are anxiety, motivation, enjoyment, disorientation, stress, and even fear. Based on the article, Psychological Barriers in the Acquisition of Second Language: A Non - Native Perspective, “anxiety is associated with cognitive disruption and distraction associated with self- Case Study focused thinking” (2019). From Mariela’s learning story, it is evident that she was constantly experiencing anxiety, especially anxiety that resulted from social situations or peer pressure. Mariela could not feel comfo rtable practicing her acquire skills in a new language because she was in constant fear that other people such as classmates would criticize her pronunciation or knowledge of the language. Ahmed also claims that feeling of anxiety in the process of acquiri ng a second language can lead to experiencing language shock which is when a learner experiences doubt and possible confusion using L2, as well as, experiencing culture shock that is experiences of disorientation, stress, fear because of differences of the learners’ culture and “that of the language community” (2019). Mariela indeed faced language shock and culture shock when she began to compare her country of origin to her residence place. Other emotions that were present throughout the interview was moti vation and enjoyment. This could be the reason why Mariela feels insecure engaging in meaningful conversations. Emotionality as stated by Frances in the article, The effects of language and emotionality of stimuli on vocabulary learning, “can be used to pr ovide improve learning…aid in processing, increase familiarity at the time of retrieval” (2020). When Mariela started learning English, she was disappointed by her results, she wanted to give up, she was not motivated. Mariela even planned to move back to her country of origin. Mariela’s teachers somehow missed waking her interest to enjoy the lesson so that way she would have been more motivated to learn. The second theme to be discussed is the Age concerning second language acquisition. Analyz ing Mariela’s experiences learning a second language at the age of sixteen, she mentioned that she strongly thinks that her English language skills are “not as good as” (question 21) her sister’s skills because of a different age at which they started acqu iring the second language. Based on her statements, Mariela is describing a common theory popularized by Lenneberg that states that for primary language there is a Critical Period Hypothesis, this period is believed to occur between ages two and puberty th at is ages ten to twelve. Mariela says she started to learn English at the age of sixteen while her sister did at the age of twelve. If the theory were to be correct, Mariela’s sister would still enter that gap period since she was still in the puberty sta ge when she started to learn a new language. According to Lee, the Plasticity Theory could Case Study support part of the Critical Period since it states that a “young child’ brain has cellular receptivity to language acquisition…with age cellular plasticity is belie ved to reduce the organisms’ capacity to learn or acquire new language” (1995). Although there is plenty of research that supports the belief that children learn a second language at a faster rate and more successfully, there are also other studies that co ntradict the previous statement. Bialystok described in the article, The structure of age: In search of barriers to second language acquisition a research study conducted by Jonson and Newport on English proficiency (1997). During the study, the participan ts, Chinese and Korean all ages three and thirty -nine who immigrated to the U.S native speakers, showed no difference in English proficiency when compared to the control group of native speakers and those who moved to the U.S before the age of seven (Lee 1 997).

Mariela attributed her level of proficiency in English to her age compare to her sister, when, other factors could have affected their learning processes. Following Bialystok (1997), the reason why some children appear to be more successful at acquir ing a second language could be due to the differences in strategies of learning used and not to maturation limit such as age. Children or younger people tend to be involved more in learning activities where they can be active while adults engage in totally different activities (Lee 1997).

Moreover, Young adults or adults prefer to be around people that share the same interests as them, they could be more interested to be around people who speak their native language; therefore, “limiting their exposure to a second language” (Lee 1995). Age differences could be great determiners of a foreign accent when speaking a second language, but that does not mean that accent determines how successful a person can in the acquisition of a second language. Recommendation s for Teachers From the research and the case study the following recommendations for teachers may be made:  Educators not only have the responsibility of equipping students with skills they need to pass tests but to ensure that students understand why thos e skills are important. Case Study  Educators must pay close attention to every student's needs especially ELL students who struggle to understand the lessons and are at a greater disadvantage than their English monolingual peers.  Talk to students about personal iss ues, provide support, and try to understand the causes of their distraction.  Create a classroom environment that is inclusive of all students. Students need a classroom where they can express themselves freely without fear of judgment.  Be aware of bullying and express your opinions on the topic openly  Encourage students to practices their oral, and writing skills as much as possible  Engage students in activities where they can listen to spoken languages such as movies or videos.

 Read together as a class, and discuss new vocabulary as a habitual activity  Motivate students with fun games or activities  Provide students information about higher education such as college or university.

Encourage students to go to college by telling them that everyone has equal op portunities, and everyone deserves access to education.  Make sure students engage in Kinesthetic activities where they are active and can learn by doing or practicing.  Provide students with resources that would facilitate their understanding and learning o f new material. Allow students to use or work with: o Technology (apps, videos, images) o Books in different languages o Videos, film o Manipulatives o Extended periods of tutoring Case Study o Work in groups o Mentors Conclusion In the study case, Mariela’s personal experiences learning English provide teachers and students aiming to become teachers with new suggestions to consider when teaching emerging bilinguals. In Mariela’s learning experiences, two themes were accentuated throughout the interview; these were, A ffective Barriers and Age concerning language acquisition. Many themes were also present in the life of the subject of the case study, but for this paper, the focus was center on explicitly describing two. In conclusion, there were several factors such as psychological barriers like emotions that affect people’s performance in acquiring a new language, but with appropriate instruction and support from educators’ students can effectively become proficient in English. While many theories support the Critical Period Hypothesis, there is evidence that differences in language learning are not due to age but to other factors such as social, personal, or educational. Every student has unique needs when it comes to learning, so it is the teacher’s responsibility to be aware of those needs.

Case Study References Ahmed, M. K. (2019). Psychological Barriers in the Acquisition of Second Language: A Non -Native Perspective. E -BANGI Journal, 16(7), 1 –9. Retrieved December 8, 2020 from https://search- ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=139003624&site=ehost -live Bialystok, E. (1997). The structure of age: In search of barriers to second langua ge acquisition. Second Language Research, 13(2), 116 -137. Retrieved December 8, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43104537 Frances, C., de Bruin, A., & Duñabeitia, J. A. (2020). The effects of langu age and emotionality of stimuli on vocabulary learning. PLoS ONE, 15(10), 1 –21. https://doi- org.ezp.twu.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0240252 Lee, K. (1995). Age Differences in Second Language Acquisition: An Educational Perspective. The Korean Language in America, 1, 281 -291. Retrieved December 9, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/42922132 Case Study Interview Name: Mariela Country of Origin: Mexico Moved to: Dallas, TX. U.S.A at the age of 16 Age: 28 years old 1. What is your first language? How many languages do you speak? To what degree of fluency? My first language is Spanish. I speak both Spanish and English but more Spanish than English. In English, I can read, comprehend than speak or write. 2. What is yo ur dominant language? Spanish 3. Do you use different languages in different settings? Ye s, I use mostly Spanish at home, and English at my job and at the stores. In my job I can also speak Spanish. 4. How old were you when you first were exposed to Englis h? When I was 16 years old when I move to this country , although I was also exposed to English in Mexico because I had some classes where learn like basic vocabulary like the colors, alphabet, numbers. 5. How did you learn English? In high school. I was in ESL for two years 6. Describe your schooling experiences. It was very difficult because I did not know any English, so I had to ask other people for help and many times some of my classmates deny helping me and some even joke about my accent or criticized the way I spoke. But at the same time, it was also interesting for me, it was something new, I was eager to learn, I wanted to discover new things, meet new people, I was a teenager so for me it was like an adventure 7. What were the hindrances? What helped you? I would say that I didn’t have any friends or anyone to look up to for help because all my friends were in Mexico, for this reason I was in a depression mood, so I wanted to go back to Mexico. My family was economically stable at the time we moved here, so I kind of had the pressure about that that I wanted to drop out of high school so that I could of get a job to help my dad. My dad never allowed me to leave school though, but I was most of time worried about the family. 8. What would yo ur teachers have done differently to help you learn? I think they could have paid more attention to those of us learning English because most of the time when they were teaching something, they were going in a fast pace so if some us did not understand the y would just continue with their lesson; they did not care if we learn the material or not. I think could of give us more time to do assignments and homework. They could probably allow us to work with a classmate someone who was willing to help or translat e the new vocabulary. They could of give us more Case Study technology like tablets were students can look up the internet for help. I learn by listening and viewing things being done, so teacher could have been more demonstrative on the assignments not just passing out indications on a sheet of paper of writing them on the board. 9. Are there ways that you furthered your English development outside of school? Yes, at the stores, and restaurants. I also used to help my dad do his work, he cleaned houses and worked on landscaping in rich neighborhoods, I used to help him clean, mown yards, pick up leaves, and stuff like that so the owners of the houses we used to clean where always there, and I liked to engage in conversations with them to practice my English. 10. What are the major differences between English and your first language in the following areas: a. Verbs -in Spanish it is only one word for the tense of verbs, and in English there are two words like lets’ say for “run” in Spanish I would say “ yo corro” for th e present, “ You corri” for past, and “ yo correre” for future tense while In English for future tense you have to add “will” as I will run. In Spanish you just change the ending of the words and in English you must add ed to some verbs not all though. b. Word order -it is so different because it is inverse in English in English you have the adjective first before the noun like for a balloon that is red you would say the red balloon while in Spanish you would have to flip the position of the words as “ el g lobo rojo” which transalate to the balloon red. c. Alphabet and Morphemes - for the alphabet the sounds of words is different and also the letter ñ does not exists. In English, the letter E hast the same pronunciation as the letter I in Spanish; Morpheme sy stem works in a similar way as Spanish it was not hard for me to understand it because like in the word happy, we have happiness as in Spanish feliz, and Felicidad, happy and feliz being the root word or the morpheme d. Phonemes - yeah, like the sounds of t he words, yeah, yeah, well it was different to Spanish, like when I was learning the alphabet I confuse letters like e and I because e in Spanish is similar to the sound of a in English and then the letter I in Spanish is similar to the sound of e in Engli sh so yeah it is confusing for me like I am still confuse of the things I say. e. Oral Communication Norms - well it depends like if you are with friends there is not like “norms” you can speak like more informal but when you are with other people, you have to act more formal, like be more respectful to what the others are saying so that they can listen to you in the same way. f. Written Communication Norms - No, I don’t think I saw any difference on that g. Issues of Respect - I think it stays the same, I di d not notice any difference in that h. Other? - no 11. What parts of English are the most difficult for you today? I would say that practicing my speaking skills, I have a hard time many times communicating with others or holding a conversation. 12. Are you doing anything to improve your second language skills? Case Study Yes, I am using an app on my phone that help me learn new vocabulary and you can keep advancing levels to learn more it is called Duolingo. I am constantly practicing at my job with people who only speak English or who do not speak Spanish and speak English and another language. 13. How would you suggest someon e goes about learning another language? I would suggest that person to listen more or watch movies in the language that person is trying to learn, I would also suggest them to download the app I am using and use their dictionaries to look up for words and write them down maybe in notecards, to read a lot and highlight the words you do not know and look them up so that you do not have any doubts about what you are reading. 14. Did you receive any formal schooling in your first language? In the U.S. or anoth er country? In or out of school? Oral? Written? Yes, In Mexico I receive formal schooling in my first language Spanish. I went kindergarten , then 6 years of Primaria which is elementary with one more grade, until 6 grades, then I also attended Secundaria w hich is grades 7 th, 8 th, and 9 th. From there I move here to the U.S and they made me repeat 9 th grade. I graduated high school. In high school most classes where in English, but I also was enrolled in Spanish classes all four year of high school. I did not go to college. 15. How well do you speak/read/write/understand your first language? Oh, yes, I say perfectly. I always made A’s in all my Spanish tests and classes . In Spanish class the teacher always asked me to help my classmates. 16. Have you experienced any language loss? If no, how have you maintained your first language? If so, what are the effects of language loss for you? No, I have not experience language loss of my first language. I have maintained my first language because I practice it too much every day. I do feel though that I have experience some language loss of English because for about a year I went back to live in Mexico, so I did not practice like I use to. When I came back, I began to feel uncomfortable speaking English 17. Have you engaged in oral or written translation? For what purposes? Yes I have, I my work I translate orally for a lot of people, like people who is new at the work and they know English. I help them by translating the questions they have with the supervis ors. I have also help them fill out papers with information about them because they paper are only in English. Sometimes I have also help people like when I go to the clinic to see my doctor, there is people who have ask me for help translating like they w ant to know what some paper say. I have also translated for me because like I sometimes get letters like for mail and so sometimes there are words, I do not understand so I google the words to know what they mean. 18. What do I need to know to teach other emergent bilingual students that will be in my class? I will give you the advice to make sure the kid understands what you told him like the instruction because for students like who are working to learn a new language sometime what the teacher says is dif ficult to understand like you need to pay attention to the kids you do not want that these children Case Study stay behind their classmates. Also, like make classes fun, so that students feel motivated to learn like they want to participate. I used to like when the a ctivities in class were like game or stuff like that 19.Is there anything else you think I should know about your experience learning English? Yes, well I just have to add that it was challenging for me , there were times when I wanted to give up and go back to my country. Sometimes I felt like I d o not belong here and felt like no matter how much I tried I can not learn. I felt very like disappointed of me when I could no communicate with like to teacher or other people. I also had a like a diffi cult time when I was graduating from high school. I passed all classes and took all my TAKS tests because when I was in high school, we had to take the TAKS tests I think that changed when I graduate now, they do different tests, any ways I passed all test just for one, the writing portion . I had to write like an essay but I had a lot of grammar errors so I did no t pass it and I could not graduate with my class. I was going to graduate on 2013, b ut because of this I graduated in 2014. During that year I did not go to school, but I kept studying alone to pass my test. I only w ent to school to take the test. It was really hard for me. I felt like I was not smart like if school was not for me. I think that for this is one of the reasons I did not wanted to go t o college. I felt like if I went to college I was also going to fail. Another reason was because of money problems. Now I know that there are other methods to help pay for school like scholarships and loans, or grants but back then when I graduated, I do n ot understand why I did not get like information about college . Us like students who were in ESL programs were not like given information about college, from the friends that I made in school in ESL classes none of them went to college all us after graduat ion just got a job a made families. 20. Any other follow -up questions you need to identify two strong themes. 21. Do you think age affected your ability to acquire a new language? Yes, totally. Sometimes I think that if I would have come to the U.S at a younger age I would have learn more. Like I don’t know maybe 3 to 5 years younger would be ideal. Like my sister for example. When we moved here, she was 12 years old. She was in middle school. I feel like she knows more than me in terms of the language. Like she can speak well and doesn’t fear to talk to other or ask questions like me.

My English is not as good as hers. I can read, and write, and yeah, I can speak too but my accent like is differe nt. You can no tice my accent when I talk. When people learn English as children, they have better possibilities of being better at the language. 22. Can you describe the feelings you experienced when you failed your TAKS test? Where these the same feelings you experience when you started to learn English?

Well, I was depressed. When people asked me about school, I was always quiet like ashamed because I did not pass the test. I was embarrassed because I try hard and still did not pass. I did not want to go out anymore. It was similar yes to the feelings I had when I start to learn English. Those feeling like went away when I passed the test , they did.