While reading chapter 3 in Saville-Troike, I related many concepts in the chapter to my own experiences learning languages. I had not realized that different approaches to SLA had different approaches to the evaluation of errors. I was especially interested in S. Pit Corder's assertion that making errors is "part of the learning process itself" and that it is a sign that a student is possibly exploring a new language, rather than struggling to separate their L1 habits. I find this concept especially important because as a future educator, I believe that my students need to feel comfortable making errors so that they will continue to push themselves and explore their new skills rather than allowing a fear of mistakes to hold them back. By helping my students see errors as a part of the learning experience, they may be more apt to attempt more difficult concepts and hopefully grow more as learners.

I especially related to the excerpt of a letter written by a native Korean speaker because it reflected many of the errors I have made in the languages I have learned. The excerpt read:
 "The weather is been very hot in the Washington D.C. There climate last week warm."
The text explained that the "is been" shows that the speaker has learned to English auxiliary verb, but has not yet mastered it--intralingual development; while other errors are the result of interlingual interference because the speaker is applying Korean language structures and rules to the English language. This is a problem I often run into when speaking or writing in Spanish. While I can always communicate successfully, it is at times more of a direct-from-English translation, rather than the full Spanish equivalent. Although I began learning Spanish when I was very young--five years old--I will never fully develop Spanish fluency to the same degree as my English fluency.

The idea that L2 learners will never be as fluent in their L2 as their L1 actually made me understand my own struggles with my L2. I see many of the errors I make explained in the text and I can understand where they result from and also the fact that learning is a life-long process. I will always produce errors in my L2, though not as many as someone who began learning their L2 at a later age than I did, or who does not work with their L2 as often as I do. This is an idea that I will present to my students so they will hopefully be more motivated to push themselves further without feeling the need to be perfect speakers at all times.

Chapter 1 and 2

While reading chapters 1 and 2, I was very interested in the focus on the social aspect of language acquisition. If an individual does not have a strong foundation in their L1, it will be much more difficult them to develop an L2. Two years ago I volunteered in a kindergarten classroom, and the teacher would have me work one-on-one with certain students to help them with reading. However, as she explained to me, a large part of this individual attention was the conversation I would have with those students. Students who do not have conversational interactions at home risk falling behind and this can also serve as a road block should they attempt to acquire and L2. As a bilingual education major, I will need to take into consideration whether my students may need additional practice with certain aspects of their L1 before they can succeed in their L2.

Throughout elementary school I learned both English and Spanish at school in a dual language program and while I picked up Spanish fairly quickly because of my young age, I did not pick it up nearly as quickly as my peers whose L1 was Spanish acquired English. I received a lot of exposure to Spanish in the classroom, but still spoke English at home and experienced much more exposure to it than Spanish. My peers who acquired English as their L2 were exposed to English much more than I was exposed to Spanish and therefore acquired it much more quickly. However, because I already had an L2 and began learning at such an early age, when I was older and took classes in German, I was able to acquire that language more easily than my peers who were learning an L2 for the first time.

I have experienced language classes that approach language acquisition from the position of skill and drill vocabulary and grammar lessons, and while vocabulary and grammar is certainly important, the social aspects of language acquisition play an important role in developing proficiency.