As stated previously, I am fascinated with language...how it develops, how people acquire it, and the various problems associated with each of these areas. I am especially interested in children's language development and one day, I hope to work in this field. However, since I have already been exposed to a good deal of general information about children's language development in previous CD courses, I chose to explore a different area of language for this project. I want to find out more about people acquiring English as a Second Language (their difficulties, training methods, etc.). I know extremely little about this topic except for my few conversations with the Japanese exchange students that my aunt and uncle keep at their house. Before school started, I learned about how they could not enroll for fall classes until they had passed an E.S.L. test. This was so that the college could get an idea of their level of functioning (in the English language) and enroll them in classes, accordingly. This was very frustrating for them because they had been studying all summer and passed most sections of the test with the exception of the grammar part. Each day, they completed many English worksheets, used related computer programs, and attended live conversation practice. It was very interesting to hear of their struggles with our language and to learn about the specific areas giving them difficulty. Aside from talking with these students, I have little experience with this topic. I do know that many people come to the United States and must go to a SLP for help with intelligibility and accent training. During the MOO session on Wednesday, I started to narrow down this topic and I came up with the question, “What are some therapeutic methods used when working with clients acquiring English as a Second Language?” I would also like to find out how common it is for SLP’s to work with these clients because I already know there are certified TESL’s (Teachers of English as a Second Language). Right now, there are countless “unknowns” about this topic that I am looking forward to exploring in the near future.

After taking the VARK Inventory, I found that I am a multi-modal learner. This means that not just one mode, such as visual or aural, is dominant for me. I tend to adapt the learning mode I use to specific situations. For instance, if a teacher prefers to lecture all through class, then ask questions aloud, and give oral tests, I would adapt my learning style to aural mode. I felt that this quiz was fairly accurate because there is not one definite mode of learning that I use. I also had high scores on the aural and kinesthetic parts of the inventory. This surprised me because I thought I would have the highest score on the visual section. However, after I read the study suggestions, I found that I often do like to read my notes out loud and explain things to others (common practices for Aural learners). Also, I like hands on activities and feel that "doing" really contributes to true understanding (Kinesthetic practices). I think the inventory was pretty interesting because I really do call equally upon different modes in order to learn. My only surprise was that my visual score was low because that is the mode that I prefer.