Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Mendoza. She teaches fourth grade ELA. I learned so much about her, what she went through to learn a second language, and how here experiences affect students in her class. One thing that really stood out to me was her motivation for learning a second language. She was already ten years old and had been living in Mexico her entire, therefore I can only imagine how hard it was for her to learn a second language. While we were discussing motivation she told me she was intrinsically motivated to learn. There are several reasons why a person is intrinsically motivated to learn a new language. According to Ortega, those reasons are "stimulation, where a student feels a high when hearing or speaking a foreign language, self-accomplishment to surpass one's self and grasp a difficult concept, or for the sheer satisfaction of more knowledge" (Ortega, 2009, p. 176). I believe Mrs. Mendoza's intrinsic motivation is due to self accomplishment and more knowledge. She told me she had to learn to understand therefor she wanted to understand.

After going into more detail about what motivates a student, I asked Mrs. Mendoza how aptitude, intelligence and ability affect her students' learning and lesson planning. I really liked her explanation when she used her bilingual class as an example.. She clearly stated "I have high expectations for my students." This could be do to the fact that she may have experienced or felt some of the things her students feel now. She may also think, if I can do it so can you. According to Ortega, "context and life experiences can contribute to shaping and even changing such abilities, motivations and predispositions" (Ortega, 2009, p. 145). I believe her previous experiences in acquiring a second language have given her the power of empathy. She is able to see what motivates her students and how to teach them grow in learning.


Here is the link to my interview: Interview with Mrs. Mendoza