Amanda Moore
ESOL 4240-Section 1
This article by Lori Helman discusses how the sound system of Spanish effects both the
pronunciation of words as well as the writings of English Language Learners. In her research, Helman has
found that comparing the sounds of both the Spanish and English language helps to understand why
English Language Learners have difficulties in learning to speak English correctly. She has also found that
there are many sounds in the English language that are not present in the Spanish language. This
absence of a sound can cause a student to substitute a different sound from their native language for
the unknown sound or leave the sound off of a word completely. While there are many different sounds
in both languages, there are some similarities. It is important for teachers to help students build on the
commonalities of both their home language and the new language. Teachers should also give positive
feedback to students who have written words spelled with the Spanish pronunciation because when a
student’s spelling attempts are acknowledged, it shows that the alphabetic understanding represented
is validated.
This article was fascinating to me, in that I did not realize how different two languages could be.
I think the most interesting aspect of this article is that students who speak Spanish leave off the sounds
if they do not know what English sound is produced or they add the known sound from their own
language. In talking with my student during my language analysis, I have heard him do this to many
English words. I did not fully understand why he was doing this until I read this article. I now understand
that what my student is doing sounds right to him because his own language is very different from ours.
If he is trying to say the word them, it would make sense for him to say and spell the word as dem
because there is no /th/sound in Spanish.
I have noticed that the students in my classroom, all of whom are native Spanish speakers, leave
sounds out of their writings. I have also noticed that if they come across a word they do not know while
reading, they will say the word with a Spanish pronunciation. Many of the students in my classroom
speak English very fluently. However, their writing has a mixture of the Spanish pronunciations and the
English pronunciations of certain words. After reading this article, I feel it is possible that these students
know how to speak English well because, being in fourth grade and having been in this country since
birth, they have heard the words so many times that they have memorized how to say the words
correctly. However, when spelling, they tend to use the Spanish pronunciation because their native
language does not have the same pronunciation of sounds as the English language. Therefore, they will
use the sound they know from Spanish in their writings.
I think that this article can help me in working with ELL students in that I will be able to
understand why the students are substituting or deleting sounds when speaking and writing. It will help
me figure out a pattern for their pronunciation and give me a foundation to work with the students on
learning the English pronunciation. It will also help me when communicating to students by allowing me
to have more patience with students when they are thinking of the words and messages they want to
convey.
This article reflects my understanding of Standard I in that I am able to acknowledge distinct
differences in the phonology of the Spanish and English languages. I have learned from this article that
Spanish phonology does not allow certain blends that are present in the English language. These
differences can make it difficult for ELL students to pronounce English words correctly. Also, while many
consonants in both the Spanish and English language systems are the same, there are some sounds in
English that are not present in the Spanish language system. This absence of sounds causes students to
omit certain sounds from words, or not recognize certain sounds in an English word.