Applied Linguistics
In these activities you will:
i.
ii.
iii.
Develop sensitivity to the communication difficulties of ESL
learners
Analyze language patterns of an ESL learner and stages of
fluency development
Reflect and report on impacts of the above
Language is one of the most important characteristics of humans. Linguistics
is the study of languages in general which include English. This is important
to teachers who teach English as an additional language at any level and at
any age. Applied Linguistics involves not only "language" but also practical
issues that affect communication. It entails a look at the sounds and how
they relate to and help create meaning. How do we produce sounds?
It also entails an examination of the structure of sentences. How can we
accurately convey meaning? There are many other issues this subject covers
such as the process children go through to acquire their first language. How
does this compare to the manner in which we learn a second or an additional
language? What are the different variations of language? This examines the
different dialects one can find in a particular language. These clearly indicate
oral language usage but we will also look at the written form of the language
and issues related to this particular process.
The process of learning a language, whether it is a first or a second, is very
fascinating. We will learn basic information related to the main components
of language (Pragmatics, Semantics, Syntax, Morphology, and Phonology) as
well as a look at first and second language acquisition and written language.
The first lesson we learn here is that any time we deal with topics related to
humans and their methods of communication, we find that it is not always
an EXACT science. There are many issues that are clearly recognized and
described with certainty but there are also many variations regarding
different components of language.
Whenever we work with humans at any level, we should always utilize an
understanding of the different factors that play a role in how and why we do
certain things that influence our communication. Humans are, undoubtedly,
complex beings.
Phonology
But what is phonology? Phonology is the study of the sound system of a
language. This includes the patterns of sounds. Humans are capable of
producing a large number of sounds which are not necessarily used in one
language. Certain sounds maybe present in some languages and not others.
When a person learns a language, he or she learns the sound system of that
language. This person learns how to combine sounds to form words. We
learn the sounds for b, s, and u then combine them to form words like bus
or sub. We can also add them to other sounds we learn to form an even
larger selection of possible words like busy, substitute, business, subtle, etc.
All of the sounds represented in all the world languages constitute a set of
sounds that the human vocal tract is able to produce. It is believed,
however, that after a certain age most humans struggle with the production
of sounds to which they were not exposed earlier. If you have tried to learn
a language as an adult, you will know exactly what this means.
This particular branch of language – Phonology – focuses on each sound and
attempts to analyze sounds individually. Sounds are isolated because when
we speak, the sounds run together. It becomes difficult to see when one
ends and another starts. This contributes to the difficulty of learning a
language. We do not stay at the alphabet stage, we move on to words,
phrases, sentences, etc.
The knowledge of the sound system of a language helps us differentiate
between the beginnings and the ends of different words as well as
comprehend speech. Let me explain. When English speakers separate ‘keep
out’ from ‘key pout’ they do so because they “know” the language. [This
example is taken from a cartoon I found in a great book called “An
Introduction to Language.”]
There was a newspaper article in the USA Today last year with the word
Suh-weet as part of its title. This was written in this manner to emulate the
way some have started to pronounce the word sweet to mean great, cool,
etc.
Children make some funny “mistakes” with the language because while in
the process of learning it, they reproduce it based on how they hear it.
Someone shared an interesting example with me. It is about a child who
hears his mother tell him to hold on so he does not fall. He then responds by
saying: I am holding Don. What he heard his mother say was Hold Don
instead of hold on.
There are many other examples. Children learning the English-alphabetsong, often repeat the letters ‘l-m-n-o-p’ as if they were one word. Listen for
that the next time you hear them, it is quite lovely.
Finally, a common example that we all love is ‘ice cream’ and ‘I scream’.
They sound just the same and someone capitalized on that in a TV
commercial. The bottom line is that, most of the time, if a person knows
the language, he or she will be able to differentiate based on the context.
Let’s now examine other issues related to Phonology. Consider the following
interesting points:
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Vocal Tract: The production of sounds involves pushing air from the
lungs through the vocal tract and manipulating several variables at the
same time. These variables include the tongue, lips, teeth, etc.
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Speech includes segments of sounds: When we talk, we produce a set
of movements within our vocal tracts and they result in a continuous
set of sound waves. We do not speak in isolated sounds. We do not
say: Peh, el, ease for please. We string sounds together to form words
and words together to form phrases, etc.
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Phonemic Alphabet: learning how to spell words does not help us in
learning how to pronounce them. In English, for instance, it is said
that we follow an old system of writing which does not always
correspond with pronunciation. Though, through, rough, etc. all have
the same ending -ough which is pronounced differently in the
mentioned examples. Furthermore, the –gh can be silent in some
cases and can be pronounced f in others. Another set of examples that
represent a confusing pattern will be: meat, great which are
pronounced differently although they share -eat at the end.
a. Vowels: we have five vowels in the English language which are
(a–e-i-o-u). Some consider the y a vowel and others even
consider the w a vowel. Now, let’s see how many sounds these
five basic vowels produce. If you thought five, you are mistaken.
The correct number is 14.
b. Consonants: although not as varied in their production of
different sounds, there are some letters that are combined to
form new sounds in English such as c and h, s and h, t and h,
etc.
Phonological Rules:
Aspiration: this has to do with a puff of air that follows the production of
certain sounds in certain positions in words. Example: pronounce the word
paper and then pronounce the word pepper. Do you notice the difference
between the ways you pronounce the first p in both words? The p in pepper
is followed by a short puff of air. ELLs learn the sounds associated with the
letters of the alphabet (or think they do) and apply it to all words with no
exceptions. This contributes to what is known as the “foreign accent” effect.
Vowel Lengthening: some combinations of vowels result in the same
sounds while some other times the same combinations could result in
different sounds. In English we lengthen some vowels which can be very
subtle. This is also a source of difficulty for ELLs.
Vowel nasalization: vowels are nasalized when they are next to a nasal
consonant. What are nasal consonants? They are m, n, and ŋ which are nasal
in nature. Try to practice pronouncing some words with these sounds and
you will be able to sense the role your nose plays in their production. The
third sound is used to refer to the n when followed by a g or a k.
Flapping: Anther important factor in the sound system of the English
language has to do with flapping. In American English, we tend to change
the pronunciation of t in certain words. It actually becomes a sound similar
to a d. A good example is how write becomes writer. Most native speakers of
American English pronounce writer similar to rider. Another example of this
phenomenon is the word butter. It is very rare to hear a native speaker of
American English articulate a clear t sound in butter (*budder). It is
needless to repeat that this also confuses English language learners.
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is the study of how language is affected by the context in which
it occurs. Some linguists have described pragmatics as what makes people
speak to others in an appropriate manner.
Speakers of any language know how to combine words and phrases to form
sentences. They also know how to combine sentences to express complex
thoughts and ideas which is also known as discourse.
When we discuss discourse and discourse analysis, we look at: style,
appropriateness, cohesiveness, rhetorical force, topic/subtopic of structure,
differences between spoken and written discourse, and grammatical
properties.
One sentence often affects the meaning of the sentence that follows it. How
many times we feel that we do not understand something because we
missed the first part?! Or how often we ask people to tell us the context in
which one sentence was made in order to make sense of it.
This is partially due to the fact that in English for example, many words have
more than one meaning. Consider the bank, for instance. It could mean the
place in which one deposits a paycheck or it could be related to a river. How
do we know which meaning? From the context!
A great deal of what we mean is implied. Consider the following
announcement: “My cousin and her family want to come to the party. The
party starts at 4 but we will tell her it starts at 6.” What do you think is
implied by this sentence? Could it be that the cousin and her family are very
annoying people? Can they be an embarrassment to the rest of the group?
Although the speaker did not say it, it can be implied that this cousin and
her family are not welcomed to stay the full length of the party. I am
guessing that they are not exactly a fun bunch. These types of statements
are always a source of confusion to ELLs.
It is surprising to people when they begin to analyze their own language and
find that much of what is said is implied and that indirect language is a big
part of communication. Some people call it sarcasm and others call it
mockery but that depends on the situation. In other cases it is considered
polite to use indirect language in certain incidents so one is not accused of
being rude.
Knowing what to say and when to say it is very important. Knowing how to
speak to different individuals based on your relationship to them (formal or
informal) is also important. In other words, knowing words and phrases in a
language is not enough. In order to be successful users of a language,
people need to know what people mean when they are indirect or when they
imply certain thoughts, requests, feelings, etc.
Teachers of ELLs should be particularly aware of pragmatics and how it plays
a big rule in communication. They need to watch their speech for excessive
use of these types of issues which confuse language learners especially
those who are in the early stages of second language acquisition.
ELLs do not always understand indirect speech or implied speech. This takes
a little bit of time so teachers are asked to explain themselves, others, or
situations if necessary.
Semantics:
What is semantics? It is the study of meaning of words, phrases, and
sentences.
Linguistic semantics deals with the conventional meaning conveyed by the
use of words, phrases, and sentences of a language and not necessarily
what an individual speaker might want them to mean on a particular
occasion.
We learn from studying this subject that Sense or the study of meaning can
be divided into two different areas: Speaker-sense and Linguistic-sense. The
first kind is actually part of Pragmatics; therefore, we focus on the second
kind which emphasizes the literal meaning of words.
We also learn about Lexical ambiguity which happens often when a word has
multiple meanings. The English language has a multitude of these words.
Examples of synonymy are answer/reply, couch/sofa, buy/purchase,
freedom/liberty, etc.
Antonymy is yet another part of this topic. We are all familiar with antonyms
which are opposites. Here we learn that there are different kinds of
opposites. Binary antonyms are complete opposites so when we use one,
we cannot use the other - Smoker and nonsmoker. “John is a smoker” can
be an acceptable sentence but I can not refer to the same John as a
nonsmoker. Another kind of antonym is Gradable antonyms. These are
opposites but we can find different degrees/levels in between them. A good
example can be old/young. We are not all young or old. We have people in
between. Or, rich/poor! We are not all rich or all poor. We have people who
are in between. Then we have Converse antonyms which are used to
describe the relationship between two opposites. Examples are: parent/child,
borrow/lend, etc.
Jokes are often difficult for many language learners to understand because
they rely on words having double meaning or ambiguity of some sort. When
young children ask each other: “Why was six afraid of seven?” and the
answer is: “Because seven ate (eight) nine.” Native speakers of English think
this is funny but an ELL might loose the whole point because no one is
taking the time to write it down or explain it.
One person said this to another: “Why do chicken coops have 2 doors?” The
answer was: “Because if they had 4 doors they would be chicken sedans.”
Again, jokes do not always translate from one language into another. I have
often heard people say things like “this joke is really funny in my native
language” but no one laughs at it in English.
The study of Semantics is truly fascinating. Most of us speak our native
language with little or no thought given to the meaning behind the many
utterances we produce each day. It comes naturally to us. This, however, is
not always true with those who learn it and speak it as an additional
language. Language learners tend to translate the new language back into
their first language as they process the information they receive. This is
especially true at the beginning and intermediate stages of language
learning. Languages do vary in their basic structure and sometimes
meaning is also affected due to cultural influences, etc.
We need to not only be aware of the complexity of the issue but also the
difficulties experienced by many learners due to the fact that English has a
large number of words and synonyms which require a huge effort on the
part of the learners. In addition, as we have discussed before, this
contributes a great deal to the ambiguity of our language which affects
comprehension to some degree.
Finally, let me end my discussion of semantics by sharing this interesting
and related quote. It serves as a humorous example of what we “mean”.
“The words Fire Department make it sound like they’re the ones who are
starting fires, doesn’t it? It should be called the “Extinguishing Department”.
We don’t call the police the “Crime Department”. Also, the “Bomb Squad”
sounds like a terrorist gang. The same is true of wrinkle cream. Doesn’t
sound like it causes wrinkles? And why would a doctor prescribe pain pills? I
already have pain! I need relief pills!” George Carlin (1997)
SYNTAX:
The word Syntax is Greek and it literally means “a putting together” or
“arrangement”. Some call syntax the study of phrases, clauses, and
sentences. Syntax is actually the study of structure and the order of
components within a sentence. It is the part of grammar that, when
understood, indicates a speaker’s knowledge of sentences and their
structures within a language.
Consider the following sentence which is often used by linguists to explain
the rules of sentence structure in English:
“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” Noam Chomsky
The structure of the sentence actually follows the rules of an acceptable
sentence in English. Syntactically it is an adequate sentence but semantically
it is not. ELLs who are at the beginning stages of L2 acquisition may not be
able to tell if a speaker is being funny or if they just do not understand the
sentence for lack of knowledge of the new language.
Over the years, many linguists have tried to create a system of rules they
believe defines possible sentences in a language.
Words are classified into parts of speech or categories. When we speak, we
do not normally think about our sentence structure and whether or not we
use nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. A speaker of a language strings a
number of categories (parts of speech) together in a certain order to convey
meaning.
Linguists classified words into categories because this helps them explain
sentences. This, however, does not mean that all speakers of a language
know these different parts or can name them, analyze a sentence, etc.
Native speakers of a language do it effortlessly because they learn their
language from birth and it is innate. The process can be a bit different for
ELLs depending on their age when they first learn the new language.
In English, we have words that can be made into plural and words that
cannot. Words are labeled based on their behavior in the language. Consider
also how adjectives can be made comparative.
Word orders are important in English. Words cannot be used randomly and
be expected to make sense. There are rules. When a speaker or user of a
language violates these rules, confusion and/or misunderstandings could
occur.
Earlier we learned that a lexical ambiguity could result when words have
more than one meaning. There is another linguistic phenomenon which is
called structural ambiguity. This results when a sentence has more than one
possible meaning. Consider this example: British English teacher. The
English teacher could be British or the teacher teaches British English.
Now, let’s examine Active voice vs. Passive voice. (Voice is a technical term
which indicates that a verb is either active or passive.) The dog bit the man.
This is an example of an active sentence. “The man was bitten by the dog”
is, on the other hand, a passive sentence. Reflect on the subject and object
of these two sentences. In the passive sentence, the direct object of the
active sentence became the subject. We also change the verb by adding a
corresponding verb to be and the verb in the past participle form of the main
verb. We also add “by” then the subject of the active sentence.
“Peter loves Susan” and “Susan is loved by Peter” are two additional
examples.
There is a time when this type of sentence can be useful, though. Consider
the following example: They say that fast food is unhealthy. Who are they?
Some would ask. A person could avoid these kinds of poorly structured
sentences by rephrasing them. Here is an alternative: Fast food is said to be
unhealthy.
These examples remind me of the fact that ELLs struggle a great deal with
passive sentences. Often times the learners misunderstand them especially
when they are still at the beginning stages of the language learning process.
Interrogatives: There are situations when we do not always follow some of
the rules of sentence structure. We form a question in English by moving the
verb which normally follows the subject of the sentence to the left.
Examples: “The student has completed his assignment” becomes “Has the
student completed his assignment?” Also, “You will come with me” becomes
“Will you come with me?” These are called yes-no questions and the general
rule is to move the auxiliary verb in front of the subject. Another example
will be a question with a wh-word: “What has the student completed?”
Questions created with a wh-word can also be created with an added
auxiliary verb. Example: “Johnny went to Disney World” becomes “Where
did Johnny go?”
The question-formation system we have in the English language is by no
means universal. Not all languages create questions the same way which
causes puzzlement for many ELLs. We not only ask learners to change the
word order to create a question, but also ask them to learn the intonation
that comes with the formation of a question. ELLs face a number of
difficulties in this area. Many of them, especially beginners, do not have the
skill, knowledge, and/or understanding of the language to analyze these
sentences and then apply the necessary transformations. In addition, many
students struggle to find the correct form of the auxiliary verb when
structuring a question.
Syntax has been the most studied branch of Linguistics. This resulted in the
creation of rules. The English language has many rules and teachers need to
provide explanations to English language learners whenever possible.
Word orders are not the same in all languages. In English we place an
adjective before the noun it describes. The beautiful house…. In other
languages this could be word-for-word translated into “The house
beautiful….”
This is important because many English language learners follow the word
order of their native language particularly at the early stages of their
acquisition of the new language. Be aware and be sensitive. Do not use
harsh correction; instead, provide the student with the opportunity to
discover the new language. With the right amount of practice and with the
proper instruction, they will get the English syntax.
This is truly an intriguing subject which never fails to captivate me. We try
to learn more about a language in order to better teach it. Remember that,
ELLs are in school learning English and content simultaneously. Knowing
some “tricks” about the language and sharing them with your students could
help them a great deal with the acquisition of academic language.
Morphology:
Morphology is the study of word formation. This component of language
focuses on the internal structure of words.
Morphemes are the smallest unit of linguistic meaning or function. For
example: consider the words sheep and dog. Each one of these words is a
single morpheme but I can put them together and create another word
which is sheepdog. I can then say that this new word consists of 2 different
morphemes. I can also take it to another level and pluralize it which gives us
“sheepdogs”. Now this word contains 3 different morphemes because the “s”
is considered a morpheme as well.
We can add {er} at the end of a verb to change its meaning. We can
breakdown words and find not only their roots or stems but also other
morphemes that help us form new words. The word disorganization is a
good example. We can break it down into dis-organ-iz-ation.
We, however, should be careful because a morpheme such as –er can serve
two different purposes in English. When it is at the end of a verb, it creates a
noun but when we place it at the end of an adjective it performs a different
function. This, too, is a source of confusion for some ELLs.
In English, we follow a certain order when creating words using different
morphemes. We are not at liberty to mix and match suffixes to form
different words. There is an order we need to follow in order to form these
complex words. We first start with the root {R} and then add on to it
following a specific order.
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We can change the category (part of speech) of a word by adding
derivational affixes. (Fool – foolish.)
Some words in English extend from one category to another.
We can create new words by combining two words. (back up)
We can also create completely new words. (Xerox & Kleenex)
We also clip words to shorten them. (Dorm – dormitory)
We can blend words to create a new word. (Guesstimate)
After creating acronyms, we often use them as words (SCUBA). We
also abbreviate long words or phrases (TGIF).
These are only example of how our language changes and how new words
and phrases are created to introduce innovative ideas, etc.
We need to remember that the ability to create newer words or longer words
based on the use of suffixes and morphemes can be challenging for students
who are learning English as a new language. Native speakers of English
often rely on their instinct when using some of suffixes to create more
complex words and they are successful most of the time because of their
long exposure to the language. This, however, is not the case with ELLs.
They have to learn this when they come to our schools in addition to the
regular grade-level curriculum they need to learn. Teachers need to teach
these features to ELLs and allow them to use them gradually in their own
speech and writings. There are a number of exercises and activities online
that introduce the most common suffixes, their meanings, how they change
words, etc. These can be selected carefully by the teachers. Games can also
be a good way to learn and practice understanding and using these suffixes.
First-Language Acquisition (L1)
First-Language Acquisition entails an examination of children and how they
learn their native (first) language. A child who has no learning disabilities will
learn most of the intricate systems of the grammar of the language to which
he or she is exposed. We have already agreed on the complexity of language
and its different components. Yet a child at the age of 5 will know how to
ask questions, use pronouns correctly, form negative sentences, etc. In
other words, children learn general syntactic, semantic, morphological, and
phonological rules of their language before they go to school.
The remarkable process of going from being a baby who knows nothing
about his or her caregivers’ language to one who can communicate
effectively in a relatively short time, is referred to as the study of language
acquisition or first-language acquisition. This is different from a person, child
or adult, learning a language other than his or her first (native) language.
It is no surprise that children require interaction with the language in order
to acquire it. They need to be in an environment where a language is used
and around people who speak a language, such as English, in order for this
acquisition to take place.
Prelinguistic Stages:
Many of the sounds infants make from birth to 4 or 5 months are considered
prelinguistic stages. These include crying, cooing, laughing, etc. Infants start
babbling around the age of 5 months and often continue until they are about
a year old. When analyzed, babbling is found to represent language-like
production because it varies in its intonation. Sometimes, infants sound like
they are responding to a question, asking a question, requesting something,
and so on through babbling. Humans have a need for language and we start
very early in attempting to communicate our feelings and needs.
Linguistic Stages:
Although in our study we will focus on children acquiring English, many of
the principles relate to the acquisition of other languages as well.
Phonology: Many believe that the first year is devoted to figuring out the
phonetic component of the language. The second year entails learning how
to use these sounds in the language. Certain sounds are acquired earlier
than others but these could vary from slightly from language to language. It
is mentioned in the textbook that /p,b,t,d,g,k/ are acquired first but I am
sure you remember what I shared with you in class about my native
language and how we do not have a /p/ which means that an infant
surrounded by this language may not acquire that sound.
Infants also use syllable repetition especially with their first words such as
mama, dada, wa-wa …
Morphology: Around the age of 2, children combine words and begin to form
two-word utterances and continue to add to that as they grow older. As we
all know, children will not speak in complete/correct sentences that early.
Syntax: Children start acquiring single words that are important to them and
their “world”. They are always concrete and affect their daily lives. They
proceed to the next stage where they create 2 word sentences but they omit
auxiliary verbs. They advance to another stage where they use pronouns
and auxiliary verbs as well as adjective. They continue to acquire additional
categories and produce more complex sentences before the age of 5.
Semantics: This is a difficult component of the language but the authors
provide specific examples to explain some general characteristics related to
the acquisition of this branch of language. Children will clearly
overgeneralize and understand positive terms and expressions before they
do the negative ones. Children struggle with passive sentences until between
the ages of 6 and 10 which indicates that an active sentence will make much
more sense to a young child under 5.
Issues in Language Acquisition:
There are many positions, views, and theories regarding language
acquisition. Most Linguists, especially in the USA, embrace Noam Chomsky’s
theory regarding the acquisition of language. He believes that humans are
predisposed to the acquisition of language. It is innate. The fact that human
children learn the complex system of their native language in such a short
amount of time is a clear indication that we are inclined to acquire language.
We learn to speak our native language naturally unlike learning to read and
write, for example, which require formal training. Children do not learn the
basics of their language in a classroom or with the hiring of a trained person.
They learn these basics spontaneously. This is like walking for example
which all human babies regardless of where they are born learn unless they
have a disability. Learning to read and write is a little different. We have to
be taught. This is often compared to other tasks children learn later on in
their lives which require practicing as well as trial and error (examples
include: buttoning a shirt, putting on a coat, tying shoes, etc.).
All people who have no disabilities or limitations are capable of language
acquisition regardless of their IQ or social status. We only need to be
exposed to it because we are biologically programmed to acquire it. This
universal phenomenon is difficult to explain any other way.
Please remember that we are discussing human beings. This means that
stages and milestones will vary to a great extent. What we looked at are
general patterns and many children do not conform to these patterns. We
need to be conscious of this simple fact because we try to always avoid
issues that result in taking unreasonable actions that might harm these
children.
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References:
The Study of Language by George Yule, Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation by Steven
Brown and Salvatore Attardo,
An Introduction to Language by V. Fromkin, R. Rodman, and N. Hyams, and Linguistics for non-linguists
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (L2):
Just like L1, learning a second language is also a complex process. One of
the biggest differences between a person learning L1 and L2 is that we have
prior knowledge of our native language and a certain amount of maturity
when we learn a second language. In other words, we already have a
language for communication and thought.
L2 learners go through a silent period. This is a natural stage which takes
place at the beginning of the language learning process. Learners take time
as they watch and see how this new language works. This stage could last
anywhere between a couple of weeks to a few months. Some linguists
consider the time infants take to observe speakers of L1 as a silent period,
therefore; they consider this as one of the similarities between L1 and L2
acquisition.
Teachers, and in some cases peers, are the primary source of language. A
large number of L2 learners speak their native language with their families
which means educators should provide them with opportunities to learn both
social (BICS) and academic (CALP) language skills in school.
Second language learners often take time to process information in L2
especially when they are exposed to academic language which is highly
demanding and complex.
Another similarity between L1 and L2 acquisition is that learners
overgeneralize. Many of the errors made by toddlers and young children in
L1 are also common with second language learners.
Age plays a role in L2 acquisition. Some studies show that it may be more
beneficial to learn a second language before puberty if we want to be able to
produce it with native-like pronunciation. This is referred to as the Critical
Period.
The success of second language learners could vary depending on a number
of factors. If the learner is motivated and uninhibited, he or she could be
more successful than one who is afraid to take risks or is unwilling to try
speaking a new language to avoid embarrassment. Some of these factors, as
you could see, are personality related and they are harder to control. This is
why we always remind educators that students are individuals and they
learn at their own speed.
Learners often employ a number of strategies which allow them to
communicate in L2 even if their proficiency is still relatively low. Here are
some of these strategies:
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The use of gestures
The use of sound effects
Mixing L1 with L2 (code-switching)
Using general instead of specific terms
Describing something when one doesn’t know its name
Using new words repeatedly
Self correction of errors
It is actually recommended that educators encourage second language
learners to use these strategies if they do not already do so.
Each learner is an individual and many vary in the order they acquire certain
language features. There are, however, some stages the majority of
language learners go through.
Stage 1: Learners may not follow the standard word order of the English
language and sometimes they omit certain parts of sentences. Example: “I
no cake like” or “He not went with me”
Stage 2: Learners get the word order but they make grammatical errors.
Example: “He don’t like cake” or “Yesterday, I run to school”.
Stage 3: Learners use grammatical morphemes more accurately. Example:
“She likes cake” or “He worked hard”.
Stage 4: They acquire and are capable of producing more complex sentence
structure.
In the early stages of learning a second language, some learners experience
L1 “interference” with their L2. This normally happens with certain aspects of
the language which differ greatly from the learner’s native language. I am
going to try to give you some examples in English and Spanish. I would like
to ask for your forgiveness in advance, though, because my keyboard does
not allow me to type certain symbols/accents which are important in Spanish
such as the tilde over the n. I do trust, however, that you are going to be
able to get the point. Also, as you all know, my Spanish is VERY limited so
please overlook the errors if you see any.
Examples:
In English we have a fairly strict word order for affirmative active sentences.
She speaks Spanish.
“Ella habla espanol.”
We also make certain changes when we form a question or a negative
statement. We do not just add a no to form a negative statement. I learned
from reading a couple of books related to this subject that some of these
changes are the cause of difficulties for some Spanish speakers particularly
in the early stages of L2 acquisition.
She does not speak Spanish.
“Ella no habla espanol.”
Does she speak Spanish?
“Habla ella espanol?”
I realize that many of you can come up with better examples but bear with
me!
When you analyze the above SIMPLE examples, you find that certain
processes can be more complicated in English than they are in Spanish. This
is an issue we as teachers should be sensitive to in order to serve our
students in the best way possible. As we become aware of these differences,
we are able to provide learners with opportunities to practice and a variety
of exercises until they “master” these features.
Below, you will find a table I created which is based on my readings on L1
and L2 Acquisition. I hope you will find it beneficial!
Feature
Prior knowledge
First language (L1)
Acquisition
Learners start as infants
Second language (L2)
Acquisition
Learners start with prior
knowledge in L1
Environment
Models
Overall Success
Variation
Low anxiety – non-threatening,
adults are generally patient with
children and they modify their
speech
Children have constant
opportunities to interact with
native speakers of their L1 in
informal settings. Their primary
models are family, friends,
caregivers, etc.)
Success is guaranteed. Children
normally achieve mastery of
their L1
There is little variation
Intuition
Children develop clear intuition
regarding what is correct and
incorrect
Formal instruction
Children do not need formal
instruction to learn their native
language
It is believed that we have an
innate ability to learn our L1
Motivation
Overgeneralization Children overgeneralize (Ex: I
rided my bike yesterday)
Affective factors
Success is not influenced by
personality, motivation,
attitude, etc.
Code switching
Does not occur
Errors
Children’s errors are not
typically corrected. They
eventually figure things out
Error transfer
N/A
Academically demanding at
times
Learners rely mainly on
educators in formal settings
(schools) and often have
fewer opportunities to
interact with native speakers
Complete success is not
guaranteed.
Learners often vary in their
degree of proficiency
Learners are often unable to
form clear judgment
regarding grammatical
issues
Instruction is believed to
help learners
Some argue that L2
acquisition is externally
motivated (socio-cultural
factors, …)
Learners also overgeneralize
Affective factors play a
major role in L2 proficiency
Learners rely on it in the
early stages
Some error correction may
be necessary but many are
more concerned with fluency
than accuracy
Learners often show signs of
L1 interference mainly with
sentence structure/word
orders
Sources: Differences between L1 and L2 acquisition (Bley-Vroman)
Mastering ESL and Bilingual Methods (Herrera & Murry)
Written Language:
歡迎
Have you ever looked at a Chinese script (see box above) and wondered
what it meant? (The Chinese phrase means Welcome.) Have you thought
about their writing system and how it differs from the writing system we use
in English? Have you ever looked at a Hebrew message anywhere and
wondered if they write from left-to-right or right-to-left? Have you ever seen
an Arabic sign before?
There are many languages that use a different writing system with a
different alphabet or characters, etc.
Even in English we find ourselves drawn to pictures and symbols to convey
meaning. We often look at a traffic sign that has no words and understand
exactly what it means. The deer crossing sign included in this chapter is a
good example of this. Analyzing written communication is quite interesting
and reminds us of the complexity of this form of language.
Over the centuries we uncovered different examples of ancient civilizations
creating unique ways to communicate their thoughts, feelings, etc on walls
of temples, tombs, and other buildings. Many of these communications were
written in pictographs or drawings. Some are simple and some others are
more complex but whenever a drawing represents a particular object it is
called pictograph and if it also represents more abstract ideas it is called an
ideograph.
I am trying to learn Chinese, which is one of the most difficult languages to
learn due to certain complexities, and I am learning that many of their
characters are based on some connection to an object or a concept. This
system of writing is referred to as Morphographic writing.
Because English is an alphabetic language, we need to examine its writing
system. We learn this week that although we have consonants and vowels in
English, we rely more heavily on consonants. In American English, we have
five vowels which provide about 14 possible sounds and combinations. We
also have 21 consonants which provide about 23 consonants. When we
compare this to other alphabetic languages we find that not all are “equal”.
We find that Hebrew relies on consonants and vowels are inferred in written
language. It is fascinating how languages and their writing systems can
differ even when they belong to the same family of languages or use a
similar style of writing.
Pronunciation and spelling in English do not always match. This, as we know,
contribute a great deal to the difficulty experienced by many writers, both
native speakers and non-native speakers. We often hear people confess that
they are poor spellers although they are educated. This is due to the limited
correspondence between sounds and spelling. We have Cs that sound like Ks
and Xs that represent KS sound. There are a couple of reasons for this which
can be traced back to historical changes. English has seen some
modifications over its very long history and it has also borrowed many words
from different languages but mainly Greek and Latin. These languages have
different word patterns which affected word formation as well as spelling in
English words that have roots in these languages.
We should always remember that reading and writing are skills most people
acquire through formal education and not just “pick them up”. I should add
that not all people become fluent readers and capable writers even with
formal education.
English language learners struggle with this particular skill due to the
complexities discussed in this chapter. Learning to write can take time and
learning to write correctly takes even longer with some English language
learners. It has been confirmed again and again that students who develop
the writing skill in their native language can transfer the skill itself into
English. This is true in that if one learns to organize thoughts and provide an
introduction, a conclusion, etc when writing in the native language, this
same person will utilize the same ability in the new language. This, however,
does not mean that it is easy. Remember that there are many other issues
involved. Students learn to “use” acceptable word-order in English which
may be very different from that in their native language. Students also need
time to build knowledge of vocabulary that can allow for the creation of full
sentences and paragraphs. Good writing is more than just ideas; students
need to know enough words to be able to compose meaningful and
comprehensible written output.
Teachers of ELLs have been instructed to encourage inventive spelling until
the learners are confident and comfortable with writing in the new language.
This is particularly true when working with younger learners. In the mean
time, teachers are expected to share with these learners what they think is
good writing. Teachers need to point out helpful hints and commonalities
that can assist these students in their writing.
Punctuation is also a significant part of writing in English. Many languages
rely less on punctuation marks which is why teachers of ELLs take the time
to introduce them to these students when giving writing assignments.
Influence of one’s native language is an important issue when writing in a
new language. Teachers often find signs of language transfers in different
parts of students’ writing (word order, use of a mixture of native and new
words, etc.).
Another influence of students’ native languages can be seen in capitalization,
or lack of, in their writing. In English, we capitalize names, days of the week,
months, countries, first letter of a sentence, etc. This is not necessarily true
in all languages. This is why we need to remind our students of it and bring
it up as often as possible; particularly with students whose native language
does not use the Roman alphabet.
Writing is a skill and teachers need to expose ELLs to this skill as early as
possible but should also expect them to take time to acquire it.
Additional Readings:
The following articles are interesting:
What is Linguistics? http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/what.htm
Linguistics article http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/3920/
Phonology:
Sounds of English at http://www.soundsofenglish.org/
The Sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-soundsipa.htm
Analysis of Language http://anthro.palomar.edu/language/language_3.htm
Be certain to click on the “bell” for sound.
Sounds and Spelling
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/features/
spelling/index.shtml
Fluency and the English Language Learner
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/fluencyformula/pdfs/Fluency_and_EL
Ls.pdf
Learn English through Song http://www.letslets.com/teach_english.htm
Although this website introduces the sounds of British English, it is
interesting.
Assignment:
Step 1: Read the different components provided and review the
designated websites.
Step 2: Select either an audio tape of an ELL or the text file and
review the content. Depending on your choice, perform either a
phonological analysis of the audio or syntactic analysis of the text
file. Write an analysis including identification of variance from the
Standard English form. (Choose two or more writing samples for
your analysis.)
Step 3: Reflect on and write your thoughts on how recognition of
these differences affect communication and how this might influence
your communication styles and assessment of ESL products in your
classes (e.g. presentations, papers).
Please check the writing samples provided.
If you have difficulty reading the scanned samples, email me and I
will provide you with a hardcopy.