CHAPTER 2
FIRST LANGUAGE INTERFERENCE
There are many ways in which a learner's first language can interfere with their acquisition of English. This chapter is intended to help teachers develop an understanding of what some of those ways could be, particularly given some knowledge of the first and maybe second language of their learners. This information will supplement initial assessments of their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and help teachers to build a picture of their learners to inform their teaching.
It is worth asking learners which languages they speak, which they can read, and which they write in, as the answers may surprise you. In many countries more than one language is spoken, and two or three may be used in public places, so bi- or multilingualism is more common than in the UK. On the other hand, some learners may have had little opportunity to learn to read and/or write in their first language for a range of reasons often beyond their control, and they may feel a stigma attached to this, so it is important to be sensitive towards these learners and respect their privacy.
Please do not think for one moment that I have personal experience of all the languages here listed and discussed. This information has been shamelessly purloined from some very erudite sources. All I have done is collate it into a much smaller space to make it quick and easy to access. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it may help to make a start in what, for me anyway, has been a fascinating area to explore. If you want to delve deeper, there are references later.
For most of us learning a different language is a challenge, and we tend to always speak that language with an accent, which is an example of our first language knowledge interfering with the pronunciation of the new language. That is why when I speak in French, native French speakers are not fooled for one moment into believing that I am French. It is also why ESOL learners in my experience cannot hear accents in spoken English, for instance the accents of different teachers who work in our college. English accents may sound very different to us, but they probably will not to the learners, and it may take some while for them to lose their own accents enough to be readily understandable in English.
Amazingly, many learners who sign up for ESOL Maths are often not interested in learning Maths at all. They want a free course in English, and they want to practise their speaking. I was devastated when I first discovered this, as I love maths and expect everyone to feel the same, but I am over it now, and we have ample opportunity for speaking and listening.
Common Language Difficulties
Consonant and vowel sounds, even for languages that use an alphabet very similar to our own can differ from language to language. For instance in some languages including Polish ‘e’s and ‘i’s are the reverse sound from English. Many of the diphthongs (two letters together, such as ‘ch’ or ‘th’) we use are not present in other languages. ‘Th’ is a particular loss, as it makes three, thirteen, thirty etc. very challenging to pronounce. In some cultures it is rude to show your tongue, so even if you encourage learners to pronounce it they may still be very reticent. I try to get them to push their lips forward at the same time to conceal the tongue. You might want to practise this at home first!
Other languages, including languages as diverse as French and Chinese, do not always pronounce the ends of their words, and this can lead to much confusion- has the learner asked for 13 or 30 apples? It is worth practising this with learners whose first language is interfering with their accuracy in English. They may be completely unaware of it themselves.
Many learners may find it spelling in English a challenge as it can have a surprising number of exceptions to the spelling rules, and their own language could be much more consistent in this regard. In English there are general rules that can be learnt, but then there are all the exceptions to the rules which just have to be learnt. We have no national body watching over our language and rationalizing its spelling, as is the case in many other countries, such as Germany and France. Combining this with phonetic variations adds to the confusion. If I count won, to, tree, for- see what I mean?
Next we have to consider that not all languages are written from left to right as English is. Arabic, Urdu and Persian, to name a few, are written from right to left. They also do not have the punctuation that is commonly used in English. Some languages use accents or dieresis on letters to change the sound. You may feel this is an advantage of English, but in fact it just makes it difficult to know how to pronounce a new word.
Finally, not all ESOL learners will be familiar with a Romanised script. Some may have a similar alphabet, but with more or fewer letters than our own, such as Polish; some have a very different alphabet, such as Russian; some have a completely different script, such as Arabic, and some use characters, such as Chinese.
Classes are likely to contain a mix of learners and it is unnecessary for tutors to be able to speak all these different languages, as we are teaching learners using the immersion method, but we do need a range of techniques, resources and facilities at our disposal to maximize the learning taking place.
JMS 2013/14