English Learners benefit greatly from reviewing sounds
and spellings, especially those sounds that are not used in their
primary language. During Workshop you might want to review the
Sound/Spelling Cards with English Learners until
they are thoroughly familiar with English sound/spelling
associations. Knowing the English sounds and spellings will give
English Learners the confidence they need to begin
blending and writing in English.
Phonological interference points between English and Spanish can
make decoding and encoding difficult for some children. There is
usually a regular pattern of phonological problems Spanish speakers
have with acquiring English, including the following:
- Spanish has a phoneme like /v/ but does not have a distinction between /b/ and /v/—speakers may interchange /v/ and /b/.
- /ch/ occurs in Spanish, but /j/, /z/, and /sh/ do not—sheep may become cheep; jump may become chump.
- /h/ may be omitted, or a similar Spanish phoneme may be substituted for /h/.
- Spanish /r/ and /l/ are pronounced differently from English /r/ and /l/.
- In Spanish, the letter i is pronounced as a long e; there is no short i sound—pig may become peeg.
- The English short a vowel sound does not occur in Spanish; a Spanish phoneme similar to short e may be substituted—fat may become fet.
- The English vowel sounds schwa and short u do not occur in Spanish; a Spanish phoneme similar to short o may be substituted—tuck may become tock.
- Consonant clusters are rare in Spanish; extra vowels may be added to create syllables that make the cluster pronounceable—stop may become estop.
The following table focuses on some of the main pronunciation problems English Learners from eight language groups may encounter while learning English. The purpose of this table is to help teachers decide which steps to take in order to address chronic pronunciation problems. The table is by no means exhaustive and is meant to serve only as a guide. It shows pronunciation variances that children may make while learning English. For example, a child whose first language is Spanish may say something like cot when trying to pronounce the word cat. An empty cell indicates that the English sound listed poses no particular problem for children from the given language group.
Dictation is helpful to English Learners because it
reinforces the sound/spelling correspondences.
- Sounds-in-sequence dictation provides the support of the teacher, who helps the children to isolate each sound in a word. This support assures the English Learner success and also guarantees that he or she hears the sounds pronounced correctly and has the opportunity to pronounce the sounds.
- Dictation helps English Learners focus on the sounds in a word—including inflectional endings related to tense and number—that are often dropped in casual speech.
- Constant support and reinforcement help the English Learner attend to the individual sounds and learn the sounds that are not used in their native languages.
- Working with English-speaking peers helps English Learners understand that even those children born and raised with English can have trouble hearing all of the sounds in words. All children need help in this area—not just the English Learners. This understanding can help the English Learners respond right along with the others in the class.
- Play the Word Building Game to help them start seeing the patterns of sound/spellings that are common in English.
- Provide extra dictation practice, especially with words containing sounds not present in their native languages.
- During dictation, pair English-speaking children with English Learners.
- Provide practice in the upcoming sound/spellings before the whole-class dictation activities. This helps reassure English Learners that they can hear the target sounds.
- Some children may need additional work in segmentation. Use some of the segmentation activities from the first and second units of the Teacher's Editions with these children.
Books
August, D., and K. Hakuta, eds. Educating Language-Minority Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998.
Brown, H. D. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New York: Longman, 2000.
Delpit, L. D. Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press, 1996.
Websites
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)
http://www.tesol.org
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
http://www.nbpts.org
