Teaching World English Speakers: A ResearchBased Approach

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Teaching World English Speakers A Research-Based
Approach

• Christa de Kleine, PhD
• Associate Professor of Education/TESOL
• College of Notre Dame, Baltimore, MD

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World English speakers in ESOL

• Who are the World English-speaking students in
  your school?
  
• Where are they from?
• What are their challenges?

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Defining World English Kachrus model
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World English speakers in ESOL Who are they and
what are their challenges?

• Most World English-speaking students in ESOL in
  the US come from the Anglophone parts of the
  Caribbean and West Africa.
  
• Issues
• Relatively strong oral English skills, but much
  lower written English skills
  
• Pattern of academic underachievement
• Help with Standard English often necessary, but
  ESOL instruction typically not sufficiently
  helpful

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Reasons for underachievement among West African
students

• Interrupted education
• poor literacy and academic skills (Crandall
  Greenblatt 1998, Crandall 2003, Sewell et al.
  2003)
  
• Psychological trauma
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Sewell et al.
  2003)
  
• Linguistic background
• grammatical interference from local World English
  varieties (de Kleine 2005)
  

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World English speakers in ESOL The study

• Focus Writing skills of World English-speaking
  ESOL students in secondary schools
  
• Data A total of 786 writing samples, produced by
  101 students from West Africa
  
• 41 from Sierra Leone
• 15 from Liberia
• 45 from Ghana

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Anglophone West Africa

• Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria

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West African World English speakers Language
backgrounds

• Liberian students Vernacular Liberian English
  (Creole English)
  
• Sierra Leonean students Krio (Creole English)
• Ghanaian students Twi (Akan) and Ghanaian Pidgin
  English
  
• All students had received education in West
  Africa in West African Standard English prior to
  coming to the US.
  

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Pidgin and Creole Languages Some theory

• A pidgin language is a reduced language that
  results from extended contact between groups of
  people with no common language. A pidgin has no
  native speakers.
• A pidgin develops into a creole language when
  children are born into a community that uses the
  pidgin, causing the pidgin to develop into a
  full-blown language.

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World English speakers in ESOL The findings

• Error types
• Organization Punctuation Spelling Vocabulary
  Grammar
  
• Massive grammatical interference from West
  African Pidgin/Creole English
  
• Clear confusion between West African
  Pidgin/Creole English and American English
  grammatical patterns
  
• Noticeable persistence of grammatical errors even
  when other writing skills improved

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Findings Verb phrase errors

• Lack of past tense marking
• He was 10 years old when his grand father dieØ
• All the members liked him because he contributeØ
  and participateØ in all activities
  
• Lack of subject-verb agreement
• She live in England
• It make me sick
• and it also help us in our ability
• the moon have people in it

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Findings Verb phrase errors

• Absence of to be
• if you Ø having a conversation with somebody
• That Ø how big the land in Sierra Leone is.
• First of all, it Ø important for us to show
  respect.
  
• Modal verb use will for would
• If I was sarina I will always be respectful to my
  mom and dad.
  
• Now I will like to talk little bit about Sister
  and I.
  

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Findings Noun phrase errors

• Lack of plural marking
• a lot of studentØ
• so many thingØ
• five different important holidayØ
• Lack of possessive s
• his fatherØ failure in life
• from my uncleØ house
• My motherØ older-sister

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FindingsNoun phrase errors

• Zero article
• She was my friend, and she was also Ø nice
  person.
  
• Miss T. have small eyes, Ø small mouth and Ø big
  head.
  
• I say something but Its Ø lie.
• Non-count count
• Sometimes they can help me if I need help on my
  homeworks or projects.
  
• There are many advices that new students needs to
  know.
  
• Using a violence to solve a promble problem is
  going to make the situation worse.
  

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Findings Prepositional errors

• Preposition omitted
• look down at my feet
• I want to go to a party
• Different preposition
• My dad, in on the other hand,
• share things to with people
• Preposition added
• I got stuck in midway
• communities nowadays are also passing on laws
  to stop teens
  

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Findings Subjectless sentences and clauses

• Often with main verb form of to be
• I think Ø is important because
• .. and this is not my opinion. Ø Is general
  knowledge

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Writing sample 1 Author female from Liberia, 15
years old, 9th grade, 3 years in the US

• If I want to be like any body I will want to be
  like Nelly because I like the way he look, talk,
  sing, dance, dress, smile and how he act when
  they are making his song. when I grow up I want
  to be a singer and a dance like Nelly.
• I also want to be like Nelly because I like
  where he live, his house, his pool, his stideo in
  his house and how he have party any time he wand,
  he go out when he want to, and how tall he is. I
  like all of the song that come out of his mouth
  and the body guide he have.
• I like where he do his recording how his bath
  tub wok and his bed room. I which to be like
  Nelly when I grow up.

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Writing sample 2Author male from Ghana, 20
years old, 10th grade, 3 years in the US

• I walking home from school, I stopped to play at
  the park, suddenly I meet friends when I come to
  school. They tell me we dont have go to school
  today because we need go to the mall and buy some
  clothes. When they tell me this, I said, we can
  go to school and after school we can go to mall
  buy whatever we needs. After all this other one
  of my friend start to fight with me because I
  said we need go to school. Other boys try to
  follow me what I said. We come back to school.

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Writing sample 3Author female from Sierra
Leone, 17 years old, 10th grade, 1 year in the US

• My grandfather is one of the best people in the
  whole for me. He loves me like his own daughter.
  He used to take me to different place and at
  night he will read me bed time story. I was
  always at his house. Even if there was something
  important going on at my house. My grandfather
  was an enegieer. he fix people phone and also
  made roads. He was not like a grand father to me
  because he was not as old as grandfather could
  be. He was my hero. He die try to protect my
  for Soildrens.

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Writing sample 3 (cont.)

• 8 years ago a Civil war break out in
  Sierra-Leone. These people where firghting for
  power (who should rule the country). One of these
  group was in power and other group was trying to
  gain power. These group trying to gain power were
  from the village and they have been smokeing hard
  thing like marijuana and nicotine. So they do not
  care what they do to gain power. They kill
  people, rape girls and also capture young boy and
  inject them with Drug.
• I was at my grandfather house when they came
  ask for little boys to join there group. As they
  were talking to my Grandfather I came in an they
  want to take me with them but my grandfather says
  no. So they hit him and try to take me.

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Writing sample 4Author male from Sierra Leone,
15 years old, 9th grade, 5 months in US

• Yesterday I stole my sister candy, and went to
  my bedroom to ate the candy, while I was eating
  the candy she came to me and asks Alusine do you
  took my candy, I dont answer. then she went out
  and went to grama to tell grama that I stole her
  candy in her school bag. When she told grama,
  grama shout on him, dont told me that you fool.
  Why you telling lying on your elder brother.
  What the matter with you. You elder brother use
  to give you candy and today you hang thief on
  him. Appologise to him and say sorry for that
  mistake. As a result she cry and say sorry
  Alusine. After a while I went to her and told, I
  am very sorry sister I stole you candy, please
  forgive me.

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Writing sample 5Author female from Sierra
Leone, 15 years old, 9th grade, 15 months in US

• Since I came to the United States, My life has
  be change. This country is the best place were
  you can get what you want. Im going to talk
  about the three things that I like about this
  country. This is the three thing that I like
  about this country. I like the education, school,
  and the langauge. Now Im going to talk about
  each one of these things.
• Frist of all the education. The education in
  this country is very good and not too hard. The
  teacher will teach you unill you understand what
  you have to do. They also teach you about
  different things in the world that already past.
  The education in this country is the best because
  it make you understand and they teach how to do
  everythings, and they would also make it very
  easey for you to know what you doing.

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Writing sample 5 (cont.)

• Second is the school. They build the school
  very nice and beautiful. I remember the frist day
  I came to the United States the frist day of
  school I saw it really big school and I ask my
  dad if that the government house and he said know
  that school. And I also like the classrooms?
  because it big and wide and no to many student
  are in the class. In my country the class are
  really small and they have a lot of student in
  each class room.
• Last one is the langauge. I like the way the
  kids who are born in this country speak their
  langauge. Any time I hard them speak the langauge
  I feel like join them. English is the best
  langauge that I like. When I speak the langauge
  to other people it make me feel like I was born
  here too.
• Definitely my life is change since I come to
  the United State And I am have a good education.
  learned how to speak good English and I like the
  classroom. Since I came to the United States my
  life has bee change and is the best place for
  people from other country.

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Modifying ESL instruction to meet the needs of
World English speakersTowards a successful
approach

• We need to help students bridge the gap from
  their English to Standard American English

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Modifying ESL instruction to meet the needs of
World English speakers

• Help students develop general language awareness
  
  
• Help students appreciate their rich linguistic
  background
  
• Help students contrast their English and Standard
  American English

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Awareness Dealing with the Broken English
myth

• Help students to develop general language
  awareness. They need to understand that
  
• All human language varieties have a system of
  grammar, a system of sounds and a full lexicon.
  
• There are no languages or dialects with better
  grammars than others all grammars are systematic
  and complex in their own way.
  
• Language is an important tool for people to
  express their identity people often purposely
  use different varieties (standard/nonstandard) to
  assert their identity in different settings.
• Different language varieties have different roles
  in society Standard American English is a
  crucial tool for success in US society.
  
• Useful classroom materials PBS series Do You
  Speak American?

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Awareness Dealing with the Broken English myth

• Help students to develop an understanding of
  their individual West African Pidgin/Creole
  English language backgrounds.
  
• Focus on the history of Pidgin and Creole English
  varieties of West Africa. Use the PBS series The
  Story of English (Black on White segment).
  
• Focus on the unique grammatical features of
  Pidgin/Creole English.

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Appreciation Students rich (!) language
backgrounds

• Have students explore West African Pidgin/Creole
  English in authentic West African sources.
  
• Analyze lyrics in West African music (Afro-beat,
  Hip-hop)
  
• Have students explore their individual language
  backgrounds through questions
  
• Which language(s) did you use in West Africa at
  home, at school, and in the community at large?
  
• How much difference is there between the English
  spoken by different people in your home country?
  Are there people that are seen as speaking
  better English than others?
• Is the English you use with your West African
  family members and/or friends the same as what
  you use with American friends? Is it the same as
  the English you use in the classroom? Why or why
  not?

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Focus on language rules

• Help students to create a written inventory of
  Pidgin/Creole grammatical rules.
  
• As a class, organize the inventory into
  grammatical categories (e.g., noun phrase
  patterns, verb phrase patterns etc.).
  
• Teach students the difference between these rules
  and Standard American English rules.
  
• Focus on overall grammatical patterns.

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Focus on patterns vs. errors

• Make students aware of grammatical patterns in
  their writings that reflect the influence of
  Pidgin/Creole English.
  
• Use an editing guide of PC patterns when marking
  errors.
  
• Focus on one or two patterns at a time.
• Mark one or two examples of an error and let
  students search for additional examples.
  

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Focus on self-editing vs. teacher correction

• Emphasize grammar correction as a crucial stage
  in the writing process.
  
• Balance instruction focused on process writing
  (brainstorming, prewriting and essay organization
  etc.) with a strong focus on the grammar editing
  phase.
• Help students develop independent editing skills
  by using their editing guide of Pidgin/Creole
  symbols when proofreading their writing.
  
• Group students with fellow Pidgin/Creole English
  speakers during peer-editing sessions so that
  they can give each other the most relevant
  feedback.

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Conclusion

• Much ESOL instruction can be quite useful for
  World English speakers, despite their unique
  needs.
  
• However, ESOL instruction also needs to be
  modified for World English speakers. It must
  focus specifically on the differences between
  Pidgin/Creole English and Standard American
  English.
• Comprehensible input alone will not do the job
  with these students!

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• ESol has somehow inprove my life. But not to
  that extend. Sometimes I felt like I am in one
  the most important class and at other times I
  felt that I am so dome

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Teaching World English Speakers A Research-Based
Approach

• Christa de Kleine, PhD
• Associate Professor of Education/TESOL
• College of Notre Dame, Baltimore, MD