I always have a pen and paper out to demonstrate spelling of words and their meanings. This session, Makia took out her notebook, and kept a detailed record of our conversations and new words that came up to add to her vocabulary.
We started by going through all the letters in the alphabet. Makia had stated that she is confused with certain phonetic sounds of individual letters and would like to go through the alphabet, and have me explicitly point out her errors. Much to my amazement, she hardly had any problems with pronouncing individual letters, and I assured her that she needs to give herself more credit! Self-esteem is also an essential component in 2nd Language acquisition.
This was a great exercise as it allowed me to hone in on the particular letter-sound relationships she was struggling with. We found letters /r/ /l/ and /z/ gave her the most trouble. I believe this directly correlated to Makia's L1 and British knowledge, and has trouble pronouncing the /r/ sound. Once identifying and pointing out explicitly the sounds that were tripping Makia up, I began to write down certain words that had the /r/ sound in them either in the initial position or medial positions. I found that with the /r/ sound Makia either does not pronounce it, or does a rolling /r/.
/r/
Ex: room, respect, are, arrived, art, mirror. Makia struggled the most with the word- mirror which has the /r/ in the medial and final position. I then focused on her manner of articulation when stumbling upon this word several times. I found that her tongue position was high, and she rolled her /r/. Instead I suggested to lower her tongue, open her mouth slightly higher, and then I modeled this for her. After doing it several times together, she got it!
/z/
Ex: zip and pizza. These words were also particularly difficult for Makia. Again, I found it helped to give example of the different positions the /z/ sound in other words. I find this helps identify the problem better, in addition to condensing the feedback to make it as clear as possible. Again it helps to point out the manner of articulation of where your tongue is in the sound /z/. In this alveolar fricative voiced sound, the placement of the letter z takes on different sounds. In the word zip I explained the /z/ is more pronounced. When Makia said the word pizza, she was pronouncing it as p-i-s-a. I explained how there is almost a /t/ sound when saying this word such as p-e-t-e-za. When writing it out like that, she understood her error with the /z/ sound. I found also when stretching and over emphasizing certain syllables in the word pizza, it was easier for Makia to hear the difference.
After going over several sounds in the alphabet, we moved on to her text that she brought. As she read, I followed closely stopping her at certain words to point out her errors, and to give explicit feedback.
I found again she struggled with /r/ sounds like in the word ironic. She was avoiding pronouncing and left out the /r/ sound all together in the word ironic. After clarification we fixed this.
Part II
This half of our session was spent on having a discussion of common terms that students and native speakers of English most use. This discussion was less focused on 'formal' english, and more focused on the 'informal' yet most common terms native speakers use everyday. The words that we discussed in our session are essential to communicating in our speech community. I found this to be a very eye-opening experience not only for me, but for Makia. This allowed Makia to direct the conversation and ask the questions which then prompted the many 'natural' errors and learning experiences that followed. I never realized that because Makia has only been taught 'formal' English in her classes, she was unaware of many terms useful to our culture used more frequently then the 'formal' words we learn from a text or grammar book. Makia explained to me how she feels she lacks most in this area and it is increasingly difficult for her to relate to this speech community at Montclair State when she is unfamiliar or has never been taught these words. This aspect of language is what linguists refer to as pragmatic and communicative competence.
The reason I felt this session was a combination of both pragmatic and communicative competence is that they're very similar and often overlap. With pragmatic competence the non-native speaker begins to understand how to communicate in interpersonal relationships within the L2 or desired society.
My language and culture book defines this 'communicative competence' as- knowledge of rules of language and language use. Communicative competence entails ability to speak a particular language and knowledge of cultural and social norms of appropriate language use in given interactional context. Communicative competence is the unconscious knowledge that any native speaker has about their language. This is difficult as L2 learners are at a significant disadvantage and must be taught this competence through instruction.
You see this concept is an essential and yet extremely difficult skill to acquire in order to use the second language effectively. Makia is not by any means a shy person where she is embarrassed to ask the questions that are needed to be ask to get a fuller understanding of the language. However, for many 2nd language learners this proves to be one of the greatest obstacles they must overcome to understand the language, and if they are not given an environment to practice their language they are at a significant disadvantage.
Providing a safe place where learners feel welcome to ask the right questions is critical in 2nd language acquisition. This is how I came to realize a different perspective of 'teaching' 2nd language acquisition that if it were not for this experience, and Makia opening up to express her frustrations of acquiring pragmatic competence in our American culture, I would not have noticed this...
As a native speakers we take this innate knowledge for granted as we acquired this competence through growth of our environment. Imagine living in a society where you constantly were unsure of the everyday communication terms within your community. This idea is a small glimpse into the challenges a 2nd language learner faces everyday when immersing themselves in another language. Another aspect of communicative competence worthy of mentioning is not only is it important to know how to use the language but to understand and recognize the needs and the rights of the hearer to whom we are communicating with. As relative with any language, you MUST know the right things to say, when to say them, and to whom it's appropriate to say what to whom! Again, this aspect of language is one Makia expressed she hopes to work on with me during our sessions. The FOCUS OF OUR INSTRUCTION IN THE 2ND HALF OF OUR SESSION WAS ON THIS PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE!
In order to access the level of competence Makia has with the English language, she suggested she would go over certain basic terms she knew of body parts. She started with labeling her 'head', and worked her way down to her 'toes'. We discussed how important it is to know these terms as they would be crucial in a context such as a routine doctors visit.
*Also, it is important to note that this type of teaching style, and much of the SLA teaching style I used with Makia throughout ALL of our sessions was based on the theory of the interactionist perspective (p. 201).
This theory is based on both the learner's innate abilities and the opportunities provided to the learner to engage in conversations. Often, in the beginning stages, teachers modify the learners' speech so that that can become comfortable with interacting.
*I believe this approach is best used with high-level students like Makia.*
When assessing Makia's progress, I think this is one of the more important and relatable theories we have learned in my 2nd language acquisition class that applies best to Makia's case. Particularly, this is a great approach to use with Makia as she is an older learner further from the 'critical period' of the language acquisition scale. She has already much knowledge in her first language, so I found in relation to this theory, it is a matter of providing a space where Makia can make the connections with her first language and English language. Again, Makia is extremely motivated which I believe is a essential characteristic in acquiring any second language.
In regards to the Interactionist Theory of 2nd language attainment, a reinforcing article was written by Alijaafreh & Landoff where their focus of study was on negative feedback and explicit and implicit error correction. As a teacher it is important to use the scaffolding approach with students like Makia so they can arrive at the answer themselves with your guidance. This does not only allow them to build their self-confidence and self-esteem in acquiring a 2nd language, but they also are more likely to remember their mistakes if they arrive at the answer themselves with your help! I found this model of negative feedback was the most effective with Makia.
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS THAT CAME UP IN DISCUSSION:
cheeks- as in 'Her cheeks are rosy.'
Makia was pronouncing cheeks as c-h-e-c-k-s.
neck- as in 'Your head is attached to your neck.'
Makia was pronouncing this as n-i-c-k (I explained to her that Nick is a persons name)
Additionally here we see evidence how the I.P.A. alphabet [ɪ] sound can help a non-native speaker like Makia with a word like neck.
ribs- as in 'Here is your rib cage.'
Makia was pronouncing this as r-a-b-e-s
Probably the most difficult pronunciation for Makia was the word- vein.
She was pronouncing it as [van] and sometimes [ven]. She could not recognize the /ei/ sound. However when we did an exercise such as rain, pain, sprain, Maine, and then I would say 'vein' or 'vain' she still had trouble recognizing this sound. I also then explained that 'vein' and 'vain' are pronounced the same but have different meanings. Again, this was all new knowledge to her. After practicing several times, and revisiting this concept, Makia mastered hearing the difference from van/ven to vein/vain in this vowel digraph which is difficult skill for most non-native learners.
Other interesting things to note about our discussion were:
toes- as in 'I can get a pedicure done at the salon to clean my toes.'
Again, I always gave Makia an example of the word in context, and this additionally brought up other words in which Makia was unfamiliar with. Again, something a native speaker takes for granted, I did not realize...
Makia could not understand how toes were not referred to as fingers. Additionally, she did not understand why fingers had a different name for each phalanges [ex: thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinkie finger.] After explaining this Makia and I both laughed and continued on with discussion. I also brought up the word tow- as in "I had to get AAA to tow my car because it broke down." Both two different meanings yet pronounced the same.
Makia asked what the top (and she pointed to the ridge) in your mouth was called in English. Interestingly enough, I said the 'roof of your mouth'. She then asked, "Well then is that the floor of your mouth?" We both laughed, and again this reinforces when someone like Makia who is very knowledgable and applies basic English logic assuming that if one says the 'roof of your mouth' well then the opposite (bottom) must be 'the floor'... when in reality, if a native speaker of English said 'floor of your mouth', you may be confused. Usually, I say the bottom or tongue, and I explained this to Makia.
We discussed an array of other words used in more of an 'informal' way to relate to body terms. Additionally, we discussed when and in what context it is appropriate to use certain words. Again, something as simple as the word 'pee' Makia had never known existed. She admitted to having heard students use that word, but she never knew how to actually apply it. I explained how if you were speaking to lets say a Professor, you may speak more formally and say, "May I please use the bathroom/restroom?" --- Likewise, when speaking with a friend you may say, "Can you wait one moment, I have to pee." Both convey the same message, however the actual term is determined by whom it is being spoken to. Makia made the connection to terms used in her first language, and shared some knowledge with me on that.
Also, during the entire session Makia would write down a new term that I taught her, and then she would carefully transcribe it in her L1 writing system so that she could remind herself of a known term in her language that would help her remember the new English word. I found it very rewarding to watch her get excited over the new words I was teaching her, and was proud that she was making an effort to actually practice and apply them.
