Increasing ESOL Learner Persistence
by Targeting
a Key Problem in Language Acquisition
by
Robin Lovrien Schwarz
In a basic ESL class, students chant “Mawnday, Tuesday, Wensday,
Toosday, Friday….” When they write, Tuesday is “Tusday” or “Tursday” and
Thursday is “Toosday.” “Today Monday, Augus--” they
drone. After 8 weeks of practice, sometimes for more than an hour on
these two things, not one student in the class can say the days of the
week distinctly nor say the sentence with its verb. What is going on
here?
When learners make little progress, they are more likely to drop out
or have highly irregular attendance—as did the learners in this
class. What is causing these learners to struggle? Can they actually
hear what they need to hear to do these tasks accurately?
Adult brains process speech sounds much less clearly than younger brains
do. Moreover, the closer sounds of one’s first
language are to the sounds of the new language, the harder it is to discriminate
those sounds. These two factors can make it
difficult for adult language learners to acquire listening/speaking skills
easily.
In a recent project measuring phonological skills of adult English Speakers
of Other Languages (ESOL) learners in several programs in Texas1, learners
had little difficulty with basic phonological awareness—hearing
the patterns of chunks of sound in English (Weakness in this skill is
associated with dyslexia across languages.). However, 86% of those tested—who
ranged from non-literate to highly literate, from having studied English
for only six months to over 8 years of study, and who were from 12 different
language backgrounds—were unable to repeat English sentences of
4 to 9 words completely accurately. Though it is clearly easier to remember
words in your first language than in an unfamiliar language, research
on foreign language learning and phonological memory (speech memory that
supports vocabulary acquisition and storing auditory information needed
to understand and produce oral grammar) indicates that there should be
very little difference in a good language learner—but inability
to hear the sounds of the new language accurately interferes with this
skill.
What can be done to help adult language learners hear English more accurately?
One practice my students have found very helpful is work with minimal
pairs.
A minimal pair has two words which differ by only one phoneme—one
sound—but that difference changes meaning: cat/cut and chip/ship
are minimal pairs. Grammar structures are often made by changing or adding
a phoneme: Plurals: book/books; past tenses: look/looked; sing/sang;
the present tense third person singular of verbs: eat/eats. Other distinctions
that ESOL students always find difficult to hear or say, such as can/can’t,
his/he’s, here/her all involve one change of sound.
“Phoneme manipulation,” being able to focus on one phoneme
and change it to make a new word is considered a high level phonological
skill. Minimal pair drills help adult language learners develop this
skill by focusing their attention on these small sound differences and
helping them learn that the differences make BIG meaning changes. Many
kinds of activities can be used to practice this skill, but it is important
at first to teach the skill very explicitly and to be sure all students
understand how to do it.
Begin with a simple list of pairs using an easy short vowel contrast
such as short i (ĭ) and short a (ă)--hit/hat, bid/bad, trip/trap,
list/last, click/clack, etc. With the list written on the board, have
learners repeat just the short a words, then the short i words, then
the pairs in both directions. Be sure everyone is attempting to say two
different words for each pair, but do not expect perfection.
Then ask learners to say the word with the other sound when you say
the first one in the pair. For example, you say, “I’ll say
the word with ĭ, then you say the word with ă.” Point
to the board and say “hit” and the learners must say “hat.” They
can see this as you point to words on the board. Do this for each pair.
Give every learner a chance to answer individually several times.
Now do the pair the other way. You say “hat” and the learners
say “hit,” again with plenty of practice for individual learners.
This is not a choral exercise.
Next, erase the list (but be sure to have a “cheat sheet” for
yourself!). Repeat the steps of saying the words with one sound and having
the learners individually give you the other word. Do words of one sound
first, so the answers are predictable, then switch. At this point, some
learners will repeat what you say. Say, “I said “hat” you
say____.” Do this a couple of times. If the learner does not get
it, have another person answer, then come back to the one who didn’t
get it. If s/he still doesn’t get it, they may think they are saying
the other word. Give them the correct answer and keep going. Usually
learners get it from the activity, but if not, note the difficulty for
further practice. Do not embarrass the student! Once students grasp the
process, add more pairs that they have NOT seen so they have thorough
practice with those sounds.* Give everyone several chances to change
words in a predictable way.
The final step is the testing phase. Now you will give prompt words
randomly and the students must give the other word. At this point they
must listen for the target sounds (ĭ or ă) and supply the new
word with the other sound. This is the highest level of phoneme manipulation.
When they do it well, CHEER LOUDLY!
It may take up to half an hour to do this the first time, depending
on the size of the class. When students
understand the task, going through a new drill is much easier and concentrating
on the testing step is more fun. After the first session, include a few
minutes of practice on the contrasts already learned in each day’s
activities.** Add a new contrast every one or two weeks.
Some cautions:
- This is NOT a vocabulary exercise and learners will need to be encouraged
to listen to differences and do the activities and not worry about
meaning.
- Because it is helpful for students to see the process, writing
it is important. Learners must know the letters of the alphabet and
have at least a beginning idea of the sounds of letters. Do not attempt
to teach phonics with this activity!
- Begin with contrasts that are regular in spelling—add irregular
spellings if learners know more about English phonics.
- Be careful of using this with non-literate students, who may
find the writing part very confusing. For these students, begin with
a simple “same or different” listening activity and then
move to changing sounds.
Once your learners know the process, you can address any sound contrast
they have trouble hearing—such as the oo of Tuesday vs. the ur
of Thursday!
* A great source for minimal pairs is Pronunciation Contrasts in English,
DLF Nilsen and AP Nilsen. (Available at Amazon.com)
**For more information on practice activities, contact Robin Schwarz
[1] In order to help address one of the research needs identified by
directors and teachers in the state of Texas, Dr. Dominique Chlup, the
Director of TCALL and Principal Investigator (PI) on the Clearinghouse
Project, asked language acquisition and Learning Difficulties (LD) expert
Robin Schwarz to conduct a study with ESOL learners here in the state
of Texas. Her full report titled "Evaluating Phonological
Skills in Adult ESOL Learners" will be available on the TCALL website.
About the Author
Robin Lovrien Schwarz, M. Sp. Ed: LD, is a private consultant in ESOL,
adult education and learning difficulties to programs and teaching personnel
nationwide and a doctoral candidate at Lesley University in Cambridge,
MA. Ms. Schwarz has taught English language learners for 40 years and
worked as an LD specialist nearly as long; she combined her fields of
expertise while teaching ESL at American University in Washington, DC.
The mother of three lovely grown daughters, Ms. Schwarz is currently
based in Wisconsin, but intends to be spending time in her newly acquired
house in Maine as well.
  
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