Voice of the ESL Expert

How Hard is it to Learn English Compared to Other Languages?

We've all been asked how hard it is to learn English, compared to other languages. The best answer is that all languages have both difficult and easy features for speakers of other languages to acquire. You may remember my newsletter that talked about L1, L2 and ? problems. I can send you another one if you didn't get it. To review the idea briefly, L1 problems are specific structural and phonological problems caused by one's own or first language in contrast to the target language (L2) in our case, English.

For example Spanish speakers asked their age, commonly answer "I have 24 years" and seem to have a hard time dropping this direct translation from Spanish. The phonological problem, both in identification and production, contrasting "Yale" and "jail" is persistent also. There are many other examples.

Universal (L2) problems among speakers of many languages learning English include mastering the use of auxiliary verbs and hearing/identifying and producing consonant clusters, particularly in word-final position, in a word such as "scratched." English has more vowel sounds than most languages that we deal with and differences that are obvious to native speakers of English are not at all obvious to speakers of many other languages.

If one acquires some familiarity with the systems of other languages, finding out the causes of problems often leads to solutions. If we can't find the cause, I call these "?" (who knows?) problems.

One of the most universally difficult areas of English is our use of articles the/a/an/Ø in changing meanings and relationships. I don't know of another language that functions at all like English in this way. Most ESL teachers give their students as much information as they can about articles and then find exercises to help clarify the resulting problems. My solution to many of these problems is to try to find both a creative and holistic approach rather than go step-by-step. Those of you who have been in my workshops or visited my classes always seem surprised that I tend to feed my students "the big picture" rather than "a little bit at a time." I've been told on several occasions "They can't do that. It's too much!" I teach a bunch of verb tenses at one time and we spend weeks periodically reinforcing the system orally and in writing, rather than starting with the present tense only. I teach all of the vowel and diphthong sounds at one time. Perhaps my problem is: 1. This is how I learn best. 2. This is how I successfully taught guitar many years ago. My guitar students left the studio playing and singing on their first day. I've tried to do the same thing with language and it mostly seems to work.

Following is an exercise that I have used for more than 30 years. It works for ESL students who are at fairly functional levels of English and seems to give them an unexpected and quick overview of how articles work in English. I truly don't remember, after this long, whether I created, borrowed, or enhanced this concept. I just know that it works and that students seem to enjoy it.

To show you how it works, let's make this a contest! Whoever comes up with the largest number of accurate answers by Nov. 15, 2006 will win a copy of my new book Listen and Speak; Applied Phonology for ESL Teachers of Spanish-Speaking Students. Listen and Speak is a highly functional text for the classroom ESL teacher to enhance listening/identification/speaking skills for their students. The introduction contains a mini course in applied American English phonology, an explanation for the problems of Spanish speakers; what's causing them and what to do about it, plus exercises for all of these problems that are also useful for speakers of other languages. It ends with a previously unpublished phonology test for individual students that may be used to determine training objectives for individuals or as a test of speech. This book replaces Pronunciation Drills for Spanish Speaking Students that I wrote in 1980.

Here's how it works: We take two nouns that can interact with each other and one verb that fits them and the situation. Either noun can be used interchangeably as either the subject or the object. All sentences generated must be in the simple present or present continuous tenses ONLY, singular or plural, and the historical present may not be used. Only the, a/an, Ø (no article) may be used as determiners. No other words or tenses are permitted. Explanations ("translations") must be direct and simple. Participants will continue to generate new sentences until they have run out of possibilities. Whoever has the most valid sentences with good explanations wins. The past winner in my instructor course at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center was a female officer in the Royal Thai Army who was both an English teacher and a mathematician! I won't tell you how many valid sentences she came up with, but I promise it was more than 30 and less than 100! If you are currently a teacher, this could be a class project.

SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH CAT/DOG/CHASE:

1. The cat is chasing a dog.

A particular known cat is now chasing an unknown or unseen dog.

2. The dog chases cats.

A particular known dog is in the habit of chasing any cat at any time.

3. A cat chases the dog.

An unknown or unseen cat is in the habit of chasing a particular known dog.

4. Dogs chase cats.

Any dog can or may chase any cat at any time.

5. A dog chases a cat.


1. Any dog can or may chase any cat at any time.
2. An unknown or unseen dog is in the habit of chasing an unknown or unseen cat. (However, I hear them at night!)
   
   
6. Cats are chasing a dog.

An unknown group of cats is now chasing an unknown or unseen dog. (Can you hear them?)