This document discusses English language learning challenges faced by students whose first language is Spanish. It provides an example case study of a 5th grade student named Liz who has been in the US for 3.5 years. Liz struggles with several aspects of English pronunciation and grammar that differ from Spanish. The document analyzes specific errors Liz makes and implications for instruction, such as helping her improve use of suffixes, contractions, silent letters, and diphthongs. It concludes that Liz's situation is common for Spanish-speaking immigrants and more support is needed to transfer language skills between Spanish and English.

1. English as a
Second
Language:
when Spanish
was the first
language
A Comparison
By
Jayne Bass

2. Key Features of Spanish
• Spanish is a romance language
• 400 million native speakers
• Spoken in Spain, Latin America and the USA
• 34 million people, 12.2 percent, of the population more than five years old
speak Spanish at home (Wikipedia)
• Spanish is written in the Latin Alphabet
• a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, ch, ll.
• The letters "k" and "w" are used only in words and names coming from
foreign languages
• pronunciation can be entirely determined from spelling

3. Spanish compared to English
 Both use the Roman alphabet
 30% to 40% of all words in English have
related words in Spanish
 Spanish is a much more heavily inflected
language than English
 5 pure vowels and 5 dipthongs

4. Impact of L1 on the Development
of the English Language Learner
 Spanish is highly inflected language
(English is not)
 Affix usage is an area of difficulty
 Spanish does not use quotation marks
 Spanish does not use contractions
 Spanish does not use auxiliaries
 Spanish does use a subject – verb – object
but Spanish allows for flexibility in word
movement.

5. Case Study
 Student: Liz
 Grade: 5Th
 From: Mexico
 Years in USA: 3.5 years
 Home Language: Spanish
 Proficiency: Speaking only – no ability in
reading or writing
 Hardest problem: Exception to sounds

6. Instruction Implication
 The following slides will show examples of
Liz’s incorrect word and the correct words
 A probable reason for these errors is also
given

7. Liz used the wrong affix in the
following samples causing a
shift in the tense of the word.
Incorrect word correct word
Building buildings
Leted let
Sharing shared
Start started
Room rooms
Immigrant immigrants
Live lived

8. In the following words she
knew to change the affix but
spelled it incorrectly.
Incorrect word correct word
Inportnt important
Lookd looked

9. Liz used the wrong vowel
sound in the following:
Incorrect word correct word
Wall will

10. Vowel clusters that end with”-r”
are still confusing to Liz as shown
in this example.
Incorrect word correct word
Hre her

11. The vowel cluster with [er] where
the /r/ is not pronounced is a
close cousin to the “her”
problem.
Incorrect word correct word
Amreica America

12. Missing the silent e frequently
occurs.
Incorrect word correct word
Stor store
Lik like

13. There are changes found in
ordinal numbers.
Incorrect word correct word
Fivth fifth
Forth fourth
Three third

14. The famous spelling pattern – I
before E except after C is
lacking.
Incorrect word correct word
Frinds friends

15. Drop the e when adding –ing is
troublesome for Liz.
Incorrect word correct word
Have ing having
Shakeing shaking

16. Words that contained diphthongs
are always a challenge for Liz.
Incorrect word correct word
Agane again
Bote boat
Peapel people
Terarer teacher

17. Internal changes for past tense
occur often.
Incorrect word correct word
Spented spent
Telled told

18. The incorrect use of determiner was
used in the following examples. (These
are only a few words from the
sentences written by Liz.)
Incorrect word correct word
Didn’t have no work didn’t have work
Help the rebuild help rebuild
In earthquake an earthquake
In the city the city
Over 2000,000 that people over 200,000 people

19. She misused the /ei/ sound.
Incorrect word correct word
Stae stay

20. The dd makes the /d/ sound and
/d/ and /t/ are both consonant
[anterior] stops.
Incorrect word correct word
Meted middle

21. Incorrect vowel sounds.
Incorrect word correct word
Tall tell
Tame time

22. Reduced vowel sounds.
Incorrect word correct word
Compter computer
Frget forget

23. The second e is voiceless.
Incorrect word correct word
Wednsday Wednesday

24. The correct word for the /ei/
sound.
Incorrect word correct word
Thay they

25. The sound for /v/ and /f/ are both
[LABIAL] – [ROUND]
Incorrect word correct word
Bevfor before

26. Instruction Implications
 Use of suffixes
 Internal changes for past tense words
 Contractions
 Silent letters
 Diphthongs

27. Quotation:
“Phonemic awareness is defined as the
ability to perceive and manipulate the
sounds (phonemes) that make up words in
oral language” (Freeman and Freeman
2004, Pg. 75)

28. Summary
 Lizis progressing but has obstacles that
slow her learning.
 Limited L1 learning to transfer to L2
 Nervousness and anxiety towards tests
 No support in English at home

29. Conclusion
Liz’s language situation is not unique. Many who move here from
a Spanish speaking country stop learning in Spanish. This was
done after the time when learning acquisition has past. Native
learners learn from listening first to our families. Students who
come into English during the school years only hear English
spoken in school. Students develop an interlanguage and even
fossilize errors in what knowledge they try to transfer between the
two languages.