This document discusses key features of the Spanish language and compares it to English. It presents a case study of a student named Lily who speaks Spanish as her first language and is developing her English skills. Lily makes common errors for Spanish speakers such as omitting inflections and possessive markers. The document recommends explicit instruction on these grammatical areas and providing varied reading, writing, and speaking practice to help Lily improve her English abilities.

1. Language Comparisons
Kerri Donahue
Wilkes University
Spring 2012

2. Key Features of L1
Spanish language is pronounced phonetically
 Informal and formal ways to address people
 Different words may mean the same thing but are used in different
contexts, for example ‘ser’ and ‘estar’
 Inflections are used for nouns, verbs, and even adjectives which
indicate the gender and number
 The vowels in Spanish use an accent mark, for example ‘á’.
 Sentences are punctuated by placing an upside-down punctuation mark
at the beginning of the sentence to show an exclamation or a question

3. Compare and Contrast with
English Structure
 share related vocabulary
 originate from Latin and Arabic
 each have subjects and verbs in their sentences
 Both have definite articles
 In Spanish, the article changes depending on whether it
is masculine or feminine and singular or plural
 English uses an apostrophe ‘s’ to show ownership (not
Spanish)
 In Spanish all the infinitives have special endings
 Spanish does not have long or short vowel sounds

4. Inter-language Development
of Case study Student: Lily
 Diagnosis of a learning disability
 Falls into the WIDA Can Do Descriptors for grades 9-12-
Developing
 Most of the errors Lily* makes involve leaving out
inflections
 Lily also makes the error of leaving off the ‘s’ when
showing possession and for plurals

5. Data Collection Insights
Reading/Speaking:
 Most errors in the category of omissions
Lily* omits the [‘s].
1. One possible reason for this is that Spanish does not show ownership with
apostrophes.
2. It is also very common in Puerto Rican colloquial Spanish to drop the [s] at the
end of words. Sometimes entire word endings are cut out altogether or are blended
into one.
o Inflection errors, forgetting [ed], [ing], and [er].
-Probably because in Spanish the present tense is frequently used
 English has more vowel sounds then Spanish has and Lily tends to pronounce many
words incorrectly
Writing:
 In Spanish there is more of a phonetic system of spelling, and Lily often spells things
as she thinks they sound

6. Instructional Implications
 Lessons need to be explicitly taught
 Expose Lily to a vast variety of reading, writing,
and conversational activities
 Teach Lily* these endings and to help her practice
them

7. References
 Elorrieta, J. (2006). Holt Spanish !expresate! grammar tutor for students of Spanish:
Level 1, 2 and 3. Orlando, FL: Holt McDougal.
 Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics what you need to
know to teach (pp. 2-48). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
 Liệu, T., Khảo, &., & Luận, &. (2010, March 31). (2010, March 31). Mother-Tongue
interference in Spanish-Speaking English language learners’ interlanguage. Retrieved
March 8, 2012, from Texas Woman’s University website: http://www.viethoc.com/Ti-
Liu/bien-khao/khao-luan/mother-tongueinterferenceinspanish-
speakingenglishlanguagelearners
 Rubba, J. (2011, October 6). English phonology. In Phonology, phonics, and English
spelling. Retrieved March 8, 2012, from Cal Poly State University website:
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/phon/phon.spel.html
 Shoebottom, P. (2012). The differences between English and Spanish. Retrieved March
12, 2012, from Frankfurt International School website:
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/spanish.htm
 Spanish language facts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2012, from www.language-
capitals.com website: http://www.language-capitals.com/spanish_facts.php
 WIDA’s can do descriptors [Grades 9-12 CAN DO Descriptors ]. (2011). Retrieved March
8, 2012, from The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System website:
http://www.wida.us/standards/CAN_DOs/