Children Learning English as a Foreign Language by Miss Loys

Children Learning English as a Foreign Language Grammar at the Primary Level BY NICK DAWSON

EFL AUTHOR FOR PEARSON LONGMAN

Anyone who has taught both adults and children will have noticed that they are different. Children learn in different ways from adults and therefore require a different teaching style. Children bring different learning skills and attitudes to language. Children learn through imitation, discovering patterns, singing songs, and playing games. For children, learning a foreign language is not an intellectual exercise, therefore, they do not learn from an intellectual teaching approach. The focus of this article is grammar, termed a convenient fiction1 invented by linguists to describe language. Imagine a Martian watching hundreds of hours of football or baseball. An intelligent Martian will start to notice regular patterns of behavior in the games and may eventually produce a book of rules for football or baseball. Linguists use different models for describing languages. Traditional grammarians started from an understanding of the grammar of Latin and Greek and used the models of these classical languages to describe the features of English. A different model was used by the authors of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR]2. The CEFR does not attempt to describe language; rather, it describes the use of language in communicative terms. Sometimes these communicative acts are listed as “can do” statements.

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Grammar: A Child’s Perspective

Children enter primary school with an understanding of the grammar of their native language [L1]. This is an unconscious understanding demonstrated through their functional ability to operate in their L1. This unconscious understanding has been gradually acquired in babyhood through imitation and interaction with both adults and other children. On page 43 of The Language Web3, Professor Jean Aitchison illustrates the normal pattern of language acquisition for English native speaker children. There will be similar patterns for children acquiring other languages.

Week 0 Week 6 Week 8 Week 8 Month 12 Month 18 Month 24 Month 26 Month 27 Year 5 Year 10

Crying Cooing [goo-goo] Babbling [ma-ma] Intonation patterns Single words Two-word utterances Word endings Negatives Questions Complex constructions Mature speech patterns

In Professor Aitchison’s table, we can see that after exploring the sounds which the mouth can produce, the child is already imitating intonation patterns of the L1 after 8 weeks. The imitation of the first recognizable word occurs in the 12th month. The production of this first word produces an explosion of smiles and cuddles from the mother and the baby quickly discovers that repetition of this sound can generate further smiles and cuddles. After the first word is produced, there is a rapid development of vocabulary (although the words are essentially labels for objects, actions, or characteristics). By 18 months, the first stages of grammar can be observed in twoword utterances. These will not always reflect conventional word order, but the two-word utterance is a significant step because the baby is combining two words to communicate a single message. By the age of 24 months, the baby starts to use word endings. Initial attempts may not be correct. Two-year-old Sophie used the words broken, fallen, and taken. She wrongly concluded that English past tenses had an –en ending and invented broughten, builden, riden, getten, cutten, wanten, touchen, etc. This illustrates that babies are looking for patterns and systems in language which form a very early proto-grammar. This early proto-grammar is rapidly and regularly revised. Video recordings of groups of babies playing have shown that the proto-grammar may be revised every three weeks. Babies acquire language and develop their proto-grammar through contact with adults, but also through contact with other babies who may be a few months older. By the age of three, children utter long sentences, though some things, such as pronouns still cause problems. Around three-and-a-half, children talk freely using most of the constructions used by adults.

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Implications

There are four basic implications from this evidence. First, children have acquired this linguistic skill independently by understanding the language used by people around them. Second, this acquisition is not the result of teaching but the result of learning. And third, the child’s brain is constantly searching for patterns and systems in language. This has been described by Stephen Pinker as The Language Instinct.4 Children try to make sense of their world. They first identify patterns of behavior and assign meanings to those patterns. The child notices that Mommy always puts on her warm coat before they go out. This produces a link in the child’s brain between the coat and going out. In this way, the coat now has a meaning. But this meaning is one which the child has noticed and attached to the coat. In the same way, children bring meanings to words and patterns in language. Children understand first, then, they attach this understanding to language. This is the fourth implication for language teachers: Start with understanding then introduce language. Don’t start with language and then try to give understanding.

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A Child’s Understanding of Grammar

Grammar is an abstract adult concept. Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget5 noted that children understand the world through concrete operations — what they can see, hear, touch, and smell. Only after passing through puberty (ages 10-14) can children begin to learn in an adult way — through understanding and application of abstract ideas. The implication of Piaget’s ideas for English language teachers is very important. In essence, it means that presentation of grammatical rules and grammatical explanations to young children is a waste of time, because they can neither absorb these abstract ideas nor operate them.

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Teaching

One of the most important methodology books for any teacher of foreign languages to children is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Carroll was a clergyman and a professor of mathematics and logic at Oxford University with no children of his own. Despite these disadvantages, he had remarkable vision into the mind of a child. For those who do not know the story, one sunny afternoon Alice gets bored during a picnic in the countryside. A white rabbit with pink eyes runs past Alice saying, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” This seems perfectly normal to Alice, even when the rabbit takes a pocket watch out of his waistcoat, looks at it and then disappears down a rabbit hole. Alice follows the rabbit down the rabbit hole into a world where strange things happen. She finds a drink which makes her grow very tall and then a cake which makes her grow very small. She meets strange animals and birds. Sometimes she likes what she sees and sometimes she is frightened. But the important point for us, as teachers, is that Alice always reacts as a child would react. Alice is exploring a world which does not match the world she knows. She often comments on these differences, but in each new situation, Alice, an intelligent girl, survives. When we take children into the world of English, we are taking them, like Alice, into a strange and foreign world. Like Alice, children learn to survive in the strange world of English. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was very much in my mind when we were searching for a title for the course which became English Adventure or Wonderland in some parts of the world. If you don’t know Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, read and enjoy it as if you were a child. Then read it again as an adult and as a teacher and you will discover more about children and the ways in which their brains operate than you will find in most methodology books. For example, one afternoon Alice is walking along a path which divides into two paths — one on the left and one on the right. Alice doesn’t know which path to take, but fortunately there is a cat sitting in a tree beside the path. She asks the cat, “Which path should I take?” The cat answers with a question, “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t know,” Alice replies. “In that case, it doesn’t really matter which path you take.” “Where do you want to go?” Where do we want to go in the English Language classroom? As the cat intelligently points out, if you don’t know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you choose. “What should be our methodology for in teaching English?” “Well, where do you want to go? What are your aims in teaching English at the primary level?” Aims in the primary foreign language classroom The learning aims in the primary foreign language classroom can be listed as follows:1. Discovery that foreign language learning can be fun. 2. Discovery that foreign languages are not incomprehensible. 3. Discovery that progress in foreign language learning is achievable. 4. Discovery that foreign language use can lead to real communication. 5. Development of a deeper understanding of both the L1 and the foreign language.

It is important to focus on these aims and never allow the primary school to become seen as a preparation for secondary school learning. Although learning English at the primary level is only the beginning, and we know that children will continue to learn in secondary school and beyond, the primary level teacher should never see her/himself as the servant of the secondary school teacher. The primary level teacher is the servant of the children in her/his class. The primary aim is their pleasure, their enjoyment, and their development. Attitudinal aims If we look back at the list of aims, we can see that the first three are not concerned with language content or language skills. They are concerned with the child’s attitude to the foreign language. Secondary school teachers often fail to understand the fundamental aims of primary english language teaching. Secondary school teachers tend to focus on content and knowledge rather than attitude. But, the fact is that a child who enters secondary school with a positive attitude to foreign languages is much more likely to succeed than a child who enters with a little knowledge but a negative attitude. When I was working as a primary school teacher, I met up with my old geography teacher from secondary school. I asked him, “What do you want children to know about geography when they arrive at secondary school?” He replied, “I want children to know where they live. I want them to know the streets, the town, the train station, and the buses. I want them to know the plants in their gardens, the trees in the forest, the frogs in the pond. I want children who have investigated and discovered these things. I don’t care if they can name the longest river in the world or the highest mountain. I don’t care if they can name the countries where cotton or coffee grow. I want children who are curious, children who want to discover their environment.” Well, you can’t get a clearer message than that.

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Linguistic Aims

Earlier, I referred to the Common European Framework of Reference. This describes development of communicative ability in six steps called A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2, in which C2 is the level required for foreign students entering a British University. In English language classes at primary level, the work is all within the A1 level. An adult learner at A1:

• Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. • Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. • Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

But, what does this mean in terms of structure?

AI STRUCTURE LIST (DERIVED FROM CAMBRIDGE YOUNG LEARNERS (CYL) STARTER + MOVER SPECIFICATIONS6) The alphabet

Writing down spelling

That's W-H-I-T-E.

Asking who people are and identifying people Responding to requests for information about objects

Are you Bill? It’s Pat.

NOUNS singular and plural, including limited, specified, irregular plural forms (Proper Nouns) (Common Nouns) including countable and some uncountable

Possessive forms:/'s/s'/

Talking about people and places Talking about quantities and amounts

Talking about ownership

They're oranges, not lemons. Jane lives in London. a cup of coffee a glass of water a bottle of lemonade a bowl of soup That’s Ann’s bike.

ADJECTIVES size, age, color

(Base Forms) (Comparatives and Superlatives)

Describing and identifying objects, people and animals Identifying colors Talking about appearances and feelings Making comparisons between things

He’s a small boy. Your face is very dirty. It’s a red car. Sally was hungry. The sun is bigger than the moon. My house is the smallest in the village. Who is your best friend?

DETERMINERS a, an, the, some

(zero article) any a lot of

my, your, his, her, our, their

Identifying objects, animals, fruit, vegetables, etc. (with countables and uncountables) Talking about uncountables

It's a banana. Who’s eating an egg? Put the tomato on the table. Paul’s father goes to work every morning. There isn’t any bread on the table. She took a lot of photos.

Talking about possessions and relationships

It's my brother's birthday.

indirect object (demonstrative pronouns) this, these, ;that, those (personal pronouns) I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, you, him, her, it, us, them, our, us (interrogative) who, which, what, whose, where, how many, how old (there)

Can you give me some cakes? Making and responding to requests for information about objects Identifying people Describing people

What are these? This is a camera. It’s Sam. He's running. Can you see him? Asking who people are and what Who’s in the bath? they are doing Which is Ann? Asking questions about the number What are you doing? of people, animals and objects Whose house is this? Identifying people, animals and How many children are there in objects your class? There’s a bus in the picture. There are three buses.

AI STRUCTURE LIST (DERIVED FROM CAMBRIDGE YOUNG LEARNERS (CYL) STARTER + MOVER SPECIFICATIONS6) The alphabet

Writing down spelling

That's W-H-I-T-E.

(positive, negative, interrogative and contractions) (to be) am, is, are (Imperative)

Talking about friends, yourself and others Understanding and giving simple instructions

I am, I'm, he is, he's, she is, she's, it is it has, its, we are, we're, they are, they're Stand up and read this. Clean the board, please.

(present continuous) do

Asking and answering questions about present actions

What are the cats doing? They're sleeping.

(Present Simple)

Describing what you like or want

Talking about habits and facts

I like fish. I don't want eggs. How do you spell 'computer'? I live in Montevideo. I eat breakfast in the kitchen. Frogs jump.

Past simple

Talking about events in the past

We went to the park yesterday.

Short answer forms

Answering yes/no questions

Has your school got any computers? No, it hasn’t.

VERBS

Asking how to spell a word Saying where you live

Short answer forms Verb complementation VERB + infinitive VERB + -ing form.

I want to go home. He started to laugh. He started laughing. Talking about activities

Go + VERB+ing

I go fishing on weekends. I went riding yesterday.

Like, enjoy VERB+ing

I like walking in the mountains.

Causative “to”

Expressing purpose

She went to the shops to buy a new dress.

Modals can, have (got)

Describing ability and personal possessions Asking someone to do something Making requests

Can you play football? Have you got a pen? No, I've got a pencil. Can you open the window? Can I have ice cream?

must, mustn’t have got to

Obligations

You must clean your bedroom. You mustn’t shout in class. I’ve got to go.

would & wouldn’t like

Making offers

Would you like a bowl of soup? Would you like to come with us? I’d like to go home now.

shall (in interrogatives only)

Shall I carry your bags?

Past tense modals could had

I could see him. I had to go.

AI STRUCTURE LIST (DERIVED FROM CAMBRIDGE YOUNG LEARNERS (CYL) STARTER + MOVER SPECIFICATIONS6) The alphabet

Writing down spelling

That's W-H-I-T-E.

ADVERBS Time – now, today, yesterday

Describing when something happens My aunt caught the plane yesterday.

Frequency – always, sometimes never, often

Describing how often something happens

She never eats meat.

Manner – quietly, slowly quickly, carefully, well, badly, loudly,

Describing how you do something

We went upstairs quietly.

Degree – a lot

She talks a lot.

Comparative adverbs

He can read better than his brother.

Interrogatives – how, when, how much, how often, why, where, who, what, what kind of, which.

Asking questions to get information

How do you go to school? When does the film start? How much water do you want? How often do you eat cake? Why is he talking to her? Which snowman has Harry made? What is the weather like?

Talking about dates and time (but not o’clock)

She watches TV on Fridays. The dog always sleeps in the afternoon. She plays with her friends after school. I must do this before Friday.

what… like (only weather)

PREPOSITIONS Time- on, in, after, before

He painted the wall with a big brush. Agent - by Conjunctions or, and, but because

Making a choice Linking Expressing contrast Expressing reasons

Is this an apple or a pear? I've got a pen and a pencil. I like ice cream but I don’t like chocolate. I went home because I was tired.

NUMBERS Cardinal 1-20 Ordinal 1st to 10th

talking about positions in a race

CLAUSE

Relative clause with relative pronoun – who, which, that

Identifying people and objects

Emma is the girl who is sitting by the tree. An envelope is the thing in which we put a letter.

Formulas

For communication repair

Pardon? Sorry? I don't know. What did you say? I didn’t understand you.

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Grammar: The Teacher’s Perspective

For the teacher, being an adult, grammar may appear to be central and essential in learning a foreign language. However, this is to misunderstand the fundamental aims of foreign language lessons in primary schools. At the primary level, we are less concerned with the number of words or sentence patterns that children learn than with the effect that lessons will have on the learners. 1.

Discovery that foreign language learning can be fun.

Discovery that foreign languages are not incomprehensible.

Discovery that progress in foreign language learning is achievable.

Discovery that foreign language use can lead to real communication.

Development of a deeper understanding of both the L1 and the foreign language.

Although these developmental aims are very important for parents and curriculum planners, they are not important for children. These developmental aims are educational spin-offs from classes which are fun.

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CLIL: Content Language Integrated Learning

Cultural development Young children have a very limited outlook on the world. This is limited by their experience of their home, school, and city. Foreign language lessons make foreigners less foreign and, in this way, broaden the children’s outlook on the world. Broadening the children’s understanding of a foreign language and culture should give them a greater understanding of their own culture. For children, the conventions of their home culture are normal, they are not exceptional or unusual. When children learn about a foreign culture, they learn that “normal” has different meanings in different places. While it may be “normal” for the children to eat fresh fruit and sweet cakes for breakfast, they discover that British children eat cornflakes and boiled eggs. The content of the first year of foreign language lessons is focused on situations which are familiar to the learners. As children gain greater command of basic forms in English, we can begin to introduce content which is related to transport, describing cities and rural areas, people, animals and products. In this way, children learn how to describe their own environment in English. English language lessons may also exploit skills from different parts of the curriculum. Children undertake surveys, collect results, and then present them using graphs from the mathematics curriculum. Children may undertake simple scientific experiments and then report the results in English. Children will talk about where they live using simple geographical language in English. Children may learn about the weather, seasons and climate in Britain or other English-speaking countries and make comparisons with their own weather, climate, and seasons.

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Developing Understanding of Language

In the same way children learn about foreign lifestyles and compare them with their own, as they learn the patterns of English they can reflect on the patterns in their own language. For example, it is very likely that, in the learners’ L1, nouns will be marked by gender, adjectives will be changed to match the noun gender, and adjectives may also change if the noun is singular or plural. Possessive pronouns will change in gender according to the object possessed rather than (as in English) the gender of the possessor.

Just as learners may feel uncomfortable eating cornflakes and boiled eggs for breakfast rather than their conventional breakfast foods, learners may also feel uncomfortable with the systems of English grammar. This discomfort is part of the learning experience. Children will be tempted to be judgemental about English grammar. Because the grammatical systems of their L1 are familiar and normal, learners may feel that their L1 grammar is “better” than English grammar. As a result of their English language lessons at primary level, children will learn to accept and use the systems of English grammar without feeling judgemental discomfort. As a preparation for future study in secondary school, this attitudinal change is an enormous step forward. _____ 1

Tom MacArthur in conversation.

www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/cadre_en.asp

Jean Aitchison, The Language Web Cambridge University Press, 1997

Stephen Pinker, The Language Instinct, 1994

Nathan Isaacs, The Growth of Understanding in the Young Child, E.S.A 1961

See Cambridge Young Learners Tests Handbook at http://www.cambridgeesol.org/resources/teacher/yle.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Since qualifying as a Primary School teacher in 1967, Nick Dawson has taught general subjects to children and EFL to adults in Britain, Libya and Italy. He has a Postgraduate TEFL Diploma from London University. Since 1979 he has led over 2,000 seminars in more than 60 different countries. The publications he has helped develop include language tests, grammar practice, dictionary, reading, listening and video skills, teachers’ book, CD ROM and IWB activities for Primary, Secondary and Adult learners. He is also the author of English at Primary Level, Teaching on Holiday Courses, Learning and Teaching English in Scuola Media, Penguin Guide to Graded Reading, Listening with Penguin Readers, Teachers Guide to Portfolios and the CEFR. Since 2009 he has worked as a writer and academic consultant with Pearson.