Spanish speakers learning english problems for third
These are the core obsessions that drive our newsroom—defining topics of seismic importance to the global economy. Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. This is not just because all European young people speak English. If we look at those who can read and write in at least three languages, the UK is still far behind. So what are the difficulties Britons face when learning other languages? Here are a few of the basics.
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- Five reasons English speakers struggle to learn other languages
- Research Shows Spanish Speakers Take Longer To Learn English. Why?
- 10 Pronunciation mistakes Spanish speakers make
- Learn English as a Second Language
- The free, fun, and effective way to learn a language!
- Common English Difficulties For ESL Spanish Students
Five reasons English speakers struggle to learn other languages
Spanish is spoken far and wide, serving as the official language in countries of North, South and Central America, Europe and Africa. I noticed some similarities and differences between the diverse Spanish-speaking students from these countries, and that was just the beginning. Later on in my career, I taught English in Buenos Aires. Then I took my talents to the Internet and started teaching online. I hope that you have the great fortune to teach so many wonderful people, from so many fascinating places.
Teaching Spanish-speaking students or SSS can be a highly rewarding experience, and hopefully some of these tips can help you teach them to your highest potential. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. Over 20 countries use Spanish as an official language, counting among them large, economically powerful nations like Mexico, Spain and Colombia. These and others are making a bigger global impact economically, politically and culturally than ever before. Unlike Japanese-speaking students, who generally come from the same country, ethnicity and cultural heritage —with exceptions, of course—SSS bring to the table an incredibly wide range of backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities.
So, since SSS come from different continents, backgrounds and walks of life, you can imagine how very different each one may be from his or her peers, even if they all speak the same native tongue. Students from Spain may have different troubles with the American English accent than will students from Chile or Cuba.
Even students from neighboring nations like Argentina and Bolivia may bump into completely different sets of English challenges, or might have surprisingly distinct worldviews. This makes the teaching experience a lot more fun, vibrant and interesting, if you ask me! Take the time to really get to know your students individually. Give them time to get to know each other. By fostering a collaborative, unified and curious classroom environment, the learning experience can extend far beyond learning English!
They often take great pride in their nations, their people, their cultures and their language. Luckily, tapping into their hometown pride can help them overcome this. This is wonderful for all in terms of English speaking and listening practice.
You could also have them write reports, create posters or give presentations on their favorite aspects of their countries and cultures.
Quick story here. After all, sad as it is, the American accent is notoriously unpleasant when applied to foreign languages. SSS sound quite charming when speaking English. Spanish accents are lovely, even when they make their way into English. It should be worn proudly, like a badge of courage and honor!
When learning a foreign language, everyone feels a bit discouraged while speaking from time to time. In the case of a particularly hairy English topic, you can always swap to Spanish to explain a little , or you could offer a few words of encouragement in their native language. I recommend breaking out a couple Spanish examples or explanations if you feel confidence dipping or confusion rising. Saying a few broken words in Spanish can seriously lighten the mood, get a few laughs and help students see that speaking in a foreign language is nothing to be worried about.
From my time teaching, SSS definitely appreciate knowing that you know some Spanish. While teaching English in Asia, I came to realize that my students lacked fluency and confidence skills, but made up for it with their grammar and syntax skills.
What some SSS may lack in grammar and syntax skills, they typically make up for with their fluency, confidence and basically their willingness to speak. From my experience, SSS are usually not reluctant to make mistakes and are more willing to speak than students from more reserved, silence-is-golden cultures.
This inclination towards speaking is actually quite helpful for them. Of course, this will vary greatly from individual to individual. It boils down to personality type, as opposed to cultural heritage—or so I thought. Again, I link it to the energetic, loquacious personalities that Spanish-speaking people are typically known for.
SSS tend to be very talkative in their own language, as smooth, friendly conversation is a key life skill in many of their home countries. Once they reach a comfortable enough level of English or even a comfortable enough state of mind you may notice that they could talk and talk for hours.
I learned this once when I had a classroom full of Spanish speakers and pitched out some great conversation starters to help them build their conversational fluency as a group. I struck conversational gold when I brought up soccer, and they all began vociferously sharing their views on this easily-debatable topic.
The group ended up straying from whatever the original question was into a long, winding discussion about the nuances of the game.
Then they stayed on that topic for some time, since it was something of high passion and interest. From there they just kept drifting and drifting away from the main topic, and straight into tangent after tangent. The strategy for this class, and other similar ones focused on conversation practice, was for me to throw out a juicy discussion topic and let them have at it. As the teacher, you can simply pop back in to redirect the conversation, encourage quieter students to get involved, help shine light on minority opinions and, of course, gently correct any major English mistakes as needed.
The lack of English exposure can hinder their listening skills and thus, your SSS may have some trouble understanding an English speaker speaking at a normal pace. The good thing about this is that they really appreciate it and learn better when you speak slowly.
A simple rule of thumb is to speak the same tempo that they speak in English. Spanish-speaking people are often known for being joyous and vibrant, from their upbeat, dance-able music to their zesty cuisines.
Another great way to maintain a dynamic and engaging learning environment is with native videos from FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
For all this talk of happy-go-lucky students, high energy levels and pleasant demeanors, we should always remember that some individual experiences will vary. Some students may well feel overwhelmed in a language classroom, for a variety of reasons.
However, others may face personal struggles when staring down textbooks and chalkboards full of verb tenses. Regardless of the possible reasons, they may feel intimidated. Be prepared to handle this in your classroom. Are some more reluctant than others? Is someone not doing their homework routinely? These are superficial warning signs that there are deeper problems you can address as a teacher, and it might be time to check in on a one-on-one basis with students who are struggling or not enjoying class.
My impression is that this is because teachers in Spanish-speaking countries hold more of a respected role in society, especially compared to teachers in the USA who are often underpaid and overworked. The times change, and teachers probably encounter all those same work issues in Spanish-speaking countries too, but SSS remain very well-behaved and respectful when in the presence of a teacher.
Anyone who has studied a Latin-based language knows that the grammar differs a bit from English grammar. Even advanced speakers tend to make the same small, simple mistakes, especially with verb tenses. English grammar may not exactly come easy to them all at first, but does it come easy to anyone, really?
Take a look at these key differences between English and Spanish so you know what kinds of things to expect. As you probably know all too well, English is not at all like this. This can be overcome with lots and lots of listening practice and pronunciation exercises.
Reassure your students that we all know English sounds are kind of crazy and unpredictable, and that most learners hit stumbling blocks learning how to sound things out. These are imperative to study and brush up on. The usual suspects? For starters, the English R sound poses some trouble, as SSS usually pronounce the English R by rolling their tongues, or by keeping their tongues touching the tops of their mouths.
In English, our R sound comes more from the backs of our throats. So, pronunciation in the early and maybe even later stages could be good to touch up on.
Keep these and other difficult English sounds in mind, and gently correct your students by saying words the right way yourself, slowly and clearly. I like to think that speaking in Spanish is like coloring with a box of 24 crayons, while speaking in English is like coloring with the massive 64 crayon box with the Razzle Dazzle Rose color, too. Most of the time. The best way to correct is to repeat the phrase that was said, using correct English.
That is very cool! This confusion will come up more than a few times when teaching SSS since, to them, the resemblance is uncanny. The English language is like a parasite that just grows and grows, always adding more to the grand vocabulary pile, and phrasal verbs are no exception.
As you know, adding a tiny little preposition to the end of a verb can totally change its meaning. Some verbs have numerous associated phrasal verbs!
This is a big challenge for Spanish speakers. While there are some phrasal verbs in Spanish, the amount pales in comparison to the plethora of English phrasal verbs. Why does it matter what Spanish subtitles on English shows and movies are like? Sometimes the meaning is changed entirely, other times the wording is totally different in order to capture the same meaning.
Even more times, esoteric pop culture references from the English-speaking world are completely removed or altered for Spanish-speaking audiences. Your students are very likely to be watching English programming with Spanish subtitles at home, some may even be studying their English in this way. This is good to keep in mind and to address with your students!
If you're looking for creative ways to teach English, then you'll love using FluentU in your classroom! It's got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch regularly.
There are tons of great choices there when you're looking for songs for in-class activities. You'll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids' singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more. On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.
Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.
Research Shows Spanish Speakers Take Longer To Learn English. Why?
The main objective of this investigation was to determine the most difficult English vowel sounds to pronounce for the learners in their first, second and third year of their major. As for the methodology, the study followed a correlational design within a mixed method approach that encompassed a total of 57 students divided into two groups. The data obtained from the recordings was processed using logistic regression; the vowels were organized from the most difficult to the easiest, and then the findings were compared to the data obtained from the surveys. The findings also showed discrepancies in the vowel sounds that learners and teachers perceived as difficult in comparison to the pronunciation difficulty found in the recordings. Having accurate pronunciation when communicating in a foreign language is fundamental in order to transmit the intended message with clarity and avoid misunderstandings.
10 Pronunciation mistakes Spanish speakers make
When learning English, learners might face a challenging task in mastering pronunciation due to differences in both languages such as sound-to-letter correspondence, size of phoneme inventory, allophonic realization of sounds, place and manner of articulation, among others. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review both theoretical and research reports on the most problematic sounds for Spanish-speakers English language learners. Besides, first language interference and age of second language acquisition have been found as complicating factors in the English pronunciation learning process. Finally, some classroom activities have been reported as successful for facilitating English pronunciation in Spanish native speakers. She has carried out research on language learning strategies, reading strategies, L1 reading and writing proficiency in university students, L2 collocations, and formative research in ELT preservice teachers. Also, she has worked as a teacher trainer, academic consultant and curriculum and material designer for ELT programs run by the MEN and the British Council in order to qualify teachers and improve ELT practices in both private and public schools. Throughout her career, she has been interested not only in the study of phonetics and phonology but also in the creation of materials for Colombian primary teachers in Public Institutions.
Learn English as a Second Language
A person's second language , or L2 , is a language that is not the native language first language or L1 of the speaker, but is learned later usually as a foreign language , but it can be another language used in the speaker's home country. A speaker's dominant language, which is the language a speaker uses most or is most comfortable with, is not necessarily the speaker's first language. The second language can also be the dominant one. For example, the Canadian census defines first language for its purposes as "the first language learned in childhood and still spoken", recognizing that for some, the earliest language may be lost, a process known as language attrition.
The free, fun, and effective way to learn a language!
One of the major problems that Spanish learners of English face is related to their pronunciation skills. Moreover, this problem is strongly associated with the concentration of the EFL learners more on reading and grammar than speaking and listening. In other words, they tend to learn more about the language and how the language is structured than to learn the language itself. Another significant factor that hampers the improvement of their pronunciation skills is their limited exposure to the language. Throughout my internship in Seville , I have observed that the only way to listen to English is through internet. It was quite interesting to notice that the majority of the English TV series or films were dubbed into Spanish instead of subtitled.
Common English Difficulties For ESL Spanish Students
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Try out PMC Labs and tell us what you think. Learn More. This longitudinal study modeled growth rates, from age 4. Individual growth modeling was employed using scores from standardized measures of word reading, expressive vocabulary, and verbal short-term language memory.
Spanish is spoken far and wide, serving as the official language in countries of North, South and Central America, Europe and Africa. I noticed some similarities and differences between the diverse Spanish-speaking students from these countries, and that was just the beginning. Later on in my career, I taught English in Buenos Aires. Then I took my talents to the Internet and started teaching online. I hope that you have the great fortune to teach so many wonderful people, from so many fascinating places. Teaching Spanish-speaking students or SSS can be a highly rewarding experience, and hopefully some of these tips can help you teach them to your highest potential. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.
Prefill your email content below, and then select your email client to send the message. Recipient e-mail address:. Children communicate so much through their behavior. Teachers and caregivers will find this article useful in identifying strategies for working with dual language learners exhibiting challenging behaviors.
All not so simply