‘I don’t understand nothing’  p79

The context could be a student responding to a particularly confusing explanation from a teacher - but can you guess the speaker’s mother tongue and diagnose the problem that needs to be addressed to improve the learner’s English?

The language mistake quoted above comes from a chapter (of course) on Italian speakers in a section dealing with typical problems they may encounter with English grammar. The Italian speaker has translated a form from Italian and created a double negative in English. It’s an example of ‘interference’ (also referred to as a ‘transfer mistake’) which is explained in the introduction on page xi:

‘…students assume a more complete correspondence than exists, so that they carry over mother-tongue patterns in cases where English forms or uses are not in fact parallel.’

[Hopefully you didn’t think ‘I don’t understand nothing’ when you read this…]

Students who speak languages such as Italian and German, which are ‘closely related to English’, will tend to make these types of ‘transfer mistakes’ whereas for speakers of Japanese or Arabic this is less of an issue, instead they have to contend with the massive problem of how completely different English is compared to their language!

Learner English contains 22 chapters focussing on speakers of different languages around the world, deals with the problems they encounter when learning English and explains why these occur. It is a reference book, so not designed to be read cover-to-cover, and is very much aimed at English teachers (rather than ‘academics’) with an emphasis on the practical. For over 30 years it has been an essential book to include in a teachers’ resources library (at least in language schools with a mix of nationalities) and is ideal for use on teacher training courses. Each chapter is written by a different author, who (hopefully) has expert knowledge about the speakers they have been asked to write about. Chapters give some general background on the language and then explain common pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary mistakes. Some chapters also include fascinating sections on cultural differences and behaviour in the classroom. I particularly like the following quote from the chapter on Japanese speakers (which almost reads like a poem):

‘Tentativeness is preferred to assertiveness, hesitancy to momentum’ p297

Being more aware of how cultures express themselves verbally in contrasting ways, means a teacher should be better able to respond appropriately in the classroom and they will perhaps also consider how aspects of their own culture may be thought odd or surprising and/ or be easily misinterpreted by students.

Descriptions and explanations of mistakes related to phonology and grammar dominate the book. Readers need to be familiar with phonetic symbols as chapters highlight problematic phonemes for learners, such as difficulties for French speakers distinguishing between /ʊ/ and /u:/. (Try to imagine someone with a strong French accent trying to say “pull” and “pool”.) Sections on phonology deal not only with issues involving vowel and consonant sounds, but also with intonation, rhythm and stress. For example Russian speakers of English can sometimes be perceived as being rude due to intonation differences when asking yes/ no questions. Think of a student with strong, Russian accent asking a teacher: “Did you tell her?” where the question finishes with a fall rather than a rise in intonation (page 149). Knowing about this issue means that a teacher may avoid responding in a knee-jerk ‘how rude’ manner and can correct the student by modeling how the Russian speaker can sound more polite (unless the student was intending to be rude of course).

Learner English devotes many more pages to grammatical problems than those concerning vocabulary. The vocabulary sections tend to include a few ‘common problems’ and lists of ‘false friends’. For example in the chapter on Scandinavian languages we learn that the adjective ‘blank’ can mean ‘shiny’ and that ‘lucky’ can mean ‘happy’. Idiomatic expressions are highlighted in certain chapters, which when translated into English often don’t quite communicate what was intended. For example Chinese speakers may use the following :

Did you play very happy? (for - Did you have a good time?)

Or

Don’t be polite. (for - Make yourself at home.) p321

I love the concept of being invited to not be polite when welcomed into someone’s home for the first time, you could perhaps comment “What terrible taste you have!” when entering their living room…or “Your husband thinks he’s funny but he isn’t, is he?”

Certain chapters include extended sections on cultural background, differences and behaviour. In the chapter on Korean speakers we learn about the potential hidden meanings of the smile:

Smiles which appear irrelevant to a European may in fact express agreement, embarrassment, shyness, incredulity or regret – but may also be rueful, sardonic or scornful. (Even to a Korean, a smile may be ambiguous, and may be questioned.) p340

Teachers may ignore or misinterpret a student’s smile, perhaps thinking the student is ‘happy’ rather than embarrassed or a student may not understand why a teacher is smiling and become uncomfortable and uncertain how to respond. The amount of eye contact, use of pointing and the physical distance between two people when they are talking are also culturally different and are worth teachers being aware of to reduce tension in the classroom.

Learner English is an important guide to the key aspects of a learner’s mother tongue that a teacher needs to consider when teaching English, which also provides some interesting background on many languages and cultures. The book is a ‘must’ for trainees to help them in their preparation and planning for lessons and to improve their ability to respond sensitively and appropriately to students in the classroom.

Additional component:

There is an accompanying CD, which must be purchased separately, that contains recordings of speakers of all the languages in the book reading aloud, speaking about themselves and telling a story based on pictures.

Overall rating

4