C. Evans-Linguistics Journal 3, Chapter 4

Review – What did you learn?

            This week’s section compares the beliefs of two methods of teaching reading and second language acquisition: the learning perspective and the acquisition perspective. The first method, the learning perspective, breaks language down into its basic components and students are taught through exercises emphasizing phonology. Once they’ve mastered these basic rules, then they can understand written or second language. The second method, the acquisition perspective, focuses on constructing meaning when learning to communicate through writing or a second language because it is believed that the phonology of a language is too complex to break down and try to teach as individual skills. Instead, students acquire phonology skills subconsciously while they are focusing on trying to communicate.

            Three linguistic insights were then provided to aid in the comparison of the above perspectives. The first insight discussed referred to allophones. There are approximately 39 phonemes, or sounds that create a difference in meaning, in the English language. “The phones that make up one phoneme are called its allophones (“all the phones”)” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004). Some phonemes, such as /k/ and /t/, can have several allophones depending on the sounds that come before and after them. These variations can make it difficult to learn phonetics in isolation.

            The second insight discussed referred to dialectal differences. Within any language there are variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax depending on factors such as the social background of the speaker and what region the speaker comes from. When teaching a language phonetically, these variations must be taken into account. For example, two words that may sound like homonyms to one person could sound very different to someone else who speaks the same language.

            The third insight given dealt with the many phonological differences between languages. The English language may have certain phonetic sounds that are the same as those of another language, but other phonemes may be different. This can be a problem for learners who already have phonemic awareness in one language. They may not be able to perceive the differences in sounds within the new language, especially if the words are presented in isolation and not in context.

            Finally, the authors brought up the point that often in schools so much time is spent teaching phonemic awareness that there ends up being little time left for authentic reading activities. From a sociopsycholinguistic point of view, it is the authentic experiences that allow for written and second language acquisition.

Reflect – What did it mean to you?

            This part of linguistics fascinates me. I have always enjoyed playing around with words and how they are pronounced. I was born in Connecticut, and most of my New England relatives have the accent described in the chapter where they drop the /r/ at the end of words like “car,” or add it to the ends of words like “soda.” When I was eight, my family moved to rural south Georgia. Aside from being a culture shock, it was a real language shock as well. I could relate to the section in the chapter that described second language learners complaining that native speakers often speak too fast. It wasn’t that my new neighbors were speaking too fast (even though it seemed like it), I just couldn’t keep up with what they were saying because it sounded so different from what I was used to. My family had to learn a lot of new vocabulary and pronunciations before we felt like we fit in, but by the time I graduated from high school, I could speak southern like a native!

            I had never heard of allophones before reading this chapter and while I knew that some letters, like vowels and the letters “c” and “g” make multiple sounds, I never realized or really thought about how many different sounds so many other letters can make. This section, in particular, was a real eye opener for me when I began to think about my kindergartners just learning how to write and my EL students who are trying to figure out what all these letters in words are supposed to sound like. With so many allophones in the English language, it’s a wonder any of us figure it out.

            In comparing the two methods of teaching reading and second language acquisition, I think I tend to lean more toward the acquisition or sociopsycholinguistic model. With so many phonetic variations to consider in the English language, we cannot expect a student to learn to read or speak the language by teaching phonemes in isolation. I think there needs to be a balance between authentic reading and writing experiences with phonetic instruction in the mix.    

Refine: How will you use the information in your classroom?

            I think at my school, we do a pretty good job of providing students with this good balance between phonetic instruction and meaningful literacy experiences through the reading and writing workshop model. The majority of time in both blocks is spent by the students doing independent reading and writing activities. A smaller portion of time is spent on “word work” when students might be playing word family games, making words with magnetic letters, or practicing sight words.

            I also like to use poetry to teach a number of skills. My kindergartners have a poetry notebook to which we add a new poem each week. We begin the week by reading and enjoying the poem together and discussing any new vocabulary. The next day the students actually add the poem to their notebook, and I have them do some sort of response activity. Right now we are learning about vowels, so we might look and listen for certain vowel sounds in the poem on another day. Each lesson is only about 10 or 15 minutes, but by the end of the week, the students can all read the poem, including my EL's and struggling readers and they love sharing what they’ve learned and can do with their 2^nd grade book buddies.

            I think the most important element that I am going to take from this week’s reading and use in my classroom is more consideration for the number of allophones there are in the words we use, and how difficult this can make learning for my EL's and my young students just beginning to read and write.

References

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics, what you need to know to teach     reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, and grammar. Portsmouth: Heinemann Educational         Books.