Journal 3

Journal 3 Chapter 4 Implications from Phonology for Teaching Reading and Teaching a Second Language Margaret Byrne Review – What did I learn? In developing proficiency in a second language there are three linguistic factors that should be taken into account. The first is that English phonemes occur in variant forms called allophones. The second is that speakers from different dialect regions use different phonemes and the third is that phonemes vary across languages. Phonemes are sounds that make a difference in meaning in English. Phonemes are not always pronounced the same way. The phonemes in a sound reflect on tongue placement and how a sound is heard. Some sounds in different words have different placement of the tongue. The author talks about saying “keep cool”. The same K sound is heard but it has different tongue placement due to the other sounds in the words. The phonemes have lots to do with the other sounds around it. Try it, say keep cool. The letter “t” has six variations which involve physical differences due to where the letter is placed in a word and which phonemes are around it. Phonemes can be very complex. Dialect differences can be regional or social or both. People in different parts of a country speak differently but even one geographical area can speak differently. The social classes within an area can also speak differently. In learning or acquiring a second language students will generally acquire the dialect of their teachers. Many different dialects rely not only sounds but on the context. Dialect can mean deletion of some sounds or substitutions of sounds. The differences in languages and how phonemes and sounds are used and heard can make it more difficult to learn a second language. Sometimes two sounds may seem the same to an ELL when they are really different. Different languages may have different phonemes for a letter. This can make it difficult when learning a new language. Reflect – What did it mean to me? This chapter was difficult for me. While reading it, I was continually brought back to conversations I have had with our SLP’s at school. When I have a student in kindergarten who I have questions about their speech and I talk to an SLP, we seem to go into conversation about tongue placement and how sounds are heard and what the children hear. In reality, I guess this is very much the same for an English language learner. When I listen to people who may be speaking in their native language, you hear some languages which seem more guttural than others or have a lilt to them. This chapter helped me realize that is all in the phonemes and variations of phonemes in their language. It is really fascinating when I thought about it. I grew up in Chicago, moved to New England after I was married and then to Georgia fifteen years ago – wow, talk about different dialects! That part of the chapter was spot on in what I have personally learned over the years. This chapter also helped me to realize that as a classroom teacher with ELL students I need to give more care and attention to these students and help them in trying to solve the riddle of phonemes. I am drawn again to the use of visuals and trying to find good pictures which may help them learn vocabulary easier. I feel even using pictures almost as flash cards could be a help to these students who are having a more difficult time with their language acquisition. Refine – How will I use the information in my classroom? After class last week I came back to school and grabbed one of our SLP’s for some conversation. Our discussions in class were very interesting about how sounds and phonemes are made and it got me thinking about all of this with our ELL learners. I was interested in the speech aspect of it also and how do we help these babies. The SLP I talked to is fabulous. She can talk about all this tongue placement and how sounds are made and where they are made and make it easy to understand. We also talked about all of in relationship to our ELL students. She reminded me about dialect and just like the differences in the United States don’t forget about the dialect differences in Spanish. Different countries, different dialects – the same language! I have noticed that but did not put much thought into it. I thought about the differences that I hear between my children whose families are from Mexico in relationship to those who are from South America. I am pulling back to literature again. Right now we are doing a unit on winter and I have so many books about it, both fiction and non-fiction. Showing all of these babies lots of pictures and letting them hear stories about snow and ice is fun but also a learning experience because even here in Georgia we do not experience it. I am trying to find some different books which may have some words in them which will show that dialect difference. Off to the Media Center for me. One of the ideas which we talked about in class which I am anxious to try is where you fold up the paper and write one word in the middle and have the children draw a picture or write a word in each section to go along with the main word. I think this can be a great activity for my students. Doing some work with them one word at a time should really help with sound formation and making sure they are hearing and saying the sounds correctly. I still feel one of the best things to do with my ELL students is to talk to them and listen to them when they do feel like talking. Hopefully building their confidence can help them be more successful learners.