Know These 4 Areas of Typical Second-Language ‘Errors’

  As the number of bilingual students in the U.S. grows, we greatly benefit from a basic understanding of typical patterns of second-language acquirement and errors. I say greatly because: We can assess more accurately when we understand which patterns in bilingual development are typical, even in terms of errors, versus those that might indicate a language impairment. We can treat students more successfully by focusing on goals related to their language disorder rather than those geared toward “correcting” second-language patterns. Let’s take a look at four areas of language where ESL students commonly make errors. Prepositions A common area of perceived errors for Spanish-speakers acquiring English as a second language is in the use of prepositions. For example, the English prepositions “in” and “on” both translate into Spanish as the preposition “en.” Thus, a Spanish-speaker acquiring English might mix up the use of the corresponding English prepositions. Additionally, concepts represented by prepositions in English often get translated into Spanish with verbs. Examples of commonly mistranslated prepositions in Spanish-influenced English: “En” in Spanish translates to both “in” and “on” in English. So ESL students might say, “Put the food in the plate.” Or: “Put the soup on the bowl.” “Pensar en” or “Pensar de” translates as “to think about,” which ESL students might say as “I think on him every day.” “Enojarse co...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology bilingual service delivery English as a second langauge Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs