Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Contrastive Guide to Teach English to Chinese Students
Chinese students not only have a hard time learning English because of the language itself, but also because their culture, tradition, and values differ as well. Most students that are Chinese tend to be shy, do not do face-to-face conversing, or are afraid to speak in public because their English is not always the best. Studies have shown that many Asian students also do not associate themselves with American students, which does not allow them to practice their English skills. A final problem for Chinese students arises where they work. Many have jobs at Asian restaurants, where poorly educated employees discourage them from going to school and learning the English langage. The language difficulties that the Chinese endure prevent them from taking advantage of all educational opportunities. Learning problems come into play here. Aspiration, or allowing breath to flow while speaking, is important in the Chinese language. Many Chinese people identify "p,t,k" as always aspirated, even when they are not. Chinese people do not understand the difference between voice and voiceless sounds, so they have a hard time distinguishing the difference between "dog/dock," "bag/back," and "cup/cub." They also have no equivlent for sh as in she, so they substitue the s sound for she. Many cannot distinguish the difference between round/wound, road/wood, and consonant clusters including, "pr," "br," "pl," and "bl." For example, "the r disappears in Brooklyn and becomes Booklyn." The Chinese tend to add extra syllables at the end of final consonants. For example, "finish" becomes "fi-ni-shi" and "have" becomes "ha-vu." Unstressed syllables in the English language also pose a problem for Chinese speakers as well. There are no articles, definite or indefinite, in the Chinese language, and the Chinese have trouble with negatives. They cannot distinguish the difference between "no" and "not." Most Chinese students cannot use the words, "too," "either," or "also," correctly, and prepositions are problematic because there are very few in the Chinese language. They are also limited in use. Finally, the word, "there," is troublesome as well, as it is not used as an introducer in the Chinese language. For example, an American would say, "There are a lot of problems here." A Chinese student would say, "A lot of problems here." The Chinese language differs from ours greatly. There are four different tones, which can change the meanings of each word. The repetition of the same subject in one sentence is acceptable, and Chinese adverbs and adjectives can be before or after the subject. There are four different types of verbs and fourteen different types of punctuation marks. Adjectives can be used as verbs as well. As for writing the Chinese language, symmetry and sequence of strokes are extremely important. Each separate character is vital to the meaning of the whole context. Asians read from right to left and top to bottom in Chinese, while in English, we read from left to right, and horizontally, not vertically.
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This article really changed my perspective on things. I never knew how different the Chinese language was from the English language. I can now understand how difficult it would be to learn our language as an Asian student. Although the Chinese langage is extremely complex, the English language has many rules as well. Speaking AND reading/writing varies from the English language to the Chinese language. American teachers need to be more aware of what does and does not exsist in both the Chinese and English languages. If teachers knew what Asian students had problems with, they would know what parts of the English language they need to concentrate on most. Also, most Asian students would probably learn faster as well. American teachers also need to realize that culture, traditions, and values play into the fact of how an Asian student learns English.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that Chinese people have it so difficult to learn the English language. There are so many factors that contribute to learning the English language that I never understood until reading this article. Maybe if a lot of people understood how difficult it is for Chinese to learn English maybe us English speakers would be more understanding and patient. The English language is already difficult and complex as is for us Americans to comprehend but I imagine that it has to be ten times harder for Asians to comprehend.
ReplyDeleteThis article really showed me how not only intimidating Americans can be, but impatient as well. As American students and people we need to learn not only the Chinese culture and ways but other countries cultures and ways. There are more visitors and tourists from different countries in America than anywhere else in the world and we need to respect them. This article has also brought to my attention that we usually do become annoyed easily when we cannot understand somebody's English clearly, therefore we need to focus and possibly help them. Helping somebody's English does not just go for Chinese students but students and people everywhere including some people in America who struggle with our language. Learning languages such as Spanish and French are easier because you are able to use some of the same letters and some of the words all come from the same roots rather than the Chinese Language which has different symbols,words, and different sounds as well.
ReplyDeleteI knew there were some differences between the Asian and English languages, but I didn't exactly realize just how many differences there were. For example, I knew they do not have articles in their language, and I also knew that they read right to left and vertically. But with all of the other complications, both in language and social contexts, it's easy to see why so many Asian ESL learners are unwilling to speak in public!
ReplyDeleteSome Americans can be cruel if "foreigners" don't pronounce words correctly or if their syntax isn't correct. I try to be open-minded to begin with, and this article truly opened my eyes even further. I wish that more people knew what kinds of problems ESL learners face (particularly the Asian culture); maybe then would they not be so harsh and judgmental.
This essay really did change my outlook on the way americans speak and how we americans really dont understand why speaking is so hard. becasue we are naitve speaker i really dont see how word and when people add things to words that it really is just there culutre
ReplyDeleteI turly beleive that we can be together as one with words but we have to be more undersatnding.Maybe we should take another languague
I have heard Asian people with diffuculty with speaking English in various resturants and establishments. It is not that they cannont understand meanings behind words and phrases, they have trouble producing sentences that would be considered correct for native English speakers. This problem makes much more sense now that I know they do not have articles, prepositions, conjunctions. I could understand why these people have trouble learning English.
ReplyDeleteMy freshman year, I roomed with an ESL student from Japan. His language usage had many of the same traits cited for Chinese language learners. As a student in the SIU ESL program, he used to watch television as a way to grasp context, something often taken for granted by native English users. The ERIC article mentions watching movies as a similar learning device.
ReplyDeleteThe article cited issues Chinese ESL speakers have with articles, tenses, clauses, prepositions and word forms. There are also pronunciation issues, which contribute to a lack of confidence many ESL speakers have in social settings. This reluctance to converse with more comfortable English speakers tends to hold back their progress in mastering our language.
This article had a number of examples and covered a wide variety of topics, citing specific recurring errors made by Chinese ESL speakers and offering the rationale for these mistakes. While this is a topic that deserves specific treatment, I would have been interested in seeing something on the difficulty differences or similarities other Asian ESL speakers have with English.
I learned how to speak English when I was 5 years old; and really understood grammar and how the English language works a little bit after 6th grade. Like the Chinese language, Albanian does not have articles either. I understand how hard it is to try and learn a new language because the words that are used in English have no meaning at all in other languages. To teach the language and grammar function, I would focus more on the aspects that have no meaning in another language because they are vital to learning and it is not something that they can practice on their own. Also, what is hard about teaching English to Chinese speakers is that articles like “the” have no dictionary definition, therefor e its becomes hard to understand why and when you use them properly in a sentence. For me, I just know when to use an article correctly, but my parents for example, who learned the language in their 40’s, rarely use articles when speaking or writing.
ReplyDeleteThis article presents excellent reasonings for the brokens sentence structure an Asian student new to the English language would have. Articles are even tricky for toddlers of English speaking parents. My daughter will leave out certain articles rolling through them with a mumble or completely leaving them out. This article gave meaning behind the reason. I thought a few of the posts on this article were interesting as well! Very cool to get an insight on the Albanian language and the example of the Japan roommate watching tv to learn the English language.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting to see how much work Asian ESL students have to do in order to grasp the English language. It must be difficult to not only learn the language while they are in America, but also learn everything else they do while they're in school on top of that. If I was studying in an Asian country, I would have to spend all of my time trying to learn the language, and there would be no way I could learn the other subjects I was studying at the same time as well.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed Asian ESL students have a difficult time grasping the language. I work in American Eagle at the mall and we get quite a few foreign students coming through to shop. Asian students usually seem like they have the most trouble grasping the language. When you ask them a question, they typically do not respond or simply nod and smile. I usually try and break things down into basic nouns and verbs, and they can pretty much always respond to that. I can't imagine the difficulties of learning English; especially when our cultures are so different.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read. just from reading I have learned alot. Ididnt not know most of this. I like how we as Americans read differently from the Asian. I never knew that Chinese people had a hard time saying some of the words that we say. Also, after reading this, i feel as though that American should be more understanding of what they have to learn just to fit in to our American world. This article has given he a better respect for the Asian culture and the things thatthey have to learn just to live here in America.
ReplyDeleteI never knew how different the Chinese language is compared to English. I can now appreciate how difficult it probably is for many Asian people to learn to speak English. It must be hard to learn a new language that is completely opposite of what one has known their entire life. I'm sure it can be very frustrating for Asian ESL students trying to communicate with sometimes impatient Americans. This article has definitely helped me to understand to be more patient and opened minded with Asian ESL students.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting and informative. I never had realized exactly how different the English language was from the Chinease language. I now feel like, as Americans we should appreciate and be patient when speaking to someone who is struggling, like the Chinease. I also think it is important that we make those who are learning the English language feel comfortable and not embarrassed when they are speaking to us. I believe that many of us get very impatient when speaking to someone who does not know our language and it becomes very intimidating. I believe that everyone should read this article because it allows us to understand what many foreigners go through.
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to live in Detroit Michigan, which has a large Asian American population, I went to school with many Chinese students. The students would rarely interact with the American students and would shy away from public speaking much like what the article was saying. I was never really sure why and it was interesting to know exactly what was making it so difficult.
ReplyDeleteThis article open my eyes to another point of view. I notice a lot of Asian students on campus, and it seems that they only hang around other Asian students, and peers. I rarely see them in my classes, and if I see them in the cafeteria they are amongst a group of Asians. So to know that the reason for this isolation could be, because they are afraid or shy to speak the English language is interesting. I never knew that they pronounce,and read the English language in a whole different view, and the reason for this is mainly cultured. Usually when I see an Asian person speak their words are very limited and soft spoken, and now this makes me want to continue to be patient, and never judge anyone, because everyone comes from different backgrounds, and have different situations in life.
ReplyDeleteAs an education major, eventually you'll have a class (or in my case, many classes) where they talk about the challenges and reality of dealing with ESL students. Usually they talk about Hispanic students, as they're the most dominant in schools besides English speaking students. I knew that the Chinese language is pretty drastically different from ours, and one of the hardest languages to master (in contrast to Spanish, which is said to be the easiest language for English students to pick up). I even kinda knew some of the pronunciation issues they have, but I didn't know why. I found these findings to be actually quite interesting and very informative. I find it disheartening as a future teacher to hear that alot of Asian students are opposed and discouraged from interacting with English speaking students. If you don't practice and use a language, you'll never get it. As a teacher, it makes me keep in mind that all students need to be included and interacting with each other in order to better each other.
ReplyDeleteThis article really opened my eyes to how hard it is for others to learn the English language. I'll admit, I have always thought that people coming in from another country chose not to learn English for various reasons. After reading this article, I know that is not necessarily the case. I did not realize exactly how difficult actually speaking the lanugage was. I knew that the rules would be difficult for others, but I did not think the pronunciation would be a problem. I have had an Asian TA before and couldn't really understand and now I know why. I think that my appreciation for those who are trying to speak English increased after reading this. I think it is interesting that dog and dock sound the same for Asians, because when we are learning how to speak as children, we often have the same problem, or one similar to it. I would love to learn how other cultures, not just Asians, struggle with English.
ReplyDelete