What Is ESL Grammar?
Grammar for students learning English as a Second Language (ESL) differs from the grammar that native speakers study in school. ESL grammar takes into account the cultural use of English. For example, ESL students learn to master the present perfect tense when writing college admissions essays, such as "My life has changed since... or when writing on social networking sites, such as "I have just made my decision..." or in the cultural context of cover letter writing, such as "I have had years of experience in..." ESL grammar combines grammar competency with cultural ability so that ESL students have the necessary communication skills to succeed in a wide range of academic, social and professional situations.
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Skills
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ESL programs are typically structured around the four language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Grammar competency is interwoven among all areas. Keith Folse, a faculty member at the University of Central Florida, says that native speakers of English study the language they already speak for formal terms, such as predicate nominatives, and formal rules, such as avoiding double negatives. But ESL grammar links accuracy, which is the ability to produce correct sentences, with fluency, which is the ability to use the language naturally and expressively. Fluency includes pronunciation, self-correction of non-native sounding grammar usage, speech pattern, vocabulary building, cultural meaning and conceptualization.
Common Errors
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According to Karen Gocsik at Dartmouth College, some of the most common ESL grammar errors involve the use of articles, prepositions, subject/verb agreement and infinitives. A sentence with the article "a" omitted, such as "There is tall girl over there," is common for Asian and Russian writers whose languages don't use articles. Infinitive errors are common to ESL writers whose English sentences imitate sentences with different infinitive rules in their native languages, such as "I wouldn't mind to have a chocolate bar."
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Context
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ESL grammar is commonly taught using the communicative approach, focusing on function as well as structure. A lesson on modals, using the words "could," "would," "can," "will [imperative]," might be part of a larger lesson on How to Make Requests. The latter would focus on politeness and directness, such as "could you open the window," "would you open the window," or "will you open the window (now.)" Business communication students develop grammar in professional writing formats, presentations and simulations. Students entering U.S. academic programs must master grammar in the cultural conventions of American English rhetoric, even if the voice, structure, individualism and style differ from the prose of their own culture.
Considerations
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At Dartmouth, ESL tutors are jokingly cautioned when giving feedback on style not to respond "We just don't say it that way here." Native-speaking teachers have to be prepared to explain why a non-native structure is an error. For example, why we say "in" 1977 and not "on" 1977. Often these explanations require research for teachers because the rules for some non-native errors, such as the use of "on" in the previous example, were never taught to native speakers who do not make these errors.
Significance
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ESL Grammar is important because the U.S. Census Bureau has projected that by the 2030s, ESL students will comprise 40 percent of the school-age population. The population of ESL students in public schools has grown exponentially since 1979. In 2006, the University of Houston Center on Instruction reported that by 2003, there were nearly 10 million ESL students, an increase of 169 percent from 1979-2003. The group Advocates for Children of New York reported in 2002 that academic achievement and graduation rates of ESL students were poor, with drop out rates as high as 50 percent in 2001. Teachers in the United States are now searching for the best ways to build fluency and accuracy in the English language so that ESL students will learn, graduate and find jobs at the same rate as the native-speaking population. Knowledge of ESL grammar can empower teachers to be better sources of English for all students, ultimately improving teaching, learning and communication among people.
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References
- Advocates for Children Reports: Creating a Formula for Success: Why English Language Learner Students are Dropping out of School and How to Increase Graduation Rates
- Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning Policy Brief: Language Learners: A Growing Population
- RMC Research Corporation: Research-based Recommendations for Serving Adolescent Newcomers: Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners
- Dartmouth College: Common ESL Errors: Top Ten List
Resources
- Photo Credit student image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
