Henry's Class: Week of 4/14

Consider the English Language Learners you have in your classes or school. How would you describe the “academic English” they need to know in order to achieve successfully in your classes? How does this differ from the students’ social usage of English in school? (adapted from Richard-Amato & Snow, 2005, p.47)

The biggest difference I notice here, I think, is in grammar and spelling. Even native English speakers can communicate with each other in mangled or abbreviated terms (the reader may certainly infer a negative bias here; seeing student assignments turned in with phrases like “u no i never got 2 far in the book” drives me bonkers), and unfortunately, this kind of communication doesn’t always provide the most help to their ELL friends. One ELL student, I’ve noticed, typically writes the word “gone” instead of “going to.” As in, “The main character always acts like he gone to be mean to his best friend.” I’ve realized that he probably hears the spoken “gonna” in social conversations, which sounds similar to “gone,” thus leading him to this occasional mistaken term in his papers.

Social communication then, is typically far more forgiving-- and less strict-- than “academic English.” However, just as my native English speaking students need to break out of their texting and Myspacing habits to capitalizing the letter “i” or spell out “you,” ELL students will gradually need to accustom themselves to the academic expectations of spelling and grammar. The difference between an ELL student and a student who has grown up speaking English however, is that the formers’ mistakes are usually made innocently—as in the aforementioned example of “gone” versus “going to,” whereas the latter (“u no”) usually will be aware that they’re making errors. In both cases, it’s my job as the teacher to correct, and encourage students to use the amended terms in their next writing attempt.