Language barrier can be overcome

It may be hard at first for second language learners to compete with their English-speaking peers in the class, but the language barrier can be overcome if teachers apply the proper teaching method, according to visiting scholars.

“Sometimes, [second language learners] fall behind in reading and writing, not because they are not bright but because it’s difficult for them to maximize their potentials due to lack of language comprehension” said Alfredo Schifini, professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of California State.

“What we try to do is give them basic reading in English,” he said.

Shifini said the proper method to deal with language barrier is to build up the children’s vocabulary and “make sense of what they read by developing English as their second language.”

Zoe Ann Brown, director of the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, said the first stage toward learning English is to help teachers understand the process of language acquisition.

Shifini and Brown conducted the pre-conference institute, which was among the activities that preluded the 16th annual Pacific Educational Conference. The educational conference, which officially opened last night, will hold a general assembly today.

The language institute discussed the implications of reading and language development research for practitioners working in second-language learning environments in the Pacific region.

Brown said a non-English speaker who comes to school faces the challenge of learning two things at the same time: They have to learn English so they can understand the background of their English speaking classmates who come with 5,000 English words. At the same time, they have to know their peers’ background to enable them to understand what they read.

“So you have to figure out how to give them the background that their peers have so that they can understand enough English,” Brown said.

Schifini has offered a teaching method based on the theory that “language is acquired not learned.”

The following are among the components of Schifini’s method:

• Avoid drill and practice on form;

• De-emphasize grammar in the beginning stages;

• Let natural language develop by model language, supplying comprehensive input, creating opportunities for communication , and allowing time for hypothesis testing. (MCM)