I am a secondary English language learner, and as a secondary English language learner, I can only distinguish about half of the English phonemes. For example,  I don’t hear the difference between long and short vowels, and some consonants never reach my ear, getting lost in the flow of speech. ( A fun fact is that babies start losing the ability to differentiate the sounds of languages other than their own at six months, and by the onset of puberty- forget about it!) I started learning English in the middle school. As a result, I do much better with the printed word than with oracy. Tell me what to do, and I may not be able to catch it all. Give me the same directions on paper, and I am good. This is just one of the characteristics of an eye-learner ( Building Better Writers pp 29-30). 

This blog was conceived a few months ago during the moment of enlightenment and misery when I got (yet again) the taste of a common side-effect of being a secondary language learner. I hope to distill my experience into something that may genuinely serve others in their educational journeys or work with newcomers.

I was in a random meeting when the speaker said, “This is our penultimate point to discuss.” I missed the word penultimate– I simply could not understand what she said. I leaned to my neighbor and asked, “What did she say?” And here we go…

Instead of repeating the word to me clearly, the person immediately assumed that I did not know the word penultimate and proceeded to explain it. Would you do that to an English-speaking adult sitting next to you? Sad face. But wait! Here is a life lesson and a connection to education! 

First of all, I am too old to be insulted by anything. I value moments like that- those rare glimpses into the realm of well-masked beliefs we hold –I  observe and reflect. Secondly, I studied linguistics for years and speak three languages from three different world language families: Germanic (English), Slavic (Russian), and Romance (French), so I have never encountered a situation when I did not know an English word someone casually used. If it’s not in one linguistic pocket- it’s definitely in one of the other two.  I would ask how to spell it, and it would immediately click! (Slang is a different story LOL-no luck there.) So, as I was listening to the explanation of the word penultimate, I was writing this blog in my head. The explanation was good by the way- morphology and everything. Thank you! 

Welcome to my world! Because I have an accent, people will always assume I know less than they do. Initially, I thought that was my chip on the shoulder showing, but time and again, people found it necessary to explain things to me. In fact, it happens all the time in classrooms!!! We over-scaffold tasks for newcomers who lack oracy because, against our best judgment, we equate oracy with overall language development and even…intelligence.

When I hear educators enthusiastically share the stories of the intellectual brilliance of their language learners, my natural reaction:  Why would you be surprised? 

Why would you expect anything different? Why would you equate the ability to speak English with the intellectual ability? In fact, in 2022 I wrote a blog about ELs and critical thinking, and it seems as relevant today as it was two years ago! Mindshift does not happen overnight. 

To be honest, in retrospect, I have done the same to my students! I remember one particular incident that happened in my English II class. We were reading Antigone. I distributed assignments and, as my students started working in groups, I walked up to the group that had a newcomer as the group captain “to check on them”. I was willing to help and was probably helping too much. Eventually, the group captain said, “Miss, we got it! We don’t need help. We understand everything, we just need time to do it.” He asked me to leave them alone. I saw his frustration, and it dawned on me that my assumption that he needed help offended him. I insulted his intelligence by assuming that the task was too intellectually challenging for him simply because he was brand-new to the language.

As he stopped after class to apologize, I felt I had to do the same. We talked, and he told me he had read Antigone at school in his home country. In fact, he has read many works by Greek authors that were not in our school’s scope and sequence. He was excited to do the assignment and wanted to impress me. Hovering over their group table like a helicopter mom, I undermined his leadership as a team captain and took away the precious time his group needed for independent work. My unnecessary reteaching and explaining cut into their “let’s get it done” time. 

I am not upset with the kind-hearted person who explained the word penultimate to me. It’s natural to want to help. But hold it! Ask yourself if your desire stems from some misguided belief or a stereotype. It might just be the case.

What not to do: 

• Do not reteach during small group work (unless necessary). 
• Do not rush to explain or translate words unless explicitly asked. 
• Do not assume that the student is unfamiliar with a word/ concept simply because they cannot pronounce it correctly or catch it by ear.

What do do: 

• Check for comprehension with total response signals (See the image below!)
• Offer support to groups as needed.
• Ask students what words they need help with. Do not assume!
• When asked to clarify a word/ phrase, first say it slowly and clearly, segmenting words in a sentence. 

As a big fan of 7 Steps by John Seidlitz, I cannot praise enough these sound strategies! Below you can see an example of a modified poster for Step 1. These wonderful phrases help students to self-advocate. The second poster is Step 4 Use Total Response Signals. 

Have a wonderful 2024/2025 school year, dear educators!

You are making a difference in the lives of your students!!