4. L1 Impact
O Distinct languages but share patterns of
speech acquisition.
O Similar phonology but difficulty for
Spanish speakers when pronouncing sounds
lacking in Spanish.
O Distinct vowel sounds in Spanish become
an array of sounds in English.
O Intonation patterns are carried over
from Spanish to English.
O False cognates impact interlanguage as
well as words with multiple meanings.
O Absence of auxiliary verbs when Spanish
speakers speak or write (Shoebottom,
2011).
5. Examples of Jorge’s errors
DESCRIPTION OF ERROR JORGE'S ERROR EXAMPLE
1. Omitted s on a plural noun I am 23 year old.
2. Omission of a preposition I from Texas.
3. No [k] pronunciation. Texas (ˈtksəs)
ɛ
4. Improper preposition Now I live in Main Street.
5. Improper tense: needs past In Mexico I graduate.
tense -ed
6. Improper tense: needs I never have English.
irregular past tense.
7. Improper [ɪ] pronunciation English
8. Preposition not needed/ or *ing I am work in the area.
to be added to verb to make a
gerund.
9. Omission of a preposition I work the afternoon.
10. Omission of a preposition I not so well
11. Added unnecessary -s to a verb I comes here.
12. Double subject My amigos, they help.
6. Errors continued
13. Substitution of English My amigos, they help.
word
14. Improper [ð] pronunciation They help
15. Added unnecessary -s to a I likes work.
verb
16. Contraction is not I don like cold.
completed
17. Contraction not completed.I don know snow.
18. Wrong word choice I don't know snow.
19. Improper [ð] pronunciation They fun.
20. Missing verb They fun.
21. Improper verb. You is nice.
22. Contraction not completedYou welcome
7. As a beginning language learner,
Jorge had difficulty with
pronunciation. He could not
distinguish phonology between the
two languages. He did not hear a
difference between the pronunciation
of dare-there. They are phonetically
similar. He also stated several words
without the contractions. Spanish
speakers are not accustomed to
pronouncing the final “t”.
8. Instructional Implications
O Jorge will continue to learn through collaboration with
English speakers (Garcia, 1991).
O Discussion & conversation with friends & co-
workers will help Jorge with pronunciation.
O An adult ELL course would be helpful in Jorge’s
language acquisition.
O The most beneficial instruction will come through
reading (Freeman and Freeman, 2004).
O He will learn vocabulary and consciously recognize
words.
O Reading the newspaper
9. References
O Bilinguistics Inc. (2007) Typical Development of Speech in Spanish in
Comparison to English. www.Bilinguistics.com.
O Freeman, D. and Freeman Y. (2004). Essential Linguistics: What You
Need to Know to Teach Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and
Grammar. Heinneman.
O Garcia, Eugene E.(1991). The Education of Linguistically and Culturally
Diverse Students: Effective Instructional Practices. UC Berkeley:
Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence. Retrieved
from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2793n11s
O Shoebottom, Paul. (2011) The Differences between Spanish and
English. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site:
http://www.esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/spanish.htm
