In this article I would like to discuss some of the typical stages that ESL students go through when they start to learn English in school.
The first stage for many children starting to learn English in the classroom is called the silent stage. In this time they are listening carefully to the language they hear but are not yet ready to start speaking. Depending on the personality and nationality of the child, this stage may last 1 day or 6 months or more. It is important not to be concerned if this stage seems to be taking a long time. The child can learn a great deal without saying a word. In fact, the power of listening is so strong (provided that the language you hear is at the right level of difficulty for you) that one influential researcher* into second language learning says that this is all you need to learn a new language! I had evidence of the truth of this theory a few years ago when I taught an Italian boy in grade 6. He refused to say a word of English for more than half the school year, then he suddenly he lost his inhibitions and started to talk. Before the end of the same year, he was almost fluent in English and made few serious grammatical errors.
Implications for parents. Obviously, ESL parents want to do everything they can to help their children learn English, but it is probably not a good idea, early on, to put too much pressure on them to speak English at home, unless they themselves are happy to do so. Far better is to support them in their own language! (More on this)
The next stage of language learning comes as students try to acquire control of the English grammar system. Some researchers* have found that there seems to be a fixed order in which certain aspects of the system are learned, and this cannot be influenced very much by direct teaching. I see evidence of this every year with my beginners classes. Early on they learn that you cannot say he go, she like etc., it has to be she goes, he likes. This rule is not very difficult to remember, and if students are tested on it directly in a grammar quiz, they usually get all the answers right. However as soon as they are writing or speaking naturally, without thinking about grammar rules, they forget to use the -s ending. They are just not ready to produce it automatically.
Another typical phase in second language learning is the backslide. By this I mean that students have periods when they get wrong what they seem to have already learned. And they do this in exactly the same way as a child learning English as her first language. Taking English verbs as an example, it very often happens that children seem to have learned some irregular past tense forms. They hear their parents saying sentences like I went to the shops, or I saw a big cow, and they use these correct forms themselves. A little later, however, they start to say sentences like He goed to the shops or I seed a big cow. What has happened is that they have started to unconsciously work out the rules of English grammar. They realize that the past tense in English is formed by adding -ed to the verb, but they overgeneralize this rule out to include all verbs. It takes a little more time before they further refine the rule to include both regular and irregular endings. So this apparent backward step is in fact a sign of progress in learning the language!
Implications for parents. It is helpful if parents are aware of these two typical aspects of learning English as a second language. Many parents strongly encourage their children to learn English at home and supervise their efforts. It can be frustrating both for them and their children if they become despondent at the child's apparent lack of progress or backsliding. Mistakes are an inevitable and important aspect of learning a new language. A brief discussion of these points with the child can take a lot of unnecessary pressure off him or her.
Another aspect of learning English is the distinction between the kind of language needed in everyday conversation, and the language needed to do well in school work. Most students, particularly those with language backgrounds similar to English, learn the skills of listening and speaking very quickly on joining our school. It is not uncommon for some to be completely fluent in English by the end of their second year. At this point both they and their parents might feel that they have now learned English - after all if they can understand everything they hear and say what they want to say, what more can they have to learn? The answer is: they have a great deal more to learn to catch up with the native speakers in their classes. In the areas of vocabulary and understanding of academic language they are still a long way behind. It is one thing to talk with your friends and make arrangements for your weekend; it is quite another thing to read a text about the French Revolution and write an analysis of it.
Implications for parents. It is essential that parents and their children realize that speaking English fluently does not mean that the child has finished learning English. This will explain why students who seem to be very good in English in fact can struggle very badly in their school work. It doesn't mean they are stupid or lazy; it means they simply have not had enough time to learn the academic language they need to help them do well in their school subjects. In fact, some researchers** say it takes up to 7/8 years for a non-native speaker of English to reach the same level as the native speakers in his or her class.
Finally, it is worth remembering that language learning does not follow a straight line getting higher and higher. For all learners there will be times when progress is slow and everything seems a struggle. At other times, however, lots of progress seems to be made in a short period.
Implications for parents. Just being aware of the fact that progress is rarely constant will help take the pressure off children. Encouraging them through the difficult times will probably be more productive than showing disappointment or anger.
* S. Krashen 1982 Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquistion, Oxford Pergammon
** Collier, V. (1987) How long? A synthesis of research on academic achievement in a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 23