communication – Educational Sociolinguistics

Foreigner talk in Montreal? The story of an ear infection

Ali El Mahmoud

Language barriers can be frustrating when you visit a country and you do not speak its language. Most of us have experienced being lost in translation during trips to nations whose people do not share features of our linguistic repertoires. For our communications, we memorized a few basic phrases; invested in a reliable digital translator; exaggerated the use of our body language; and/or we demonstrated our show-but-not-tell skills. For example, we pointed out items, landscapes, or locations on the pictures we had on our phones or our maps.

On the other side of the conversation, there was (ideally) a person who answered our questions with short sentences, simplified grammar and vocabulary, a lot of repetitions, and a slow and loud delivery. This speech register is often referred to as foreigner talk.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qdxyd3ix4l3dcx/GettyImages-5503828911-5ad8e65fa474be0036ebd245.jpg?dl=0

According to Dela Rosa and Arguelles (2016), foreigner talk occurs when native speakers make linguistic and conversational adjustments to the conversation to accommodate non-native speakers and help them participate in the oral interaction. Linguistic adjustments require a change in phonology and grammar, whereas conversational adjustments consist of modifications of the content of the message (p. 47). The aim of foreigner talk is to facilitate communication (Ellis, 2009, p.45).

I had recently a medical condition that helped me notice that foreigner talk is almost nonexistent in Montreal.

I am trilingual. In addition to Levantine Arabic, I am fluent in both English and French, so in Quebec, I roughly experienced a communication breakdown because I feel at ease speaking the two Canadian official languages. However, in the last few months, I suffered from an ear infection that reduced my hearing ability. According to my doctor, I was hearing 20% less in my left ear, which often caused me discomfort. I had to ask people to repeat what they said, not because I did not understand, but rather because I could not hear a part of their speech. This usually happened in retail stores when I went shopping or when I ordered or received service over the phone.

What I noticed though was funny and interesting. The moment that I requested a repetition and said, ‘Pardon?’ (English or French), the interlocutor switched instantly from English to French (if the conversation was in English), and the opposite, from French to English (if the conversation was in French). To my surprise, foreigner talk never occurred, and there was no scaffolding of any sort. Neither francophones nor anglophones adjusted their interactions. Instead, they code-switched.

The significant linguistic context in Quebec and language laws that were applied from the late 1960s until today had a great impact on the lives of everyone (Gérin-Lajoie, 2022, p. 307). A simple request in a conversation (Could you repeat please?) reveals an indirect implication of the laws in my opinion. For instance, both francophones and anglophones took me as an immigrant, but from two different angles. I know that I am not white, so for French speakers, even though I was trying to speak French, my English is stronger because English is global, and most immigrants speak English. Whereas from an anglophone point of view, a newcomer to Quebec took francisation classes, and therefore, French is their dominant second language.

In both ways, Montrealers avoided the foreigner talk and assumed that I know another language, a quality that is rarely found elsewhere, perhaps. What about you? Have you ever experienced something similar?

References

Dela Rosa, J. P. O., & Arguelles, D. C. (2016). Do modification and interaction work? A critical review of literature on the role of foreigner talk in second language acquisition. Journal on English Language Teaching, 6(3), 46–60.

Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.

Gerin-Lajoie, D. (2021). Bill 101 and English minority language education in Quebec. In L. O’Donnell, P. Donovan & B. Lewis (Eds.), La Charte: La loi 101 et les Quebecois d’expression anglaise (pp. 303-321). Presses de l’Université Laval.

“In my language” —— do not set limitations and respect all languages

Heng Ding

The idea of this blog comes from the video posted by Amanda Baggs on Youtube called “In My Language” (you can find the link below). Briefly speaking, Amanda is an autism-rights activist and in this video, she showed and explained to the public how she interacted with the environment, which seems to be “mysterious and puzzling” from the generally accepted language perspective.

When I first watched this video, I was unfamiliar with Amanda’s situation and all the actions she made, as it’s not what we generally think “communication” or “language” is. Personally, one of the biggest reasons is that spoken language represents the most widespread mode of social communication (De Stefani & De Marco, 2019). It’s true that most of our thoughts are verbally expressed by symbols by which we build connections with the world, but there is a limitation to such a statement. De Stefani et al (2019) also argued that language should be considered always in relation to the background of a person’s mood, emotions, actions and events from which the things we are saying derive their meanings. Language is not limited to spoken or written words and sentences and there are many other factors such as personal identity and emotions that we should take into consideration. As a result, it’s not wise that we hold a narrow view of language and communication.

In Amanda’s case, she mentioned that “nobody was giving any chance, as usual, to the kinds of language and communication that people who are non-standard in some way often develop whether or not we also develop more standard language”, which is sad. In my opinion, the so-called “non-standard languages” cannot be looked down upon but instead deserves people’s understanding and respect as although in a minority position, they are also certain ways of how people interact and communicate with the world.

“Rub the face in a book, twirl string, play with water”, does this look different? No! It’s just a dominant way of communicating with the world.

References

De Stefani, E., & De Marco, D. (2019). Language, gesture, and emotional communication: An embodied view of social interaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02063

Repeat “No, I cannot speak in the library.”

Cynthia Desjardins

I have been working as an online ESL teacher for the past six months. I teach students that live mainly in Asia in a one-on-one format with the curriculum developed by the company. As a busy full-time M.A. student, I appreciate not having to develop classes and am happy to teach what they provide. However, as a trained ESL specialist, I find myself questioning the curriculum’s efficacy.

The classes usually have similar formats, especially within the same ‘level’. There is vocabulary introduction, grammar conjugation, sentence structures, reading, drilled phonics and math. I did not include writing, since it is extremely minimal. This morning I found myself teaching a young learner of approximately 6-7 years old at a beginner level, where they cannot read independently yet. Following the curriculum, our class proceeds as usual with the repetition of the vocabulary, conjugating the verb ‘to speak’ and repeating the main sentence structure for this class: “No, I cannot speak in the library.’’ This phrase may not seem daunting to produce by fluent speakers of English, but for a beginner ESL student the yes or no answer+ verb+ adverb structure can be difficult to memorize and requires a lot of repetition.

Repeat after me.

This led me to question the usefulness of teaching long, pre-established phrases, repeating verb conjugations and drilled phonics. How often will they realistically need to use these in their lives? Will they even remember such a long and complicated phrase after class, never mind in a year from now?

Reflecting upon it, this very structured, formatted approach reminds me of behaviourism, a teaching approach that was very popular in the 1940’s-1960’s. Essentially, this theory states that language learning is the result of imitation, practice, positive feedback and developing habits (Lightbown & Spada, 2013). This simple yet very explicative YouTube video further explains this theory. Watching it helped me realize that a lot of the curriculum is indeed repetition, habit formation and positive reinforcement. We are expected to explicitly correct grammar and pronunciation mistakes.

This theory was replaced over the decades by numerous ones and by the time I completed my B.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language, we were taught that a communicative approach in more suited for ESL classes. The contextualization of classes is expected to naturally elicit the student’s vocabulary. This approach also focuses on learning by doing and fluency over accuracy, as mistakes are seen as an integral part of language learning. This inductive way of learning is learner centered and the teacher seem as a guide and facilitator (Shastri, 2009). Essentially, what I was taught for four years in my B.A. and the drill -focused, repetitive curriculum I am currently teaching differ greatly. This begs the following question: Would a communicative approach to the curriculum be more appropriate?

Is it noteworthy that the vast majority of the students that are currently taking classes are young beginners. This could make it very difficult to elicit language in a communicative manner. I can understand the rationalization behind the more repetitive, drilled structure of the classes, but I still feel doubt over its efficacy. My parting questions are these:

How can ESL classes be made more communicative with beginner level students who do not necessarily have the vocabulary and grammar to express themselves?
Are drills and repetitions the only way to give them a basis in English?

References

Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. M. (2013). How languages are learned (Fourth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Payne, M. & Sitler, S. [Sharon]. (2014, March 22). Behaviorist Theory of Second Language Acquisition [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOIbDI2fro

Shastri, P. D. (2009). Communicative approach to the teaching of English as a second language. Global Media. Retrieved from https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=3011323

Wikihow (n.d). Encourage students to speak only English in the classroom. [Image]. Retrieved October 5^th, 2020 from https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-English-As-a-Second-Language-to-Beginners#/Image:Teach-English-As-a-Second-Language-to-Beginners-Step-8.jpg

Multilinguals: More options, more concerns?

Yating Xu

If the word “multilingual” is defined as “being able to use several languages especially with equal fluency”, then I have to admit that I’m not a multilingual in the strict sense. I grew up in China, Mandarin is my native language, and I’ve been learning English since primary school, though still not being able to achieve a native-like proficiency, for sure the time is long enough for me to be equipped with adequate language skills to survive in Montreal.

In the past year, the experience of studying and living in Montreal offered me a lot of opportunities to be exposed to an environment where the conversation flows with diverse languages, as well as the chances to get acquainted with a number of REAL multilinguals. By talking with them, listening to and being a part of their conversations, I have witnessed and observed some fascinating moments about these multilinguals and their language choices, and most importantly, the respect and inclusiveness I felt when being around with them.