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Teach English in Jiezhou Zhen - Yuncheng Shi

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When students are learning a new language other than their first language, they may encounter two kinds of errors, either developmental or interference errors. These developmental errors naturally occur among all language learners and are part of the process of language learning, but interference errors occur when aspects of the native language are different from English and cause confusion. For this discussion of errors, I will address some of these interference errors that relate to Vietnamese students having issues with learning English. I will also discuss some of the cultural differences between American and Vietnamese culture that may lead to some confusion between students and teacher in the classroom. The syntactical structure of Vietnamese and English are quite different, and this can cause some confusion for native Vietnamese speakers. I will address five issues that Vietnamese students can encounter with English. These errors included the use of the linking verb “be” before adjectives, indefinite and definite articles, complicated verb tenses, subject pronouns and object pronouns, and complex sentences introduced by subordinate conjunctions (Dam 2006). For linking verbs, the closest Vietnamese comparison to “be” is "Ia", but “la” is not often used to link subjects and predicative adjectives in Vietnamese. Rather, Vietnamese adjectives have an implied verb that works like a stative verb. With English we use either indefinite, definite or no articles in a sentence. There is no equivalent to “a, an, and the” in Vietnamese and students are often confused which one to use in a sentence. In Vietnamese, the structure of their grammar has a past “da”, present “dang”, and future “se” tense for verbs where they can express these time frames. Other English verb tenses than present, past, and future are confusing for Vietnamese students to grasp initially. In Vietnamese, the subordinate clauses do not require a subject, while in some more complex English sentences, subordinate clauses, like main clauses, need to have subjects and verbs. The final major difference between Vietnamese and English that I will address here is the introduction of a complex sentence by a subordinate conjunction. In English, a complex sentence is begun with a subordinate clause led by conjunctions such as “because,” “although,” “if,” etc., but in Vietnamese clauses are introduced with “balancing words” such as “nen,” “thi,” or “cung” and trying to equate them results in a lot of English errors (Dam 2006). I am sure that there are other differences in the languages that results in errors occurring, but these are some of the most common errors that someone with a very surface level understanding of the structure of Vietnamese can explain as a TESOL teacher to Vietnamese students. Additionally, along with differences in the structure of the native language and English, there is also a difference in cultural norms and expectations that may result in misunderstandings in the classroom. In Vietnamese culture there is the aspect of “saving face” and the importance of the need for respect as a key value in their culture. This expectation of showing respect to people senior in age, status, or position and the need to preserve face may result in students feeling uncomfortable in expressing their confusion or concern in the classroom. In the US, the dialogue between students and teachers is more open and the structure of hierarchy is not as firm in the classroom and students may be more willing to express their confusion. It is the responsibility of the teacher to understand these cultural differences and put forth their best effort to make sure that Vietnamese students understand the teaching points and the instructions for the activities and worksheets. Most Vietnamese students will try to hide their feelings, avoid conflict, and reject confrontation (Nguyen 2002). Teachers should ensure that students should understand the material without unintentionally confronting students on their understanding of the materials and causing students to lose face. Public criticism and humiliation are considered very rude in Vietnam and students whose feelings are hurt will remember for a long time and lost confidence in a teacher is very hard to restore. The differences in language and culture are both crucial roles to consider when understanding some of the problems that Vietnamese students may be encountering when learning English. By understanding these difference, TESOL teachers can work with students to help them meet some of these challenges they may encounter while learning English by restructuring lessons and being more culturally aware of how their actions may make students confused or uncomfortable to bring forth concerns. Citations Dam, Phap. "Analyzing some persistent errors in English made by Vietnamese speakers." Cultural and linguistic issues for English language learners; (2006). Nguyen, Tuong Hung. "Vietnam: Cultural background for ESL/EFL teachers." The Review of Vietnamese Studies 2.1 (2002): 1-6.


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