2. Areas of Grammatical Difficulties This presentations is meant to highlight common problem areas for Spanish speakers learning English. As an overview of the differences between English and Spanish, the presentation will examine the following areas Pronouns Adjectives Plurals Overgeneralization Articles Indefinite Definite
3. Possessive Pronouns In Spanish, the possessive pronoun refers to (and agrees with) both the person as well as the object The pronoun must agree with the object in number âMi tĂaâ (My aunt) âMis tĂasâ (My aunts) In English, the possessive pronoun only refers to the person who possesses something The possessive pronoun does not agree with the object âMy brotherâ âMy brothersâ (Moore & Marzano 1979) (Moore & Marzano 1979)
4. Possible Problems Students may have trouble understanding that pronouns do not change depending on plural objects Learners may attempt to pluralize pronouns when appearing with plural object * âThese crayons are minesâ * Ungrammatical (Moore & Marzano 1979)
5. Subject Pronouns Unlike English, Spanish can âdropâ the subject pronoun The verb carries the person and number âEs unamujerâ (verb + noun) is acceptable (Moore & Marzano 1979) Students may produce: * âIs a womanâ (Moore & Marzano 1979) Subject pronouns, like he, she, I and you, need to be taught as obligatory elements
6. Adjectives In English, adjectives appear before the noun that is being modified âThe red carâ The Spanish equivalent shows the adjective after the noun it modifies âEl carro rojoâ This difference can cause learners to produce: *âThe house bigâ *âThe car redâ *âThe woman tallâ (Coe, in Swan, Smith 1987)
7. Possessive Adjectives âSuâ is used for his, her, its, their and your (formal) This difference produces utterances such as: *âShe is making his bedâ when the speaker actually means âShe is making her bedâ (Coe, in Swan, Smith 1987) Teach all the forms of possessive adjectives Highlight the different contexts of his, her, their and your Show the relationship between the subject pronoun and the possessive adjective
8. Plural Overgeneralization Spanish adjectives agree in both gender and number with the noun being modified âLas chicas lindasâ âLos gatos gordosâ âLos carros rojosâ This difference between the two languages may cause learners to produce: *âThe pretties girlsâ *âThe fats catsâ *âThe reds carsâ (Moore & Marzano 1979)
9. Articles: Indefinite Indefinite article usage differs from English to Spanish Spanish speakers omit indefinite articles before professions. âĂl es abogadoâ âHe is a lawyer â When learning English, this native language rule may transfer to English, creating errors. *âShe is teacherâ *âHe is lawyerâ (Moore & Marzano 1979)
10. Articles : Definite Spanish speakers have trouble with overuse and underuse of the indefinite article In many situations where English speakers use a possessive pronoun, Spanish speakers will use a definite article With body parts, speakers will often say *âShe brushes the hairâ (Moore & Marzano 1979) When used in cultural contexts, where the noun being referred to is a well known or unique landmark, speakers include a definite article when unnecessary *He swam in the Lake Michigan *We went hiking in theLake District last autumn (Del Pilar GarcĂaMayo. 2007)
11. Summary Looking at this overview of common errors for Spanish speakers learning English, it is obvious that native language plays a large role in second language learning. In the classroom, the teacher will, undoubtedly, encounter many more errors than the few presented here. However, it is always important to understand how grammatical differences, among others, influence the language learning process
12. References Coe, N. in Swan, M. & Smith, B. Learner English: A teacher's guide to interference and other problems. (1987) Cambridge University Press. Del Pilar GarcĂaMayo, M . (2007). The acquisition of four nongeneric uses of the article the by Spanish EFL learners . System , 36(4), doi: doi:10.1016/j.system.2008.08.00 Moore, F.B., & Marzano, R.J. (1979). Common errors of Spanish speakers learning English . Research in the Teaching of English , 13(2), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40170752