Dear Ellie,
I teach fourth grade, and the new boy, Alad, has just recently moved here from the Philippines. He is trying really hard to learn English and make friends. Some of his classmates laugh at him or get angry, however, when he refers to the boys as "she" or the girls as "he." Why does he do this and what can I do about it?
Pronoun Perplexed
Hunter Elementary
Grand Rapids, MI
Dear Pro-Per,
As you pointed out, you need help in two areas: helping your heritage English speakers learn to be more understanding, and getting your EL student to use gender-appropriate pronouns. I'm glad you want to help your students overcome this hurdle, because the sooner Alad makes friends, the easier his transition will be.
First of all, help your students understand why he is occasionally slipping up. I recommend you set aside at least twenty minutes to do a brief lesson on linguistics:
- The theme of your lesson will be how languages differ. The primary and most important example will be about how in Tagalog, gender pronouns do not exist. Like other Austronesian languages, it is gender-neutral. Give some examples so your students are clear about what this means. Be prepared to answer questions such as, "Then how do they know who is being talked about?" See if they can connect the dots to understand why Fillip mixes them up occasionally.
- Don't end the lesson there! It is important to also teach about an aspect of Tagalog that does not exist in English, otherwise they may see their language as superior. You can read up on something called the trigger system which encodes the thematic role of the noun within the verbs. Of course, for a fourth grade class, keep it simple!
- Finally, if Fillip is game, have him teach the class a short, fun lesson, such as colors or how to count to ten in Tagalog. If he is apprehensive about helping, you can find a cute video online that ill do the job. This will help students understand it is not easy to learn another language, but more importantly, it will cast Fillip in a new role: the classmate who knows something cool that they don't!
Here is a video you can show to teach your students some Tagalog.
As for helping Alad with his pronouns in English, first find out what kind of services your school is providing him. Speak with whoever is in charge of EL, If he works with a teacher in a pull-out group, you can find out if this is something that can be practiced in those sessions. If not, you can work with him for a few minutes before or after school to make sure he understands this discrepancy and you can let him know you are always available to answer any questions he might have. Most importantly, patience on everyone's part is crucial. In no time he will be a pronoun pro!Linguistically Yours,
Ellie
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| All languages are not alike! |
Alien Joke. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbBquYVFb0o
Behind the name. Retrieved from
http://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/usage/filipino
Finegan, E. (2011). Language: Its
Structure and Use (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage
Fourth grade class photo. Retrieved from
http://www.fmschools.org/webpages/tchaddock/imageGallery/2010%20Mr.%20Chaddock's%20class%20picture%20001.jpg
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