Buildingon our Latin Base
Paul Seligson, Richmond, ACEICOVA, Valencia, 26/11/16
Parallel processing
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Is the stressed syllable the same (S) or
different (D) in your language?
January
SD
February
SD
March
SD
April
SD
May
SD
SD
SD
SD
SD
SD
SD
SD
Celebrate & focus
effort accordingly
How often do you ask / encourage questions like …?
1. What short cuts work for us (Spanish-speakers)?
2. What’s common to/similar/different between
Spanish & English?
3. What English do I already know as I speak Spanish?
4. What do I need to pay most attention to?
Lexical equivalents
Grammar equivalents
Pronunciation
Errors
Shared ‘culture’
Individual problems
L1 contrast options
Translate, counsel
Teacher as role model
Native speaker land
Multilingual
No idea
No idea
No idea
Unpredictable
No
Lots
Hard/can’t
Can’t
Native
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Is Anglicizing Spanish words useful? When?
Is it really possible to ‘think in English’?
When might translation be appropriate?
How can I make best use of bi-lingual resources?
How do I tell a false cognate from a real one?
Spain
Monolingual
Known
Known
Known
Predictable
Yes
Fewer
Easy
Can
Non-native
Our reality
Spanish-speaking, part-time, largish classes
mostly monolingual, mixed motiavtion
teachers share students’ L1
Learners share
- a similar culture & educational background
- the same linguistic expertise advantages & challenges &
- usually, similar lack of opportunity to speak English locally
Needs
Their main needs are
- fluency practice, listening and pronunciation
- motivation from ‘quick success’ &
- useful shortcuts to ‘adequate English’ asap
Our recipe
- international, imported, general approach, rather than L1-specific
- immersion approach/isolating L1 from L2/induction/Grammar/Vocab
 takes ages for many to ‘get it’ + mainly accuracy
- not systematically taking advantage of all our unifying ‘strengths’
Romance speaker advantages
 same script: ‘easy’ to read & write
 word/sentence formation, affixes, phrases,
expressions, metaphors …
 58% of English is Latin-based
 About 1/3 of 3000 most common words cognates
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Key Skills to systematically teach Romance Language Learners
• Making best use of Spanish
•
• Avoiding traps of direct translation ASAP
•
• Alternatives to using Spanish, e.g. circumlocution
•
• Noticing/Working out meaning of (near) cognates
•
• Guessing their pronunciation (visual help)
•
fewer than 10% of all cognates are ‘false’, esp. in context
similar grammar; Subject-Verb-Object, parts of speech …
2/3 English sounds exist in Spanish
mental translation inevitable, often helpful: so much similar
can guess/express a lot adequately; ‘cognating’, Anglicising …
Structured help distinguishing real, near & false cognates
Learning (suffix) patterns to guess / ‘create’ cognates
Real help with (remembering) spelling patterns
Efficient use of bilingual resources
Breaking pronunciation habits from L1
Recognising Cognates 
English is an incredible language. It’s flexible and receptive. English is, in effect, a collection of other languages. About 60% of its
vocabulary is Latin-based!
posted by wallyjoe on www.mylot.com
English is an incredible language. I adore it! There’s a perfect word or expression for anything a person can imagine. For example,
‘adore’. . . It’s a splendid word! It transcends ‘love’. It contains respect, devotion, and a sense of eternity. Wow!
posted by Roxanne on urthmthr.blogspot.com.br
Authentic text + task for Beginners English iD Starter lesson 5! Use cognates to accelerate learning!
Bibliography Cook G, Translation in Language Teaching, OUP, 2010
Seligson P et al, 2016, English iD 0-3, Richmond  First (young) adult course for Romance Language speakers
If you were doing a needs analysis for your low level (young) adults, many of whom have already many hours ‘learning
English’ but not getting far, what would the results be? Given their previous experiences, what do they most need? Lo de
siempre, or something more specific? Why do so many Spanish speakers find learning English such a steep mountain when
our languages aren’t so different, they’re ‘sisters-in-law’? What would you (and they) choose to include/omit? How could
you best help them to gain confidence and belief in their ability to learn English and to express themselves in adequate
English a.s.a.p.? An international approach, or something more tailored to local reality?
Summary of main ideas from the talk
Enjoy your teaching: if you don’t, who will?
[email protected]
Thanks a lot 
Buildingon our Latin Base
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Paul Seligson, Richmond, ACEICOVA, Valencia, 26/11/16
There’s no one best way to teach/learn a language, no ‘one-size fits all’ approach. Every individual, each level
and age group too, obviously, are quite different. Ensure this is fully reflected in your broad, varied pedagogy.
Most learners, esp. frustrated false beginners, just want to learn ‘adequate English’ as fast as possible, &
aren’t overly concerned about ‘the method’ as long as it works for them. Remember my experience in Egypt,
using non-native & native teachers in the most appropriate ways, so each play to their strengths.
Don’t underestimate learners, esp. Reading, Vocabulary, & Grammar. Highlightt/build on their strong, existing
linguistic intelligence as Romance speakers, address them as ‘insiders’, knowers, not ‘empty linguistic aliens’
Consider making mental reference to L1 whenever it might help. Celebrate & accelerate where items are
similar, begin rather than end with Lucky you! This is easy for you! It’s the same in Spanish. Imagine if your
mother tongue was Korean! Then prioritise/emphasise what’s harder. L1 is a tool to be used appropriately like
any other, and its use needn’t be verbal, e.g. parallel processing, systematic contrastive reflection, etc.
Present/practice/help sts remember what’s easier/harder in different ways, e.g. 2-phase presentations of new
items, first working from recognizable/cognates and then completely new forms : or vice versa, harder first …
Sometimes accelerate presentations eliciting from/using L1 contrast or reference to give more time for
practice, e.g. begin It’s the same (structure)/a cognate in Spanish, not save that as a last, desperate resort!
Anticipate mistakes early in lessons, be far more proactive helping them to avoid otherwise inevitable traps.
e.g. start a class with Common Mistakes to help students avoid them. This equips all students, weak as well as
strong, with the information they need to help themselves throughout the class, not only after you’ve taken
them through a lengthy inductive presentation. E.g. Correcting ‘Submarine Yellow’. ‘All the Ladies Singles’, …
Use a Spanish-friendly, level-appropriate grammar approach, incl. relevant contrasting: unavoidable anyway!
Give more clues to help sts guess/get involved/interdepend at all stages; stress marking, same first
letter/almost the same in Spanish, etc.
Stop ‘hiding’ what’s easy for our students just because it’s not in standard international syllabuses or exams.
E.g., use cognates to provide much richer, more authentic texts/input, rather than over-simplified, obviously
non-authentic, and so less credible texts, which have been ‘sterilized’ for multi-lingual/non-Romance speaker
classes. We don’t teach them, we teach Spanish speakers, so shout it loud and proud!
Be explicit about when you’re using cognates, so learners can then use try to use them sooner. E.g. first teach
Continue in preference to Go on, then bring phrasal forms in a bit later. Remember Fluency comes first!
Use humorous links to help memory: (e.g. for Spanish speakers; embarrassed, constipado, no pisar), and
systematically syllabus the most common false cognates, e.g. 6-10 per level
Make systematic use of contrastive pronunciation to help break the habits acquired from L1. Help them to
notice and enjoy what is similar, e.g. 80% of the sounds of English exist in Spanish, more if they speak
Valenciano, then focus and prioritise what is hard for them, e.g. not pronouncing -ED endings /ed/, elision …
Sensitise to spelling/pronunciation patterns and rules, e.g. group words with similar spelling patterns to build
sounds/spelling banks, elicit & teach spelling rules (not just endings). Link spelling to pron. not just grammar
Don’t slow progress or get distracted doing things of little relevance to students just because it’s ‘in the book’.
Choose a better, more relevant one! And when you skip things because they’re not relevant, be positive about
it, e.g. Lucky us! We don’t need to do this because we speak (Spanish) and it’s the same/too easy for you!
Choose texts/topics/tasks most appropriate for Hispanic culture in monolingual classes: fun, lighter tasks, pop
culture, humor, gossip, flirty stuff, not lots of highbrow/overly earnest/dry text. Spain loves to laughter!
Get them to teach each other English they know/’ve picked up, e.g, the meaning & melody of song lines. Our
learners have 2 ‘wells’ of existing linguistic knowledge to draw from, Spanish & music. Use both!
All experts agree on the value of translation. To present meanings of new words, (an elicited) translation is at
least as accurate as other ways of explaining, & much quicker. Remember using mental translation (which is
unavoidable anyway), doesn’t mean you (or even them) having to speak Spanish in class at all.
Our goal is to create successful language switchers not turn them into native speakers. You as a non-native,
successful learner of English as an L2 or L3, are their perfect model.
Regular short phases of L1 can really help sts teach each other, clarify doubts, etc. L1 is a ‘whispering’ activity,
for sts to support each other in class, a ‘pencil’ activity – you erase it as soon as you don’t need it. You’ll never
stop them (mentally) translating, so find ways to work with this, rather than insist they ‘think in English’,
which is misleading/demotivating. Run with rather than against the wind!
Avoid the multiple traps of multilingual approaches & play to your – and their – strengths. Ours is a very
specific situation: we all teach ESP – English to Spanish-speaking People. Tailor all your teaching accordingly!
Please have a look at Richmond’s English iD, 0-3 (to a strong B1), & now IDentities, B2 & C1 (2017)
The first adult coursebook specifically-designed for Romance language speakers, to build on their (& your) existing linguistic
advantages, & get them to B1+ sooner by really helping with fluency & accuracy. They’re exposed to & learn much more lexis,
which is easy for them but, until now, hidden in international courses, and so gain much more fluency sooner. Systematic help
with pron. in context in every lesson, contrastive pron. & grammar, we use Spanish without exposing them to or asking them
(or you) to speak a word in Spanish! Plus a famous song line to hook & help them remember authentic English every lesson.
International quality but locally tailored. Authentic & scripted video (the latter in American English so they learn both ‘UK’ &
‘US’ every unit, a VLE, an LMS, Student & Teacher platforms, Test Generator, etc. All you’d expect from a quality course, but
locally-tailored full of relevant innovation. More listening and pronunciation than any course to date – because that’s exactly
what our students need. Not just another international ‘clone’, but something new, for us, Hispanic,-friendly, at last. Enjoy!
Enjoy your teaching: if you don’t, who will?
[email protected]
Thanks a lot 