#ESL

[catchymemes]

#funny #lol #haha #humor #meme #memes #esl #tweet #twitter

[cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness]

Shout out to the fic writers who write in English even though it's not their native language. Whether you just started and are using Google Translate more often than not, or you've been doing it for years and still translating sayings from your native tongue word for word that don't make much sense in English.

Your addition to the fandom is important and unique purple prose would be missed without your input. Don't give up even if you're unhappy with your progression. Remember that your writing is better today than it was yesterday, and that it'll be better tomorrow than it was today.

#fanfiction #writers #writing #ao3 #ESL #ETL #english second language #ineffable husbands #gumlee #zosan #steddie #firstprince #zolu #blackbonnet #soukoku #bubbline #carlando #post i wouldve liked to see on my dash a decade ago #14 yo me would be proud of me and so is the 31 yo

[writingwithcolor]

Not all Second-Language Speakers are Made Equal.

@waltzshouldbewriting asked:

Hello! I’m writing a story that features a character who’s first language is not English. He’s East African, specifically from Nairobi, Kenya, and is pretty fluent in English but it’s not his primary language, and he grew up speaking Swahili first. I’m struggling to figure out if it’s appropriate or in character to show him forgetting English words or grammar. From what I’ve researched, English is commonly spoken in Nairobi, but it wouldn’t be what was most spoken in his home. For context, this is an action/superhero type story, so he (and other characters) are often getting tired, stressed, and emotional. He also speaks more than two languages, so it makes sense to me that it would be easier to get confused, especially in a language that wasn’t his first. But I’m worried about ending up into stereotypes or tropes. For additional context: I’m monolingual, I’ve tried to learn a second language and it’s hard. A lot of how I’m approaching this comes from my own challenges correctly speaking my own, first and only language.

Diversity in Second-Language English

You seem to have an underlying assumption that second language acquisition happens the same for everyone. 

The way your character speaks English depends on so many unknown factors: 

Where does your story take place? You mention other characters; are they also Kenyan, or are they all from different countries?

Assuming the setting is not Kenya, is English the dominant language of your setting? 

How long has your character lived in Kenya vs. where he is now? 

What are his parents’ occupations? 

What level of schooling did he reach in Nairobi before emigrating? 

What type of school(s) did he go to, public or private? Private is more likely than you think. 

Did his schooling follow the national curriculum structure or a British one? Depends on school type and time period. 

Does he have familiarity with Kenyan English, or only the British English taught in school? 

Is this a contemporary setting with internet and social media?

I bring up this list not with the expectation that you should have had all of this in your ask, but to show you that second language acquisition of English, postcolonial global English acquisition in particular, is complex. 

My wording is also intentional: the way your character speaks English. To me, exploring how his background affects what his English specifically looks like is far more culturally interesting to me than deciding whether it makes him Good or Bad at the language. 

L2 Acquisition and Fluency

But let’s talk about fluency anyway: how expressive the individual is in this language, and adherence to fundamental structural rules of the language.

Fun fact: Japanese is my first language. The language I’m more fluent in today? English. Don’t assume that an ESL individual will be less fluent in English compared to their L1 counterparts on the basis that 1) it’s their second language, or 2) they don’t speak English at home. 

There’s even a word for this—circumstantial bilingualism, where a second language is acquired by necessity due to an individual’s environment. The mechanisms of learning and outcomes are completely different. 

You said you tried learning a second language and it was hard. You cannot compare circumstantial bilingualism to a monolingual speaker’s attempts to electively learn a second language. 

Motivations?

I understand that your motivation for giving this character difficulties with English is your own personal experience. However, there are completely different social factors at play.

The judgments made towards a native speaker forgetting words or using grammar differently are rooted in ableism and classism (that the speaker must be poor, uneducated, or unintelligent). That alone is a hefty subject to cover. And I trust you to be able to cover that!

But on top of that, for a second language speaker, it’s racism and xenophobia, which often lend themselves to their own ableist or classist assumptions (that those of the speaker’s race/ethnicity must be collectively unintelligent, that they are uneducated or low class due to the occupations where they could find work, or conversely that they are snobby and isolationist and can't be bothered to learn a new language). Intersections, intersections.

If you want to explore your experiences in your writing, give a monolingual English speaker in your cast a learning disability or some other difficulty learning language, whatever you most relate with. And sure, multilingual folks can occasionally forget words like anyone else does, or think of a word in one language and take a second to come up with it in the other language. But do not assume that multilinguals, immigrants, or multiethnic individuals inherently struggle with English or with multiple languages just because you do.

~ Rina

#asks #accents #speech #language #languages #bilingual #bilingualism #ESL #immigration #east africa #african #writeblr

[incognitopolls]

"Second language" is used here to include any language you've learned that was not your first language.

–

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

#polls #incognito polls #anonymous #tumblr polls #tumblr users #questions #language #thoughts #inner voice #internal monologue #esl #bilingual #multilingual #polls about language #submitted oct 28

[nordic-language-love]

IRL Japanese 2: Things the kids I teach say all the time

If you're planning to work as an ESL teacher in Japan working with kids, this vocab is gonna be super useful for you! You'll pick up a lot as you go along, but it's good to have an overview from the start.

できた = done, finished (whenever they finish an exercise I've set them. The older kids will use the ます-form, but kids under like age 8 will use this one)

かえる？= is it time to go home? (lit: go home?)

わかった = got it (again, the older kids will use the ます-form)

わからない / わかんない = I don't get it (idk if わかんない is just dialect or if it's common overall, but I hear it more than わからない. Usually from the kids who don't wanna be there and are making zero effort)

ちがう = wrong / different (when they give an answer but realise it's not correct. It's basically like "wait, no")

ばか = idiot (sometimes boys say this to their friends)

全部？（ぜんぶ）= everything?! (asked in disbelief when I ask them to write more than one word)

やめろ = stop it! (used with friends when they're teasing each other)

いたいよ = that actually hurts, you know! (used with friends when they're rough-housing)

よし (more like 'yoshhh') = right then (filler word indicating the start of an activity or a change of activity)

水筒（すいとう）= water bottle (most kids bring one to class and frequently forget to take them with them when they go home)

忘れた（わすれた）= I forgot (usually in reference to the text book they left at home)

トイレに行きたい = I want to go to the bathroom

先生、大好き！（せんせい、だいすき！）= I love you, Sensei!

Other useful classroom/school vocabulary:

サイコロ = dice

トランプ = playing cards

ごろごろ = onomatopeia for the sound for rolling (I found the kids got confused if I just mimed rolling a dice/ball and said "roll!" but if I did the gesture and said "gorogoro", they understood)

ビリビリ = onomatopeia for ripping (useful for when you have tear-apart crafts in class)

ケシケシ = onomatopeia for erasing something (useful when you try to explain to a kid they spelled something wrong. Because it's easier to just say "A kesh-kesh, E" than "Not A, E. Okay great you wrote E, but A needs to go. No no no not the whole word, just A. Oh my God. Okay. Let me write it and you copy.")

ちょっと = a little, soon, wait a little (useful if the kids are getting a bit antsy and ready to go home a bit too early/don't want to wait their turn. Don't use it with parents though!)

がんばれ = do your best / you can do it!

あぶない！= dangerous / look out! (useful if a kid unexpectedly runs in front of me while I'm carrying a table)

せえの！= Altogether now! (When I need the kids to repeat something after me)

だめだよ = Don't do that (for when the kids repeatedly do something I've asked them not to do)

少々お待ちください（しょうしょう　おまち　ください）= polite form of "please wait a moment". Useful if you have a parent talking to you and you need to go get something (e.g. a communication sheet for them to point at so you know what they're trying to say)

授業参観 (じゅぎょうさんかん) = parent observation (PO). A couple of times a year, parents are invited into the classroom to watch the lesson (absolutely not a thing in the UK, not sure about other countries). The past two months I've had POs at my various schools, and so the parents come to the door and ask me if it's PO week. I don't understand most of the question, but I can pick out this one word and a question particle and figure out what they're asking.

It's also obviously a good idea to learn vocabulary related to stationery (eraser, pencil, crayon, pen, notebook, textbook, pencil case etc) because kids forget/lose their stuff all the time and will inevitably ask you if they can borrow something.

#japanese #japanese langblr #learning japanese #japanese for beginners #esl #esl in japan

[alwaysbewoke]

#english #esl #second language #language #lmao #humor #funniness #laughter #comedy #hilarious #funny moments #laughter therapy #humor therapy #smiles #laugh out loud

[kaufmann-6]

How everyone says percabeth: persabeth

How my non-native english speaker brain and I say it: perkabeti

#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy jackson & the olimpians #pjo #hoo #toa #esl

[phoenixyfriend]

Ngl I have some very complicated thoughts and feelings in regards to how people criticize the way authors write ESL characters because sometimes the things they criticize are, in fact, actually things that happen!

For people who grew up bilingual, with a strongly enforced boundary between the Home language and the School language.

#I've been born the grew-up-bilingual and the foreigner with shaky language skills #language #linguistics #esl #fanfiction #authors

[nicebigcuteeraser]

#repost #pix #twitter #tweet #lol #funny #joke #burn #savage #sassy #sass #english #esl #0930612n

[gretchenwienerdogs]

Question for those who are proficient in English but have a different first language:

Feel free to add examples, I want to read them all.

#speaking dunglish (dutch & english) is hilarious #especially when surrounded by english-speaking people #english #ESL #EFL

[cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness]

For my non native english speakers, how did you learn the language?

#non native english speakers #ESL #English Second Language #I tried to think of the most common ways to learn a language but the other tag is there in case I forgot anything #which I probably did #language #english language #language poll

[swaggerscat]

swagger uploaded his cologne ESL csgo2 video! :)

#swaggersouls #goodguyfitz #misfits podcast #gaybabygang #swagger souls #fitz #swaggersouls x reader #ESL #swagger and fitz

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

#polls #incognito polls #anonymous #tumblr polls #tumblr users #questions #english #languages #esl #bilingual #multilingual #polls about language

[idiomland]

"Let the cat out of the bag" = reveal a secret. ⠀ Example: It's a secret. Try not to let the cat out of the bag. ⠀ Example: How did mom find out we were planning a surprise party for her? Who let the cat out of the bag? ⠀ Origin: This expression alludes to the dishonest practice of a merchant substituting a worthless cat for a valuable pig, which is discovered only when the buyer gets home and opens the bag. ⠀ Learn idioms in our app - https://onelink.to/zhdnr2

#idioms #english #idiom #learn english #english language #study english #toefl #esl #toeic #english idioms

[theyuniversity]

Website | Twitter |  Instagram | Medium | Pinterest | Ko-fi | eBook

#vocabulary #word root #levity #levitate #elevate #alleviate #levy #English #English class #learning English #ESL #EFL #ELA #ELT

[infinitemonkeytheory]

The English language, everyone

#jazz emu #8oo10cdc #video #english is weird #english is hard #esl #i gotta feel sorry for anyone trying to learn this ridiculous hodge-podge of a language where the exceptions outnumber the rules #funky bass lick