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An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student's profile (2012)

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Heyad Al Tuhafi
Deakin University Melbourne, Austraia
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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

Yorio’s “Classification of learner variables”1 (1976: 61) offers us one way to look at the different
factors that impact on a student’s language learning. In any analysis of a non-English speaking
background (NESB) student’s language learning, there are many domains of inquiry that must be
considered. Yorio’s 1976 classification of learner variables is considered one of the most
comprehensive explorations of these domains for Second Language Acquisition (SLA), and
constitutes a framework for analysis of a learner’s unique acquisition of a second language. To
this purpose, the following analysis of a subject’s SLA will be structured according to Yorio’s 1976
taxonomy of learner variables, with particular focus on those variables which seem to have had
the most impact on the subject’s use of the English language.
This is a profile of a student who, for ethical reasons shall be called Ali, and who currently studies
an ESL course at the University of Victoria, Werribee campus. He is studying English at level 2. I
brought to my discussions with Ali my own ideas of language learning shaped by my experience
of learning to be an ESL teacher, as well as my concerns about whether the university is
providing him and others with enough support. In addition, I went to the university and I talked
with my interviewee’s teacher. In my discussions with Ali and his teacher, I focused my attention
on the areas of opportunities for developing and practicing the four language macro-skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing; learning strategies; and relationships with peers and
teachers.

Ali, migrated to Australia from Iraq with his wife and one son seven months ago. He is
an educated man and, he has got a Diploma in Telecommunications and Electronics in Baghdad,
Iraq in 1982. He is a professional and spent 30 years of his life at work. He has studied ‘English
for Science and Technology Purposes’ (ESTP) according to his specialization. He used this kind
of English at work daily as words, phrases and expressions such as: maintenance, services,
electrical circuit, circuit diagram, operator system, conductors and isolators. In the seven months
Ali has been in Australia at the time of the interviews, his English language skills had developed.
He has clearly built on his strong first language proficiency, demonstrating a very good
understanding of the English language and language learning strategies. Ali’s speaking skills at
the time of the interview fit in between stage2 (S2) and stage3 (S3) of the English as a Second
Language (ESL) Companion to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, (2006). His overall
level of oral communication best fits the description of stage (S2), where he communicates
effectively in a range of familiar social and some basic academic contexts. He demonstrates
more difficulty with listening, struggling to understand oral English in unfamiliar or unsupported
contexts, such as during telephone calls or by unfamiliar speakers. Instead, he had more success
in familiar contexts with familiar people, using familiar vocabulary (S2). Since the interviews, he
has built on his language learning strategies, and has shown self-motivated interest in the
Learning Focus of (S3), using tenses of the verbs in the sentences and identifying the ways these
can impact on meaning2.

1
Yorio, C., (1976) ‘Learner Variables’ In Brown, H. D. (2000).Principle of Language Learning and Teaching 4th
Edition . Addison Wesley Longman: White Plains NY. p273
2
Ali recently has observed that the correct meaning comes from the correct tense and he explained to me the
difference between these two sentences:- “I wrote a letter to my friend yesterday.” and “I am going to write a
letter to my friend today”.
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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

Ali studied English at school in Kuwait, the country of his birth because his father was
working there for 40 years. Then his family left Kuwait and settled in Iraq when he was 16. “I was
really bad at English”, he said. That was because of the monotonous way the teacher taught in
the first two years of his study. In Kuwait, students start learning English in grade five at age of
11. From that time he did not like English and his parents did not encourage him to speak English
at home. His father could not read and write his native language (Arabic) and his mother could
read only, but she couldn’t write (Arabic).
As Ali is a very social person, he has made good relationships with his teachers and
peers in the class. All his teachers are friendly and have relaxed manner that makes him feel at
ease. They encourage him to speak freely and this makes him feel self-confident. Ali’s main
forms of exposure to English are in class, television, reading newspapers and books online. He
has his own iPad. He reads the weekly Leader newspaper and the junk mail. He asks about the
meaning of any word that is not understood, he sometimes uses the dictionary, and watches the
channel 7news.
The teacher is helpful, understanding and careful to deliver his goals to his students. As
Brown (H. Douglas Brown 2007a, p 8, 46) has indicated teaching cannot be defined apart from
learning. “Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the
conditions for learning” (Brown 2007, p. 8).The teacher’s understanding how the learner learns
will be a large factor to determine his/her philosophy of education, his/her teaching style, his/her
approach, methods and classroom techniques. If, like Skinner “you look at learning as a process
of operant conditioning through a carefully paced program of reinforcement, you may teach
accordingly”. If you view second language learning as a deductive rather than an inductive
process, you will probably choose to present copious rules to your students rather than let them
‘’discover’’ those rules inductively.
Of the learner variables identified in Yorio’s taxonomy, the most significant elements that
affected Ali’s SLA appear to be Age, Cognition and Educational Background may have also been
a contributing factor. Yorio’s taxonomy suggests that age has a significant effect on a person’s
ability to acquire a second language (L2) successfully. This hypothesis is not a new one, and it
has been enthusiastically debated in recent decades. One of the main factors advanced to
explain variations in English proficiency among second-language learners is the age of the
individual, and with respect to this, a great deal of recent research has centered around the
‘’critical period’’, or younger-is-better, hypothesis. Indeed this was advanced only to support the
case for a National Language Policy (Commonwealth Department of Education, (1982). The
argument is essentially a biological one in which researchers such as Penfield and Roberts
(1959) and Lenneberg (1967) maintain that after puberty cortical lateralization causes language
functions becomes localized in the left cerebral cortex, and the former plasticity of the brain
atrophies. Lenneberg paints a bleak picture for the older learner when he asserts that the
process of language acquisition stops at puberty. However,
Krashen’ (1973) work indicates that cortical lateralization is completed by the age of five and, if
this is so, the argument that lateralization is responsible for the difficulties which post-pubescent
students have in learning a second language is weakened. Krashen agrees, however, that there
is a qualitative difference between the second-language (L2) learning of children and adults, and,
like Lenneberge, argues that, whereas acquisition by children is basically effortless and
subconscious, adults use conscious learning strategies (W. J. Cambell & M.McMeriman 1985, p.
5, 46). Experience shows, too, that many adolescents and adults do acquire a high level of

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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

proficiency in a second language, which would scarcely be possible if they lacked important
learning mechanism. The existence of these mechanisms in older learners is confirmed by
studies which provide strong evidence that older learners have not lost their capacities for natural
language learning. Most discussions about age and acquisition centre on the question of whether
there is a critical period for language acquisition: a biological determined period of life when
language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to
acquire. And Brown has also pointed to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) and claims that
there is such a biological timetable. Initially the notion of a critical period was connected only to
first language acquisition (Brown 2007a, p. 46, 57).
Variation on Lenneberge’s neurologically based critical period hypothesis (CPH) have
been proposed by, for example, Scovel (1969) and Seliger (1978), who both argue that puberty
represents the approximate close, for most individuals, of a critical period for the acquisition to a
native-like L2 accent. Scovel (e.g. Scovel 1981, p. 37) hypothesizes that it is possible, however,
to become “completely fluent” in the syntax and vocabulary of an L2 in later life (Harly 1985, p. 6).
Many studies have been carried out on the effectiveness of learners’ using a variety of strategies
in their quest for language competence. One way of classifying such work is through the four
macro-skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Learning strategies, as opposed to
communication strategies, typically involve the receptive skills of listening and reading. O’Malley,
Chamot, and Kupper (1989) found that second language learners developed effective listening
skills through the use of monitoring, elaboration, and inferencing. Strategies such as selective
attention to keywords and advance organizers, inferring from context, prediction, using a
worksheet, and taking notes have been shown to be successfully teachable (Vandergrift, 2003;
Carrier, 2003; Ozeki, 2000; Rost, & Ross, 1991) (as cited in Brown 2007a, p. 136).
Ali, as I mentioned, has made good relationships with the teachers and the peers in the
class. Brown (2007a) has also indicated that peer pressure is a particularly important variable in
considering child-adult comparisons. The peer pressure children encounter in language learning
is unlike what the adult experiences. Children usually have strong constrains upon them to
conform. They are told in words, thoughts, and actions that they had better ‘’be like the rest of the
kids.’’ Such peer pressure extends to language. Adults experience peer pressure, but of a
different kind. Adults tend to tolerate linguistic differences more than children, and therefore
errors in speech are more easily excused. If adults can understand a second language speaker,
for example, they will usually provide positive cognitive and effective feedback, a level of
tolerance that might encourage some adult learners to “get by”. Children are harsher critics of
one another’s actions and words thus provide a necessary and sufficient degree of mutual
pressure to learn the second language.
Ali is interested and motivated in his ESL course. I think this happens because of the
learning strategies that are taught and followed by his teachers and the university. Learning
strategies are specific methods of approaching a problem or task, modes of operation for
achieving a particular end, or planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain
information. Hsiao and Oxford (2002, p 368) emphasize the role of strategies in enhancing
students’ learning. Strategies vary widely within an individual, while styles are more constant and
predictable.
Successful second language learners are usually people who know how to manipulate
style (as well as strategy) levels in their day-to-day encounters with the language. This means
that they are first aware of general personality and cognitive characteristics or tendencies that

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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

usually lead to successful acquisition and strive to develop those characteristics. For example, a
successful learner who is not a risk-taker (personality trait) and is left-brain dominant and
somewhat intolerant of ambiguity (cognitive trait) recognizes his dominant traits and resolves to
force himself to take more risks, to balance his brain, and to adopt a more tolerant attitude toward
language he doesn’t understand. Why? Because he has been informed of the importance of the
latter styles for most language-learning contexts (Brown 2007a, p. 260, 46).
Ali, as I said, has his own iPad and he uses it for searching for many things: such as
jobs, books, watching movies and playing games. Even in the university he uses a computer in
the lab. In my analysis the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in ESL
education is often seen as a tool to promote the development of language proficiency and as a
teaching aid to achieve certain educational goals. And Ali is fond of using iPad and going onto
internet and reading books, newspapers, magazines and journals. Undoubtedly, technology may
offer access to new activities and materials, and may increase students’ interest and motivation,
making learning more effective. However, such an approach to technology is limited, especially
when considering that ICT use in English for everyday life, learning, work, and entertainment has
become a common activity.
Sometimes Ali complains, as he told me, from too much grammar teaching. He meant
that the teacher focuses more on the grammar of English more than the needs in daily life. It is
important when designing a curriculum, ideally students’ language needs come first. This
statement may seem overly simplistic. Language students may have widely different needs
because of differences in previous education, cultural background and age. Even students in a
class that is relatively homogeneous may have varied learning styles and diverse attitudes and
assumptions about what learning entails. For this reason, seasoned language instructors often
advocate an ongoing, dynamic needs assessment (e.g., Peck 1991) that takes into account
students’ preferences. For example, in considering group size, do students like to learn alone, in
small groups, or in large groups? Do students tend to be active participants, or do they prefer
observing? (Riggenbach, p. 21, 4).
Despite of some grammatical and pronounced errors in Ali’s English speech, he speaks
freely without any confusion. He told me that: “I can learn English not only from studying, but also
from communicating with others and internet as well”. I believe that most adults can learn a
language without studying it, providing they are in the right kind of contact with it. Though they
may have more trouble with pronunciation and grammar than younger learners, they may still be
able to communicate fluently. However, not all adults who come into contact with a foreign
language learn it. They might not want it. Perhaps the language they come into contact with is, in
their view, just too complex for them. Perhaps, they do not hear or see enough of it or have
sufficient opportunities to try it out (Harmer 2007, p.24, 4).
In most situations, learning occurs more easily if there are positive attitudes towards
the second language community. We should therefore try to break down any prejudices towards
this community and help learners to perceive the common interests that link its members with
themselves. This may be helped by suitable teaching materials and, again, personal contact with
native speakers. The teachers should therefore avoid becoming over-critical of the learners’
performance, try to create space for each learner’s individuality to express itself, and work to
produce a relaxed classroom atmosphere with co-operative relationships.
For many foreign language learners, their first visit to the foreign country creates a
sense of inadequacy and anxiety (so-called ‘culture shock’). In the classroom, anxiety can hinder

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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

learning and make learners reluctant to express themselves through the second language
(Littlewood , p. 4,97). Language learning is a natural response to communicative needs
(productive and/or receptive). Therefore, we should try to ensure that learners are always aware
of the communicative value of what they are learning. For example, we should help them to relate
the language to the social contexts in which it is spoken; we should create communicative
contexts in the classroom; learners should be helped to use the language for expressing their
own personal needs and their own personality; and when possible, we should arrange contacts
with native speakers.
Ali is motivated and excited to learn English. He always does his homework and asks
about anything he does not know. He told me, in the interviews, what happened in the class. The
most important thing is; he began to think of finding a suitable job after finishing the course, while
at the beginning he was full of anxiety. Anxiety plays a major affective role in (SLA) and is still not
easy to define in a simple sentence. Spislberger (1983, p 1) defined anxiety as “the subjective
feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the
autonomic nervous system” (Brown 2007a, p. 4, 161).
In my analysis, I have found Ali is motivated instrumentally with long-term goals as he has
a plan to get a suitable job after completing ESL course. ‘Motivation is some kind of internal drive
that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action. Language learners who are motivated
perceive goals of various kinds. We can make a useful distinction between short-term goals and
long-term goals. Long-term goals might have something to do with a wish to get a better job at
some future date, or a desire to be able to communicate with members of a target language
community. Short-term goals might include such things as wanting to pass an end-of-semester
test or wanting to finish a unit in a book’ (Harmer 2007, p. 3-4).
Ali, as I observed him, is eager to acquire English for many reasons: communicating with
native speakers, finding a suitable job and travelling abroad. For Krashen, acquisition is what
allows language students to initiate utterances and gain fluency in the second language. Of equal
importance to Krashen is how adults acquire a second language. He attempts to explain this
process through his input hypothesis, which states that second language acquisition is most likely
to occur when the acquirer understands the language input. In order for this input to be
meaningful, Karshen believes that it must contain structure ‘’a little’’ beyond the acquirer’s current
level of competence in the second language (1981a, 1982) (TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 2, p.
352-357). I encourage Ali to speak English at home. It is much more beneficial for learners to
hear and speak the language with a rich vocabulary to try to integrate English into their home life.
The basic idea in cognitive linguistics, concerning both L1 and L2, is that knowledge of language
is acquired through use. That is to say, through exposure to language in context, people are able
to identify patterns, correspondences and relationships within the language system. Then they
use this knowledge to develop hypotheses about the language system which can be tested in
authentic communicative contexts (Ellis 2010, p. 4).
Ali uses Arabic his mother tongue and translates it to English and asks about the
meanings of some words to make useful sentences. Transfer and overgeneralization are not
distinct processes. Indeed, they represent aspects of the same underlying learning strategy. Both
result from the fact that the learner uses what he already knows about language, in order to make
sense of new experience. In the case of overgeneralization, it is his previous knowledge of the
second language that the learner uses. In the case of transfer, the learner uses his previous
mother-tongue experience as a means of organizing the second language data. It is significant

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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

that Taylor found transfer errors to be more frequent with beginners than with intermediate
students. Success in second language learning is related not only to general cognitive ability, but
also to a more language-specific set of learning abilities which are usually called ‘language-
aptitude’. Language aptitude is a phenomenon whose exact nature is not yet known. It has been
investigated most intensively by researchers attempting to devise tests of students’ learning
potential before they actually begin a course. One of the best known of these tests, the ‘Modern
Language Aptitude Test (MLAT)’ by Carroll and Stanley Sapon (1959), focuses on the following
abilities, in the belief that they form part of language aptitude:
1 the ability to identify and remember sounds;
2 the ability to memorize words
3 the ability to recognize how words function grammatically in sentences;
4 the ability to induce grammatical rules from language examples.
Taken together, language aptitude and motivation (based on favorable attitudes) are the factors
which have predicted success most regularly in the various research studies (Littlewood, p. 4, 62-
63).
Ali is more confident in speaking English language with his teachers, peers and when he goes
shopping. Take for example, the following conversation about his growing independence:
Ali: Yeah… Now my language is better than before. I can speak alone without any help. From
now and on, I go to the post to pay the bills of electricity, gas, and internet.
I : Great. How do you think that you changed? How did you make that change? How did it
happen?
Ali: Well… I have to help myself to do so because I want to find a suitable job to help my family in
the cost of living… And surfing on internet helped me a lot.
I suggested many recommendations to Ali about what he can do next to continue his
English learning for his specific purpose (ESP). Ali has to focus on few points.
1. To get a friend whose first language is English..
2. To find a job where he can acquire language related to his academic major.
3. To be more confident about his abilities and use English regardless of his mistakes.
4. To move to another house in an environment where he can use English.
5. To try not to interact with people whose first language is Arabic.
A language center and teachers can also play a crucial role, contributing to his progress, by
providing the following:
 Create a stress-free environment in which learners can interact.
 Choose topics that are suitable for all of the learners.
 Prepare students for real life by teaching language skills that meet the learners’ needs and are
meaningful to them.
 Provide more effective learning materials, such as visuals (photos, drawings, and flash cards),
audio, videos, and PowerPoint presentations, to improve the learning process.

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 An analysis of non-English speaking background: ESL student’s profile

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 Brown, H D 2007a, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. (5th Ed.).

 Brown, H D 2007, Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy.

(3rd Ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

 Campbell, W J & McMeniman, M 1985, The English as a Second Language (ESL) Factors
and Index Study.

 Ellis N C 2010, Cognitive Perspectives on SLA, The Assotiate-Cognitive CREED. University of

Michigan. Vol. 23, Issue 1.

 Harley, B 1986, Age in Second Language Acquisition, Multilingual Matters LTD.

 Harmer, J 2007, The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman. Harlow:
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 Haynes, J c2007, Getting Started with English Language Learners: How Educators can Meet
the Challenge. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

 Littlewood, W 1984, Foreign and Second Language Learning, Language acquisition research
and its implications for the classroom. Cambridge. University Press.

 O’Neill, S & Gish, A 2008, Teaching English As A second Language. Oxford, University Press.

 TESOL in Context, Volume 20, No. 1.

 TESOL Quarterly (Jun., 1984). Vol. 18, No. 2.

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