I am not used to being unable to communicate. I speak English and French fluently and in most of my travels I have been able to communicate with local people in at least one of these two languages. Before leaving for Cambodia, I tried to learn some Khmer - hello, numbers from 1-10, some pronouns and basic nouns - but my efforts still left me unprepared to deal with living in a language I could not understand. I definitely suggest you try to pick up as much of the language as possible before you leave, but also prepare to deal with language barriers. Below are a few of the challenges language presented I found during my time in Cambodia.
Effects on student learning: Khmer (and likely most other languages) does not follow the same grammatical, punctual and written rules as English. While this may seem obvious, understanding how the language is different will help you understand and explain your students' errors. For example, in Khmer, nouns are not pluralized. The same is true of several other Asian languages - the noun does not change form. Instead, a number is placed before the noun. Because of this, my students continually forgot to pluralize their nouns. Also in Khmer, possessive pronouns come after the noun - another common mistake my Grade 3s made ("Book me" instead of "My book"). If I had understood this earlier in my time there, I would have
tried to explain more clearly, rather than just constantly correcting their grammar.
Pronunciation is another challenge, depending on the language. Khmer does not contain the "f" or "th" sounds, and does not pronounce the last letter of a word. I had to give them extra practice time for words containing these sounds and had to remind my kids to say "word" and "dog" rather than "wor" and "doh". Finally, the physical written form of a language can present challenges of its own. Khmer is written with no spaces. Arabic is written from right to left. Symbol languages probably have their own set of difficulties. Do not assume your students understand the structure of the English langage. Be clear from the start, and be patient with their mistates.
Effects on teaching:
Explaining homework was hit-and-miss. Frequently, only a third of my students handed in their homework done correctly. Some of it was student laziness which they tried to pass off as language misunderstanding, but often students truely did not understood the instructions. The best strategy I found was to do the first question in class to provide a model, and to keep instructions to a minimum. The other English teachers at the center usually asked a Khmer teacher to translate the instructions into Khmer script or to come into their room near the end of the lesson and explain the work to the class. This stragegy seemed to work well for them.
Besides homework, explaining even simple games and in-class activities was difficult. For our unit on adjectives, I attempted to introduce the game "20 Questions" (but not online). I explained it, modeled it, and allowed them to play in groups of four (so if someone did not understand, their teammates could explain it to them). It still failed. With the younger grades, conversation games were equally hard to explain. Game explaining is a challenge that I did not overcome.
Effects on Classroom Management:
Consistency in rule enforcement can be made more difficult by language barriers. I could not explain the reason for the class rules. Keeping authority was sometimes difficult if I did not understand what was going on. For example, several times a Grade 3 student began crying in class and I could not understand why. I typically left them alone until they finished, or allowed them to go to the principal if they wanted. Reasons for late homework, identifying the culprit in a fight and questions about the material were also difficult to understand and resolve.
Sometimes I inadvertently caused the conflict. For example, half way through the semester, I introduced a seating plan. It grouped my Grade 3 students by ability for certain activities that week. I did not explain clearly enough that the assigned seating was only for the week, and that they were free to return to their original seats afterwards. The majority of the students gradually drifted back to their preferred seating and I thought nothing of it. One class, however, I arrived two minutes late (side note: NEVER be late!) and there was a fistfight going on in class. I learned later that it began when one boy wanted his original seat back. The boy currently occupying the seat refused to move, saying "Teacher told me to sit here, so I am not moving" (the only time this particular boy listened to any rule I said!). The first boy insisted and insults were exchanged. The fight resulted in three boys faceing disciplinary action from the principal and one very ashamed English teacher.
tried to explain more clearly, rather than just constantly correcting their grammar.
Pronunciation is another challenge, depending on the language. Khmer does not contain the "f" or "th" sounds, and does not pronounce the last letter of a word. I had to give them extra practice time for words containing these sounds and had to remind my kids to say "word" and "dog" rather than "wor" and "doh". Finally, the physical written form of a language can present challenges of its own. Khmer is written with no spaces. Arabic is written from right to left. Symbol languages probably have their own set of difficulties. Do not assume your students understand the structure of the English langage. Be clear from the start, and be patient with their mistates.
Effects on teaching:
Explaining homework was hit-and-miss. Frequently, only a third of my students handed in their homework done correctly. Some of it was student laziness which they tried to pass off as language misunderstanding, but often students truely did not understood the instructions. The best strategy I found was to do the first question in class to provide a model, and to keep instructions to a minimum. The other English teachers at the center usually asked a Khmer teacher to translate the instructions into Khmer script or to come into their room near the end of the lesson and explain the work to the class. This stragegy seemed to work well for them.
Besides homework, explaining even simple games and in-class activities was difficult. For our unit on adjectives, I attempted to introduce the game "20 Questions" (but not online). I explained it, modeled it, and allowed them to play in groups of four (so if someone did not understand, their teammates could explain it to them). It still failed. With the younger grades, conversation games were equally hard to explain. Game explaining is a challenge that I did not overcome.
Effects on Classroom Management:
Consistency in rule enforcement can be made more difficult by language barriers. I could not explain the reason for the class rules. Keeping authority was sometimes difficult if I did not understand what was going on. For example, several times a Grade 3 student began crying in class and I could not understand why. I typically left them alone until they finished, or allowed them to go to the principal if they wanted. Reasons for late homework, identifying the culprit in a fight and questions about the material were also difficult to understand and resolve.
Sometimes I inadvertently caused the conflict. For example, half way through the semester, I introduced a seating plan. It grouped my Grade 3 students by ability for certain activities that week. I did not explain clearly enough that the assigned seating was only for the week, and that they were free to return to their original seats afterwards. The majority of the students gradually drifted back to their preferred seating and I thought nothing of it. One class, however, I arrived two minutes late (side note: NEVER be late!) and there was a fistfight going on in class. I learned later that it began when one boy wanted his original seat back. The boy currently occupying the seat refused to move, saying "Teacher told me to sit here, so I am not moving" (the only time this particular boy listened to any rule I said!). The first boy insisted and insults were exchanged. The fight resulted in three boys faceing disciplinary action from the principal and one very ashamed English teacher.