Teachers Resource Guide

Appendix C
Teachers Resource Guide

of Language Transfer Issues
2011. Pearson. For Reading Diagnosis and Improvement, 6e by Michael F. Opitz, Dorothy Rubin, and James A. Erekson. All rights reserved.
for English Language Learners

GRAMMAR TRANSFER ISSUES
FOR TEN LANGUAGES
The following chart identifies areas in which speakers of various primary languages may have some difficulty in
acquiring English grammar (syntax). The type of transfer error and its cause is outlined for each grammatical
category.1
NOUNS
Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Point Error in English Background Difficulty
Plural forms omission of plural marker -s Cantonese, Nouns do not change

I have 5 book. Haitian Creole, form to show the plural in
Hmong, Khmer, the primary language.
Korean, Tagalog,
Vietnamese
Possessive avoidance of s to Haitian Creole, Hmong, The use of a prepositional

forms describe possession Khmer, Spanish, phrase to express
the children of my sister Tagalog, Vietnamese possession reflects the
instead of my sisters only structure or a more
children common structure in the
primary language.
no marker for Haitian Creole, A nouns owner comes

possessive forms Khmer, Vietnamese after the object in the
house my friend instead primary language.
of my friends house
Count versus use of plural forms for Haitian Creole, Nouns that are count and
noncount nouns English noncount nouns Russian, Spanish, noncount differ between
the furnitures, the color Tagalog English and the primary
of her hairs language.
1Charts from Teachers Resource Guide of Language Transfer Issues for English Language Learners in the series On Our Way to
English, copyright 2004 Harcourt Achieve, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
C-1
C-2 Appendix C Teachers Resource Guide of Language Transfer Issues for English Language Learners
ARTICLES

omission of article Cantonese, Haitian Articles are either lacking

He has job. Creole, Hmong, Khmer, or the distinction between
Korean, Russian, a and the is not paralleled
His dream is to become Tagalog, Vietnamese in the primary language.
lawyer, not teacher.
omission of articles in certain Spanish The article is not used in
contexts such as to identify Spanish in this context, but

a profession it is needed in English.
He is teacher.
overuse of articles Arabic, Haitian Creole, The article is used in the

The honesty is the best policy. Hmong, Spanish, primary language in
Tagalog places where it isnt used
This food is popular in the in English.
Japan.
I like the cats.
use of one for a/an Haitian Creole, Hmong, Learners sometimes

He is one engineer. Vietnamese confuse the articles a/an
with one since articles
either do not exist in the
primary language or serve
a different function.
PRONOUNS

Personal use of pronouns with Cantonese, The third person pronoun

pronouns, inappropriate gender Haitian Creole, Hmong, in the primary language is
gender He is my sister. Khmer, Korean, Tagalog gender free. The same
pronoun is used where
English uses masculine,
feminine, and neuter
pronouns, resulting in
confusion of pronoun
forms in English.
use of pronouns with Spanish In Spanish, subject

inappropriate gender pronouns are dropped in
He is my sister. everyday speech and the
verb conveys third-person
agreement, effectively
collapsing the two
pronouns and causing
transfer difficulty for sub-
ject pronouns in English.
use of inappropriate gender, Russian, Spanish Inanimate nouns have

particularly with neuter nouns feminine and masculine
The house is big. She is gender in the primary
beautiful. language, and the gender
may be carried over into
English.
Appendix C Teachers Resource Guide of Language Transfer Issues for English Language Learners C-3
PRONOUNS (continued )

Personal confusion of subject and Cantonese, The same pronoun form is

pronoun forms object pronoun forms Hmong, Khmer used for he/him, she/her,
Him hit me. and in some primary
languages for I/me and
I like she. we/us.
Let we go.
use of incorrect number Cantonese, Korean There is no number

for pronouns agreement in the primary
I saw many yellow flowers. language.
It was pretty.
omission of subject pronouns Korean, Russian, Subject pronouns may be

Michael isnt here. Is in school. Spanish dropped in the primary
language and the verb
ending supplies informa-
tion on number and/or
gender.
omission of object pronouns Korean, Vietnamese Direct objects are

That man is very rude, frequently dropped in the
so nobody likes. primary language.
omission of pronouns in clauses Cantonese, Vietnamese A subordinate clause at

If not have jobs, they will the beginning of a
not have food. sentence does not require
a subject in the primary
language.
use of pronouns with Hmong, Vietnamese This type of redundant

subject nouns structure reflects the
This car, it runs very fast. popular topic-comment
approach used in the
Your friend, he seems so nice. primary language: The
My parents, they live in Vietnam. speaker mentions a topic
and then makes a
comment on it.
avoidance of pronouns Korean, Vietnamese It is common in the

by repetition of nouns primary language to
Sara visits her grandfather repeat nouns rather than
every Sunday, and Sara makes to use pronouns.
a meal.
Pronoun one omission of the pronoun one Russian, Spanish, Adjectives can be used
I saw two nice cars, and Tagalog on their own in the primary
I like the small. language, whereas English
often requires a noun
or one.
Possessive confusion of possessive forms Cantonese, Hmong, Cantonese and Hmong

forms The book is my. Vietnamese speakers tend to omit final
n, creating confusion
between my and mine.
ADJECTIVES

position of adjectives after Haitian Creole, Adjectives commonly

nouns Hmong, Khmer, come after nouns in the
I read a book interesting. Spanish, primary language.
Vietnamese
position of adjectives Cantonese, Korean Adjectives always come

before certain pronouns before words they modify

This is interesting something. in the primary language.
Comparison omission of markers for Khmer Since there are no

comparison suffixes or inflections in
She is smart than me. Khmer, the tendency is to
omit them in English.
avoidance of -er and -est Hmong, Khmer, Comparative and superla-

endings Korean, Spanish tive are usually formed
I am more old than my brother. with separate words in the
primary language, the
equivalent of more and
most in English.
Confusion of -ing confusion of -ing and -ed forms Cantonese, Khmer, The adjective forms in the
and -ed forms The movie was bored. Korean, Spanish primary language that
correspond to the ones in
I am very interesting in sports. English do not have active
and passive meanings. In
Korean, for many adjec-
tives, the same form is
used for both active and
passive meanings boring
versus bored.
VERBS

Present tense Omission of s in present Cantonese, Haitian There is no verb

tense, third person Creole, Hmong, agreement in the primary
agreement Khmer, Korean, language.
She go to school every day. Tagalog,
Vietnamese
problems with irregular Cantonese, Hmong, Verbs forms do not

subject-verb agreement Khmer, Korean, change to indicate the
Sue and Ed has a new house. Tagalog number of the subject in
the primary language.
Past tense omission of tense markers Cantonese, Haitian Verbs in the primary
I study English yesterday. Creole, Hmong, language do not change
Khmer, Korean, form to express tense.
I give it to him yesterday. Tagalog, Vietnamese
VERBS (continued)

confusion of present form Cantonese, Spanish Speakers of the primary

and simple past of regular verbs language have difficulty
I give it to him yesterday. recognizing that merely a
vowel shift in the middle
of the verb, rather than a
change in the ending of
the verb, is sufficient to

produce a change of
tense in irregular verbs.
incorrect use of present Cantonese, Korean The primary language

for the future allows the use of present
I come tomorrow. tense for the future.
In negative omission of helping verbs Cantonese, Korean, Helping verbs are not
statements in negative statements Russian, Spanish, used in negative
I no understand. Tagalog statements in the
primary language.
I not get in university.
Perfect tenses avoidance of present perfect Haitian Creole, Russian, The verb form either
where it should be used Tagalog, Vietnamese doesnt exist in the
I live here for two years. primary language or
has a different function.
use of present perfect where Khmer, Korean In the primary language,

past perfect should be used a past marker, e.g.,
Yesterday I have done that. yesterday, is inserted to
indicate a completed
action and no other
change is necessary.
In English, when a past
marker is used, the verb
form must change to past
perfect instead of
present perfect.
Past continuous use of past continuous for Korean, Spanish, In the primary language,
recurring action in the past Tagalog the past continuous form
When I was young, can be used in contexts
I was studying a lot. in which English uses the
expression used to or the
simple past.
Main verb omission of main verb Cantonese Unlike English, Cantonese

Criticize people not good. does not require an
infinitive marker when
using a verb as a noun.
use of two or more main Hmong In Hmong, verbs can be

verbs in one clause without connected without and or
any connectors any other conjunction
I took a book went studied (serial verbs).
at the library.
(continued )
VERBS (Continued)

Linking verbs omission of linking verb Cantonese, Haitian The verb be is not
He hungry. Creole, Hmong, required in all sentences.
Khmer, Russian, In some primary
Vietnamese languages, it is implied in
the adjective form. In
others, the concept is
expressed as a verb.
Passive voice Omission of helping verb Cantonese, Vietnamese Passive voice in the
be in passive voice primary language does
The food finished. not require a helping verb.
avoidance of passive Haitian Creole Passive constructions do

constructions not exist in Haitian Creole.
They speak Creole here.
One speaks Creole here.
avoiding the alternate
Creole is spoken here.
Transitive verbs confusion of transitive and Cantonese, Korean, Verbs that do and do not
versus intransitive verbs Russian, Spanish, take a direct object differ
intransitive verbs He married with a nice girl. Tagalog between English and the
primary language.
Phrasal verbs confusion of related Korean, Russian, Phrasal verbs do not

phrasal verbs Spanish exist in the primary
I look after the word in language. There is often
the dictionary. confusion over their
meaning in English.
instead of I look up the word
in the dictionary.
have versus be use of have instead of be Spanish Some Spanish

I have hunger. constructions use have
where English uses be.
I have right.
ADVERBS

use of adjective form where Haitian Creole, Hmong, There are no suffix-
adverb form is needed Khmer derived adverb forms in
Walk quiet. the primary language,
and the adjective form
is used after the verb.
placement of adverbs Cantonese, Korean Adverbs usually come

before verbs before verbs in the
At ten oclock this morning primary language, and
my plane landed. this tendency is carried
over into English.
avoiding the alternate, My plane
landed at ten oclock this morning.
PREPOSITIONS

omission of prepositions Cantonese There are no exact

Money does not grow equivalents of English
trees. prepositions in Cantonese
although there are words
to mark location and
movement.
COMPLEX SENTENCES

Relative clauses Omission of relative Vietnamese Relative pronouns are

pronouns not required in
My grandfather was a Vietnamese.
generous man helped
everyone.
incorrect pronoun used to Hmong Hmong uses the same
introduce a relative clause forms of relative pronouns
the house who is big for both personal and
inanimate antecedents.
Adverbial clauses inclusion of additional Cantonese, Korean, The primary language

connecting word Vietnamese sometimes uses a
Because he was reckless, so balancing word in the
he caused an accident. main clause.
Although my parents are poor,
but they are very generous.
use of incorrect tenses in Cantonese, Hmong, The primary language

time clauses Tagalog, Vietnamese lacks tense markers so
She speaks French before she that matching the tenses
studied English. of two verbs in one
sentence correctly can
After she comes home, be difficult. Learners may
it was raining. also try to analyze the
We will go to the beach if the tense needed in English
weather will be nice. according to meaning,
which in some cases
can result in the use of
an incorrect tense.
If versus when Confusion of if and when Korean, Tagalog The primary language
if you get there, call me! has one expression that
covers the use of English
instead of When you get if and when for the future.
there, call me!
INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS

use of present tense verbs Haitian, Creole, Khmer, Either the -ing form does
in places where gerunds Korean not exist in the primary
or infinitives are used in English language, or learners
Stop walk. tend to use present tense
verbs instead of gerunds
I want go there. even if they do exist
[Haitian Creole].
use of for in infinitive Spanish Spanish uses a

phrases prepositional form in
They went for to see similar constructions,
the movie. which is carried over
into English and
translated as for.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE

omission of object Korean Korean tends to omit

He dyed [his hair]. objects and noun phrases
after verbs.
Yes, I want [some].
lack of variety in the position Korean Since main clauses

of clauses always come last in
Because you werent at home Korean, there is a
and I couldnt find [you], I left. tendency to put the main
clause last in English.
avoiding the alternate, I left This is not an error in
because you werent at home English, but it leads to a
and I couldnt find [you]. lack of sentence variety.
clauses that describe earlier Cantonese, Korean The pattern in the primary
actions come first language is to describe
After I finish my homework, what happens first while
I will watch TV. later occurrences follow.
This is not an error in
avoiding the alternate, I will English, but it leads to a
watch TV after I finish lack of sentence variety.
my homework.
placement of phrase with the Spanish The phrase with the

indirect object before the indirect object can come
direct object before the direct object in
They gave to the girl the book. Spanish.
placement of modifiers between Korean, Spanish Word order, including the

verb and direct object placement of adverbials,
She speaks very well English. is freer in the primary
language than in English.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE (Continued)

use of double negatives Spanish Spanish requires double

I no see nobody. negatives in many
sentence structures.
use of clauses for other Russian, Spanish Verbs that take direct
structures objects versus those that
I want that you help me. require clauses differ in

the primary language
and English.
QUESTIONS

avoidance of English Cantonese, Haitian The primary language

inverted question forms in Creole, Khmer, doesnt use subject-verb
yes/no questions in favor of Korean, Russian, inversion in questions.
tag questions or intonation Tagalog, Vietnamese
You come tomorrow, OK?
He goes to school with you?
lack of subject-verb Cantonese, Hmong, In the primary language,

inversion in questions Russian, Tagalog word order is the same in
with helping verbs some questions and
When she will be home? statements, depending on
the context.
Where you are going?
omission of do or did Haitian Creole, In the primary language,

in questions Hmong, Khmer, there is no exact
Where you went? Korean, Russian, counterpart to the do/did
Spanish, Tagalog verb in questions.
Yes/no questions incorrect answer form for Cantonese, Hmong, In the primary language,
yes/no questions Khmer, Korean, learners tend to answer
A: Do you want more food? Russian yes by repeating the verb
in the question. They tend
B: I want. to say no by using not
A: Do you have a pen? and repeating the verb.
B: I not have.
positive answer to negative Cantonese, Korean, The appropriate response

question Russian pattern differs between
A: Arent you going? the primary language
and English.
B: Yes. when the person
is not going
Tag questions incorrect tag questions Cantonese, Khmer, The primary language has
You want to go home, are you? Korean, Vietnamese no exact counterpart to a
tag question, forms them
differently, or does not add
do/did to questions.
PHONICS TRANSFER ISSUES FOR SEVEN LANGUAGES

Sound Transfer (Phonology)
The symbol identifies areas in which these primary language speakers may have some difficulty pronouncing
and perceiving spoken English. The sound may not exist in the primary language, may exist but be pronounced
somewhat differently, or may be confused with another sound. Sound production and perception issues affect
phonics instruction.
CONSONANTS
Haitian
Sound Spanish Vietnamese Hmong Cantonese Creole Korean Khmer
/b/ as in bat
/k/ as in cat and kite
/d/ as in dog
/f/ as in fan
/g/ as in goat
/h/ as in hen
/j/ as in jacket
/l/ as in lemon
/m/ as in money
/n/ as in nail
/p/ as in pig
/r/ as in rabbit
/s/ as in sun
/t/ as in teen
/v/ as in video
/w/ as in wagon
/y/ as in yo-yo
/z/ as in zebra
/kw/ as in queen
/ks/ as in Xray
SHORT VOWELS
Haitian
short a as in hat
short e as in set
short i as in sit
short o as in hot
short u as in cup
LONG VOWELS
Haitian
long a as in date
long e as in be
long i as in ice
long o as in road
long u as in true
VOWEL PATTERNS
Haitian
oo as in book
aw as in saw
DIPHTHONGS
Haitian
oy as in boy
ow as in how
R-CONTROLLED VOWELS
Haitian
ir as in bird
ar as in hard
or as in form
air as in hair
ear as in hear
CONSONANT DIGRAPHS
Haitian
sh as in shoe
ch as in chain
th as in think
ng as in sing
CONSONANT BLENDS
Haitian
bl, tr, dr, etc.

(start of words)
as in black, tree, dress
ld, nt, rt, etc.
(end of words)
as in cold, tent, start
SOUND-SYMBOL TRANSFER (PHONICS)

The following chart identifies sound-symbol transfer issues for four languages that use the roman alphabet.
(The remaining three do not.) The symbol identifies symbols which do not represent the corresponding sound
in the writing system of the primary language.
CONSONANTS
Sound-Symbols Spanish Vietnamese Hmong Haitian Creole
b as in bat
c as in cat
as in cent
d as in dog
f as in fish
g as in goat
as in giant
h as in hen
j as in jacket
k as in kite
l as in lemon
m as in moon
n as in nice
p as in pig
qu as in queen
r as in rabbit
s as in sun
t as in teen
v as in video
w as in wagon
x as in Xray
y as in yo-yo
z as in zebra
CONSONANT DIGRAPHS
sh as in shoe
ch as in chair
th as in think
as in that
VOWELS AND VOWEL PATTERNS
a as in bat
aCe as in date
ai as in rain
ay as in day
au as in author
aw as in saw
e as in bet
ee as in seed
ea as in tea
ew as in few
i as in sit
iCe as in pipe
o as in hot
o as in rode
oo as in moon
oo as in book
oa as in boat
ow as in row
ow as in how
ou as in sound
oi as in boil
oy as in boy
u as in cup
uCe as in June
ui as in suit
ue as in blue
y as in try
ar as in star
er as in fern
ir as in bird
or as in torn
ur as in burn

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Appendix C

Teachers Resource Guide

for English Language Learners

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Plural forms omission of plural marker -s Cantonese, Nouns do not change

Possessive avoidance of s to Haitian Creole, Hmong, The use of a prepositional

no marker for Haitian Creole, A nouns owner comes

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

omission of article Cantonese, Haitian Articles are either lacking

contexts such as to identify Spanish in this context, but

overuse of articles Arabic, Haitian Creole, The article is used in the

use of one for a/an Haitian Creole, Hmong, Learners sometimes

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Personal use of pronouns with Cantonese, The third person pronoun

use of pronouns with Spanish In Spanish, subject

use of inappropriate gender, Russian, Spanish Inanimate nouns have

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Personal confusion of subject and Cantonese, The same pronoun form is

use of incorrect number Cantonese, Korean There is no number

omission of subject pronouns Korean, Russian, Subject pronouns may be

omission of object pronouns Korean, Vietnamese Direct objects are

omission of pronouns in clauses Cantonese, Vietnamese A subordinate clause at

use of pronouns with Hmong, Vietnamese This type of redundant

avoidance of pronouns Korean, Vietnamese It is common in the

Possessive confusion of possessive forms Cantonese, Hmong, Cantonese and Hmong

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

position of adjectives after Haitian Creole, Adjectives commonly

position of adjectives Cantonese, Korean Adjectives always come

before certain pronouns before words they modify

Comparison omission of markers for Khmer Since there are no

avoidance of -er and -est Hmong, Khmer, Comparative and superla-

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Present tense Omission of s in present Cantonese, Haitian There is no verb

problems with irregular Cantonese, Hmong, Verbs forms do not

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

confusion of present form Cantonese, Spanish Speakers of the primary

the verb, is sufficient to

incorrect use of present Cantonese, Korean The primary language

use of present perfect where Khmer, Korean In the primary language,

Main verb omission of main verb Cantonese Unlike English, Cantonese

use of two or more main Hmong In Hmong, verbs can be

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

avoidance of passive Haitian Creole Passive constructions do

Phrasal verbs confusion of related Korean, Russian, Phrasal verbs do not

have versus be use of have instead of be Spanish Some Spanish

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

placement of adverbs Cantonese, Korean Adverbs usually come

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

omission of prepositions Cantonese There are no exact

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

Relative clauses Omission of relative Vietnamese Relative pronouns are

Adverbial clauses inclusion of additional Cantonese, Korean, The primary language

use of incorrect tenses in Cantonese, Hmong, The primary language

INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

use of for in infinitive Spanish Spanish uses a

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer

omission of object Korean Korean tends to omit

lack of variety in the position Korean Since main clauses

placement of phrase with the Spanish The phrase with the

placement of modifiers between Korean, Spanish Word order, including the

SENTENCE STRUCTURE (Continued)

Grammar Type of Transfer Language Cause of Transfer