Celta_Assignment_3

Marayam Attallah is a 23 year old student currently studying at Hammersmith College. She came from Iraq however originates from Syria. She is able to speak Arabic and Syrian which is the local dialect of Arabic. Whilst at home she speaks Syrian with family members and she can converse with most Arabic speaking persons from all over the world. She has problems understanding Arabic from Tunisia and Morocco, simply because there is a great deal of French influence and this has been incorporated into the Arabic language. Marayam and her family migrated to Iraq when she was very young. She started Kindergarten school and only studied for three years. Her ability to read speak, and write her native language has been a combination of being self taught and some coaching by her family. Marayam was married at a young age and migrated to the UK when 16 years of age. She and her husband have been in the UK for eight years. When arrived in the UK, she began attending English classes at various establishments. Her motivation has been to be able to converse in the English language so that she can perform simple tasks such as buying goods from shops. Her desire and motivation is but she needs to be able to speak and write fluent English. Her motivation also comes from her husband who encourages her to learn English. Marayam states that she prefers it when teachers talk about a topic followed by an activity. The activities need to be very elementary as grammar is not her strongest point. She benefits most from learning vocabulary. Marayan likes the class to be “drilled “ by the teacher. She also likes a great deal of repeation as she says it helps her with pronunciation. Marayams pronunciation is a problem and also the recognition of Basic English sentence form.This is due to her native language and the fact that there are a number of letters that she is unable to pronounce. Despite being in the UK for eight years she has not mastered the English alphabet. Having spoken and recorded her I found that she could not grasp the range of word patterns and distinguish one from another i.e. noun, verb and adjectives etc... Despite the fact that Marayam thinks she can communicate well, I find it very difficult to understand her. For example I asked Marayam “ Why do you want to learn how to speak English'” Her reply was “I speak English good” Marayan was trying to say “I would like to speak English better” She wishes that she will be proficient by the end of 2011 so that she can embark on a midwife course next year. Marayan categorically states that she does not like writing. I arranged a meeting with Marayam to assess her writing ability, only to find that after eight years she can only write her name. I tried to find out more about the way she studies but again realized that her learning of English language has been totally haphazard. She has attended English classes but has failed to grasp the basic concepts of sentence construction. An example would be “Decided Marayam yesterday come to class”. Marayan seems more coherent when talking about the past /perfect tense, but I noted, Arabic speaking people read right to left and also they tend to misread letters for example “p” for “q” . In addition the phonological system differs considerably. I also noted that words such as “am, is, are” are not expressed in Arabic so Marayam may say “I not going class tomorrow” I have noted that despite the fact she likes learning vocabulary, she tends to forget it very quickly due to lack of studying. I have suggested that she should write the English words in a note book at the same time as she is learning them. Also write the Arabic transcription and translation besides the words which will help her to remember the pronunciation and meanings. I have encouraged her to study the course book and make note of any difficulties, and discuss with teachers. As she has progressed very little in her endeavor to learn Basic English she needs to master her alphabet first with the right pronunciation. She then needs to pay attention to English sentence construction with its constituents such as Verb Noun, and Adjective etc…. in the right order. I also noted that despite the fact she benefits from speaking to other students in pair group, she does not like to speak aloud as she feels pronunciation is a problem for her. Again I have suggested to Marayam to use audio tapes so that she can practice her pronunciation. In conclusion Marayam requires a programme that assists her to absorb vocabulary and master the basic grammar. I also have a feeling from her interview that she believes that, if she attends English classes her English will automatically improve without having to study at home.