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UNIVERSIDAD CATLICA DE LA SANTSIMA CONCEPCIN

LANGUAGE LEARNER PROFILE

By
Nayareth Hernndez
Karen Utreras

PROFESSOR
ROXANNA CORREA

CONCEPCIN, 2014

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Index


Student background...2
Testing knowledge. 2
Taped Interview. .2
Taped Interview.. 3
Taped Interview.. 4
Phonetics transcription.. 5
Phonetics and Phonology Analysis. 6
Phonetics and Phonology Analysis. 7
Phonetics and Phonology Analysis..8
Analysis of the errors in the pronunciation. 9
Grammar/syntax Analysis.10
-Tenses error11
- Vocabulary. 12
Proposal. .13
Conclusion.. 15










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LANGUAGE LEARNER PROFILE


I. STUDENTS BACKGROUND

Gonzalo Vega studied at Jorge Sanchez Ugarte Technical School in Concepcin. He
has been in contact with the English language since he was a boy because his mother
taught him how to use it. Also, he is good at videogames which has given him some
advantages in terms of vocabulary. Besides this, he points out that he is always looking
up unknown words. Currently, Gonzalo is a first year student of English Pedagogy at
Universidad Catlica de la Santsima Concepcin.


II. TESTING OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

INTERVIEW

Interviewer: (K) Karen Utreras Matamala
Interviewee: (G) Gonzalo Vidal
Duration of the recording: 4:01 minutes

1. TAPED INTERVIEW

1. K: Whats your name?

2. G: My name is Gonzalo Vega.

3. K: How do you spell that?

4. G: Gonzalo I spell G-O-N-C-A-LO.
5. K: what kind of music do you like?

6. G: Mmm I like rock music or metal music because its more like my style. I
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7. think is more mainly maybe or is ehh is is I thing that I like most than the
8.other otherwise, the other ahh the other kinds of music.

9. K: Why did you decided to study English?

10. G: eeehh Because I totally love the language I love the accent the British
11. accent ahhh only my accent is more north American but ammm I love the accent I
12.love the language I love to be a teacher.

13. K: what do you do at your free time?

14. G: My free time?When I spend a lot of time with my friends or maybe
15.playing video games in my home or going out I its more going out with
16.friends and do stuff do many things.

17. K: If you have the chance to travel another country .what country would you like to visit?

18. G: ehh country I like to visit ehhh Japan maybe or United Kimdom because
19.is the mother of the language so I wanna visit that place someday.

20. K: What do you do every day? I mean daily routines

21. G: daily routines ehh well I study I study I spend a little time with my little
22.cousins.cause I live with my uncle right now mmm I hel them help them to
23.study English amm I ..mmm thats more or less that I do all the days or maybe
24.go out with friends if I have the time or if because you know I am studying.


25. K: What is the best place to study here in the university? And why?

26. G: In the university well is not thats is a best place is like ..if you want
27.study you want to study you dont need I can study in louder places or
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28.commonly places ahh,.but I would prefer.. amm I dont know the back part of
29.the university eeemm emmm thats it () or the library.

30. K: Have you ever travel on a train?

31. G: On a train yeah long timelong time ago..

32. K: What was the experience?

33. G: Was very fun because it was ahh ..trip with my with my classmates to ..
34.to the south so it was very funny see all the things the in the window throw
35.the window.ahh am making making jokes about everything that are we were
36.seeing in their. it was very fun.


37. K:What did you feel?


38. G: Ehh happy ammm relieved. ahh mmm I think that just happy because I
39.was with my friends ehhh my mom goes cost to that occasion so it was
40.funny cause I have to I have to stay like ahh a a good boy in front of my mom
41.so I cant .. I cant to do .. do the ahh the stuff that I always do with friends.
42.They friends. My friends start to .. to tell me things ooh you're girl youre a
43.little kid.. ohh youre mom ..stuff so It was funny it was funny it was (..) after
44.all it was a good time









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2. PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

In this part there is an extract of three lines of student's speech which is transcribed
phonetically in order to see his pronunciation. Moreover, it shows what the mistakes are
when Gonzalo speaks spontaneously.

EXTRACT

G: daily routines ehh well I study I study I spend a little time with my little cousins.cause
I live with my uncle right now mmm I hel them help them to study English amm I ..mmm
thats more or less that I do all the days or maybe go out with friends if I have the time
or if because you know I am studying.


TRANSCRIPTION OF THE EXTRACT

|| /de.li rutins/ /wel/ /a estd.i/ /a estd.i/ / a espend lt.l tam wt
ma/ /lt.l kaus. ins/ /k z a lv w ma.kl rat na/ /a hel/ /em help
em tu std.i .gl/ /a/ /dts mr r les dan a du l des/ /r me.bi
go a/ w frends/ /f a hv de tam/ /r/ /f/ /bkz jno
amestd.i/ ||


III. IDENTIFICATION OF LINGUISTIC NEEDS


General Overview

In this part we are going to analyze some mistakes made by the interviewee, each
mistake was listed, as it can be seen below. In addition, the analysis of mistakes is
divided into two main categories which are phonetics/phonology and grammar/syntax.

Language learner profile analysis

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PHONETICS/ PHONOLOGY

This analysis shows some relevant mistakes that participant made regarding to stress
and pronunciation which will be analyzed.

Pronunciation

1. Mistakes in the pronunciation of consonants and vowels and stress.


Word Participants
pronunciation
Analysis Correct
pronunciation (RP)
visit /vis.it/ Problem of the
stress position and
use of the
phoneme /s/
instead of /z/.
/vz.t/
other
love
/r/
/lv/
Use of the
phoneme //
instead of //.
/. r /
/lv/
study /estud.i/ Use of the
phoneme //.
instead of //
Addition of the
phoneme /e/ at
first
/std.i/






spend /espen/ Addition of the /spend/
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phoneme /e/ at the
beginning
Deletion of the
final sound
phoneme /d/

cousins /Kazins/ Use of the
diphthong /a/
instead of the
phoneme //.

Use of the
phoneme /i/
instead of the
phoneme / /
/kz. n/
places /pleses/ use of the
phoneme /e/
instead of the
phoneme /i/
Use of the /s/
instead of
phoneme /z/
/plesz /
through /r/ Use of the
diphthong //
instead of long
vowel /u/
/ru/
with

/wit/

Interference of
Spanish into
/w/

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English as // does
not exist in the
mother tongue
that /dat/

Use of the
phoneme /a/
instead of the
phoneme //
/t/


go /go/ Use of the
phonemes /o/
instead of the
diphthong //
/g/
know /no/ Use of the
phonemes /o/
instead of the
diphthong //
/n/

cause /kz/ Use of the
phoneme //
instead of the long
vowel //

/kz/


more /mr/ Use of the
phoneme //
instead of the long
vowel //
/m/

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mother /mder/ Use of phoneme
// instead of //
and also he used
the phoneme /d/
instead of //
/m(r)/

Gonzalo /d/:-o-en-ci-i:-el-
o/
Use of the
phoneme /c/
instead of /z/
/d:-o-en-zed-i:-el-
o/



Analysis of the errors in the pronunciation of vowel sounds, diphthongs and
consonants.

There are some problems with the production of vowel sounds, consonants and
diphthongs. The mistakes made by the interviewee are typical of native speakers of
Spanish because English has more vowels than Spanish Language.
A beginner like the participant that was interviewed does know that in English exist
some long vowels and diphthongs because he is not aware of the phonetic production
of the words. The participant pronounced a word as it is seen in its written form,, as in
the case of /mder/ instead of /m(r)/, study /estudy/ instead of /studi/
In the case of consonants the participant has some problems with the production of
some words with the phonemes // and //. The learner replaces this sound with
Spanish sounds like /d/ or in the case of the last phoneme he intends to produce a /t/.
Another issue with consonants is that the learner in the most of the words which start
with the phoneme /s/ he adds the consonante /e/. It issue occurs because in spanish
does not exist a word with starts /s/ at the beginning without a vowel.





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GRAMMAR/ SYNTAX

1.- Syntactical

a) Subject omission:

- In the line 7 the interviewee answered: ...or is eh instead of it is.

- In the line 16 the interviewee answered: ...do many things instead of do stuff I do
many things.

- In the line 33 the interviewee answered: ...Was very fun instead of It was funny.

- In the line 35 the interviewee answered: ... am making jokes... instead of I was
making jokes.

Subject omission is probably the most typical mistakes that a native speaker of Spanish
makes when studying English as a foreign or second language, because in Spanish
language sentences can be created without a subject.



b) Addition of constituents:

- In the line 26 the student answered: Thats is a best place... instead of thats a
good place here there is an addition of the verb to be, because the participant had
already done the contraction in the demonstrative pronoun that.


2.- Morphological:


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a) Tenses errors

-In the line 18 the student answered: ...I like to visit ehh... Japan... instead of I would
like to visit Japan. There is a mistake of meaning, form and use. It may have occurred
because the students probably does not know modal verbs, or maybe the participant
could not remember that we can use the modal would in order to express desire, polite
requests and questions, opinion or hope, wish and regret.

- In the line 22 the student answered: ...I live with my uncle right now instead of I am
living with my uncle right now. There is a mistake in the use of the sentence
because the present continuous is used to express actions or situations which may not
have been happening long. Moreover, there is a misuse of the time expression right
now which must use present continuous. The interviewee probably doesnt know or he
did not remember this use of that tense and the suitable use of the time expression right
now.

- In the line 40 the student answered: ...I have to stay like a good boy instead of I
had to be like a good boy. The participant changed the tense into present to talk about
a past experience.



b) Addition

- In the line 24 the student answered: ...if I have the time instead of If I have time.
There is interference between the mother tongue and English. It can be inferred that he
transferred literally from Spanish into English.

- In the line 40 the student answered: ...I cant to do instead of I couldnt do. There
is a problem of form because the participant added the preposition to after a modal, and
also he changed the tense into present to talk about a past experience.
c) Omission
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- In the line 41 the student answered: ...youre girl instead of youre like a girl. He
tried to show a similarity between him and a girl. He could use the word like that means
similar to. Also, he omitted the indefinite article a which is used before a noun.

-In the line 34 the student answered: ...It was very funny see all things... instead of It
was very funny to see all the things. The omitted the preposition to before of the verb
see.

3.- Vocabulary

a) word choice
- In the line 7-8 the interviewee answered: I like most than the other instead of I
like it more than the other, the participant used the superlative most when he was
using a comparative form. Probably there is interference between the mother tongue
and English language

- In the line 23 the student answered: ...mmm thats more or less that I do all the
days instead of thats more or less what I do every day. It is due to interference
between the mother tongue and English. It can be inferred that he transferred literally
from Spanish into English.

- In the line 26 the participant answered: Thats is a best place... instead of Thats a
good place, he probably confused the adjective good with its superlative form.

- In the line 16 the student answered: ...Do stuff do many things instead of Do stuff
I do many things. The verb do is overused.

- In the line 27 the student answered: I can study in louder places...instead of I can
study in loudy places, because an adjective is needed before a noun to express a
characteristic instead of comparing.


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IV PROPOSED TREATMENT/ REMEDIATION

To conclude, we can say that the interviewee did not have many problems in terms of
pronunciation and vocabulary. However, we noticed that the participant made many
mistakes in terms of structure and tenses. It is necessary to say that the learner speaks
fluently and everything was understood.

It is highly recommended in terms of pronunciation to know the sound of consonants,
vowels and diphthongs. For the purpose of this, we recommend to the student to visit
the web BBC Learning English where he can find videos, exercises and the production
of the sounds. It should be added that the student will be a English teacher and model
to follow for his future students. It means that the learner needs a good level of
proficiency of the L2. According to Ellis (1989) to know a Word not only implies to
recognize and write it, but also requires a good pronunciation of it. Besides this, it is
recommended to the learner to practice with the program pronunciation power that is
available in laboratories of Tomas Moro of this university. This software can record the
sounds produced by the speaker; furthermore, the student will be able to notice his
improvement. However, we should make clear that this program is not governed by RP
accent.

In terms of grammatical structure, we could notice that the student tends to omit
subjects in some sentences. In this case, it is highly recommend to the learner to visit
the webpage British Council grammar section where he will find and learn how to create
a sentence. To practice, we suggest that the learner visits the webpage Ego4u grammar
section/word order where also he will find examples and explanations.

Another issue that we found was that the student used only: present simple and
continuous- past simple and continuous, he did not use modal verbs except for can. We
recommend to the participant the use of modal verbs in order to improve the meaning
and use of the sentences and to practice different tenses. For the purpose of this, we
suggest to practice on the website Ego4u and My English Pages, where he will find the
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use and structure of the modal verbs and also he can be able to practice and reinforce
what he learned. Finally, we recommend to the student to practice with the software
called Straight Forward Elementary that is available in laboratory 3 at Tomas Moro.
Another source is to practice with exercises books from the library. Bellow, we will leave
the references.

Web-pages

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/
http://www.ego4u.com/
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/


Books
Murphy, R. (1993). Essential Grammar In Use. Order Number: 425 M978e
(2003) Fundamentals of English Grammar Order Number: 428.077 F981at 2003
Azar, Betty. (1996) Basic English Gramar Order Number: 428.24 A992b 1996
















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V CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, we can say that the Language Learner Profile helps us to realize the
most frequent mistakes that a native speaker of Spanish makes at the moment of
speaking. It gave us the opportunity to analyze some grammar issues and phonetics
errors.

In spite of the interviewee does not have a high level of proficiency in English he was
fluent. We could notice that his affective filter did not play against him what is valued
when you are talking another language.

We have to mention that this task was difficult because it required a lot of time and a
high level of proficiency in English language. We had to analyze grammatical mistakes
where knowledge of grammar rules was needed. And also, we had to analyze and
transcribe the students speech what was new for us. It implied a work in detail because
we had to transcribe and interpreted what the participant tried to say.

As future teachers, we should be aware of the problems that natives speaker of
Spanish makes. This was the appropriated occasion to take into account issues
produced by Spanish student and it allows us to think in advance what we can do to
improve this.










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REFERENCES


Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching Language: from grammar to grammaring.
Boston: Thomson/Heinle.