6 Simplified Language

Simplified Language: It is when you intentionally use the easiest version of the language of instruction to make meaning accessible to all speakers. You intentionally use repetitive short chunks of grammar and everyday vocabulary, and avoid fancy complex ways to say things.

Simplified Language is something that Ferguson (1971) calls “foreigner talk.”

EASY UP YOUR SPEECH BY…

• Speaking slowly and loudly
• Using simple sentences (one conjugated verb, one object, one preposition)
• Using short sentences (no more than 8 words)
• Using gestures and visuals as you speak
• Repeating key words as you speak
• Using frequent pauses among sentences
• Using one-word verbs
• Reading your students’ body language

Scholars of native-language acquisition notice that mothers often talk in a simplified language to children (Snow, 1972). This kind of simplified language directed to infants is called “motherese.” It comes up naturally as an urge to adapt to the unique communication style of a child. This natural tendency comes up with talking to people who speak a different language.

It’s important to try to use always correct language when you simplify your talk. In my experience in teaching Spanish, I’ve learned to use simplified Spanish to provide comprehensible input (Krashen, 1972) to students who are learning the language. It’s a very difficult skill to master, but it becomes a unique translanguaging tool once you attain it.

DOs and DON’Ts OF SIMPLIFIED LANGUAGE

DO

1. Repeat the same layout of a sentence. E.g. “The tiger has teeth. The tiger has claws.” All sentences repeat “The tiger has _________.” This doesn’t sound fancy, but it’s easier to understand.
2. Use one-word verbs in assertion. E.g. “The wolf opened the mouth.” The word “opened” is easier than saying something like “would open” or “got open” or “stretched his mouth to show her fangs…”
3. Use active sentences. E.g. “The animals saw the moon.” Just the doer and the receiver.
4. Use plain language. E.g. “The jiraffe went to the lake.” The word “went” is easier than the poetic “slowly approached.”
5. Repeat the same words as many times as referred to the same item. E.g. “The tiger has fangs. The tiger has whiskers.” Repeating is easier than using pronouns.
6. Be direct (even blunt). E.g. “Do you need to poop?” (I know “poop” sounds gross, but newcomers will appreciate understanding your question).
7. Use direct commands. E.g. Stop! (I know this seems harsh, but newcomers will appreciate that they will understand the direction).
8. Make every direction, recommendation, or suggestion mandatory. E.g. “You should practice math every day.”
9. Try to communicate, not to sound polite or fancy. E.g. Say “Come here!” instead of “Please, would you be so kind to approach here for a moment?”

DON’T

1. Don’t reword. E.g. “The tiger has teeth. Claws are also part of him.” Too difficult!
2. Don’t use two-word verbs in assertion. E.g. “The wolf would have howled if he had his voice.” Too hypothetical!
3. Don’t use passive voice. E.g. “The moon was seen by the animals.” Too upside down!
4. Don’t use metaphors or idiomatic expressions. E.g. “The jiraffe got into the lake.” Too much slang!
5. Don’t use two sentences together. E.g. “The animals saw the moon while splashing on the water.” If you are into linguistics, this means: don’t use dependent clauses. Too complicated!
6. Don’t use words like while, who, what, when, that, which, so that because they often imply two different sentences. These words usually introduce dependent clauses and are so difficult to understand.
7. Don’t use pronouns. E.g. “The tiger has fangs. It has whiskers.” The newcomer may need to go back and think what “it” refers to.
8. Don’t use synonyms. E.g. “The wolf has fangs. Such animal is big!” I know your English teacher nagged you to find synonyms, but you should unlearn that when talking to newcomers.
9. Don’t use euphemisms. E.g. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?” The newcomer may not understand the implied meaning of what “going to the bathroom” means.
10. Don’t use indirect commands. E.g. “Would you be nice to your classmate?” The newcomer may think you are proposing an alternative, but there’s no alternative, they are required to be nice to their classmates.
11. Don’t be afraid to be blunt. Say “Stop it” instead of “Keep your mouth nice.”
12. Avoid making things optional. For Hispanics, homework is required or it is not homework. Optional activities are super confusing to Hispanic parents.

Euphemisms are words used to fancy up disgusting topics. You use euphemisms when you try to soften some meaning that you know is too strong, problematic, or taboo for your interlocutor. I recommend you avoid euphemisms to better take care of communication with an emergent bilingual. If you said an euphemism to a newcomer, they won’t understand so your word will backfire anyway. Even when you are afraid of sound blunt, at the beginning this may be better than fancy up your language. Euphemisms are sometimes long paths that surround the meaning without reaching the core of the meaning. They may be obvious when you speak to people of your same culture, but to others, it may delay communication.

Examples of euphemisms:

You may notice that being blunt implies saying “don’t” a lot. I agree with psychology against saying “don’t” too much. However, “don’t” is just another word, and it’s more about what it means saying “don’t” than the fact of saying it. When you have to resort to “don’t” too much to a single child, it’s a sign of something unhealthy going on with a child. If you have to say “don’t” too often to a group of children, there may be something in your classroom environment that may be improved. Or it may be just some outside pressures that you need to consider in order to create a classroom climate of healthy relationships.

Bibliography

Ferguson, C. A. (1975). Toward a characterization of English foreigner talk. Anthropological Linguistics, 17(1), 1–14.

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.

Samway, K. D., Pease-Alvarez, L., & Alvarez, L. (2020). Supporting newcomer students: Advocacy and instruction for language learners. Norton/Tesol Press.

Snow, C. E. (1972). Mothers’ speech to children learning language. Child Development, 43(2), 549–565. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127555

“How to Support ELLs in Every Aspect of Your Classroom.” In MarcoLearning. https://marcolearning.com/how-to-support-ells-in-every-aspect-of-your-classroom/