Failures due to Language Deficiecy
- Author:
Cornelia Mann, B.S.,
Psychologist and Registrar, George School, Pa., Formerly Clinic Teacher, University of Pennsylvania.
That language is the medium through which thoughts and ideas are transmitted is an indisputable fact, and this is especially true in the school room: Here language is the fundamental and essential basis for the acquisition of all knowledge. Personal experience is indeed a factor in much of our knowledge but, obviously, the experiences of others, brought to us through the medium of language, are far more potent and widespread in their scope.
Even the simplest and earliest forms of our present education, the Three R’s, are not, as one might suppose, assimilated by the child through experience. On the contrary they are presented over and over again through words, written and oral, and the child reads and repeats the words. He must be well drilled in these simple processes before he can undertake the more complex problems of education. It is thus easy to see how all school work, from the very first grade, depends on language.
The language ability of the young children all over the country differs widely. The equipment of the candidates for admission to our schools varies as greatly as do the homes from which the children come. The child who does not know English is undoubtedly handicapped. To discover how great a difference this makes, the children in two different kindergartens in this city were given psychological tests to determine their fitness for first grade work. The vocabulary test of the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Scale was used to determine their language ability. It was not given strictly according to Terman’s method of procedure, but was changed so that the child was given every chance to give a correct answer without actually telling it to him. In one kindergarten there were sixty-six children, ranging in age from four to six years, from American families of good stock. In the second kindergarten the children came from homes where English was practically never heard. The difference in scores made on the Binet test, which is universally used on school children, is significant.
In Kindergarten I the test was given with very few deviations from the standard method. The changes made were in the wording of some of the tests above the age of the children. They comprise the following:
Year 6, test 4, b. “if your house gets on fire.” Year 7, test 5. “Do you know what a fly is? A butterfly? Can you tell me the difference between them? How are a fly and a butterfly different? “
Year 8, test 1. ” Let’s make believe that this is a big field with a fence around it (pointing to field and fence). Suppose somebody on the outside threw your ball in here and you didn’t know where it went. You only knew that the ball was someplace in the field. Take the pencil and show me how you would walk to find the ball. Start here at the gate.”
Year 8, test 2, b. “When you are on the way to school and think that you’re going to be late.” Year 8, test 2, c. “If one of your friends hits you without meaning to do it.” Year 8, test 4. “In what way are wood and coal alike? What is the same about them.” Year 9, test 5. “Can you tell me a very short story about a boy, a river, and a ball.”
With barely one or two exceptions the children answered the questions readily. The responses given were the usual ones found by Terman in his experiments. When a child failed to pass a test the reason was undoubtedly that the test was above his mental ability and not that he had not enough language equipment to understand or answer the questions. The children were neither bashful nor afraid to answer. Their responses came without hesitation and were too often augmented by little stories. The children showed up well in the test in every way.
The results show that 77 per cent of the four-year-olds and 75 per cent of the five-year-olds had an I. Q. of over 100. The average increase in mental age over chronological age is six months. Of the four-year-old children, five passed the comprehension test at the eight year level, one recognized the similarities and one gave the definitions. One child knew the months at the nine year level, and at the ten year level three passed the Healy A test and one repeated six digits. Of the five-year-old children, ten passed the comprehension test at the eight year level, three the ball and field test, six gave the definitions, four recognized the similarities, one passed the vocabulary test and two counted from twenty to zero. At the nine year level two made sentences using three given words and one made change. Four passed the Healy A test at the ten year level, two repeated six digits, two repeated sentences of twenty to twenty two syllables, and one recognized absurdities in sentences. Two children passed the ball and field test at the twelve year level. In all there were forty tests at the eight year level or above, which were passed by the five-year-olds, and thirteen by four-year-olds.
A comparison between failures on two tests at the six year level, the coins and comprehension, yields rather interesting results. Of the four-year-olds, twelve failed to know three coins and nine passed the comprehension question. Seventeen five-year-olds did not know the coins but only eight failed on the comprehension question. In Kindergarten II the tests were changed in every way possible without actually indicating the answer. In all comprehension questions the form was “What do you do?” In year five, test two, the examiner simply asked, as she pointed to the color, “What is that color? ” In test three of the same year, if the child did not respond to “Which lady do you think is the prettiest? Put your finger on the prettier one.” The form “Which do you like best?” was given. In test four the question was changed to “What is a for.” Only two children in the whole kindergarten passed the test given according to the standard method. In years six, seven, and eight the changes made were like those in Kindergarten I. In asking for differences the question was augmented by “A fly doesn’t look like a butterfly, does it? How can you tell a from a when you see it.” Where words could be dispensed with they were omitted. In asking a child to draw a diamond, for instance, the directions were simply “Make me something like this.”
Throughout the test the examiner had to coax and encourage the child to speak most distinctly with a great deal of emphasis and to use gestures where possible. In giving the child three commissions each object used was pointed out as the word was spoken. The children did no spontaneous talking or laughing and they had to be continually urged to answer the questions. They were shy and gave responses in monosyllables. With possibly three exceptions none of the children answered any of the questions as well as 90 per cent of the children in Kindergarten I. The results of the individual tests given below, show the poor quality of the answers.
Marie was just seven years old and was to be promoted to first grade within a week’s time. Her work in the kindergarten had been satisfactory. According to the Binet test, given most leniently, her mental age was three years and four months. She did not know the names of the parts of her body nor could she understand the question asking her to tell them. The examiner used every form of question possible and then, pointing to a button on Marie’s dress, asked if it were her nose. A shake of the head, “yes” was the only answer, no matter how the question was put. Finally Marie pointed to her nose when the examiner asked her to show her her eyes, and to her lips for her hair. The child gave no response to “Point to,” or “Put your finger on.” She did not know whether she was a boy or a girl. First she said the former, then the latter. Finally she stuck to the answer, “boy.” She could not compare two lines correctly, probably because she did not know the meaning of “long” or “short.” The examiner placed a long pencil ;and a key before her and asked her which was the longest or which the shortest, Marie could not tell for she could not understand the question. She was unable to pass the comprehension questions at the four year level or any tests at a higher level.
Josephine was very much in the same position as Marie. She was six years and one month old and was doing well in kindergarten, but her mental age was only three years and four months. She did not know the names of the parts of her body. She could not understand the question concerning the comparison of lines nor could she answer the comprehension question. She failed on all the tests at the five year level and above. Like Marie she speaks no English and understands very little. In her home English is not understood. Angelina was five years and three months chronologically but on the Binet scale only three years old. Her understanding of the language was veiy limited. She was unable to name a key, a watch, or a penny. She pointed out three things in the pictures, but when the examiner asked her what the boat was she did not know. She was unacquainted with her last name or else could not understand, the question asking for it. The only four year tests that Angelina completed successfully were repeating four digits and discriminating form. She passed none of the five year tests. Angelina had a very limited vocabulary.
Josephine would “make six in two months.” She had not “finished five.” On the Binet scale, however, she was only three years and ten months old. She passed all the three year tests but at the four year level missed two because of her lack of understanding of the questions. She did not know the meaning of long or short and consequently could not compare the lines. She failed on the comprehension questions for the same reason. Of the five year tests she succeeded only on the aesthetic comparison and on executing the commands. Josephine is greatly handicapped because of her inability to understand what is said to her in school.
Filipina was five years and eleven months old but her mental age according to the Binet scale was only three years and two months. She knew very little English though she had been in school five months. At first she gave no answers to the questions. She did not know her mouth, ear, or hair and she gave the names of key and watch in another language. She named three objects in “The Dutch Home” but she called the cat a dog and gave the Italian name for bread. Filipina passed three of the four year tests, the discrimination of form, copying the square and repeating the four digits. She answered the comprehension questions, but as the examiner could not understand Italian any better than Filipina could answer in English, Filipina went without credit. Angelo would “finish six in five months” but he understood no English whatever. He had never talked in the kindergarten and seemed to have learned no words of the language. The examiner was unable to draw a single word from him, though he did the performance tests after the method had been illustrated by moving his hands.
Tony was typical of the children in Kindergarten II. He was ten months retarded on the Binet scale and his answers were not the standard ones. To “What do you do when you are cold?” he said, “Stick under the bed.” He answered the other comprehension questions in monosyllables. Of the four year tests lie passed all but repeating the digits and the syllables. The two five year tests that he failed on were the aesthetic comparison and executing three commissions. His definition of horse was, “He falls,” of fork, “Get hay.” Of the six year tests he knew the coins, counted thirteen pennies and realized that it was morning because he “got up.” When the examiner asked him what he did if he were going some place and missed the car, he said, “Write to Santa Glaus.” His description of the pictures was just adequate. For “The Dutch Home” he said, “Mudder in chair?sister here?has blind eye? pussy on floor.”
Rita was five years and four months old but she was not on the promotion list. Her mother does not understand English but her brother who lives at home can speak the language. Rita passed all of the four year tests and all of the five but the aesthetic comparison and knowing her age. She passed the definitions though she said that a fork was “to put feeds on,” and a horse was to “give milk.” Rita failed on all the six year tests but knowing the coins and the time of day. Her answers to the questions about the mutilated pictures were typical of those of the whole kindergarten. The only part of this question which makes any impression is “What is the matter.” The fact that “something is gone” does not count. To Rita the woman without arms had no basket; the one without eyes had sores; and the one without a mouth had no hair. She copied the diamond satisfactorily and she gave one of the best descriptions of the pictures offered by any of the children. Though Rita fell below her age five months on the Binet scale, she understands the language fairly well and can use it to some extent. In spite of the fact that her mother cannot understand English Rita is fast learning the language.
Mamie, five years and nine months old, came from a home where English can be used if necessary. Mamie herself has comparatively good command of the language. With the opportunities at hand she has learned well. She passed all the four and five year tests but making the patience rectangle. This she made in the wrong color. She repeated the sentences at the six year level and knew her right from her left hand. She also recognized the coins. Of the seven year tests she passed three, tying the bow knot, counting her fingers and describing the pictures. Mamie started to count the objects in the pictures and the examiner had to repeat the directions three or four times before she was on the right track. Her idea of the man paddling a boat, like another one of the children, was that he was “sweeping the water.” Mamie’s mental age was five years and ten months, one month above her chronological age. She was one of the four girls out of the whole twenty-eight who tested above age. Yet the actual quality of the answers was not as good as that of the four year children in Kindergarten I. Her definition of a chair was “for to sit,” of table, “for to cat,” of fork, “to eat the macaronies.” She told the examiner that the woman without arms couldn’t close her eyes, and that the woman without a nose was sick. Of the one without a mouth she said, “Her ain’t got 110 feets.” Mamie’s description of the pictures was barely adequate.
Dante was one of the three boys out of twenty-two who had an I. Q. of over one hundred. His real age was five years and four months but his mental age was five years and six months. His answers to the Binet questions were the standard ones given in Terman’s “Measurement of Intelligence” and not merely a poor English attempt at a sentence showing only that he knew the answer, just as his mother’s answer to “How old is Dante?” was “He will be six on the twenty-seventh of September,” rather than “He finish five, September.” Dante was to be promoted within a week and he knew enough English to be able to understand the work of the first grade.
Florence was the daughter of a prosperous Italian Real Estate Agent who spoke English. She was the best child in the kindergarten on the Binet scale. Her chronological age was five years and four months, but her mental age was six years and two months. She passed all of the five year tests and all of the six but the mutilated pictures. At the seven year level she passed the description of the pictures and at the eight year level the comprehension question. She gave a similarity between an apple and a peach, but she failed on the other two of the series. The failures, however, were not due to lack of English but to lack of knowledge.
Taking the results as a whole, they are very poor. Instead of an average increase of six months in mental age over chronological age, as in Kindergarten I, there is a decrease of eleven and nine-tenths months. Only 14 per cent of the children had an I. Q. of over one hundred, and the highest of these was one hundred and twenty-one. In Kindergarten I, 28 per cent had an I. Q. of one hundred and twenty-one and over. Among the Italian children there was only one who passed an eight year test. This is exceedingly small in comparison with the fifty-three eight year tests passed by four- and five-year-old children in Kindergarten I.
A comparison of the failures on the coins and comprehension at the six year level shows that thirty one failed on the comprehension and fifteen on the coins. These results are exactly opposite to those of Kindergarten I where nearly twice as many failed on the coins as on the comprehension. Here again the figures show that the children in Kindergarten II do not know the English language. What English they have learned has been through buying things at the store. They are more familiar with names of coins than with English language that children of kindergarten age are usually able to use.
Results of these tests reveal a decided discrepancy in the language ability of the children of the two kindergartens. In one, the children will enter first grade knowing little or no English; in the other they will have all the knowledge of the language that is to be expected at their age. Yet the public schools in one city are supposed to be standardized; one to be as good as another; the work in corresponding grades to be the same. As a matter of fact some children enter first grade with so little grasp on the English language that the teacher must first make herself understood before she can teach reading, writing and arithmetic, and while she is doing that the amount of grade work that she teaches is falling below standard. Just as the children in Kindergarten II fell below those in Kindergarten I on the Binet scale because they did not know the English language, so will they fall below in school work and at the end of their first year there will still be a great discrepancy. Congenital differences in children cannot be eradicated, but the School System can teach English to those who are handicapped because they do not know it. This great discrepancy in language ability of the children before they enter the first grade can at least be made a small one. Children under six years of age learn a language easily. Unless the schools give an adequate English vocabulary to those children who will not receive it at home, they are not performing their function of education. At the present time the teacher of first grade in a foreign section of the city must first make herself understood and then teach reading, writing and arithmetic, using a very limited vocabulary in the process. She cannot spend all her time teaching English, so she must work in spite of the language deficiency of the children. She teaches what she can, but no matter how great her efforts she cannot produce as proficient candidates for second grade as can a teacher who has no language deficiency to cope with. Our schools are not standardized in actual practice and they will not be until the children enter first grade with equal equipment. One great difference, the knowledge of the language of the school, can be taught the children before they are given grade work. If this is done they will be able to learn reading, writing and arithmetic with much greater efficiency.
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.