‘Compare and Contrast’ EAL Strategy: Explanation and Rationale
Meaning is based on difference.
If something is one thing, it is that and nothing else.
A cat is a cat in large part because it is not a dog, nor a hen, nor a pig.
If a cat were close in nature to something else then we may question whether it ought to be seen as a thing in itself, or as part of that other group.
In this way a lion and a tabby are both described as cats (albeit the former is often described as a ‘big cat’) and not as creatures sufficiently different to warrant separate identification.
The words we use to refer to things are arbitrary.
A dog is a dog in English, yet it is a hund in German.
That thing to which each word refers is the same. It does not possess some essence which leads to it being named in a certain way.
Its being referred to as ‘dog’ or ‘hund’ is not the result of something inherent to either an individual creature or to the species as a whole.
Language then, is a system of differences in which meanings are attached to specific words as well as being brought out by context (this covers the case of homonyms).
In learning language, we learn a system of differences.
If a child cannot differentiate between the words ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ then it cannot communicate verbally or identify aurally the fact that language discriminates between what are, in the world as we experience it, mothers and fathers.
The identification of difference (and similarity) rests on the ability to compare and contrast.
Consider the following snatch of conversation:
- ‘Is it any good?’
- ‘I don’t know really. I need something to compare it too.’
The second speaker needs a reference point against which to compare the thing in question.
It can only be good or not good in comparison to something else.
In this situation, the thing in question is of a class not previously encountered by the respondent.
They need more experience of these types of things to cast judgement over whether a particular item is good or not good.
For example, imagine you were given a new fruit to try, called a gawanjal.
And then someone said, ‘Is that a good example of a gawanjal?’
How would you know?
You’d have nothing to compare it to.
EAL learners have limited experience of the English language, relative to their peers.
(Though the extent of this differs depending on where they are at in their development.)
Therefore, they have a limited stock of words on which to call for making comparisons.
So too are they limited in the range of sentences they can produce and therefore compare (sentences can carry meaning above and beyond that of the individual words of which they are composed).
However, EAL learners do have experience of at least one other language.
You can harness this for the purpose of making comparisons.
And this can be of great benefit to learners still developing their English language skills.
‘Compare and Contrast’ Example One
Provide your EAL learners with grids or frames in which they can record English words or sentences alongside equivalent words or phrases from their first language.
This will allow them to make comparisons.
It will give a clear display of similarities and differences.
Words and sentences carrying the same meanings, yet from different languages, are set against one another.
Learners can look at these on their own. Or you can sit down and discuss them together.
In the latter example, you can draw your EAL learner’s attention to similarities and differences you notice, even if you do not speak their first language.
This still aids the act of comparison and focuses the learner’s mind on making a contrast.
‘Compare and Contrast’ Example Two
This strategy develops out of the use of grids or frames.
Once learners have filled in one or more of these, ask them to look for patterns or surprises.
For example, it may be that the personal pronoun ‘I’ is placed at a similar point in a sentence in English as the equivalent word in the learner’s first language.
Another example may be that in English only proper nouns are capitalised, whereas in some other languages the conventions are different.
The purpose of this strategy is to encourage learners to make comparisons and contrasts between their first language and English.
By doing this, they will develop a better understanding of the latter.
It will also help them to realise that knowledge of a first language can be of great benefit when learning a second (or third, or fourth) – a fact that may not be immediately apparent to them.
‘Compare and Contrast’ Example Three
Ask learners to answer questions in English and in their first language.
Next, talk through their answers with them.
Ask the learners to make comparisons, to identify differences and to pick out similarities.
Use learners’ findings to stimulate a discussion.
The conversations that ensue will help your EAL learners think carefully about the structure of English, the meanings of specific words, and the rules that guide sentence and paragraph construction.
