A mixture of French and English, Franglais is now used around the world.
It joins a long list of creoles, or inter-languages, where speakers of different languages blend them together in an effort to communicate with each other.
Do these inter-languages play a role in language learning? Spanglish (a mix of Spanish and English) is commonly spoken at XUK English summer school. When the kids atcamp don’t know a word in English, they revert to the Spanish hoping that either the listener will be able to guess what they mean and supply them with the correct word. The experience we have with working with EFLkids means that our camp staff have become very good guessers!
Theorists recognise that this process of trial and error is vital to the language learning. By being totally immersed in the language for a few weeks at summer camp, kids learn much more than they ever would in their home country. The need to communicate is a much stronger motivation than any textbook or exam, and what better way to use your language than to make new friends and talk about your favourite activities? At XUK English, we know this and encourage the kids on our camps to speak as much English as they can.
Franglais and Spanglish are natural starting points for effective communication between native English speakers and EFL speakers. They allow kids to communicate and build on their language, learning new words and developing their skills at communicating in English as they go. We find time to listen to kids and help them express themselves in their English. We know it’s not easy to speak another language, but we’re there to help.
And all of this before the kids even set foot in the classroom!