Introduction
This essay will focus on the past simple.
In my teaching experience, learners can often understand the past simple receptively, but have trouble using it productively. I have noticed that the Thai elementary learners I am currently teaching never use the past simple in free production. In my experience in Vietnam, learners of all levels often do not use the past simple in free production.
Another issue, especially in Thailand, is the consonant clusters at the end of the regular past simple verbs (Smyth, 2001, p.350)
1. Analysis
1.1 Definition
The terminology used to classify verb tenses is inconsistent. In some books, there can be as many as 12 English verb tenses (Celca-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman, 1999, p.110). However, many linguists claim that English technically only has two tenses: present tense and past tense. This is because many linguists use the word “tense” to refer to how verbs are inflected, and only the present simple and the past simple are made purely by changing the form of the verb. The other verb structures are made by combining tenses with aspect (Thornbury, 2006, p.226). In this view, the past simple represents the form of the past tense that is not marked for aspect (Thornbury, 2006, p.157).
1.2 Meaning
The verb structure is used to refer to events in the past. However there is some debate as to whether this is its primary meaning. It can also be used for hypotheticals (e.g. “If I were you…”) and politeness (“I was wondering…”). Some theorists like Michael Lewis argue that the common meaning in all of these different functions is to indicate a remoteness—either a remoteness in time, or a remoteness in reality, or a remoteness in relationship. Conversely, the so-called present simple can sometimes be used to talk about past events in situations where the past seems especially vivid to the speaker, furthering the theory that distinction between past and present tense is not really about time reference. For these reasons, Lewis argues that the “past simple” is not really about pastness, but psychological remoteness and should instead be called the “remote form” (2002 p.69-74).
However, writing in response to this view, Thornbury states “The more conventional view is that the ‘basic’ meaning of the present tense is the present time reference, and the ‘basic’ meaning of the past tense is the past time reference. In other words, the cases where there is a mismatch between time and tense are simply exceptions to a general rule, or examples of a ‘secondary’ meaning of these tenses” (1997, p. 204).
The past simple is often associated with a single event in the past. However it can also be used for repeated events in the past (e.g. When I was a kid, I ate sandwiches every day), although in this case it can be replaced by other structures like used to.
The past simple is also the primary tense used with narratives (Aitkin, 1997, p.36), and in the case of stories or literature, the past tense can be used with narratives which are fictitious or are imagined to take place in a future time.
1.3 Form
1.3A Verb Formation
English verbs are divided into two classes depending on how they are conjugated—regular verbs and irregular verbs.
Regular past simple verbs vary in pronunciation (see below) but in the written form, they are usually formed by adding an “-ed” ending to the base form of the verb (e.g walk-walked). However there are also a number of spelling variations. For example, verbs that end in “e” only add “d”, verbs that end in “y’ replace “y” with “i” and add “ed”, verbs that end in “ic” add a “k” plus “ed”, et cetera (Parrott, 2010, p.117-118)
Irregular verbs are less regular in their formation. But there are some subgroups of irregular verbs. Classification differs from author to author, but one classification is Thornbury (2006) who divides the irregular verbs into three types:
* Type 1: the past simple and past participle form are the same
* Type 2: base form, past simple, and past participle are all the same
* Type 3: All three forms are different (p.155)
Further subdivisions can be made. For example, in Thornbury’s classification system, a subdivision of type 1 is group 1b, in which the past simple is formed with “-ght” (e.g. teach-taught). A subdivision of type 3 is group 3b, in which the difference between the present simple and the past simple is only a vowel change (e.g drink-drank). Et cetera. But there are also a number of irregular verbs that do not any fit any categorization (e.g. go-went-gone) (Thornbury, 2006, p.155)
Also, some historically irregular verbs have become regularized over time, and some verbs which are in the process of being regularized currently have a both a regular and irregular form coexisting together (e.g. dove-dived) (Parrott, 2010, p.114).
1.3 B Questions and Negative Formation
Questions and negatives are formed by using the dummy auxiliary: did. In both these cases, the tense is inflected on the auxiliary (did being the past tense of do) and so the main verb reverts back to the base form. For negatives, the auxiliary did is placed before the verb, and the negative marker not (often contracted as n’t) is placed after the auxiliary did. In questions, the auxiliary did is moved before the subject. In “yes/no” questions, did is the first word of the question. In information questions, the first word is a question word, followed by did. (Aitken, 1997, p.34-35).
1.4 Pronunciation
Irregular past simple verbs have varied pronunciations according to their individual formation or subgroups. Regular past simple verb endings have 3 possible sounds in speaking: /d/, /t/ or /ɪd/. The difference is dependent on whether the base form of the verb ends in a voiced, or unvoiced sound or with the sound /d/ or /t/.
Voiced sounds are defined as sounds made by vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx. Unvoiced sounds are when the vocal folds are wide apart as in normal breathing (Roach, 2009, p.22-23). The difference between the articulation of /d/ and /t/ is itself entirely dependent on voicing. (In all other respects, they are articulated the same.) So when the vocal folds are activated for a voiced sound at the end of the base form, the voicing spreads to the verb ending: /d/. When the vocal folds are deactivated for an unvoiced sound, this spreads to an unvoiced verb ending: /t/ (Pinker, 1994, p.173-175). /ɪd/ is only pronounced when the base form ends in a /d/ or /t/ sound.
2. Issues
2.1 Meaning
Some students, particularly from Asia Minor, confuse the past tense with a narrative tense used to describe recent events in their own language, and may use other forms for more distant events. Others, for example French students, because of L1 influence may not realize that the past simple can be used to describe repeated actions. Other students perceive the past simple as similar to past historic in some languages, which is used in literary narratives, but not speech (Aitken, 1997, p.38).
2.2 Not Using
In my experience in Vietnam, many learners, even at the intermediate or advanced stage, do not use the past simple in free production. This was more noticeable than other countries I have taught in, and is often explained as L1 influence. In Vietnamese, verbs do not have tenses, and the time of the verb is expressed by context.
The same thing seems to be happening with the Thai learners. David Smyth confirms this in Learner English. Thai verbs have no tenses, and consequently this is something Thai learners struggle with in English. However, Smyth also cautions that problems with the past tense are just as likely to be phonological as grammatical, since Thai learners also have trouble with the consonant clusters which mark the end of regular past tense verbs (2001, p.350).
2.3 Late Acquisition of Regular Past Tense Verbs
Despite irregular verb patterns appearing to be more difficult to memorize, learners actually acquire irregular past tense verbs before regular past tense verbs. (Thornbury, 2006, p.151). In fact, regular past tense verb endings are particularly late acquired compared to other grammatical morphemes (O’Grady, 2006, p.13). Exactly why this happens is not clear. It could be because irregular verbs are more frequent in the input. But it has also been theorized that the “-ed” ending can be hard for learners to hear, particularly when it is pronounced as /d/ or /t/ at the end of a consonant cluster (Thornbury, 2006, p.151).
2.4 Regular Past Tense Consonant Clusters
Related to the above point, it has been argued that speakers of languages which do not allow final consonant clusters will typically delete the final /t/ or /d/ sound in regular past tense consonant clusters. Yaowaratana and Rungruang cite Mandarin and Thai speakers as examples (2018, p.3) and in my own experience this is also true of Vietnamese learners.
2.5 Teaching Rules of Past Tense Consonant Clusters
When teaching learners about consonant clusters at the end of regular past tense verbs, teachers have two options. They can teach learners the individual sounds that are followed by /d/ and /t/ respectively, or they can teach learners the voiced and unvoiced rule. Both of these solutions have been criticized. It is thought that the learner will not have enough time in free production to remember these patterns or apply the rule (Toth, 2005).
2.6 Rules for Regular Past Tense Consonant Clusters
In the analysis section, it was stated that regular past tense endings were pronounced /d/ when they followed voiced sounds, and /t/ when they followed unvoiced sounds. Although this is the rule stated in many grammar books, this is actually an oversimplification. In real use, there are many complications that could confuse learners. In connected speech, assimilation rules take precedence over voicing rules. So “He parked on the street” would be pronounced as /park don/ instead of /parkt on/. (Toth, 2005) When the next word begins with a consonant, reduction may occur—e.g “kissed Pam” may be pronounced /kispam/. (O’Grady, 2006, p.16). Moreover, in American and Canadian English, the final /t/ sound in regular past verb endings is weak and unaspirated. It is different from the word initial /t/, which could confuse learners if they are taught that the sounds are equivalent. (Toth, 2005) Finally, in the final position before either a silence or a voiceless sound, the /d/ sound will present varying degrees of devoicing (Cantarutti, 2014).
3. Suggestions
3.1 Voiced/ Unvoiced Distinction Training
Issue: Learners not understanding the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds
Aim: For learners to gain conscious control of voicing and unvoicing
Procedure: This procedure comes from Underhill, who recommends using fricatives to teach voiced/unvoiced (specifically /s/ and /z/), because fricatives can flow into each other without interruption. First the sounds are established individually. Then learners are asked to alternate between /s/ and /z/ without stopping, while they put their fingers on their throat. Learners are asked to feel the difference of their vocal folds turning on and off. Once learners feel the difference, they are able to gain conscious control over the voicing and unvoicing. The teacher establishes gestures to support it--fingers flat against the throat represent voicing, and fingers moved away from the throat represent unvoicing. Using these gestures during pronunciation drills helps learners to recognize and gain control over voicing (2005, p. 126-127).
Evaluation: In addition to Underhill, variations on this were found on several online ESL resources. However other sources are more skeptical about whether conscious knowledge of vocal fold movements can translate into use during free production (Toth, 2005; Krashen, & Terrell, 1983, p.89-90). Perhaps the main reason for teaching the rules of voicing and unvoicing is that it satisfies learners’ curiosity—they often want to know why the same verb ending has two different pronunciations.
3. 2 Drilling
Issue: Learners not having time to apply the voiced/unvoiced rule in free production,
Aim: Through controlled drilling practice, the students automatize the pronunciation of certain regular past tense verbs.
Procedure: For low-level students, regular past tense verbs are individually drilled as they are presented to the learners. The teacher models the word, and the learners repeat several times until the pronunciation becomes automatic. Ideally this is carried out over several lessons for the pronunciation to become fully automatic.
Evaluation: This suggestion comes from Witton-Davies, who writes “regular verbs require grammatical manipulation of a kind that can easily be learned, and these can be produced more accurately if there is less time pressure and more opportunity for attention to form” (p.5). In my case, I have used this successfully with elementary young learners in Vietnam. We drilled regular past tense verbs at the beginning of each lesson. At first, students pronounced all regular verb endings as /ɪd/. I would correct them each time, and make them say it again with the correct /t/ or /d/ pronunciation. Gradually students became aware of the /t/ and /d/ sounds, and accuracy on this greatly improved.
3.3 Error Correction
Issue: Learners not having enough time to apply the rules or the patterns during free production
Aim: Reinforce correct pronunciation habits through immediate error correction
Procedure: The teacher actively monitors during free production activities, and does on the spot correction for any students who are mispronouncing regular past tense verbs.
Evaluation: I have used this for my elementary adult students. On the spot correction in fluency activities is controversial for a number of reasons: it can make the learner feel self-conscious, it interrupts the fluency practice, and the learner may not be developmentally ready to correct the error (order of acquisition). However, with pronunciation, the order of acquisition does not apply, and so it is more justified to intervene with pronunciation errors than with grammar errors. I have noticed my students have developed more accurate pronunciation of regular past tense verbs when I actively intervene, but the progress takes several months.
3.4 Task Repetition (4-3-2)
Issue: Learners having declarative knowledge of the past tense, but not using it in free production.
Aim: Increase grammar accuracy through repeated tasks
Procedure: Students are given a speaking task involving the target language. They talk about it with a partner, first for 4 minutes, then for 3 minutes, then for 2 minutes.
Evaluation: The theory is that attention is limited, and if learners are concentrating on the meaning of what they want to say, they do not have attention to spare for the grammar. However, if they repeat the task, the message becomes more automatic, and they have more attention to use on grammar, and grammatical accuracy increases. Also, fluency increases, so on each successive repetition, the learners need less time to complete the activity. This activity comes from Thornbury (2001, p.25-26). I have used it in my own classes, and have had success with it. Grammatical accuracy does go up with task repetition. My problem is with Thornbury’s suggested timing. 4 minutes is far too long for my students to sustain speaking by themselves.
Bibliography
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Yaowaratana, Kotchawara and Apichai Rungruang. (2018). How Thai EFL Learners Deal With English Regular Past Forms: A Case Study of a Speech Sound Perspective. English Language Teaching, Volume 11, Number 7, p.1-21. Retrieved from:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1181944.pdf
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