Am I a false beginner?

[leosmith]

I've been calling myself a false beginner in Swahili, but I wonder if that's the right term. I lived in Tanzania 1999-2002, and reached a level roughly equal to B1 at best. About 10 years after I left I realized I couldn't hold a conversation in the language, due to lack of usage. And that was nearly 10 years ago. So now that I am studying it again, am I a false-beginner or is there a more appropriate term?

[tarvos]

That's pretty much a false beginner, yup

[Speakeasy]

I agree with Tarvos.

Definition of “False Beginner”
Here are a few definitions …

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary: a person who has a basic knowledge of a language, but has started to study it again from the beginning.

Collins Dictionary: a language student who has some knowledge of a language, but who needs to start again from the beginning

MacMillian Dictionary: someone who starts to study a language from the beginning again, although they already have a slight knowledge of it

How to Diagnose False Beginner Students – Source: FluentU

Interestingly, Fluentu offers a means for assessing beginners' language skills. With a view to providing a more generalized scale, I have replaced ‘English’ by ‘L2’ in their presentation.

A “true beginner” is a student who has never studied any of the L2 before. This student will come into your classroom with little more than, “Hi, my name is…” if that!

A “false beginner,” on the other hand, is someone who lacks the skills to be considered an intermediate learner but still has some L2 skills under his or her belt.

But how can you tell who’s a true beginner, who’s an intermediate learner and who’s a false beginner? Here are a few questions to ask yourself about the student in question:

What are his or her sentence construction abilities?
a. Completely unable to form a sentence in the L2
b. Able to form a coherent sentence in the L2
c. Able to use L2 words to make a sentence, but the sentence isn’t grammatically correct

What’s the state of his or her English vocabulary?
a. Little to no L2 vocabulary
b. A fairly good grasp of L2 vocabulary
c. Some L2 vocabulary, but only in certain categories/related to certain subjects

How would you describe his or her command of L2 grammar?
a. Basic or nonexistent
b. Reasonable
c. Good in some areas, but nonexistent in others

If you answered mostly “a,” you probably have a true beginner. Mostly “b” would indicate an intermediate learner. Mostly “c,” and now we’re looking at a false beginner.

Of course, it’s important to remember that each case is different. A false beginner may have a great command of vocabulary and no grammar skills at all, or a complete inability to speak the L2 but some writing competency, depending on how his or her L2 skills were acquired.

In the past, most false beginners were people who had started learning and L2, for example in a class setting, and had abandoned their learning for whatever reason. Often, these people had read in the L2 and therefore did fairly well on written exams but were unable or unwilling to speak in the classroom.

Today, false beginners are more often people who’ve spent a lot of time listening to the L2 via music, television, movies or video games, but have had very little formal L2 training.

This usually results in a student who has a pretty good grasp of vocabulary and even some idiomatic expressions but may get confused when it comes to grammar, forming sentences like “I didn’t knew” or “I speak L2 good.”

Knowing how many of your students are false beginners and how many are true beginners is essential to ensuring that you work with your class efficiently, so take the time to understand just how much L2 knowledge your students have before setting your syllabus for the year.

EDITED:
Typos.

[Querneus]

I've been calling myself a false beginner in Swahili, but I wonder if that's the right term. I lived in Tanzania 1999-2002, and reached a level roughly equal to B1 at best. About 10 years after I left I realized I couldn't hold a conversation in the language, due to lack of usage. And that was nearly 10 years ago. So now that I am studying it again, am I a false-beginner or is there a more appropriate term?

Considering your extensive experience learning languages, I'd say that even if you were beginning from zero you should nevertheless consider yourself a false beginner.

(Yes, this is just a silly joke.)

[Speakeasy]

My own experiences in French might serve as an example of how a “false beginner” might react to the reactivation of a long-since-dormant, basic knowledge of a second language. I had taken two years of what-was-essentially a French grammar course in high school but had not used the language over the intervening 2-1/2 decades when, as part of my personal project to finally learn French, in my early forties, I moved to the interior of Quebec, a place where virtually no one spoke English. Having access only to a bilingual dictionary, which I rarely consulted, I was fully immersed in French in the workplace and in my activities in the larger community.

I had not reviewed any of my high school French grammar, had not prepared myself in any other manner for my full-immersion project prior to my relocation, and would have been totally incapable of recalling French grammar in an active sense and, more specifically, would not have been able to describe the rules for conjugating French verbs. Despite this, I very clearly recall, around the three-month mark, participating in L2 conversations and mentally recognizing the conjugation patterns of French verbs as I had practiced them so many years prior. This revitalized skill in conjugating French verbs was so powerful and complete that my colleagues complimented me (genuinely, not merely out of politeness) on what they perceived to be a major hurdle for Anglophones in learning French. That is, as a “false beginner” and despite the passage of a considerable amount of time, I benefited from a “latent advantage” when reconnecting with my L2. It is possible that I retained this basic knowledge owing to the teaching method (which I absolutely hated): drill, drill, drill … puke. Okay, all together now: drill, drill, drill …

[leosmith]

Thanks all!

Considering your extensive experience learning languages, I'd say that even if you were beginning from zero you should nevertheless consider yourself a false beginner.

There's probably some merit to this - for example, considering my background in Japanese and Mandarin I clearly had an advantage learning Korean.

My own experiences in French might serve as an example of how a “false beginner” might <snip>…

Cool story - thanks!

[Speakeasy]

I was perusing Assimil’s online catalogue a few minutes ago. Their options for “Mon niveau” caused me to recall this discussion of what “False Beginner” is presumed to mean. From the images below, it would appear that Assimil believes that anyone who is presently within the CEFR A1-A2 range would meet the definition of “Faux débutant / False Beginner.”

Assimil Sélectionner un produit.JPG

Mon niveau A1-A2.JPG

Mon niveau A2.JPG

Frankly, I was rather surprised that Assimil should consider that someone who has “some knowledge of a language, but who needs to start again from the beginning” would include a student who is at the level of CEFR A2. That is, I would be inclined to believe that someone who truly possesses a level of A2 would not need to start from the beginning. Rather, while they might appreciate a quick, summary review some A2 materials, they should be prepared to proceed immediately to B1 materials. To me, such a person would not be a False Beginner; Assimil is “dans les patates”, although they probably wouldn't phrase it this way.

[willfr]

Frankly, I was rather surprised that Assimil should consider that someone who has “some knowledge of a language, but who needs to start again from the beginning” would include a student who is at the level of CEFR A2. That is, I would be inclined to believe that someone who truly possesses a level of A2 would not need to start from the beginning. Rather, while they might appreciate a quick, summary review some A2 materials, they should be prepared to proceed immediately to B1 materials. To me, such a person would not be a False Beginner; Assimil is “dans les patates”, although they probably wouldn't phrase it this way.

This is interesting because even though I got a very good score for A2 DELF - I seem to remember 94 or 95 % - I still perform very badly on many basic grammatical concepts in French. In fact, I just did a Kwiziq A1 test and got 3 out of 10.

So I wonder if I would fall into that category? Someone who can somehow demonstrate competency and has the certificate to prove it, whilst not having a clue how they did it?

[nortmeak]

Yes, it's the right term. Based on my research, there are two kinds of beginner, the true beginner and the false beginner. A true beginner is a student who has never studied any of the language before while false beginner is someone who lacks the skills to be considered an intermediate learner but still has some of their language skills under his or her belt. And based on what you said, you fall on the false beginner category.