Eduard, 

Some people might use the term semilingual to refer to 
monolinguals.  It is definitely more strongly associated 
with the bilingual environment.  The term used by most 
people who deal with the monolingual situation is “delayed 
language.”  Both terms usually refer to children in a school 
setting, where the L1 skills have not reached the level 
necessary for the development of literacy.   In general 
everyday discourse is also limited in these groups.

I do want to make clear that I would not refer to the 
college students/teachers (my data) –who were all literate-- 
as semilingual (or “delayed L1” or whatever).   I am sure 
that when those adults were children their L1 skills were 
sufficient to begin literacy development on schedule and 
that they were never referred for language 
therapy/assistance.  However, as they went through the K12 
system they were given very little instruction in formal 
English (grammar, vocabulary) and skill development 
(writing).  Because of the lack of instruction, they had 
problems composing complex sentences and using more formal 
vocabulary. Their grammatical problems –or even their 
lexical problems—would not be evident in everyday discourse, 
because the vocabulary and structure of everyday discourse 
are more limited.  

BTW, the everyday level is the level acquired through do-it-
yourself foreign language lessons (i.e., up to intermediate-
level proficiency) for anyone who has tried such a 
program.   To acquire the formal level of the L2 a person 
would have to really hit the books, just the way you did.  
The point is that the formal level of discourse has to be 
very consciously learned and practiced.  My sense is that 
many educators still continue to conflate everyday discourse 
and formal discourse, and also incoherence with language 
variation.  
yvonne


---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:07:20 -0500
>From: "Eduard C. Hanganu" <[log in to unmask]>  
>Subject: Re: The role of English teachers  
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>Yvonne, 
>
>You state that "Semilingualism refers to non-native 
speakers (e.g., 
>ESL students, and usually identified in elementary school 
settings), 
>who have not acquired a sufficient foundation in either the 
first or 
>second language." 
>
>Alan Davies, though, in his book "The Native Speaker: Myth 
and 
>Reality," applies the term *semilingualism* both to native 
and non-
>native speakers. He states:
>
>"What semilingualism argues (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1981) is that 
in 
>certain situations, "either of a multilingual character or 
an 
>impoverished one, which creates a climate of disadvantage, 
children 
>may be brought up with no fully developed linguistic system 
and what 
>they have will be either (a) a set (two or more) of partial 
systems 
>or (b) one inadequate system." (p. 30)
>
>Eduard 
>
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Yvonne Stapp PhD
Assistant Professor of ESL
James Madison University
Dept of Exceptional Education MSC 6908
Memorial Hall 3130B
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
phone 540-568-4525