LESSON 1. CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE.

DIRECTIONS IN
LINGUISTICS. EPISTEMOLOGY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING.

1.1. CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE

A language is considered to be the human capacity for acquiring and using
complex systems of communication. Furthermore, a language is any specific example of
such a system, the scientific study of which is called linguistics.
When used as a general concept, the term LANGUAGE may refer to the cognitive
ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules
that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those
rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs with particular
meanings. Oral and sign languages contain a phonological system that governs how
symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic
system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and
utterances.
Language is processed in many different locations in the human brain, but
especially in Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Humans acquire language through social
interaction in early childhood, and children generally speak fluently when they are
approximately three years old.
 Now, we are going to distinguish three important concepts: the mother language
called mother tongue, the second language and the foreign language. The general usage
of the term MOTHER TONGUE denotes not only the language one learns from one’s mother,
but also the speaker’s dominant and home language, i.e. not only the first language
according to the time of acquisition, but the first with regard to its importance and the
speaker’s ability to master its linguistic and communicative aspects. The mother tongue is
considered to be the first language or L1.
On the contrary, the term SECOND LANGUAGE or target language is used to refer to
a language which is not the mother tongue but which is used for certain communicative
functions in a society. It is learnt after the first language (L1) or mother tongue. For
example: English is a second language in Nigeria or French is a second language in
Tahiti. This term refers to non-native speakers who are learning, for example, English
language in an English language environment. There are usually programs designed for
students learning a certain language as an additional language.
Finally, in pedagogy and sociolinguistics, a distinction is often made between
second language and FOREIGN LANGUAGE. The foreign language is learnt for being used
in an area where that language is not generally spoken, that is to say, the foreign language
is the language which is not normally used for communication in a particular society. For
example: Spanish is a foreign language in the USA or English is a foreign language in
Argentina, as they are non-native speakers who are learning English language in a non-
native English speaking environment.
However, in spite of this distinction, the term L2 is used to refer to both, foreign
and second language.

1.2. DIRECTIONS IN LINGUISTICS

LINGUISTICS is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly
broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form or structure, language
meaning, and language in context:
a) One subfield of linguistics is the study of language structure, or grammar. This
focuses on the system of rules followed by the users of one or more languages.
The study of grammar includes the study of morphology (the formation and
composition of words), syntax (the formation and composition of phrases and
sentences from these words), and phonology (sound systems). Phonetics is a
related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds
and non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and perceived.
b) The study of language meaning is concerned with how languages employ logical
structures and real-world references to convey, process, and assign meaning, as
well as to manage and resolve ambiguity. This category includes the study of
semantics (how meaning is inferred from words and concepts) and pragmatics
(how meaning is inferred from context).

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 c) Linguistics also looks at the broader context in which language is influenced by
social, cultural, historical and political factors. This includes the study of
evolutionary linguistics, which investigates into questions related to the origins
and growth of languages; historical linguistics, which explores language change;
sociolinguistics, which looks at the relation between linguistic variation and social
structures; psycholinguistics, which explores the representation and function of
language in the mind; neurolinguistics, which looks at language processing in the
brain; language acquisition, on how children or adults acquire language; and
discourse analysis, which involves the structure of texts and conversations.
Although linguistics is the scientific study of language, a number of other
disciplines are relevant to language and intersect with it as, for example, semiotics. In this
subject, we will focus on the three categories of Linguistics as regards the Didactics of
the English Language.

1.3. EPISTEMOLOGY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING

1.3.1. What do we know about how languages are learnt?

Any teacher seeking ideas about how languages are learnt will pay attention to the
four areas of investigation and debate among second language acquisition researchers
which deserve special attention from English language teachers:

a) The nature of the input provided to learners

b) The process of intake, that is to say, how learners process that input
c) The role of classroom interaction
d) The role of error in language learning

1.3.1.1. The nature of input

A significant idea that has emerged in recent years is that of comprehensible input.
Krashen’s (1985) input hypothesis posits that language is picked up, or acquired, when
learners receive input from ‘messages’ which contain language and from which they can
infer meaning. The hypothesis makes a distinction between acquiring a language and
learning it through conscious attention to language study. The acquisition process, often
called a creative construction process, is parallel to that of a child learning its first
language.

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1.3.1.2. The process of intake
Intake refers to the ways in which learners process input and assimilate language
to their interlanguage system. Learners will not process all the input available to them.
The concept of intake has given us some insights into why teachers cannot control the
learning process to the extent we might previously have believed.

1.3.1.3. The role of classroom interaction

Related to the notion of input is that of output. Learners need practice in
producing comprehensible output (Swain, 1985) using all the language resources they
have already acquired. It has also been claimed that being pushed to produce output
obliges learners to cope with their lack of language knowledge by struggling to make
themselves understood, by speaking slowly for example, or repeating or clarifying their
ideas through rephrasing. When a group of students do this while talking together, it is
called negotiation of meaning and its aim is to make output more comprehensible.
There is a principle underlying current ELT practice that interaction pushes
learners produce more accurate and appropriate language, which itself provides input for
other students. This is one reason why pair-work and group-work have become common
features of contemporary classrooms.

1.3.1.4. The role of error

With a view of language learning as a creative construction process the view that
error is an inevitable and positive part of that process emerges. Errors are seen as
reflections of a learner’s stage of interlanguage development. However, there are
conflicting views on the role of error correction in the classroom.

1.3.2. How do differences among learners affect learning processes and

teaching procedures?
During the learning process, students differ in the way they understand and learn
things, so that this needs careful thought when teachers make decisions about course
content and methodology. But what are exactly the dimensions of individual difference
among learners and what insights can teachers gain from studies of these?
Language aptitude can be measured by tests, bur other dimensions have been
investigated largely by introspective methods. Three methods in particular have been
used:
a) The first is self-report, responding to interview questions and questionnaires.
b) A second method is self-observation, using diaries or immediate retrospective verbal
reports.
c) A third method is self-revelation, using think-aloud reports recorded on to cassette as
learners actually perform tasks.

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 These three introspective methods all depend on learners being able to give clear,
accurate, and honest accounts of what they do. Our awareness as teachers has been
slowly developing in relation to aptitude, learning style and learning strategies, and the
affective factors of personality and motivation.

1.3.2.1. Aptitude
It is quite common to hear people say ‘He has a good ear for languages’, and there
is a body of research evidence to suggest that some people do indeed have an aptitude for
language learning. The problem with the research is that it is not conclusive as to what
abilities constitute aptitude or how these relate to other factors such as intelligence.
Two well-known language aptitude tests, still widely used, are the Modern
Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (Carroll and Sapon, 1955) and the Pimsleur Language
Aptitude Battery (LAB) (Pimsleur, 1966). These generally put forward a multi-
componential view of aptitude as comprising four components: auditory ability,
grammatical sensitivity, inductive language learning ability, and memory. Each of these
components is tested in order to predict whether a student is likely to be successful in
learning a foreign language.

1.3.2.2. Learning style and learning strategies

The components of aptitude described previously are all related to language.
However, there are some other variables which seem to correlate positively with
successful language learning. This is known as aspects of cognitive style or learning
style, which can be generally defined as a characteristic and preferred way of approaching
learning and processing information. The question is whether and in what ways this
individual style affects language learning. There is evidence to suggest that culture, as
learnt by the child from family, community, and school, has a strong influence on
learning style.
A closely related orientation to researching language learning style has been
to investigate the strategies that are used by successful language learners. These are
techniques used by learners to deal with input, assimilate new language, store, retrieve,
and practise using it.

1.3.2.3. Affective factors

Most discussions have limited affective factors to personality characteristics,
attitudes, and emotional responses to the language learning process. The major problem
of research in this area is that data gathered by introspective methods using
questionnaires and self-report often does not seem to agree with observed behaviour, as
better instruments are needed, so it is therefore difficult to make generalizations.

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 In terms of emotional responses to learning, a variable which has received much
attention is anxiety. Bailey (1995) for example, links anxiety to competitiveness and
argues that if we can discover its various causes we will be in a better position to reduce
it. MacIntyre and Gardner (1991) looked in more detail at anxiety in the classroom. The
greatest anxiety seems to relate to negative experiences in speaking activities. Krashen
(1985) has suggested the notion of the affective filter. This is a representation of the way
in which affective factors such as attitude, anxiety, competitiveness, and other emotional
responses can help or hinder language learning.

1.3.2.4. Motivation for learning English

The degree to which any of the factors discussed so far will become significant in
a particular learning and teaching situation will depend partly on the reasons why learners
are learning English. There are mainly two kinds of motivation for learning English:
needing a language as an instrument to achieve other purposes such as doing a job
effectively or studying successfully at an English-speaking institution, or wishing to
integrate into the activities or culture of another group of people. Indeed, Gardner and
Lambert (1972) termed these two as integrative and instrumental motivation.
A decade later, Gardner and Smythe’s (1981) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery
(AMTB) usefully shows the complex of areas under investigation by that time. There are
four main categories:
a) The first is motivation, which involves desire to learn a language, intensity of effort to
achieve this, and attitudes towards learning the language.
b) The second is integrativeness, which involves attitudes towards the target language
group and which touches on the affective factor of ethnocentricity.
c) The third involves attitudes towards the language teacher and the language course.
d) The fourth concerns measures of anxiety in classroom situations and in using the
language.
It is now clear that motivation is a highly complex phenomenon consisting of a
number of variables and that it is of crucial importance in the classroom. Perhaps the
most useful perspective for the teacher to take is to consider what aspects of motivation
can be changed and to focus on creating successful experiences which will enhance
motivation.

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Bibliography
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205.
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