6 Contributions of Linguistics

 

6. CONTRIBUTION OF LINGUISTICS TO ENGLISH TEACHING AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

1.

INTR INTROD ODUC UCT TIO ION N

Teaching a foreign language aims to provide the sts with c.c. in that language, which go goes es be beyo yond nd th thee mere mere te teac achi hing ng of th thee rule ruless of la lang ngua uage ge,, as the the us usee of Engl English ish must be contemplated as well. In this line, recent tendencies in FLT focus their attention on a crucial aspect: language as a means to transmit certain meaning to others, rather than a theoretical acquisition of linguistic and grammatical rules and items. FLT then, must be contemplated with reality: with the reality as it takes place outside the classroom, and with the reality of the learners outside and inside the classroom. A linguistic theme could be worked perfectly in P.E. since we are providing sts with activities which try to improve their linguistic production. The possibility of communicating  properly in order to understand and be understood is the most important aim of the Key competences proposed by the CEFRL. Thus, the Linguistic Competence reinforces this, and will  be always present in the learning of the language. Besides, the Learning to Learn competence is also decisive since it deals with having the right strategies to approach the language production in the four skills. All these elements of the Curriculum are clearly shown in the current Educational law, LOMLOE, and mainly in the Canarian Decree 89 /2014, August 1 st, which makes specific reference to the English subject. As linguistics makes reference to the acquisition of the language, any activity related with wit h both both oral oral and written written regist registers ers of English English will be approp appropria riate te to work work on: reading reading comprehension activities are a must to apply reading and writing skills, listening comprehension is also decisive to put sts s ts in contact with real accents and oral registers, a speaking corner is also one of the most representative activities which can be carried out through a brainstorming or  any other which tries to encourage sts to speak in English. Finally, a mistake correction activity will always try sts to improve their oral and written productions, and the composition technique has the aim to facilitate proper strategies to provide better sentences, paragraphs, or essays. Along this topic, we intend to analyse the main contributions and dominant tendencies in the field of FLT, as well as the distinction between the acquisition of the L1 and the development of the FLT. In fact, as we mentioned before, our current legislation includes this relevant issue along comprehension and expression strategies comprised in the 4 content blocks. We should start by studying the beginnings of linguistics and its contribution to FLT.

 

2. CONTR CONTRIBU IBUTIO TIONS NS OF L LIN INGUI GUISTI STICC CCS S TO FLT

The interest towards grammars of the different languages led to the establishment of  linguistics as a science in the 19 th Century. Ferdinand Saussure was one of the main thinkers who contributed to establishing the principles of the discipline as we know it today. He drew the distinction between langue (language) and parole (speech). The presence of Saussure can be found in relevant structuralist like Edward Sapir and Leonard Bloomfield. The structuralist view of linguistics was challenged by Noam Chomsky, who views language as a result of a universal innate capacity. At its heart, his theory of generative grammar  described the way people learn to communicate; and suggests that human language comes from an innate set of grammatical rules inside the human mind. As we know, Piaget suggested that children go through a sequence of 4 stages: sensomotor,, pre-operati motor pre-operational, onal, concrete operational operational and formal formal opera operational tional,, and that these stages determine what children can learn. To him, the language is another factor that contributes to the development of mental actions, together with environmental interaction and mental madurity. Leo Vygotsk Vygotsky y conside considers rs tha thatt there there are functi functiona onall rel relatio ations ns bet betwee ween n langua language ge ant thought. thoug ht. He was convinced convinced that learning learning occurred occurred through through interaction interactionss with others. Vygotsky Vygotsky sought to understand how people learn in a social environment and created a unique theory on social learning. -Applied linguisticsThe term refers to a broad range of activities which involve solving some languagerelated problems. The process of applied linguistics is implemented through taking the known research resea rch and theories theories of linguistics and apply applying ing a linguistic linguistic analysis to specif specific ic conte contexts xts like language teaching. Regard Reg arding ing the teachin teaching g and learni learning ng of langua languages ges,, we may distin distingui guish sh thr three ee main main co comp mpon onen ents ts:: co conn nnec ecte ted d di disc scip iplin lines es (lik (likee de desc scri ript ptiv ivee ling lingui uist stic ics, s, soci sociol olin ingu guist istic ics, s, an and d  psycholinguistics); techniques (teaching approaches, methods and techniques of teaching languages) and materials (all types of aids and equipment that teachers can use to search for the improvement of learning and teaching. Nowadays, different approaches to research can be identified in applied linguistics, In our European context, it has been done through the CEFRL. -Role of PsycholinguisticsPsycholing Psycho linguis uistic ticss is an int interd erdisc iscipl iplina inary ry fie field ld of study study in which which the goals goals are to unders und erstan tand d how people people acquir acquiree langua language, ge, how people people use it to spe speak ak and under understan stand d one another, and how language is represented in i n the brain. Regarding FLT, the learners and their peculiarities, we can consider that language acquisition is a relevant area within psycholinguistics. Children in every culture acquire one language without effort or formal teaching. This means that this rapid acquisition is possible due to the natural factors of human brain. Regarding the role of Psycholinguistics, in language teaching it may help us decide on the methods to be employed. -Role of SociolinguistisSociolinguistics refers to the study of language in use and is itself a field with different theoretical perspectives dealing with: variability in L2 use, L2 socialization (which intends to

 

take account of the wide scope of situation in which speech acts are performed), communities of   practice (it also deals with the study of social roles of language within different communities:  jobs interviews, telephone conversations…) and volitional factors in language learning (the degree of success on the part of the learner depends to a great extent on appealing factors, such as instrumental or integrative motivation). 3.

THE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION.

Acquiring the first language starts with baby imitation of their parents’ speech. However, according to Ellis, there is a number of stages in this process: babbling (from birth-8 months), first word (at about months-t 11 months, when infants put names to objects and people around them), two words (between (between years they enter in this syntactic phase in which they join words together), phonological, syntactic and lexical norms (this takes place during the 3 rd and 4th years, in which the child’s grammatical system stars to resemble the norms of adults, syntactic s yntactic and lexical complexity and richness (between 6-12, children expand their vocabulary and understanding of words), conversational skills (older children are able to realize if something is unclear to identify an alternative and gradually move on to using persuasive arguments). However, both 1st language acquisition and FLL rely to a great extent on the individual differences. In this sense, Ellis focuses his attention in three main dimensions: language l anguage aptitude (the natural ability to learn a foreign language), motivation (it plays a crucial role in FLL, and in extent, in any type of learning. In fact, in a majority of cases, motivated sts can achieve a working knowledge of FL regardless of their aptitude) and learning strategies (they are the  particular techniques used by sts in the FLL process, process, usually problem-solving oriented. We may differentiate between cognitive strategies, that are involved in the analysis, synthesis or transformation of learning materials, metacognitive, which are employed in planning, monitoring and evaluating learning, and social-affective strategies, concerned with how learners interact with other speakers.  Within this point, we cannot miss the cross-linguistic influences stemming from already known languages or influence of L1 to FL. The mother tongue iinfluences nfluences the process of second LL, since many times unknowingly, learners rely on their L1 to accomplish something not known in the L2. This process is called language transfer. In this sense, is not strange that a Spanish child learning English says ‘I have got a car red’, paralleling the usual order of adjectives in his L1. However, sometimes the L1 can facilitate the learning of an additional language, for example, a Spanish st can understand the word ‘chocolate’ without having  previously studied it. Notwithstanding, it can sometimes lead to error, as in the case of ‘carpet’ (a false friend) since the apparently correct meaning, ‘carpeta’, is not an adequate translation. Summing up, the mother tongue is a resource for learners to be used consciously and unconsciously to help them process the FL data in the input and to perform in that FL. Finally, the methodological implications of classroom interaction as a way to enhance our sts’ c.c. have to do with supporting understanding, motivating and creating the optimal conditions to foster interaction. In this sense, FL teachers should: use scaffolding techniques to  build on existence knowledge; devise devise activities within the ZPD, so that sts perceive them as reachable challenges; take advantage of the information gap principle (one st knows something that other st need to know to succeed in a specific activity) to create attractive attracti ve and meaningful tasks and arouse the sts’ need to communicate; create a pleasant classroom environment, where

 

diversity, different responses and errors are accepted as a natural part of the FLL process; facilitate sts’ understanding through verbal and non-verbal means, and create a sense of community in the FL classroom to promote collaboration and cooperation. 4.

CONLUSION

The role of the teacher will be that of a mediator and will try to make m ake sts aware of the importance of communicating in other language to confront the reality out of the class and also will make them recognize the different approaches there are to learn a language and which methods will be closer to the st. Besides, the teacher will encourage sts to appreciate these techniques and strategies to produce oral and written messages which can be properly understood. In this topic we have seen that LL is the t he subject of different disciplines. In this sense, we have seen some contributions of Applied linguistics. Similarly, we have also analysed the different perspectives regarding language learning. Additionally, similarities and differences  between l1 acquisition and FLL are central points points in this presentation, since the methodological implications may positively affect FL teachers’ practice. Finally, we have seen that sts ‘come in all types’, and we have considered the importance of classroom interaction as a way to promote c.c., which, as we know, is the final goal of FLT along PE, as it is stated in the D89/2014, August the 1st.