E. P.

* INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 1

TEMA 6: Aportaciones de la lingstica a la enseanza de las

lenguas extranjeras. El proceso de aprendizaje lingstico:
semejanzas y diferencias entre la adquisicin de la primera
lengua escolar y de la lengua extranjera.

Contents:

1. Introduction.

2. Language teaching before the 20th century.

2.1. Ancient times and the Middle Ages.
2.2. From the 16th to the 18th century.
Email: info@preparadores.eu Web: http://www.preparadores.eu

2.3. The 19th century.

3. The 20th century: from linguistics to language teaching

3.1. First philological and linguistic approaches: Sweet, Jespersen
and Palmer.
3.1.a. Henry Sweet (1845-1912).
3.1.b. Otto Jespersen (1860-1943).
3.1.c. Harold E. Palmer (1877-1949).
3.2. Structural Linguistics: a methodology of linguistic principles.
3.2.a. A linguistic and psychological approach.
3.2.b. The Army Method.
3.2.c. The Audio-lingual Method.
3.2.d. The Audio-visual Method.
3.2.e. The main contributions of Structural Linguistics.
3.3. Generative Grammar: linguistic evolution and methodological
transition.
3.4. Pragmatics and the Communicative Approach: a global,
interdisciplinary view of teaching and learning.
3.4.a. Theoretical foundations.
3.4.b. Innovations and contributions.

4. The contributions of Applied Linguistics.

4.1. First and Second Language Acquisition. Language learning
versus language acquisition.

5. Conclusions.

6. Bibliography.
REV.: 07/15

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E. P. * INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 2

1. INTRODUCTION.

It is an established fact that language is a distinctive human capacity.

Hence the interest language has always attracted as an object of study
in all cultures and civilisations. People acquire language, that is also a
fact. Languages can be taught and learned, and used as a means of
communication. However, how we acquire a language remains an
unsolved mystery. There have been many theories and possible
explanations, all of which seem true or have some truth in them. But, far
from anyone of them explaining satisfactorily the process of language
acquisition, these theories rather complement each other and provide
some insights on why, how and when a language is acquired by a
human being.

In practical terms, it is probably easier and more effective to focus our

attention, as teachers, on how to teach a language and try to find
immediate solutions, methods and materials by looking at results.

However, knowing different principles and understanding previous

didactic approaches and experiences can also illustrate our views and
help us to design the syllabus and techniques that can bring about the
best results in our personal teaching-learning experience.

Moreover, Linguistics, the systematic study of the language through the

observation of particular languages, provides some valid and useful
studies that can be applied to language teaching, and that is the field of
another important modern discipline: Applied Linguistics. Applied
linguistics can be defined as a mediating area of inquiry which interprets
the results of theoretical and descriptive studies developed within the
scope of Linguistics in order to reveal their relevance and potential uses,
in practical terms, for teaching a language. There is no need to say that
this is a most immediate area of interest for language teachers so as to
develop an appropriate methodological approach in whatever teaching-
learning experience they work: Primary School, Secondary School,
Business English, Secretarial English, Scientific English, etc.

2. LANGUAGE TEACHING BEFORE THE 20TH CENTURY.

2.1. Ancient times and the Middle Ages.

Languages were already studied in ancient civilisations. Egyptians,

Babylonians, Assyrians, etc. had fairly developed diplomatic systems
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which required experts in foreign languages to deal with foreign

representatives in order to make advantageous agreements, negotiate
peace and so on. In Rome, wealthy families got Greek teachers to teach
Greek to their offspring. The first Christian missionaries learnt the native
language of the people they would try to convert. In the Middle Ages,
however, only Hebrew, Greek and Latin were considered worth learning,
as most important writings were written only in these classical
languages. The Church, in particular, preserved the use of Latin as a
means of cultural interchange.

The methods used to teach languages throughout many centuries were

based on conversation, grammar, writing and, especially with classical
languages, reading and translation.

2.2. From the 16th to the 18th century.

During the Renaissance, due to the influence of Humanism, classical

philosophy, science, art and languages became again a main object of
study. Latin was a first requirement to enter University, and continued to
be the basic language of Law and Science well into the 17th century.

From the 16th century onwards, as, little by little, Latin starts to become a
dead language and is confined to grammar books and dictionaries,
modern languages tend to be taught as if they were dead languages too.
Soon, there appear experts who react against those methods.

Thus, Erasmus recommended that Latin should be taught in a direct

conversational manner, according to the students characteristics. Martin
Luther also suggested emphasising content over formal grammar. Juan
Luis Vives and Montaigne also defended the idea of learning through
contact with native speakers in a natural environment. Since classical
languages were learnt basically in order to read Greek and Latin authors,
special emphasis was laid on the reading skill and translation. For
example, Roger Ascham, William Bath and other humanists developed
learning methods based on authentic texts and the study of vocabulary in
context.

Later, Czech educator Comenius (1592-1670), who has been

traditionally considered one of the first defenders of the Direct Method,
proposed the idea of understanding words in connection with reality,
rather than translating them. He already introduced the idea of using
drawings and pictures to give proper contexts to words, and
recommended the study of morphology and syntax in advanced stages.

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It was not until the 18th century, thanks to the cultural movement known
as the Enlightenment, that the study of modern languages became a
quite established discipline.
John Locke rejected a purely grammatical methodology, in favour of a
natural approach. He also thought that grammar should be taught when
the learner has a reasonable command of the language, not before. He
based the study of grammar rules on the analysis of real texts, and also
introduced interlinear translation. This type of translation was well
received by many 18th century experts like Dumarsais or Weitenauer,
who tries, probably for the first time in the history of language teaching, a
phonetic transcription, also interlinear, of the text used.

2.3. The 19th century.

During the 19th century and well into the 20th, live languages were taught
very much like classical ones, mainly through grammar and translation,
even though the Direct Method had already been advocated by a few
innovators in the previous centuries, as we have seen above. In the early
19th century, new manuals appear, full of paradigms and grammar rules
followed by exercises of translation and application. Thus, the so-called
Grammar-translation or Traditional Method was fully shaped and
established. Its main features are: a) learning grammar rules; b)
memorising lists of vocabulary with their translation; c) making sentences
by applying the rules and the vocabulary learnt; d) translating sentences
and texts from literature, history, etc.

However, some well-known literary figures and philologists reacted

against the Traditional Method. For example, in the United States, H. W.
Longfellow (1807-82) and George Ticknor (1791-1871) criticised
grammatical methodology and conceived languages as live entities
which were learnt essentially through listening and speaking. Gouin also
proposed, with considerable influence in Britain and the United States,
the use of an audio-oral method, which adapted better to a new context
of social and economic growth in Europe.

In was David Maximilian Berlitz (1852-1921), founder of the Berlitz

schools, who took advantage of the innovations and put the Direct
Method into practice. He believed that the mother tongue was a source
of interference and went to the extreme position of forbidding its use in
the language class. Around the end of the 19th century and the beginning
of the 20th, therefore, two methods competed in language teaching: the
Traditional or Grammar-translation Method and the Direct Method.
The former was still the dominant tendency, while the latter tried to
advance with difficulty among teachers who often thought it was a waste
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of time not to resort to the mother tongue to explain concepts and

translate vocabulary. Some kind of adaptation was needed so as to
make the Direct Method a more reasonable and sustainable alternative.

3. THE 20th CENTURY: FROM LINGUISTICS TO LANGUAGE

TEACHING.

3.1. First philological and linguistic approaches: Sweet, Jespersen

and Palmer.

3.1.a. Henry Sweet (1845-1912).

English philologist Henry Sweet (1845-1912), an expert in dead and live

languages and in phonetics, proposed a scientific study of languages in
his work The practical study of languages (1899). His model of learning
gave priority to oral skills, and started by the descriptive study of the
phonetic system. Sweet criticised Direct Methods because they treated
adult learners and children alike. For example, they relied on some
capacities the adult had already lost (imitation of sounds, repetition,
spontaneity) and forgot abilities the adult had acquired: intellectual
capacity, contrast of native and foreign languages, abstraction of rules
and meanings, etc.

According to Sweet, language learning must be based on association of

concepts and repetition. Thus, materials should be graded and related to
one another, intuitive knowledge comes before formal study of grammar,
the sentence is the essential linguistic unit (not words) and must always
appear in a proper context, never as an isolated item.

Sweets proposals are still valid and in current use nowadays, though his
emphasis on phonetics is not shared by many professionals.

3.1.b. Otto Jespersen (1860-1943).

Danish scientific linguist Otto Jespersen (1860-1943), in his How to

teach a foreign language (1904), offers an approach similar to Sweets.

For instance, Jespersen also thinks of languages as live entities and

defends that the teaching method must be flexible and have a linguistic
basis, particularly phonetic. He remarks the importance of contextual
learning in communicative situations. Grammar and vocabulary should
be subject to the general understanding and assimilation of the language
as a whole. The use of texts, graded according to their difficulty, helps
students to learn vocabulary and grammar inductively before rules are
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E. P. * INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 6

explained. Morphology and syntax should be taught together.

In general, Jespersens model shows a solid methodological approach in

which oral language is the fundamental aspect, and theoretical contents
are always combined with adequate practice.
3.1.c. Harold E. Palmer (1877-1949).

Harold E. Palmer (1877-1949) was not an academic linguist, but rather a

teacher whose capacity for practical application and innovation was more
important than his theoretical work, though he also elaborated important
research works on phonetics, intonation and grammar. He worked in the
Berlitz school in Belgium. Then, he designed his own methodology and
set up his own school. Later he worked in Japan, invited by the
Education Ministry of Japan.

In his work The scientific study and teaching of languages (1917),

Palmer presents the following didactic principles: a) In the initial stages
of learning, phonetics, spelling, grammar, etc. must be taught separately,
while such isolation is not advisable in more advanced stages; b) passive
recognition and assimilation by the student should invariably come
before active production of any linguistic material; c) meaning must be
conveyed and understood through direct association with the concept,
through the context, through translation (as a fast useful means, never
as an end in itself); d) memorising structures and pattern practice (in
this respect, Palmer anticipates structural methodology).

Palmer published again his ideas in The principles of language study

(1921), which is considered a classical work on language teaching. The
main principles he established were:

a) Preparation through initial practice.

b) Formation and acquisition of linguistic habits, in order to reach the
level of automatic speech.
c) Accuracy in linguistic use and reference.
d) Proper sequence of learning in easy stages.
e) Proportion, equal attention to different linguistic aspects.
f) Concretion and use of appropriate examples, rather than teaching
rules.
g) Examples should be interesting and arouse curiosity.
h) Orderly progression, starting from big units, for instance, sentences
and paragraphs.

Palmers main contribution was probably his interdisciplinary approach to

language teaching. In this sense, he recognised the importance of
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E. P. * INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 7

linguistics, psychology and pedagogy, and criticised both the Grammar-

translation Method and the Direct Method for not offering a
comprehensive view of language as a system of systems and a live
creative entity. Nowadays, Palmers views are still alive, though we could
criticise the strange terminology he used and his vague notion of
conscious and unconscious assimilation of language.
3.2. Structural Linguistics: a methodology of linguistic principles.

3.2.a. A linguistic and psychological approach.

Methodological confusion prevailed in the period between the two world

wars also after the Second World War. Despite the innovations
introduced by Sweet, Jespersen and Palmer, the Grammar-translation
Method continued to be generally used.

Structural linguists, such as Saussure and Bloomfield, were highly

influenced by Skinners psychological theory, known as Behaviourism.
Skinner understood behaviour as response to a given stimulus.

Skinner also defended the idea that the human mind was like an empty
space (tabula rasa) on which learning was written. Learning consisted
in shaping the appropriate responses, in acquiring certain desirable
behaviours or habits through a process of trial and error and
reinforcement of right responses. This theory was the basis for the
typical structuralist language exercises, known as drills, in which certain
linguistic stimuli were provided in order to obtain adequate responses
from the student through a process of repetition and correction.

Structural linguists claimed that language possessed an internal,

permanent and abstract structure (Saussures langue) which was
reflected in its everyday use (parole). The main objective of anyone who
learned a foreign language would be, therefore, to assimilate that
abstract structure (language), without paying attention to the multiple
variants and deviations of its common use (speech), which would be
practised in later stages.

According to the structuralist school, the sentence is the basic unit of

study. Sentences follow certain established models which form the
general structure of the language. When we learn a second language
(L2), we transfer the structures of our first language (L1), or mother
tongue, to the sentences we make in the foreign language. When the
structures are identical, there is a positive interference between both
languages, which makes learning easier. On the other hand, when the
models do not match, there will be a negative interference, which is the
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first and main cause of errors in the second language.

Structuralist methodology establishes oral and written repetition as an

essential learning principle. Systematic repetition of patterns, the so-
called drills, which derives directly from the behaviourist conception of
learning through trial and error, will be the central type of activity for the
student of a foreign language.
Other crucial elements in this methodological approach will be the
detailed description of structures, IC (Immediate Constituents) analysis
at different levels (phonological, morphological and syntactic), and also
the study of categories such as linguistic signs, their form, contrasts,
grammar functions, usually forgetting the importance of Semantics, that
is, the study of meaning and how it is produced.

Structuralism has often been applied to language teaching, rather

successfully on some occasions. It has established the basis for well-
known methods, such as the ones explained below.

3.2.b. The Army Method.

The Army Method was put into practice in the 1940s in the American
army with some satisfactory results. It was based on the Direct Method,
combined with structuralist elements. Thus, this method required an
essentially oral teaching, exclusive use of the foreign language in the
class, etc. Other fundamental characteristics of this method, which made
it particularly successful, were: intensive training, small groups,
conversational practice and drills, grammatical instruction, extensive
use of mechanical recordings, radio broadcasts and films, careful
selection of highly motivated and intelligent students (according to IQ
tests) to enter the courses.

3.2.c. The Audio-lingual Method.

The Audio-lingual Method, associated, for instance, to Charles Fries

and Robert Lado, has been quite influential in Europe. It was inspired in
the good results of the Army Method, and based on the influential
American psychological and linguistic theories of the time: Skinners
behaviourism and Bloomfields structuralist views. Bloomfield himself, in
his Outline guide for the practical study of foreign languages (1942),
presents some didactic views. He defends the priority of formal aspects,
the structures of the language, and does not consider meaning as an
object of scientific study.

In the Audio-lingual Method, language teaching should follow the order

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listening-speaking-reading-writing. Language learning implies acquiring

good linguistic habits in a systematic manner: pattern practice or
repetition of structures, correction and reinforcement. Only the foreign
language is spoken in the language class.

Structures and rules are presented through analogy and examples.

Vocabulary is learnt in controlled phases. The language laboratory is a
central teaching device in this method.
3.2.d. The Audio-visual Method

The Audio-visual Method, which appeared in France, is quite similar to

the Audio-lingual. Here, structures are presented through dialogues, in
well-defined contexts. These dialogues are recorded materials: films or
slides with their corresponding sound records. Dialogues are explained
in the foreign language (never translated) and then memorised by the
students. Students do structural exercises, drills, in class and in the
laboratory, in order to reinforce their linguistic learning.

3.2.e. The main contributions of Structural Linguistics.

In general terms, the contributions of linguistic Structuralism to language

teaching methodology are obvious. First, the study of syntactic functions,
phrasal and paradigmatic relations within sentences are crucial in order
to provide students with some tangible base upon which they can
construct and structure their linguistic productions in the second
language. Second, the concept of correction or, at least, acceptability,
derived from the systematic application of the rules and patterns
established by structural linguistics, is also quite satisfactory. Automatic
production and correction are acquired through repetition (guided by the
teacher, a book or a recording) of certain patterns which are completed,
implemented or modified by the learner by using also new words
gradually introduced in the exercises.

The structuralist approach also has some disadvantages. For example, it

does not pay much attention to the study of semantic values, particularly
to the interaction of text and context to create meaning. As a result, the
students creativity is restricted to the limits of the sentence, and those
specific features of speech which escape grammatical analysis tend to
be forgotten. Materials, in this method, often lack authenticity.

Exercises or drills are usually prepared for mechanical repetition.

Inductive learning (abstracting the rule from repetitive examples) is
normally mixed with deductive learning (applying the rule, explained
beforehand, in a number of sentences). The typical evaluation instrument
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is the multiple-choice test, which tends to evaluate correction rather then

the actual command of the language.

In general terms, structuralist methods offer many tangible concepts and

activities which undoubtedly help and motivate the students. In the long
run, however, due to constant repetition and lack of creativity, the foreign
language can be perceived as something to be memorised, mechanical
and monotonous.

3.3. Generative Grammar: linguistic evolution and methodological

transition.

Noam Chomsky published in 1957 his study on Syntactic Structures. It

has been argued that Noam Chomsky (the father of Generative
Grammar) was a double structuralist, since he distinguished two levels
in the structure of language: surface structure and deep structure. It is
true that Chomsky was clearly influenced by linguistic Structuralism and
by psychological theories such as Behaviourism.

However, Generativism starts from a different conception of language

learning. First, Chomsky claimed that all human languages have some
common structures and functions: linguistic universals. Second, the
human mind is not a tabula rasa. From birth, it is equipped with a kind
of programme, ready for the acquisition of language. This is the LAD, or
Language Acquisition Device, which distinguishes human learning from
animal learning.

Chomsky criticised Structuralism because it did not account for the

capacity that allows a native speaker to generate an infinite number of
grammatical utterances from a limited set of acquired inner rules. This
capacity will be known as linguistic competence. He also argued that
structural grammar dealt only with surface structure and not with deep
structure. Chomsky perceived language as a fundamentally creative
activity. Thus, a native speaker can create an infinite number of
sentences that he/she has never heard before, yet they are
grammatically correct.

The objective of any language learner will be to acquire linguistic

competence in the foreign language. This competence will be reflected
in actual linguistic performance, which is, at the same time, the means
through which competence can be modelled and improved. Linguistic
competence is, therefore, a mental capacity, both the product and the
origin of linguistic performance.

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E. P. * INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 11

Chomsky describes grammar as a limited concrete number of structures

from which the individual, by means of his/her creativity, generates
infinite messages. Human languages are live, stimulating and creative
entities. It follows from these ideas that teaching materials should be
authentic and reflect linguistic reality, with all its variations and individual
contributions. The use of the video is one of the novelties introduced by
this approach. As regards evaluation, apart from traditional exercises like
composition, dictation and translation, there is a new one: the cloze test,
that is, filling in the gaps created by removing certain words from a text.
This exercise is easily adapted to evaluate contents.
However, it cannot be so easily adapted to evaluate procedures and
skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). It is not very reliable as it
reduces linguistic competence to a fairly limited series of grammar and
vocabulary cases. As a result, the cloze test cannot be considered, by
itself, an evaluating instrument. In fact, it should work together with other
types of exercises (usually, the ones mentioned above).

Among the most important contributions of Generative Grammar to

language teaching, we can mention the fact that it established a
distinction between language learning and language acquisition. As we
will see later in this work, acquisition takes place in a natural native-
speaking environment, while learning does not. Another remarkable
contribution is the introduction of error analysis. While structuralist
methods normally avoided explanations (in search of inductive learning)
and invariably rejected errors in language teaching, the Generative
Approach considered errors as basic steps from which a lot can be learnt
and explained.

3.4. Pragmatics and the Communicative Approach: a global,

interdisciplinary view of language teaching and learning.

3.4.a. Theoretical foundations.

This is a compound of different theories, all of which sound close and

familiar to us, at least in practical terms. They all share the view that the
objective of anyone who learns or acquires a second language is not a
purely linguistic one. The objective is what we now will call
communicative competence, with all its complexities and implications.

The most prominent of these modern theories have appeared in the so-
called Linguistic School of London. For example, Dell Hymes opposed
the term communicative competence to Chomskys linguistic
competence. Firth and Halliday developed the notion of situation and
language use. Wilkins established the notional-functional approach in
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order to cope with the so-called Threshold level, a term that referred to
the fundamental common core of language that all students would need
before going into their particular areas of interest or communicative
needs.

Howatt criticised behaviourist theories and brought forward the notion of

cognition: language acquisition does not result from simple responses
to the environment, but rather from a complex process of learning to
create meaning and interact by using the language. To all this corpus of
theories and research, Corder added the importance of motivation as an
essential factor in language learning.
Now we realise that there is a global, enormous reality, essential to the
individual and to society, which is called Communication. Within this
global activity, linguistic matters are important, but, by no means, unique.

Through the filter of Applied Linguistics (to which we will refer later),
communication theory borrows and adapts studies from relevant
disciplines such as Anthropology. Psychology, Sociology, Artificial
Intelligence studies, Philosophy, Discourse Analysis, Macro-linguistics,
Micro-linguistics, Sociolinguistics, etc., in order to develop a pragmatic
view of language teaching. For example, the process through which the
mother tongue and the second language are acquired, the difference
between learning and acquisition... are particularly interesting to that
purpose.

3.4.b. Innovations and contributions.

The Communicative Approach will be primarily concerned with

Semantics: how meaning is produced, negotiated and interpreted. All
factors that take part in the communicative event are important:
knowledge of the world, social and cultural aspects, the general context,
the setting, the participants, the code they use, the channel or contact,
the intentions, the purposes, the form and tone of the message, linguistic
aspects (phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic), etc.

All these elements that take part in the process of production and
interpretation of a text (discourse sample or communicative act) are
modelled and organised according to the so-called co-operative
principle. This principle appears as a result of the interlocutors will to
communicate effectively, that is, to share their common knowledge so as
to successfully interchange some information about the world. In a
communicative act we can observe what experts often call negotiation
of meaning, whose main purpose is essentially concrete and pragmatic:
to inform, to cause a certain behaviour or reaction, to obtain a
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response... . The basic unit of study is not the sentence, but the text. It is
necessary to develop some kind of text grammar, that is, a systematic
analysis that enables us to identify the elements that make
communication possible, and also those which determine the meaning of
the message. For instance, why does the form or the meaning of a
message vary, according to the type of relationship between the
participants, because of a change in the context, etc., while the
communicative function is the same? For example: the words and tone
we use to ask a favour from a friend are probably different from the ones
we use when we ask something from our boss; a single expression like
Thats great! can have different particular meanings according to the
context where it is said.
Apart from these cognitive aspects that surround any communicative
act, experts who study texts and discourse as a process (Halliday,
Widdowson) establish the formal factors that regulate production and
comprehension of a text or a fragment of discourse: cohesion and
coherence. These elements are essential components of a text, which
cannot exist without them. The analysis of a text will, therefore, try to
identify its elements of cohesion (conjunction, anaphora, cataphora,
semantic fields, deixis) and coherence (semantic material that makes
interpretation possible).

Other remarkable contributions of Pragmatics are, apart from text

analysis (mentioned above), the arrangement of linguistic patterns
according to communicative notions and functions, that is, according to
what we actually represent, do or get through language use. These
functions are universal in all languages: ask, hesitate, advise, complain,
command, inform, argue, explain, agree... . Notions are also universal:
distance, temperature, possession, frequency, spatial location, time
location, etc. . Thus, the objective of second language students will be to
become able to express such notions and functions, that is, to acquire
communicative competence. This objective will be achieved through a
varied and dynamic process, through exposure to the use of language,
rather than through the study of language usage and mechanical
repetition of models.

Didactic materials have to be authentic as far as possible, at least

authentic-looking in initial stages. The use of computers in language
teaching is also an innovation that has occurred within this modern
approach. Computer programmes and internet offer good possibilities for
interaction and self-teaching, though they may not be a self-sufficient
method on their own.

New methodologies are quite eclectic, they use all kinds of resources,
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traditional and modern, depending on the needs of the student, their

learning style, the learning context and so on.

Evaluation will try to measure the learners communicative competence,

which is quite difficult, in fact. It requires the use of all kind of exercises
(dictation, cloze test, multiple choice questions, translation, composition,
interview, reading and listening comprehension activities...). Finally, let
us remember that the communicative approach does not imply breaking
up with the past, but rather opening our mind to old and new methods,
and applying them in proper ways to suit particular purposes. At the
same time, the objectives tend to be better defined, that is, more
concrete and pragmatic, according to the situation and to the needs of
the learner.
4. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS.

Like many other disciplines, language teaching needs to rely on a corpus

of data and information. This information helps to regulate the practice of
teaching and makes it more rational and effective.

Teaching, in general, depends on scientific material provided by

Pedagogy, Psychology, Sociology, etc Apart from these, language
teaching, in particular, will use developments achieved by Linguistics, or
rather, Macrolinguistcs, which would include, at least, Psycholinguistics,
Sociolinguistics and Microlinguistics (Phonology, Morphology, Syntax
and Semantics). All data and knowledge from these disciplines can help
us to understand processes, make decisions and identify problems in
language learning.

But how can we take advantage of those contributions if we are not

specialists in any of them? This gap should be covered by Applied
Linguistics. Studies of this kind began to appear around the 1960s, with
the aim of applying the categories and descriptions of structural
microlinguistic analysis, straightaway, to language teaching. However,
many aspects have changed since them. Nowadays, we understand
Applied Linguistics in quite a different and much more comprehensive
way: this speciality collects data, information and advances from all
language-related disciplines and then arranges and directs that
knowledge towards the understanding of every factor and difficulty in
language teaching. It covers fields such as mother language teaching,
linguistic planning, speech therapy, etc. . In this sense, Applied
Linguistics acts as a mediating filter between different theories and
teaching practice. Although Applied Linguistics is still probably rather
theoretical, its projects always include practical experimentation of the
theories and information collected, in order to anticipate results and
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apply this material effectively.

There are some typical areas of inquiry in Applied Linguistics, for

example:

Previous research on the nature of human languages and

microlinguistic systems of analysis. In this field, Applied Linguistics
has to be eclectic and start from a global view, so as to carry out a
kind of pedagogic filter and retain those aspects particularly relevant
to language teaching.
Linguistic tests and their statistic analyses. Measuring instruments
have to actually select and evaluate the intended competence,
according to the needs of students and their purposes in language
learning.
There are also studies of texts, their legibility and text-summarising
techniques, elaboration of pedagogic grammars, etc. .
Works on the literacy of population, regional and social varieties, first
language teaching in Primary and Secondary School.
One of the most interesting areas is probably the research that is
being carried out in second language learning and second language
acquisition, their similarities and differences, their processes, the
results obtained, etc. .

4.1. First and Second Language Acquisition. Language learning

versus language acquisition.

Research and studies in this field are particularly interesting for language
teachers. Based on these insights and illustrated by of our own teaching
experience, we can identify the differences and see how children acquire
their mother tongue and how they acquire or learn the foreign language.
Then, we should decide whether those are essentially similar processes
or quite separate ones. Our conclusions will provide valuable clues on
how to design the language syllabus, how to define the objectives,
prepare activities and select materials, how to distribute time and
spaces, determine the sequencing of didactic contents in adequate
didactic units, etc. .

As we said in previous pages, Structuralism, following Skinners

behaviourist theory, considered the human mind as a tabula rasa, and
language acquisition as the acquisition of a set of habits through a
process of stimulus and response. The right habits were acquired
through trial and error, by reinforcing the right responses.

Later, Chomsky argued that the human mind possessed an innate

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linguistic capacity: the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Thus, we

are able to generate an infinite number of sentences from a limited set of
rules. Statistically, it was proved that all children acquired the linguistic
elements of their mother language in the same order.

In the pragmatic view, language is understood as a more functional and

social entity. Communicative competence is the aim of language
acquisition. It has been found that children use the language long before
they are able to produce their first recognisable word. Their system is
peculiar and simpler than the adults one, but it is gradually developed
into the mother language system.

The reasons for such development are their communicative needs within
the environment. This motivation is strong enough for children to acquire
their first language.
What about the second language? Structural methods established the
concept of linguistic interference. They assumed that the second
language was learnt on the basis of the first. Positive interference
occurred when their structures where identical; negative interference
when they were different.

However, not all the errors in the second language can be explained in
terms of its differences with the first. It is necessary to look for reasons
within the very nature of the process of language acquisition. In this
respect, it is quite clear that the process is the same for the first and
second language: hypotheses are formed in the mind about the still
unknown rules of the system, these hypotheses are applied and modified
according to the feedback received, which confirms or denies their
communicative efficiency. More recently, it has also been found that the
elements of the system of the second language are acquired roughly in
the same order and in the same way as those of the mother tongue.
According to Pit Corder, in the mind there is some kind of built-in
syllabus that allows the system to be acquired in a progressive manner,
always in, more or less, the same order.

Another interesting phenomenon is the formation and use of

communicative strategies. The need and the effort to communicate are
the ultimate reasons for anyone to learn a second language. The learner,
due to his/her knowledge of the world in the mother tongue, is fully aware
of what he/she wants to communicate. If that content cannot be
expressed through his/her command of the second language, the learner
will use some kind of what is known as communicative strategies. For
example: gestures, reducing the content of the message, inventing
words and structures, borrowing them from the mother language, trying
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to explain in a longer way what he/she wants to communicate, etc. . If

the feedback received proves this attempt has been successful, the
strategy used will become part of the learners second language
system. This phenomenon is, again, parallel to childrens natural
acquisition of their mother tongue. As we can see, the process of
language acquisition is always very much the same, no matter whether it
is the first or the second language.

However, it is very difficult to decide on the nature of what we will call

language learning. Acquisition implies a natural process of linguistic
interaction with native speakers, without any formal teaching, usually in
the cultural context of the target language.

Learning involves conscious contact with some kind of formal teaching

(the teacher, a book, records, etc.), usually without a direct contact with
the cultural context of the target language.
Generally, one of the main differences between acquisition and learning
is the amount of exposure to the second language. This exposure much
more intensive in language acquisition, as a result of the continuous
contact and interaction by means of the language. A mixture of both
(acquisition and learning) is usually an effective method, especially with
adult learners, who take great advantage of conscious learning together
with continuous unconscious exposure to the language. In a situation of
language learning, our aim will be to make language learning as
efficient and fast as possible. In this respect, Corder suggests that if we
could get to know the order of the students built-in syllabus (mental
programme), we would be able to arrange the linguistic elements,
objectives, contents, activities, abilities... in a proper manner, so as to
obtain the best results from learning.

It is very important to consider errors as valuable and concrete evidence

of the state of development of the learners system. Thus, we should
always try to provide the necessary and appropriate feedback, so that
the student can modify, correct, replace or add those attempts to
his/her language system. Let us remember that students learn through a
communicative process, both receptively (listening and reading) and
productively (speaking and writing), so those who take greater risks will
eventually learn faster.

As we have hinted above, there seem to be some remarkable

differences between adult and young students in acquiring or learning a
foreign language. For instance, it has been commonly observed that in a
bilingual situation, on a long-term basis, children learn more effectively.
This suggests that there might be a slow loss of the inductive capacity
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with age. Children also acquire the sound system more easily, which can
be explained in neurological terms. On the other hand, older learners can
use more and better learning abilities than children. For example they
tend to exploit many deductive and analytical techniques that young
learners have not acquired yet. Adults can make a mental effort and
keep motivated over longer periods. They are also able to exploit a much
wider range of strategies for learning and communication, as a result of
their greater knowledge and experience of the world.

Moreover, we will always find that each individual has a particular

learning style which derives from his/her interests, capacities and
needs. For example, some students are very good at retaining
vocabulary, sometimes related to special fields they are interested in.
Other learners show extraordinary capacity for using new grammar
structures with accuracy and correction. Pronunciation is quite connected
with musical abilities such as fine hearing, imitation of sounds and tones,
intonation, etc. .
There are quite a lot of theories about language acquisition (the
Acculturation Model, the Accommodation Theory, the Discourse
Theory, the Monitor Model...) and also many works on language
learning. All of them are useful and offer true perspectives of these
matters. The most useful for language teachers, nevertheless, are
probably those that contain practical materials and real examples to
follow in everyday practice. Because, after all, as Pit Corder points out in
his article The significance of learners errors (from Error Analysis and
Interlanguage):

Let us say therefore that, given motivation, it is inevitable that a human

being will learn a second language if he is exposed to the language data.
Study of language aptitude does in some measure support such a view
since motivation and intelligence appear to be the two principal factors
which correlate significantly with achievement in a second language..

5. CONCLUSIONS.

It is quite clear that language teaching has advanced rather slowly

throughout the centuries. It is also apparent that no method can be
classified as intrinsically good or bad. All of them have provided
positive results and not-so-positive ones. The choice depends on the
type of programme we have to follow, on our personal perspective on
language teaching and, especially, on the balance between the aims we
pursue and the results we obtain.

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Nowadays, there is a general tendency to eclecticism. All methods

present some valid aspects and useful types of activities. Each learner
has a personal learning style and individual capacities, as well as
learning interests and communicative needs. Whatever the method, we
should have access to, provide and design the adequate materials to suit
those needs and compensate capacities and difficulties.

The communicative approach seems to be the most comprehensive

and realistic approach to language learning, probably because it offers
the most modern views and, to a great extent, covers all the previous
methods. However, there will always be doubts and unanswered
questions, such as: Should the teacher follow the programmes contained
in books? or, on the other hand, should we try to place the students in a
communicative environment without a particular order and wait for their
systems to develop through a natural acquisition process stimulated by
communicative needs? Will errors be considered as a mere reflection of
the state of development? or, will we impose correction and punish
mistakes?
Some of these problems may have a solution in the contributions of
Applied Linguistics, which, as a rather new discipline, ought to work hand
in hand with pedagogy and methodology to offer global insights and
solutions to particular situations. In this sense, the objectives of Applied
Linguistics will be pragmatic and applicable: instruction of teachers,
elaboration of programmes, materials, books... able to cope with different
learning situations and needs.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Chomsky, N. . Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge,

Massachusetts, MIT Press, 1965.
Corder, Pit. Introducing applied linguistics. Harmondsworth, Penguin
Books, 1973, p. 142.
Corder, Pit. Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1981.
Crystal, D. . Linguistics. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1971.
Ellis, R. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1985.
Halliday, M. A. K. . An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London:
Edward Arnold, 1985.
Hyde, John. Teora y prctica: el papel de la lingstica aplicada
(Compilacin de artculos, junto con otros autores).
Hymes, D. On Communicative Competence, Pride and Holmes
(eds.), Sociolinguistics. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1972.
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 E. P. * INGLS Aprendizaje Lingstico 20

Izquierdo Olalla, Javier. Enseanza y aprendizaje de idiomas en

personas adultas: el enfoque metodolgico. 1995.
Pujante, Angel Luis. La enseanza de las lenguas a travs de la
historia (Compilacin de artculos, junto con otros autores).
Richards, J. . Error Analysis. Longman, 1974.
Widdowson, H. G. . Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 1985.
Wilkins, D. A. Second Language Learning and Teaching. London:
Edward Arnold, 1974.
Wilkins, D. A. . Notional Syllabuses. Oxford, Oxford University Press,
1976.
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