2. It is important for you to develop an awareness of the
properties of language and an understanding L1 language
development in children.
Your understanding of what language is and how the
learner learns will determine to a large extent, your
philosophy of education, and how you teach English:
your teaching style,
your approach,
methods and
classroom technique.
In short, this knowledge of the nature of language and
the language learning process would enable you to teach
your learners to learn a second language more effectively.
3. What is your definition of language?
Write down in twenty-five-words-or-less a definition of
language.
4. What is Language?
There are many ways in which we could describe language.
Your definition of language probably yield something that
sounds similar to the following composite definition:
A language is considered to be a system of communicating
with other people using sounds, symbols and words in
expressing a meaning, idea or thought.
This language can be used in many forms, primarily
through oral and written communications as well as using
expressions through body language.
5. Language is defined as "a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by
the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures or marks having understood
meanings." (Webster New International Dictionary of the English Language, 654),
and "is a tool for communication" (Emmet, 22).
In most common use of language, these signs are the words which we employ in
such a way that they may communicate ideas or feelings.
6. There are many possible theoretical positions about the nature of language.
Commonly, three different views are explicitly or implicitly reflected in current
approaches to language learning.
The structural view of language
The structural view of language is that language is a system of structurally related
elements for the transmission of meaning.
These elements are usually described as:
phonological units (phonemes)
grammatical units (phrases, clauses, sentences)
grammatical operations (adding, shifting, joining or transforming elements)
lexical items (function words and structure words)
The target of language learning, in the structural view, is the mastery of elements of
this system.
7. The communicative view of language The communicative view of language is the
view that language is a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning. The
semantic and communicative dimensions of language are more emphasized than
the grammatical characteristics, although these are also included. The target of
language learning is to learn to express communication functions and categories
of meaning.
8. The interactional view of language The interactional view of language sees
language primarily as the means for establishing and maintaining interpersonal
relationships and for performing social transactions between individuals. The
target of language learning in the interactional view is learning to initiate and
maintain conversations with other people.
