APPLIED LINGUISTICS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

How Can Language Teachers Benefit from Applied Linguistics?

   
     Second language acquisition is one of the areas of study of Applied Linguistics. From long ago, linguists have been concerned about how people acquire languages and how teachers can teach them better. According to Schmitt and Celce-Murssia, Applied Linguistics consists in using what we know about the language, how it is learned, and how it is used in order to achieve some purpose or to solve a problem in the real world. On account of this fact, there is a connection between linguistics and other fields such as Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, all of which deal with the issues of language teaching and learning.

   
     When foreign language teachers start their career, they need to get familiar with the form of the target language. In this way, they can handle the linguistic structures that comprise the target language such as syntax, semantics, morphology, pragmatics, phonology and phonetics. Nonetheless, the knowledge teachers get from the language is not enough. One of the most difficult aspects dealing with teaching is to choose the proper methodology and didactics which best suit the needs of the learners. Despite this, teachers must take other aspects into account such as language learning processes. A theory that deals with these processes is Contrastive Analysis proposed by Robert Lado (1957). He states that foreign or second language learners tend to compare linguistic features between their mother tongue and the target language. The similarities (positive transference) between both languages will ease the foreign or second language learning, but the differences (interference) between the two systems can hinder the learning of the foreign or second language. This theory can help English teachers understand the internal mechanisms people use to process a foreign or second language. Taking this into account, teachers must attempt to improve language teaching and to foster language learning through the appropriate instruction and language exposure. In this case, it is needed to make use of authentic materials and resources in the classes in order to help learners reduce their mistakes progressively.

 

   
     Linguistics is also connected with other fields such as Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics that have important insights in learning a foreign or second language. Neurolinguistics deals with the processes involved in language which take place in the brain of human beings. Besides, it is interested in studying the phenomena related to mental illnesses which interfere with language understanding and production. In educational settings, teachers should have sound knowledge of how the brain works, as well as the possible causes and consequences that language disorders have in the learning process. When teachers become aware of these kinds of problems, they are able to implement different and appropriate strategies that address these disorders in order to foster the learning. However; language is not just influenced by what takes place in the brain, but also by external factors which affect the linguistic competence, the linguistic performance, and the communicative competence of both speaker and hearer. For this reason, it is important to highlight the influence psycholinguistics has in second or foreign language learning.

     Psycholinguistics is interested in the way in which the mind deals with language, including matters such as how language is stored in the mind, and how language is understood and produced in real time (Bauer, L.2007). Foreign language teachers must be aware that mental representations differ from speaker to speaker and not every individual processes and understands language the same way. Due to this fact, teachers must emphasize on the quantity and quality of interaction the students have in order to achieve the communicative act. The former is related to the amount of time students are exposed to the spoken and written language in the classroom. The latter refers to how effective teaching is or has been as well as to how meaningful the type of material has been.

    To sum up, Applied Linguistics deals with practical problems and issues in language teaching and learning. Foreign language teachers can take advantage of the knowledge and insights gained from scientific investigations into the nature of language. As a result, they can solve some of the problems which may come up in the planning or implementation of language teaching programs. Besides, these professionals can enrich their teaching when they become aware of the processes and the conditions inside and outside the learner, so that language understanding and language production can spring in a more effective way.

References

·         Schmitt, N. & Celce-Murcia, M. (2002) “An Overview of Applied Linguistics” In An Introduction to Applied Linguistics, ed. Schmitt  N., London: Arnold
·         Lado, R. (1957) Linguistics across Cultures, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
·         Lado, R. (1964) Language Teaching: A Scientific Approach, New York:McGraw-Hill.
·         Bauer, L.( 2007). The Linguistics Student´s Handbook. Edinburgh: Edinburg University press.