Aportaciones de la Lingüística a la Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras

TEMARIO DE OPOSICIONES INGLÉS - PRIMARIA

APORTACIONES DE LA LINGÜÍSTICA A LA ENSEÑANZA DE LAS LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS

EL PROCESO DE APRENDIZAJE LINGÜÍSTICO: SEMEJANZAS Y DIFERENCIAS ENTRE LA ADQUISICIÓN DE LA PRIMERA LENGUA ESCOLAR Y DE LA LENGUA EXTRANJERA

ÓN DE OP OS PREI LES DE CANARIAS 1 preparacionoposiciones.com preparacion.oposicionesTOPIC 6. CONTRIBUTIONS OF LINGUISTICS TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING. LINGUISTIC LEARNING PROCESS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ADQUISITION.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTRIBUTION OF LINGUISTICS TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
3. Linguistic Learning Process: Similarities and Differences Between First and Second Language Acquisition.
4. CONCLUSION
5. DOCUMENTAL REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

CONTRIBUTION OF LINGUISTICS TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

This topic aligns two of the main Key Competences of our Foreign language teaching: Competence in Linguistic Communication (CLC) and Plurilingual Competence (PC). In this section, we will examine the contributions of the different linguistic fields: the linguistic field, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and neurolinguistics.

Contribution to the Linguistic Field

The linguistic field has made significant contributions through the observation and description of the nature of the human language. This field typically focusses on how human beings acquire language, as it is something we do with ease and efficiency, with little need for instruction. Most scholars in this field affirm that language is an innate skill, like the ability to eat. However, there is considerable debate on this aspect.

• Structuralism: Ferdinand de Saussure is considered "the father of modern linguistics" through his theory of Structuralism, which is based on the relationship between units and rules. Language is understood as a system of interrelated structures, where signs are arbitrarily associated with their meanings.
• The behaviourism: Leonard Bloomfield proposed behaviourism principles and empirical methodologies for language acquisition. Bloomfield argued that language could be studied empirically through observation, as it is understood as a set of learned habits. According to this theory, learners acquire language through repetition, specifically as a response to stimuli. The audio-lingual and oral situational methods emerged as practical applications of this theory.
• Contrastive Linguistic: Robert Lado introduced the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, which is based on the comparison between languages. Lado stated that similarities between the first and second language facilitate second language acquisition. Conversely, differences between the two languages are considered the main cause of learning difficulties, as they often lead to errors. For instance, when pupils change the order of the noun and the adjective when switching languages ("a house red*" instead of "a red house").
• Generative Grammar: Noam Chomsky directly opposed Bloomfield's structuralist approach, which viewedlanguage as set of habits. Chomsky argued that language consist of complex and abstract rules that allow the creation of an infinite number of sentences. According to him, much of linguistic knowledge is innate. He introduced the concept of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), an inherent mechanism that enables children to acquire the basic structure of their native language, facilitating rapid development of linguistic competence. For instance, the "formulaic language" used in the foreign language classroom could be a great example of learning grammar unconsciously, by repeating typical phrases such as: "Can I fill my water bottle, please?". Chomsky also introduced the concept of Universal Grammar, a theoretical framework suggesting that all languages share fundamental principles. He distinguished between:

• Performance: The infinite external language that a speaker can produce.
• Competence: The finite set of internal rules that govern language production.

Contributions of the Psychological Field

This field accepted Chomsky's contribution to language acquisition. Thus, psycholinguistics acknowledged the distinction between external performance and internal competence. After Chomsky's theory, Corder (1967) published The Significance of Learner Errors. In this article he argued that only systematic errors provide evidence of a learner's language development and the acquisition process. Therefore, random mistakes do not offer a clear picture of what learners know. As a result, a new field was opened: "Error Analysis".

• Error Analysis: Corder made a distinction between errors and mistakes. He defined errors as proof of learner's incomplete and systematic knowledge of a language, meaning that errors provide information about the language learning process. On the one hand, errors are committed unconsciously by learners, who are unable to self-correct them. On the other hand, mistakes occur when a native speaker or learner who masters a concrete linguistic rule fails to use it correctly but is able to self-correct it. Corder also introduced the concept "Transitional Competence" to refer to a learner's knowledge.
• Interlanguage: Selinker introduced the term "interlanguage" to distinguish and describe the stages of Second Language Acquisition. This term reflects a mix of different influences, including elements of the first language, aspects of the target language, and characteristics that tend to appear in most interlanguage systems. Interlanguages are both systematic and dynamic and can be an important source of insight into what students understand about the target language.

Contribution of the Sociolinguistic Field

Now we are going to explore the contributions of the sociolinguistic field to foreignlanguage teaching.

• Variationist sociolinguistics: Labov's paradigm focused on how language varies according to the social characteristics of the speaker. Thus, language varies, for example, through style-shifting and through the amount of attention the speaker is paying to the speech. This is why we should teach different language functions as well as the ability to adapt language to different contexts.
• Discursive Adaptation: Giles and Smith introduced a new element: the speaker's intention. Their contribution to Foreign Language Teaching was the idea that language does not only vary according to the social context but also depends on the speaker's intention to create closeness or distance from the audience. For example, in the first cycle, teachers adjust their speech using shorter sentences ("Good!"), speaking more slowly when talking to children and making gestures ("We're going to cut") and using supportive language ("No worries!").
• Acculturation model: Acculturation is a two-way process that affects the members of two or more cultural groups as each one adapts to the presence of the other. In other words, social and psychological variables lead to pidginization; a pidgin is a mixture of two or more languages. The social distance of a group of learners varies depending on several factors such as the social dominance of the group, its size, or its integration into the new culture, among others.
• Socio-educational Model: Howard Gardner linked the social and cultural background in which learners grow up with the individual differences among learners and the learning outcomes. This model presents four factors that influence individual differences in the foreign language learning process: intelligence, aptitude for learning languages, anxiety, and motivation. Teachers used phrases such as: Splendid! Great effort! Well done!

Contributions of the Neurolinguistics Field

Through the study of patients with various types of aphasia, the neurologists Broca and Wernicke observed that people who had damage to a particular area on the left side of the brain had speech and language problems. They proposed the following ideas:

• The left hemisphere is responsible for language and formal learning.
• The right hemisphere is involved in spontaneous learning and creativity.

The best stage for foreign language learning is during early childhood, particularly up to the age of 5, although cerebral plasticity also facilitates language acquisition untilabout 12 years old. All these contributions to linguistics have benefited the learning of English as a second language in our field. The Decree 211/2022, highlights this in the basic knowledge, Block B: Plurilingualism, or in Stage Objective F, by applying the communicative function of linguistics.

LINGUISTIC LEARNING PROCESS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Now that we have seen the contributions from the different linguistic fields, we will delve deeper into the linguistic learning process (specific competence 5). We will analyse the similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition.

The mother tongue

When we talk about language acquisition, we are referring to first language acquisition, which is the way in which children acquire their mother tongue. The concept of second language acquisition refers to the process of acquiring an additional language in a way similar to first language acquisition. However, "learning" is a different concept: it is a less spontaneous, more structured process that results in formal linguistic knowledge. First language acquisition happens quickly and naturally, without any need for explicit instruction on how to use the language. We, as teachers, must create communicative activities to promote the use of the foreign language. According to Wolton (2006) "all communication processes should be an attempt to relate, to share with others".

Similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition

Following Stephen Krashen (1982), the process of foreign language acquisition is similar to that of first language acquisition, but with a few important differences. This is where Krashen's five hypotheses come into play. These hypotheses are related to second language acquisition:

• The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis Acquisition is an unconscious process, and learning is a conscious one. These two processes are fundamentally different. Through the conscious learning of grammatical rules, we can monitor our speech and that of others, but this monitoring does not function effectively during spontaneous speech. This means that traditional, formal grammar lessons cannot and will not have any direct influence on the way a student speaks. During spontaneous communication, the naturally acquired linguistic system is the one that operates. This is why we should spend time developing acquisition processes in the