 |
|
Divisions based on nonlinguistic factors studied
Alongside the structurally motivated domains of study are other fields of linguistics. These fields are distinguished by the kinds of nonlinguistic factors that they consider:
· Applied linguistics, the study of language-related issues applied in everyday life, notably language policies, planning, and education. (Constructed language fits under Applied linguistics.)
· Biolinguistics, the study of natural as well as human-taught communication systems in animals, compared to human language.
· Clinical linguistics, the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.
· Computational linguistics, the study of linguistic issues in a way that is 'computationaly responsible', i.e., taking careful note of computational consideration of algorithmic specification and computational complexity, so that the linguistic theories devised can be shown to exhibit certain desirable computational properties implementations.
· Developmental linguistics, the study of the development of linguistic ability in individuals, particularly the acquisition of language in childhood.
· Evolutionary linguistics, the study of the origin and subsequent development of language by the human species.
· Historical linguistics or diachronic linguistics, the study of language change over time.
· Language geography, the study of the geographical distribution of languages and linguistic features.
· Linguistic typology, the study of the common properties of diverse unrelated languages, properties that may, given sufficient attestation, be assumed to be innate to human language capacity.
· Neurolinguistics, the study of the structures in the human brain that underlie grammar and communication.
· Psycholinguistics, the study of the cognitive processes and representations underlying language use.
· Sociolinguistics, the study of variation in language and its relationship with social factors.
· Stylistics, the study of linguistic factors that place a discourse in context.
Semiotics is not a discipline within linguistics; rather, it investigates the relationship between signs and what they signify more broadly. From the perspective of semiotics, language can be seen as a sign or symbol, with the world as its representation.
Read the text.
Pick up the key words.
Divide the text into logical parts.
Make up an outline of the text.
Find the main idea in each part of the text.
Express the main idea of each part in one sentence.
Find supporting details in each part of the text.
Compress the text excluding the supporting details.
Express the main idea of the text in one sentence.
Write an annotation/a summary of the text using words and word combinations from your active vocabulary and sample summaries.
Text 9.
Language education
| Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics. |
Skills teaching
When talking about language skills, the four basic ones are: listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, other, more socially based skills have been identified more recently such as summarizing, describing, narrating etc. In addition, more general learning skills such as study skills and knowing how one learns have been applied to language classrooms.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the four basic skills were generally taught in isolation in a very rigid order, such as listening before speaking. However, since then, it has been recognized that we generally use more than one skill at a time, leading to more integrated exercises. Speaking is a skill that often is underrepresented in the traditional classroom. This could be due to the fact that it is considered a less-academic skill than writing, is transient and improvised (thus harder to assess and teach through rote imitation).
More recent textbooks stress the importance of students working with other students in pairs and groups, sometimes the entire class. Pair and group work give opportunities for more students to participate more actively. However, supervision of pairs and groups is important to make sure everyone participates as equally as possible. Such activities also provide opportunities for peer teaching, where weaker learners can find support from stronger classmates.
Language educators have long used the concepts of four basic language skills:
· Listening
· Speaking
· Reading
· Writing
The four basic skills are related to each other by two parameters:
· the mode of communication: oral or written
· the direction of communication: receiving or producing the message
A great way to share your love of languages with others and ensure you use your skills regularly is to teach. Depending on the setting you choose, you may work with children, adults or both, towards a variety of goals, from passing exams to getting ready for holidays abroad or conducting business negotiations.
Mother tongue mirroring is the adaptation of the time-honoured technique of literal translation or word-for word translation for pedagogical purposes. The aim is to make foreign constructions salient and transparent to learners and, in many cases, spare them the technical jargon of grammatical analysis. It differs from literal translation and interlinear text as used in the past since it takes the progress learners have made into account and only focuses upon a specific structure at a time. As a didactic device, it can only be used to the extent that it remains intelligible to the learner, unless it is combined with a normal idiomatic translation.
Read the text.