Using Applied Linguistics In Education Process - Essay Example

 Using Applied Linguistics In Education Process Before we discuss the areas of applied linguistics that can help in EFL pedagogue, it seems necessary to find answers to certain fundamental questions like ‘What is applied linguistics?’, ‘What are the key characteristics of applied linguistics?’ ‘How applied linguistics is different from linguistics?’ What is the importance of EFL in applied linguistics? Instead of beginning his discussion of applied linguistics with the simple definition of linguistics found in most of the books of the subject that ‘Linguistics is the scientific study of language’ Michael McCarthy (2001) makes us understand what applied linguistics is by comparing linguistics and applied linguistics. He begins by drawing our attention to Brumfit’s assertion (1991) that applied linguists try to offer solution to ‘the real-world problems in which language is a central issue’. He explains this by drawing our attention to the usefulness of applied linguistics by discussing how professionals like speech therapists, teachers of mother-tongue and foreign languages, forensic experts, advertising copy writers, historians, literary scholars, lexicographers, language planners , zoologists and others approach linguistics to get solutions for language-related problems in their work. When these professionals turn to the discipline of Linguistics to seek insight and potential solutions, applied linguistics comes into play. As Peter Strevens(2003)argues in his definition of applied linguistics: The sub-discipline of applied linguistics [AL] is an inquiry into the relevance of linguistic expertise to actual language experience. Whenever such expertise is drawn on to resolve a basic-language related problem, one may say that AL is being practiced. (p.112) This relevance to practical life is, then, the key characteristics of AL and this is what differentiates it from linguistics. As McCarthy maintains that applied linguistics ‘is essentially a problem-driven discipline, rather than a theory-driven discipline.’(P, 4) Strevens also speaks along similar lines when he argues that ‘AL is a technology that makes abstract ideas and research findings accessible and relevant to the real world; it mediates between theory and practice’. This role of mediation played by AL between theory and practice can be explained with the help of the following figure: Figure 1 ‘Applied linguistics mediates between theory and practice’ Explaining how AL provides an interface between linguistics and practitioners, McCarthy explains that it is the responsibility of linguistics to builds theories of language that are testable and to offers models, descriptions and explanations of language. Whereas AL ‘can not only test the applicability and replicability of linguistics theory and description, but also question and challenge them where they are found wanting’. He further explains that applied linguistics and linguistics ‘alike owe accountability to one another, principally thorough the fruits of their work’. Then McCarthy raises a question about the relationship between the two. Is this relationship based on a partnership or is it of hierarchical in nature. These ideas about this relationship between the two can be explained with the help of the following figure(based on MacCarthy’s ideas. Linguistics and Applied Linguistics: Hierarchy or Partnership? This figure gives us a view of the roles and responsibilities of the linguistics and Al and it also tells us that McCarthy seems to believe that it can be a fruitful partnership between the two if it is based on dialogue, sharing experience and accountability. (p21). In addition to these differences between the roles and responsibilities of the two, a survey of the origin of AL not only exemplifies to us how its role is different from that of linguistics but it also tells us an important fact that it was foreign language teaching or more precisely EFL which laid the foundation of this sub-discipline. According to Strevens (p113-114) AL emerged in the years following the World WarІІ when specialists and linguists were engaged by the military in the United States and Britain to produce many personnel having competence in one or more foreign languages. From 1956 on, the idea that linguistics could contribute useful to the study of language learning and teaching gave rise to two pioneering institutions with the term ‘applied linguistics’ in their title: the school of Applied Linguistics ( SAL) at Edinburgh University and the Centre for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington D.C. Both these institutes worked for the promotion of English language abroad, especially in the colonial world through curricula designing , new teaching material and teacher-training programs. In addition to the English world, in France, the campaign to revitalize the teaching of the French language led to two government-backed AL projects which tried to facilitate French spoken for foreign learners by compiling a collection of most frequently used words combined with the pioneering application of audiovisual technology in language teaching consisting of slide-projection, tape recordings, language laboratory work and a strong oral classroom style. These influences of SAL,CAL, and the French work led to the Council of Europe to set up a Languages Project under the leadership of John L. Trim. It set out to establish the practical language needs and how these needs be met. They pioneered techniques for needs analysis. Thus, this brief survey of the origin and history of AL not only tells us about how AL emerged but also the fact that emerged to facilitate foreign language learning. The early applied linguists tried to help foreign learners learn English and French and this led to the application of new, ways, techniques and areas that could be helpful in a foreign language learning of EFL learning. Needs analysis, audiovisual aids, curricula designing, and teacher training programs come to the fore as early steps in AL. As research furthered, new ways emerged which could help in EFL such as materials writing , error analysis, language testing/language assessment, bilingualism, multilingualism, translation, lexicography, Computer Assisted Learning (CAL)and language planning. Actually, EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language. It refers to the teaching and learning of English in a country or region where English is not a primary language. It may be learnt for some academic or non-academic purposes. ‘It is taught in schools but it does not play an essential role in national or social life’, as in Brazil and Spain where average citizen does not need English for his everyday life or for ‘professional advancement’., explain Geoffrey Broughton et al (1993, p 6) They further point out that it contrasts with English as a Second Language situation where English is the language of mass media, official institutions and education, large commercial and industrial organization, as in India . In such situations ‘ good command of English is passport to economic and professional advancement.’Therefore an EFL teaching is diferent from ESL teaching. ESL teaching materials and methods may not be effective in an EFL situation. EFL teaching should begin with needs analysis of the learners. The region may be a bilingual country or a multilingual country. The learners may need to learn English because it is a subject on school or college curriculam or they may need it because they are moving to an English speaking country. In addition to the linguistic needs of the learners, McCarthy argues that learners social and political environment should also be taken into account: ‘ real-world problems are best not regarded as divorced from the world outside of the classroom, from the wider socio-cultural and political contexts in which language learning takes place.(p10) In an e-mail interview with ELT News editor Mark McBennett in January, 2005. He seemed to agree with McBennett that in EFL teaching ‘think globally, act locally" kind of approach is the best. ….in this global village of ours, it's more important than ever that we respect local cultures, especially modes of transmission of knowledge, classroom cultures, learning cultures, world-views and philosophies, and do not try to impose linguistic imperialism or pedagogical imperialism of any kind. Thus an EFL syllabus should be based on the needs of the learners. It should consider not only the learners, needs but also the environment of the learners. A common way of teaching EFL is through translation which is another area of AL. Applied linguists suggests that use of translation may be effective in early classes and may not be effective in higher classes. Therefore studies made in the areas of translation can help us to use this tool effectively in our EFL teaching. In addition to translation, English dictionaries can play an important role in helping the students develop self-study habits.Dictionaries come within the area of lexicography. Lexicographers should also take into account an EFL situation and then develop dictionaries for such situations. An EFL teacher should see which dictionaries suit the situation. In this context, MacCarthy points out that there may be situations in which traditional, alphabetical, bilingual dictionaries may not be helpful for learners .He observes that alphabetical dictionaries are useful, if the user is already familiar with the word in the target language or has a word in his own to look up. ‘But what if a learner only has a vague idea of what he or she wants to say or ‘one has meaning floating round in mind but no words whereby to access it, either in the first or the target language?’ Suggesting a workable model in such a situation, he explains: Among the resources available in such a situation will be the thesauruses and word-finders of various kinds, and dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms. These types of reference works depart from purely alphabetical organization and bring words together on the same page accorduing to notions of meaning rather than their orthographical(written-alphabetical) form. The classic model for such organization is Roget’s thesaurus(1852). (p.16) Therefore, in lexicography key to success in EFL is studyingt he needs of the learners. The recently developed area of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) can also be very helpful in EFL learning, especially for the sake of giving students exposure to native English. A good EFL teacher must be in touch with the information about resources of software programmes for EFL, special websites, such as BBC and VOA , which offer teaching and learning materials on internet. He can use these resources to improve students’ pronunciation and familiarizing the students through videos about the culture in an English country. Error analysis can help in analysing students’ errors in a systematic way. It not only tells us students errors but it also helps us adopt the right method and activities for the task .Language testing can help in EFL, in the form of information about how to assess the quality of our own teaching. Thus, we have seen that EFL teaching techniques have expanded and become areas for research in their own rigth. An EFL teacher should be aware of new developments taking place in these areas so that he can be a part of international EFL community. The aim behind these research activities is to better EFL teaching, as the following words of Mccarthy seem to state : It is a language as a human phenomenon that we are attempting to understand , in the hope that we might teach it more effectively in its manifestations around the world, and also produce better dictionaries, materials and syllabuses or make improvemenrts in whatever our area of preoccupation might be.(p9) To conclude, we can say that AL is a ‘problem-driven’ sub-discipline of linguistics’ may help professionals of other fields but it emerged as a discipline to facilitate foreign language learning. There are a number of techniques which AL offers to us in order to help us in EFL teaching. EFL teachers should get insights from the studies made in these areas by applied linguists. They must keep in mind the specific EFL situation before using these techniques. References Broughton, Geoffrey. Christopher Brumfit. Roger Flavel. Peter Hill., Anita Pincas(2002) Teaching English as a foreign language. London:Routledge. Mark McBennett , (2005) Interview with Michael McCarthy. Retrieved Dec 20,2009, from http://www.eltnews.com/features/interviews/2005/01/interview_with_michael_mccarth.html Michael McCarthy. (2001).Issues in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Strevens, Peter. (2003) ‘Applied Linguistics’ In International Encyclopedia of linguistics (Vol.1), 2nd edition. New York. Oxford UP. Read More