CHAPTER 3 PAGE 21

LANUAGE AND LANGUAGES

1 – Applied linguistics is investigating problems in the world in which
language is implicated
2 – Language were a single unitary phenomenon
3 – THE COMMON FEATURES OF LANGUGAES
A – Languages have common properties , from the point of view of their
users it is the differences that account .
B – People do not speak language as an abstraction but particular
languages .
C – From practical perspective the most salient feature is that these
languages are mutually incomprehensible . When you hear unknown
language we cannot even make out the boundaries between words .
Reading is not better because , even if it uses familiar symbols , we do
not know what the words mean . And even if we painstakingly tracked
down each word in a dictionary , we would still not understand the way
they combine , or change in form and meaning with different contexts .
4 – WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS THAT EMERGED FROM THE
FEATURES OF LANUGAES ?
The simple facts about languages mean that one of the main ' problems in
which language is implicated ' is how speakers of different languages can
communicate with each other . There are two possible solutions : one is
for one , or both , sets of speakers to learn the other's language , and the is
to employ a translator .
PAGE 22
1 – In chapter 4 we shall be concerned with language teaching and
learning , and in chapter 6 with translation
2 – But before we address the matters directly , we need to consider how
differences between languages are perceived not only by linguists but by
non – specialists too .
3 – We need also to examine the balance of languages in the
contemporary world and the factors which determine who learns whose
language , and why .
4 – HOW SHALL LANGUAGES BE ADDRESSED ?
Before we address the matters directly , we need to consider how
differences between languages are perceived not only by linguists but by
non – specialists too . We need also to examine the balance of languages
in the contemporary world and the factors which determine who learns
whose language , and why .
ATTITUDE TO LANGUAES
5 – HOW DO NATIVE SPEAKERS OF A LANGUGAE FEEL ABOUT
LANGUAGE ?
Native speakers of a language usually regard it as in some sense their
own property . Yet they do not resent other people acquiring it . They
regard it as theirs . They feel that outsiders cannot identify with it quite as
they do . To them it remains familiar and intrinsic , to others it remains
foreign and something apart . It is their right , they believe to determine
what counts as correct and acceptable .
6 – HOW DO LINGUISTS FEEL ABOUT LANGUAGES ?
Linguists regard all languages as equal and arbitrary systems capable of
fulfilling functions , this is far from how they are perceived by language
users . Some languages are popularly regarded as being less complex
than others . For example one reason often given for the spread of
international English is that it is easier to learn . Some languages are
regarded as being more beautiful , and all are regarded as carrying the '
spirit ' of a particular nation or people . Thus Latin is widely believed to
be more logical , or German more efficient , or French more romantic
than others languages , and so on .
7 – WHAT ARE THE ACADEMIC AND POPULAR PERSPECTIVES
ABOUT LANGUGAES ?
Native speakers of a language usually regard it as in some sense their
own property . Yet they do not resent other people acquiring it . They
regard it as theirs . They feel that outsiders cannot identify with it quite as
they do . To them it remains familiar and intrinsic , to others it remains
foreign and something apart . It is their right , they believe to determine
what counts as correct and acceptable .
Linguists regard all languages as equal and arbitrary systems capable of
fulfilling functions , this is far from how they are perceived by language
users . Some languages are popularly regarded as being less complex than
others . For example one reason often given for the spread of
international English is that it is easier to learn . Some languages are
regarded as being more beautiful , and all are regarded as carrying the '
spirit ' of a particular nation or people . Thus Latin is widely believed to
be more logical , or German more efficient , or French more romantic
than others languages , and so on .
PAGE 23
1 – HOW DOES LINGUISTICS INVESTIGATE LANGUAGES ?
Linguistics investigates languages either in terms of their history or in
terms of their formal similarities .
2 – WHAT ARE THE PERSPECTIVES THAT NOT DETERMINING
BOUNDARIES BETWEEN LANGUGAES ?
For although linguistics investigates languages either in terms of their
history or in terms of their formal similarities , it is neither of these
perspectives which determines the boundaries between them . Nor is the
boundary between languages , as popularly believed , a matter of mutual
comprehensibility . There are many cases where people speak the same
language cannot understand each other . The dialect of Sicily makes little
sense in Venice , for example , and vice versa , though both are described
as ' Italian ' . Cantonese and Putonghua ( Mandarin Chinese ) – mutually
incomprehensible when spoken – are both referred to as ' Chinese ' . On
the other hand , there are pairs of languages which are , in part anyway ,
mutually comprehensible but are regarded as different . Speakers of
Russian can guess at the meaning of Ukrainian ; Italian may work for
basic transactions in a Spanish – speaking country ; readers of Japanese
can make some headway with Chinese characters ( ' borrowed by the
Japanese writing system over a thousand years ago ) .
3 – WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO ARGUE WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS
ABOUT THEIR VEIWS OF LANUGUAGE ?
The awkward fact is that if people decree that they speak a distinct
language , or conversely that what they speak is a dialect of a larger
language , then it is difficult to argue with .
4 WITH WHAT DO LINGUISTICS WORK ?
Linguistics , despite their claims to dispassionate objectivity and
detachment , by accepting terms such as ' Italian ' , ' Chinese ' , or '
English ' , are working with categories which are not based on any very
clear or scientific criteria at all .
THE LANGUGAE OF NATIONS : BOUNDARIES AND
RELATIONSHIPS
5 – WHAT DO THE NUMBER OF SPEAKER AND GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION INDICATE ?
In addition to academic linguistic and popular approaches , the number of
speakers and geographical distribution are two other ways in which
languages can be composed , both which are of particular importance in
the contemporary world . While the world's largest languages , such as
Chinese , English , Hindi , Spanish , and Arabic , have hundreds of
millions of speakers and are frequently used beyond their homelands , the
majority of the world's languages are much smaller , some with only a
few hundred speakers .
6 – WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALLER
LANUGAES ?
Smaller languages are confined to restricted areas and specific ethnic
groups , ( PAGE 24 ) and are often vulnerable . Among the world's
estimated 6,000 languages , language death now occurs increasingly
frequently . It has been estimated that half of the world's languages are
likely to disappear in the twenty – first century .
PAGE 24
1 – WHAT DOES THE CONSTANTLY CHANGING NATURE OF
LANGUGAES SUGGEST ?
The constantly nature of languages suggests that their fates , and the
boundaries between them , reflect not so much either formal linguistic
descriptions or popular ideas , as historical and political forces .
2 – HOW DO POWERFUL NATIONS FACE THE CONSTANTLY
CHANGIN NATURE OF LANGUGAES ?
Powerful nations have frequently asserted their unit by promoting one
single majority language in a standard written form while simultaneously
suppressing or ignoring minority languages .
3 – WHAT IS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUCCESSFUL
PROMOTION ? WITH EXAMPLE ?
There is also an ironic consequences to the successful promotion of one
language . In those nations which have spread their language beyond their
own borders the result has often been a multiplication rather than a
reduction of the languages within them . In the aftermath of empire the
capitals of the larger European nations – the most adamant exponents of
monolingualism – have become some of the most multilingual places on
earth . A survey of London primary schools in 2000 revealed that a total
of 350 home languages are used by London school children . The
situations of Paris , Rome , and Berlin are not dissimilar .
4 – WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE
MOVEMENTS AND THE PROMOTION OF ONE OF THE
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES ?
Also , independence movements within officially monolingual nations
often associate their cause with the promotion of one of the indigenous
languages which state has pushed aside . Scots Gaelic , once brutally
repressed , has been championed by the Scottish National Party and is
now and official languages of the Scottish Parliament – even though few
members can actually speak it .
5 – WHY DOES THE ATTEMPT TO THE MONOLINGUAL STATE
REMAIN A MYTH ?
Despite the efforts of nations builders then , the monolingual state
remains a myth . All nations have substantial linguistic groups within
their borders , making cross – linguistic communication and intranational
as well an international affairs .
6 – WHEN DOES CODE – SWITCHING OCCUR ?
It occurs because many individuals – perhaps even the majority of the
world's population – are bilingual or multilingual . They must change
tongue to go to go to the work or school , to speak to elderly relatives , or
deal with bureaucracy , making this code-switching a salient and
significant part of their daily experience . In Africa for example , it is
common to switch between a small local language , a dominant regional
language , and a former colonial language such as French , English , or
( PAGE 25 ) Portuguese . For immigrants to Europe there is switching
between the family language and that of their new home – Turkish and
German , or Arabic and French , for example .
PAGE 25
THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH
1 – WHAT ARE THE ISSUES AT HEART OF ENCOUNTERS
BETWEEN DIFFERENT LANGUGAES ?
Feeling of ownership , stereotyping , unequal distribution and power ,
individual and societal multilingualism – these are all issues at the heart
of encounters between different languages , and have been so throughout
history .
2 – WHY THESE ISSUES MUST BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF ANY
APPLIED LINGUISTICS ?
They must be at the forefront of any applied linguistics investigation if it
is to engage successfully with the many disputes which arise over the
rights and relationships between languages , and the problem of how best
to promote communication and understanding while also preserving
cultural and linguistic identity .
3 – WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF ENGLISH TO GROWTH TO BE
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL LANGUGAE ?
In addition to four hundred million or so first – language speakers , and
over a billion people who live in a country where it is an official
language, English is now taught as the main foreign language in virtually
every country , and used for business , education , and access to
information by a substantial proportion of the world's population .
Consequently the role of other international languages such as French or
Russian has diminished drastically . As with geographical areas , so with
areas of activity . French is no longer the international language of air
traffic control , or dominant in diplomacy . German and Russian are no
longer internationally necessary for scientific study .
4 – WHAT IS THE NAME OF OFFICAIL CHINESE LANUAGE AND
WHAT IS STATUS IN THE WORLD ?
The name in Putonghua . Although Putonghua remains the world's largest
first language , it has not grained ground as either an official second
language or a foreign language .
5 – WHAT DOES HAPPEN TO THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH IN
RECENT YEARS ?
In recent years the growth of English has been further accelerated by a
startling expansion in the quantity and speed of international
communication . The rise of international corporations , linked to
( PAGE 26 ) expanding of US power and influence , ensures an ever-
increasing use of English in business . Films , songs , television
programmes and advertisements in English are heard and seen in many
countries where it is not the first nor even a second language , both
feeding and reflecting this growth . The dominant language of internet is
English and , with the frequent absence of available software for writing
systems other than the roman alphabet , electronic mail is often conducted
in English , even among people who share another language .
PAGE 26
1 – WHAT THE RESULTS OF STATING ENGLISH AS THE
WORLD'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL LANGUGAE ?
A . For a large proportion of the world's population , the learning and use
of English as an additional language is both a major language need –
often one upon which their livelihood depends – and also one of the
salient language experiences of their lives .
B . Both non – native and native speakers are involved in Teaching
English as a Foreign Language ( TEFL ) as teachers , planners ,
administrators , publishers and testers .
C . The teaching and learning of English has generated tremendous
personal , political , academic and commercial interest .
D . Accompanied ( both cause and effect ) by globalization and virtually
unchallenged US military and economic ascendancy , the growth of
English raises important concerns about the dangers of linguistic and
cultural homogeneity .
ENGLISH AND ENGLISHES
2 – WHAT ARE THE PRADOXICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE
GROWTH OF ENGLISH ?
The growth of English , however also has some paradoxical
consequences . Far from automatically extending the authority of English
native speakers , it raises considerable doubts about whose language
English is , and how judgments about it can be made . It may even make
us consider not only definition of ' English native speaker ' , but also
whether this term is as significant in establishing norms for the language
as is usually supposed .
3 – In the case of smaller and less powerful languages , limited to a
particular community in a particular place , this is both unexceptional and
( PAGE 27 ) unremarkable .
PAGE 27
1 – WHEN DO THE SITUATION CHANGE AND CONFLICTS OF
OPINION BEGIN TO EMERGE IN ABOUT LANGUGAE ? GIVE
AND EXAMPLE ?
Once however , a language begins to spread beyond its original homeland
the situation changes and conflicts of opinion begin to emerge . Thus
even until surprisingly recently , many British English speakers regarded
American English as an ' impure ' deviation , rather as they might have
regarded non – standard forms within their own islands .
2 – DO THERE A SIMILAR SITUATION AND CONFLICTS OF
OPINIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES ?
With any language which spreads this backwash effect is inevitable , and
the justice of process seems incontrovertible . There is a similar
relationship between South American and Castilian Spanish , and the
Portugueses of Brazil and Portugal .
3 – WHAT IS MEANT BY ENGLISHES ?
They are different standard Englishes for countries where it is the
majority language .
4 – WHAT ARE THESE ENGLISHES ?
Standard American English , Standard Australian English , Standard New
Zealand English , and so on .
5 – WHAT ARE THE ENGLISHES STATUS IN THE COUNTRIES
THAT ENGLISH IS NOT THE LANGUGAE OF THE MAJORITY ?
Still contested by some , however , is the validity of standards for
countries where , although English may be a substantial or official
language , it is not that of the majority . Thus there is still opposition ,
even within the countries themselves , to the notion of Indian English ,
Singapore English , or Nigerian English .
6 – WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH ?
Far more contentious , however , is the possibility that , as English
becomes more and more widely used , recognized varieties might emerge
even in places where there is no national ' native speaker ' population or
official status . Could we , in the future , be talking about Dutch English ,
or Chinese English , or Mexican English ?
7 – WHAT ARE THE THREE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF ENGLISH
ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN SCHOLAR BRAJ KACHRU ?
The Indian scholar Braj Kachru describes this situation as one in which
English exists in three concentric circles : the inner circle of the
predominantly English – speaking countries ; the outer circle of the
former colonies where English is an official language ; and the expanding
circle , where , although English is neither an official nor a former
colonial language .
PAGE 28
NATIVE SPEAKERS
1 – WHAT ARE COMMON ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT IT
MEANS TO BE A NATIVE SPEAKER ?
Firstly there is the question of personal history . Native speakers are
considered to be people who acquired the language naturally and
effortlessly in childhood , through a combination of exposure , the child's
innate talent for language learning , and the need to communicate .
Secondly , there is a question of expertise . native speakers are seen as
people who use the language , or a variety of it correctly , and have
insight into what is or is not acceptable .
Thirdly , there is a question of knowledge and loyalty . Being a native
speaker , it is assumed , entails knowledge of , and loyalty to , a
community which uses the language .
2 – WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THIS THREEFOLD DEFINITION OF
NATIVE SPEAKER OF SMALL LANGUAGE ?
In many cases this threefold definition is relatively unproblematic ,
particularly for small languages spoken mostly in one particular place .
Take Icelandic for example , spoken by 300 , 000 Icelanders on an island
of 100 , 000 square kilometers . Most people there have grown up
speaking Icelandic , are expert in its use , and identify with Icelandic
culture .
4 -WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THIS THREEFOLD DEFINITION OF
NATIVE SPEAKER OF LARGER AND MORE WIDELY
LANGUAGE ?
In the case of lager and more widely distributed languages , however ,
and most especially in the case of English , serious problems with the
usual definitions being to emerge . Many English speakers whether in the
inner , outer , or expanding circle – grew up with and use another
language in the home . Their cultural loyalty is wholly or partly to a non –
English – speaking community and they may well be opposed to the
dominant English – Speaking culture , feeling that their own language
and values are threatened .
Many such English speakers use the language just as expertly as the
traditionally defined native speakers . Certainly there are ( PAGE 29 )
often – though by no means always – minor differences of accent ,
phrasing , or confidence in grammatically judgements . Yet these are just
as often accompanied by additional expertise which a traditionally
defined native speaker may not have .
PAGE 29
1 – WHAT ARE THE ASPECTS THAT WERE NOT INDICATED IN
THE TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF THE NATIVE SPEAKER ?
Firstly , it says nothing about proficiency in writing , but only about
proficiency in speech . Indeed , some native speakers are illiterate , and
many of those who can write do so in accurately . Secondly , the native
speaker's knowledge of the language is implicit rather than explicit . He
or she uses the rules correctly , in other words , but cannot necessarily
explain them . For example try asking the average native speaker to
explain the differences between ' shall ' and ' will ' . Lastly traditional
native speakerness implies nothing about size of vocabulary , range of
styles , or ability to communicate across diverse communities .
ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA ( ELF )
2 – WHAT IS MEANT BY ELF ?
In addition , these highly proficient users of English are not necessarily
aspiring to speak any of the standard Englishes from either the inner or
the outer circles . Rather there is a strong case for saying that they speak a
new variety of English which depends neither on childhood acquisition
nor on cultural identity , and is often used in communication in which no
native speaker is involved . This is often referred to as English as a
Lingua France ( ELF ) .
3 – WHAT ARE THE MATTERS OF ITS USE ?
What the matters in its use is clarity and comprehensibility rather than
conformity to one of the existing standards . Indeed , being a native
speaker in the traditional sense does not necessarily imply expertise in
ELF , and for the purposes of international communication native
speakers may need to adjust their language to a new norm .
4 – WHY THERE IS A ROLE TO APPLIED LINGUISTICS IN ELF ?
This rapid growth of ELF should be a major concern to contemporary
applied linguistics if it is to live up to the definition of applied linguistics
as the academic discipline concerned with the relation of knowledge
about language to decision making in the real world . There is an urgent
need for documentation ( PAGE 30 ) and analysis of the world's
changing language landscape , and for informed advice . We need to
consider whether the current situation is unprecedented , whether it has
produced a new set of language related problems ( whether , for
example , the spread of international English is implicated in the decline
and disappearance of other languages and , if so , how this should affect
language planning .
PAGE 30
5 – WHAT ARE THE PRESSING ISSUES , AFFECTING IN ONE
WAY OR ANOTHER EVERYONE WHO LEARNS OR USES
ENGLISH , NATIVE AND NON – NATIVE SPEAKER ALIKE ?
The answer is the same answer of ( 4 ) .

6 – HOW CAN ONE GET CONSIDERABLE INSIGHT INTO

CHANGES IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENGLISH ?
Considerable insight into changes in the distribution of English , and our
attitudes to its use , can be gained by tracing the history of English
Language Teaching ( ELT ) through the twentieth century .
7 – HOW DID DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO TEACHING
ENGLISH OCCUR ?
Different approaches to teaching English did not just occur by chance ,
but in response to changing geopolitical circumstances and social
attitudes and values , as well as to shifts of fashion in linguistics which ,
for all its apparent objectivity , was itself subject to social change . Thus
each successive movement in ELT has had its own particular stance on
language and language learning , and on what English is , reflecting the
ideology of its time . Changes in the distribution and balance of
languages , and in particular the growth if ELF , have both reflected and
influenced the populations and purposes of language learners .
…………………………………………………………….
CHAPTER 4 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING ( ELT )
PAGE 31
1 – WHAT HAVE THE SPREAD OF ENGLISH AND THE RELATED
EXPANSION OF ITS USE AND GENERATED ?
The spread of English and the related expansion of its use and learning ,
have generated intense interest in how and whether it is possible to
improve the results of English teaching and consequently in the study of
language pedagogy and of Second Language Acquisition ( SLA ) .
Historically , the most active of applied linguistic enquiry has been in
these areas . Indeed , in the early days of the discipline , applied
linguistics and the study of Teaching English as a Foreign Language
( TEFL ) were considered to be one and the same .
2 – WHAT DOES INVESTIGATING LANGUAGE LEARNING
ENTAIL ?
Investigating language learning inevitably entails , in a particularly
focused way , debate about what knowing and using language actually
means . At the same time it promotes understanding of the relationship
between individual experience , social change , and abstract theories ,
which lies at the heart of all applied linguistics study . Consequently ,
ideas initially developed in relation to TEFL can inform approaches to a
far wider range of applied linguistics concerns than they did in the past .

GRAMMAR – TRANSLATION LANGUGAE TEACHING

3 – HOW DOES THE TEACHING OF MODERN FOREIGN
LANGUAGES GO AT THE CLOSE OF THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY BY USING GRAMMAR – TRANSLATION LANGUAGE
TEACHING ?
In the schoolrooms of Europe at the close of the nineteenth century .The
teaching of modern foreign languages was heavily influenced by the more
established and prestigious academic study of the dead classical
languages, Latin and Ancient Greek.
( PAGE 32 ) Curriculum aims were largely a matter of consensus, and
thus seldom spelled out as they would be today. Modern language
learning, it was assumed, brought students into contact with the great
national civilizations and their literatures .It trained minds in logical
thought, developed elegant expression, and perpetuated the study of the
language as an academic discipline. The best-if inimitable-examples of
the language were its greatest writers Shakespeare for English, Dante for
Italian, Pushkin for Russian and so forth.
In the meantime, grammar rules were explained to the students in their
own language, vocabulary lists were learned with translation equivalents,
and then sentences especially constructed to contain only the grammar
and vocabulary which had already been covered-were laboriously
translated, in writing, into and out of the student's first language. ( CAN
BE A DEFINITION )
In this traditional' language teaching, the way into the new language was
always through the student's own first language . Complicated rules were
mastered and this mastery then tested by means of translation.
Success was measured in terms of the accurate use of grammar and
vocabulary rather than effective communication. There was no emphasis
on the development of fluent speech: it was better to get things right
slowly than say them fast and effectively, but incorrectly. It was assumed
that the processes of learning the language and eventual use of it could be
disassociated. Eventually, perhaps, for some students anyway one would
lead to the other, but the ends were most definitely different from the
means.

PAGE 32
1 – HOW WAS A LEADING OPPONENT OF GRAMMAR
TRANSLATION LANGUAGE TEACHING ?
The phonetician Henry Sweet , a leading opponent of grammar
translation language teaching , described them as ' a bag into which
grammar and vocabulary are crammed without regard to meaning ' and
provided his own parody .
PAGE 33
THE DIRECT METHOD
1 – WHAT DID HAPPEN IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH
CENTURIES ?
There was a detour at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries .
Although grammar – translation was in its heyday , especially in the
privileged secondary schools of Europe , there was a need to a new
method due to many reasons .
2 – WHAT DID THE FACTORS THAT HELPED IN THE EMERGING
OF THE DIRECT METHOD ?
A . language-learning populations had been already changing in
approaches which have been to gather momentum throughout the
twentieth century. For example, in the early years of the century there
was persevering with mass immigration, by way of speakers of many
specific languages, into the USA - a country whose unity has depended
upon the use of English .
B . And throughout the century , despite the interruptions of two world
wars, there was growing international trade and tourism and an increase
in both vocational and recreational language learning .
C . New types of students-immigrants, business people, and tourists-
created a new kind of classroom population. In the language schools and
evening classes which catered for them, the students did not necessarily
share the same first language making it simply impossible for instruction
to proceed through addition, the new type of student needed spoken as
well as written language , and they needed it fast .

3 – THE DEFINITION OF THE DIRECT METHOD

Language-learning experts (they were not then called applied linguists)
responded to this challenge with radical new ideas about how languages
should be taught. They advocated a direct method in which the students'
own languages were banished and everything was to be done through the
language under instruction .Translation and first - language explanation
were banned and new method enforced , sometimes quite ruthlessly .
(PAGE 34) In the highly successful Berlitz Schools ,for example ,
classroom microphones monitored what teachers were saying , and they
could be fired for uttering a single word in a student's own language .
PAGE 34
1 – WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THE DIRECT METHOD
The direct method established a concept of language learning very
different from that implicit in grammar-translation. Knowledge of a
language was no longer an object of scholarship attainable simply by hard
work. Success was to be measured instead by the degree to which the
learner's language proficiency approximated to that of the native speaker,
a goal which was not at that time seen as problematic. This led the way to
further changes in both popular and applied linguistics ideas about how a
language might be learned .
NATURAL LANGUAGE LEARNING
2 – THE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO THE EMERGING OF
NATURAL LANGUAGE LEARNING :
Direct method was not a complete method for solving all language
teaching problems because :
1 - Many of the characteristics of grammar-translation had survived.
There was still explanation and grading of grammar rules, and the
language was divided into discrete areas such as vocabulary or
pronunciation practice. Teachers, then, had to do much as they had done
before, but without recourse to either first language explanation or
translation.
2 - In practice grammar rules had to be worked out by students from
examples because an explanation would demand language beyond the
level of the rule being explained, while the meaning of new vocabulary
had to be either guessable from the context, or perhaps illustrated or
mimed. This last resort is possible, if often ridiculous, for a word
denoting something specific and physical, like "butterfly' but imagine the
plight of teachers trying to mime more general words such as 'creature' or
abstract ones such as 'specification'! .
3 – THE DEFINITION OF THE NATURLA APPROACH
The specialists developed a new approach , this was called the natural
approach . It was emerged in the 1970s and 1980 , due to the problems of
the direct method . The so called natural approach revived the notion-
previously promulgated under exactly the same name in the nineteenth
century!-that an adult learner can repeat the route to proficiency of the
native speaking child. The idea was that learning would take
place(PAGE 35) without explanation or grading, and without correction
of errors, but simply by exposure to 'meaningful input'. This approach
was based upon theorizing and research in SLA which purported to show
that learners, whatever their first language would follow an internally
determined natural order of their Own, and that neither explicit
instruction nor conscious learning had any effect.
PAGE 35
1 – WHY DOES IN MANY WAYS , THE NATURAL IS AN OBJECT
LESSSON IN WHAT APPLIED LINGUISTICS SHOULD NOT BE ?
In many ways, the natural approach is an object lesson in what applied
linguistics should not be. For it sought to impose upon teachers, without
consultation and without consideration for their existing practices and
beliefs, ideas based upon academic research and theorizing. Its view of
SLA, moreover, was derived directly from mainstream linguistics
research into child first language acquisition, where the early stages are
largely internally driven and impervious to instruction. This research was
then assumed to be directly relevant-indeed imperative-to changes in the
way languages were taught. In addition, the approach was culturally
insensitive: it was developed in the USA and then exported as globally
relevant without regard to differing educational traditions or language-
learning contexts.
‫البقية من ملزمة اليومي و ملزمة الكتاب‬

CHAPTER 5 PAGE 40 LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

KNOWING A LANGUAGE
1 – WHAT WE SHOULD TAKE IN OUR MINDS TO ANSWER A
QUESTION LIKE ' WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW A
LANGUAGE ? '
Answers to this question vary considerably , both historically and
culturally , and between individuals . They , also depend on the
perspective of the person who is being asked the question : for example ,
an academic linguist , a language user , or a language learner . Does
knowing a language imply native speaker insight and fluency ? An ability
to produce sentences with no grammatical errors ? The capacity to
elegantly and expressively ? Being able to get your meanings across and
do what you need to do ? Or is it a combination of these ? Which answer
we choose will profoundly affect how we address any problem in which
language is implicated .
2 – WHY DOES THE TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR TRANSLATION
ASSUMPTION THAT '' KNOWING THE RULES OF A LANGUAGE
AND BEING ABLE TO USE THEM WERE ONE AND THE SAME
THING '' ?
Because there are many cases where someone knows the rules of a
language but still not successful communicator . They may , for example ,
not use the language fast enough . Or they may understand what is being
said and have something to say themselves , but still somehow fail to join
in . Or perhaps their language seems stilted and old – fashioned , for
example , they may say things like ' whom do you want ? ' or ' It's raining
cats and dogs ' . Or they may send the wrong kinds of signals with their
(PAGE 41 ) body and tone voice , shaking their head instead of nodding
it , sounding bored or unfriendly when they do not intend to . Or they
may understand the literal meaning of what is said , but not why it is said.
They fail to realize that something is a joke , for example and take
offence . In other words , knowing the grammar and vocabulary of the
language , although essential , is one thing . Being able to put them to use
involves other types of knowledge and ability as well .

PAGE 41
1 – WHY IS IT SAID THAT '' KNOWING THE GRAMMAR AND
VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE , ALTHOUGH ESSENTIAL ,
IS ONE THING . BEING ABLE TO PUT THEM TO USE INVOLVES
OTHER TYPES OF KNOWLEDE AND ABILITY AS WELL .
The same previous answer .
LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
2 – HOW DID THE TRADITIONALLANGUAGE – TEACHING
METHODS ADOPTED THE IDEA OF THE ISOLATING THE
FORMAL SYSTEM OF LANGUAGE '' I , E . ITS
PRONOUNCIATIATION , GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY ''
EITHER FOR LEARNING OR FOR ANALYSIS ?
The adoption of traditional language – teaching methods need not imply
that this is all that learning a language involves , but only that a sound
knowledge of the rules and an accurate , if slow , deployment of them is
the basis for further development . In other words , an emphasis on
formal correctness can be seen as a matter of pedagogic procedure , a
strategic of information of the kind which is familiar in any kind of
ordered learning . You do not learn to drive by going into high – speed
traffic for example , but by first practicing isolated operations and
listening to someone explain what to do .
3 – WAS THERE ANOTHER VERSION TO ISOLATION THE
FORMAL SYSTEMA ? AND WAS IT DIFFERENT ?
A more fundamental , and rather different , argument for separating the
formal systems of a language from other kinds of knowledge and skills
has come from theoretical linguistics , and in particular the work of Noam
Chomsky .
4 – WHY DO WE NEED TO TAKE FURTHER ACCOUNT OF
CHOMSKY'S IDEAS ?
We need to take further account of his ideas because they have been so
extraordinarily influential in all areas of language study . A good deal of
applied linguistics has either followed on from them , or defined itself in
opposition to them .
5 – THE MEANING OF LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE ?
Chomsky's idea is that the human capacity for language , as illustrated by
a child's acquisition of the language around them , is not the product of
general intelligence or learning ability , but an innate , genetically
determined feature of the human species . We are born with considerable
pre – programmed knowledge of how language works , and require only
minimal exposure to ( PAGE 42 ) activate our connection to the
particular language around us – rather as a bird learning to fly adapts to
the environment outside the nest . In this view , the newborn infant brain
already contains a Universal Grammar ( UG ) Which forms the basis of
competence in the particular language the child goes on to speak . This
linguistic competence is seen as modular , that is to say separate from
other mental abilities .
PAGE 42
1 – IS CHOMSKY'S NOTION OF LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE A
BIOLOGICAL OR SOCIAL ?
If we accept Chomsky's view , language , as an object of academic
enquiry , becomes something more biological than social , and
similarities between languages outweigh (‫ ) يفوق‬differences .
2 – WHAT ARE THE OTHER FEATURES OF LINGUISTIC
COMPETENCE AND ITS STATUS ACCCORDING TO LINGUISTIS
AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS ?
A . Language is separated from other factors involved in its use such as
body language or cultural knowledge .
B . While this view may be valid for certain purposes in linguistics it also
means that Chomsky's theories , when invoked in applied linguistics , can
have a reductive and constraining effect , excluding from consideration
those very factors with which the discipline is most concerned .
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
3 – WRITING A DETAILED ESSAY ABOUT COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE
( THE AIMS ) Communicative competence emerged to demonstrate that
there is more to using a language than knowing the grammar and to
formulating precisely what other kinds of knowledge are involved .
( THE FOUNDER ) An influential attempt to do this was made by the
sociolinguist Dell Hymes in his description of communicative
competence in the late 1960s . ( ACONTRAST WITH CHOMSKY'S )
This term is offered as a deliberate contrast to Chomsky's linguistic
competence . Hymes in this sense illustrates that , a person who had only
linguistic competence would be quite unable to communicate . He would
be a kind of social monster producing grammatical sentences
unconnected to the situation in which they occur . ( FOUR TYPES OF
KNOWLEDGE IN COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND
THEIR AIMS )What is needed for successful communication , Hymes
suggested , is four types of knowledge : possibility , feasibility ,
appropriateness and attestedness .
( DEFINITION ) Possibility means a communicatively competent
speaker knows what is formally possible in a language , i . e . whether an
instance conforms to the rules of grammar and pronunciation . They
know , for example , that ' Me go sleep now ' transgresses these rules ,
while ' I am going to go to sleep now ' does not . ( WHY ) Knowledge of
possibility ( knowing what is formally possible in a language like the
rules of grammar and pronunciation ) is not sufficient in itself for
communication because :
1 . There are sentences may be grammatically meaningful and correctly
pronounced like ' I am going to sleep now ' , but it is not necessarily the '
right ' thing to say .
2 . There are sentence may be grammatically ' wrong ' like ' Me go sleep
now ' , but be both meaningful and appropriate .
3 . A communicatively competent speaker may know the rules , be
capable of following them , but nevertheless break them deliberately .
( WHY ) This is often the case when people want to be witty , or creative
, or intimate , or talk about something for which the language has no
existing terms . In some cases a speaker breaks semantic rules to express
an idea very effectively , for example , the Beatle Ringo Starr , after
working long hours on a film set , remarked ' That was a hard day's night '
, and the phrase was taken up as the title of a song and a film .
( DEFINITION ) Secondly , a communicatively component person
knows what is feasible . ( DEFINITION AND FATURE ) This is a
psychological concept concerned with limitations to what can be
processed by mind , ( EXAMPLE FOR DEFINITION AND
FEATURE )and is best illustrated by an example . The rules of English
grammar make it possible to expand a noun phrase , and make it more
specific , by adding a relative clause . Thus ' the cheese ' can become ' the
cheese the rat ate . Likewise , ' the rat ' can become ' the rat that cat
chased ' . In theory this should allow us to expand a sentence infinitely as
follows :
The cheese was green .
The cheese that rat ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat chased ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat the dog saw chased ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat the dog the man beat saw chased ate was green.
( FEATURE ) From a feasibility point of view not all grammatically
correct sentences are feasible . The last two sentences , however , are
hardly ones that would work in communication . If anything , they seem
clumsier than an impossible ' example like ' Me go sleep now ' . They
may be possible , in other words , but they are not feasible from the point
of view of the communicatively component person knows what is
feasible . They do not work , not because they are ungrammatical , but
because they are so difficult to process .
( FEATURE ) The notion of feasibility may seem a rather academic one ,
and of little relevance to the practical applications of knowledge about
language .
( FEATURE AND ITS ROLE IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS )
Feasibility does nevertheless have some important consequences for
applied linguistics . It bears upon the important issue of making
information easily accessible , which in the modern world , with its
overload of information , is particularly important . Consider , for
example , the following legal sentence :
If a premium remains in default after the end of its grace period , any cash
surrender value of the Policy will be used to continue the Policy in force
as paid up insurance or as extended term insurance , in an amount as
determined below , and no further premium will be due .
In applied linguistics through using the feasibility knowledge , we
criticize the previous example not on the grounds that it is ungrammatical
, but rather on the grounds that it is not very feasible and thus necessarily
obscures important information .
(DEFINITION ) A third component of communicative competence is
knowledge of appropriateness . ( DEFINITION AND ITS
CONCERNS )This concerns the relationship of language or behaviour to
context , and as such covers a wide range of phenomena . ( WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT AND FEATURE )It is important because , it leads us to
know what is inappropriate :
1 . to a particular relationship ( Calling a police officer ' darling ' or
tickling them as they reprimand you)
2 . to a particular kind of text ( using slang words or taboo words in a
formal letter )
3 . to a particular situation ( answering a mobile phone call during a
funeral
4 . or generally inappropriate to a particular culture ( not showing
deference to the elderly ) .
( ITS ROLE IN SOCIETY AND FEATURE ) Appropriateness
concerns conformity to social convention . ( THE FEATURES OF THE
SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE ) In this socially perspective it has certain
features :
1 . As such is fraught with controversy . Perhaps this is easiest to see in
non – verbal communication . Take for example , the issue of appropriate
dress for women moving between Western and Islamic cultures . One
point of view is that maintaining the norms of one society is inappropriate
in the other . Thus European women visiting the Gulf States are advised
to wear long sleeves and long skirt to avoid giving offence . Moslem
women , visiting or living in the west , may feel under pressure to stop
covering their heads .
2 . Taking into consideration the social appropriateness may be a matter
for individual decision making , but there are occasions when it spills
over into the public domain and a society seeks to impose its own norms .
3 . Important factors in appropriateness are perceived to be absolute
rather culture specific , for example , religious freedom , female
modesty , and women's rights ; the degree to which a society should
respect ethnic differences among its members ; and the degree to which
visitors should conform to the etiquette of their hosts .
( APPROPRAITNESS AND LANGUAGE USE AND FEATURE )
Appropriateness issues also arise in language use . If appropriateness
principles neglects by a speaker , it leads to culture clashes . The speaker
must know what is appropriate to be took from his culture , to be used in
other language . The speaker can take in his mind many question , the
Japanese speaker for example , must have a personal question like Can
Japanese speakers , maintain the deferential politeness of their own
culture , even when speaking English ? Or an Arabic speaker may wonder
, Should Arabic speakers drop all reference to God in their English ,
making it ' inappropriate ' for example , to say ' If God is Willing ' in
answer to an enquiry whether something is likely to happen ? Such
culture clashes can occur , even between speakers of the same language .
Many speakers of British English find phrases used in US service
encounters effusive and false , for example , ' Have a nice day ' and ' Your
call matters to us ' . Conversely , many speakers of American English find
the language – if any – used in such encounters in Britain curt and
unfriendly .
( APPROPRAITENESS AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS )For applied
linguistics there is no avoiding to appropriateness issues , due to many
reasons :
1 . Language creates our identities and allows us to communicate with
others .
2 . Its study must be concerned with who impose upon whom , and with
the limits of social coercion and dissent . Many activities , for example ,
schooling , workplace communication , language therapy , language
testing , and language planning , are essentially concerned with
negotiating the parameters of difference and conformity . And in the
modern World , where formerly distinct ways of living are brought
increasingly into sharp contact , and people from different cultures have
to share the same space , these issues are becoming urgent .
(DEFINITION )Hymes ' fourth component of communicative
competence is knowledge of attestedness . It indicates that some
sentences and phrases , like ' Chips and fish ' are complete and accurate
according to possibility ( it does not break any grammar rule ) , feasibility
( it is easily processed and readily understandable ) , and appropriateness
( it does not contravene any sensitive social convention ) , but it does not
occur as frequently as ' fish and chips ' . So the matching with possibility ,
feasibility and appropriateness does not always mean an easy way to say
what uses did actually occur . ( ITS FIRST APPROACH )This
component of knowledge emerged in 1970s , when Hymes ' ideas first
attracted attention , there was no easy way to say what uses did actually
occur other than by laborious checking of texts and transcripts . ( ITS
SECOND APPROACH )More recently , corpus linguistics which uses
computerized techniques large databanks , has made available much more
information about probability .

1 . WHAT IS THE AIMS AND DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATIVE

COMPETENCE ?
Communicative competence emerged to demonstrate that there is more to
using a language than knowing the grammar and to formulating precisely
what other kinds of knowledge are involved .
2 . WHO IS THE FOUNDER OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
An influential attempt to state the principles of communicative
competence was made by the sociolinguist Dell Hymes in his description
of communicative competence in the late 1960s .
3 . HOW IS COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OFFERES A
CONTRAST TO CHOMSKY'S ?
Communicative competence is offered as a deliberate contrast to
Chomsky's linguistic competence . Hymes in this sense illustrates that , a
person who had only linguistic competence would be quite unable to
communicate . He would be a kind of social monster producing
grammatical sentences unconnected to the situation in which they occur .
4 . WHAT ARE THE TYPES ( COMPONENTS ) OF KNOWLEDGE IN
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND WHAT ARE THWIR
AIMS ?
What is needed for successful communication , Hymes suggested , is four
types of knowledge : possibility , feasibility , appropriateness and
attestedness .
……………………………….
1 – WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF POSSIBILITY ?
Possibility means a communicatively competent speaker knows what is
formally possible in a language , i . e . whether an instance conforms to
the rules of grammar and pronunciation . They know , for example , that '
Me go sleep now ' transgresses these rules , while ' I am going to go to
sleep now ' does not .
2 – WHY DOES KNOWLEDGE OF POSSIBILITY ( KNOWING
WHAT IS FORMALLY POSSIBLE IN A LANGAUGE LIKE THE
RULES OF GRAMMAR AND PRONOUNCIATION ) IS NOT
SUFFICIENT IN ITSELF FOR COMMUNICATION ?
Knowledge of possibility ( knowing what is formally possible in a
language like the rules of grammar and pronunciation ) is not sufficient in
itself for communication because :
1 . There are sentences may be grammatically meaningful and correctly
pronounced like ' I am going to sleep now ' , but it is not necessarily the '
right ' thing to say .
2 . There are sentence may be grammatically ' wrong ' like ' Me go sleep
now ' , but be both meaningful and appropriate .
3 . A communicatively competent speaker may know the rules , be
capable of following them , but nevertheless break them deliberately .
( WHY ) This is often the case when people want to be witty , or creative
, or intimate , or talk about something for which the language has no
existing terms . In some cases a speaker breaks semantic rules to express
an idea very effectively , for example , the Beatle Ringo Starr , after
working long hours on a film set , remarked ' That was a hard day's night '
, and the phrase was taken up as the title of a song and a film .
3 – WHY DOES A COMMUNICATIVELY COMPETENT SPEAKER
MAY KNOW THE RULES , BE CAPABLE OF FOLLOWIN THEM ,
BUT NEVERTHELESS BREAK THEM DELIBERATELY ?
This is often the case when people want to be witty , or creative , or
intimate , or talk about something for which the language has no existing
terms . In some cases a speaker breaks semantic rules to express an idea
very effectively , for example , the Beatle Ringo Starr , after working
long hours on a film set , remarked ' That was a hard day's night ' , and
the phrase was taken up as the title of a song and a film .
.........................................
1 – WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FEASIBILITY ?
This is a psychological concept concerned with limitations to what can be
processed by mind ( AND ALSO FEATURE )
2 . GIVE EXAMPLE ABOUT FEASIBILITY ?
It is best illustrated by an example . The rules of English grammar make
it possible to expand a noun phrase , and make it more specific , by
adding a relative clause . Thus ' the cheese ' can become ' the cheese the
rat ate . Likewise , ' the rat ' can become ' the rat that cat chased ' . In
theory this should allow us to expand a sentence infinitely as follows :
The cheese was green .
The cheese that rat ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat chased ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat the dog saw chased ate was green .
The cheese the rat the cat the dog the man beat saw chased ate was green.
( FEATURE ) From a feasibility point of view not all grammatically
correct sentences are feasible . The last two sentences , however , are
hardly ones that would work in communication . If anything , they seem
clumsier than an impossible ' example like ' Me go sleep now ' . They
may be possible , in other words , but they are not feasible from the point
of view of the communicatively component person knows what is
feasible . They do not work , not because they are ungrammatical , but
because they are so difficult to process .
( FEATURE ) The notion of feasibility may seem a rather academic one ,
and of little relevance to the practical applications of knowledge about
language .
3 . WHAT IS THE ROLE OF FEASIBILITY IN APPLIED
LINGUISTICS . ALSO FEATURE ?
Feasibility does nevertheless have some important consequences for
applied linguistics . It bears upon the important issue of making
information easily accessible , which in the modern world , with its
overload of information , is particularly important . Consider , for
example , the following legal sentence :
If a premium remains in default after the end of its grace period , any cash
surrender value of the Policy will be used to continue the Policy in force
as paid up insurance or as extended term insurance , in an amount as
determined below , and no further premium will be due .
In applied linguistics through using the feasibility knowledge , we
criticize the previous example not on the grounds that it is ungrammatical
, but rather on the grounds that it is not very feasible and thus necessarily
obscures important information .
………………………………..
1 – WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF APPRORAITENESS AND IN
WHAT IS IT CONCERNED ?
A third component of communicative competence is knowledge of
appropriateness . This concerns the relationship of language or behaviour
to context , and as such covers a wide range of phenomena .
2 – WHY IS APPROPRAITENESS IMPORTANT AND FEATURE ?
It is important because , it leads us to know what is inappropriate :
1 . to a particular relationship ( Calling a police officer ' darling ' or
tickling them as they reprimand you)
2 . to a particular kind of text ( using slang words or taboo words in a
formal letter )
3 . to a particular situation ( answering a mobile phone call during a
funeral
4 . or generally inappropriate to a particular culture ( not showing
deference to the elderly ) .
3 . WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN APRROPRAITENESS
AND THE SOCIAL CONVENTION ?
Appropriateness concerns conformity to social convention . ( THE
FEATURES OF THE SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE ) In this socially
perspective it has certain features :
1 . As such is fraught with controversy . Perhaps this is easiest to see in
non – verbal communication . Take for example , the issue of appropriate
dress for women moving between Western and Islamic cultures . One
point of view is that maintaining the norms of one society is inappropriate
in the other . Thus European women visiting the Gulf States are advised
to wear long sleeves and long skirt to avoid giving offence . Moslem
women , visiting or living in the west , may feel under pressure to stop
covering their heads .
2 . Taking into consideration the social appropriateness may be a matter
for individual decision making , but there are occasions when it spills
over into the public domain and a society seeks to impose its own norms .
3 . Important factors in appropriateness are perceived to be absolute
rather culture specific , for example , religious freedom , female
modesty , and women's rights ; the degree to which a society should
respect ethnic differences among its members ; and the degree to which
visitors should conform to the etiquette of their hosts .
4 . WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN APPROPRAITENESS
AND LANGUAGE USE AND FEATURE ?
Appropriateness issues also arise in language use . If appropriateness
principles neglects by a speaker , it leads to culture clashes . The speaker
must know what is appropriate to be took from his culture , to be used in
other language . The speaker can take in his mind many question , the
Japanese speaker for example , must have a personal question like Can
Japanese speakers , maintain the deferential politeness of their own
culture , even when speaking English ? Or an Arabic speaker may wonder
, Should Arabic speakers drop all reference to God in their English ,
making it ' inappropriate ' for example , to say ' If God is Willing ' in
answer to an enquiry whether something is likely to happen ? Such
culture clashes can occur , even between speakers of the same language .
Many speakers of British English find phrases used in US service
encounters effusive and false , for example , ' Have a nice day ' and ' Your
call matters to us ' . Conversely , many speakers of American English find
the language – if any – used in such encounters in Britain curt and
unfriendly .
5 – THE ROLE OF APPROPRAITENESS IN APPLIED
LINGUISTICS?
For applied linguistics there is no avoiding to appropriateness issues , due
to many reasons :
1 . Language creates our identities and allows us to communicate with
others .
2 . Its study must be concerned with who impose upon whom , and with
the limits of social coercion and dissent . Many activities , for example ,
schooling , workplace communication , language therapy , language
testing , and language planning , are essentially concerned with
negotiating the parameters of difference and conformity . And in the
modern World , where formerly distinct ways of living are brought
increasingly into sharp contact , and people from different cultures have
to share the same space , these issues are becoming urgent .
…………………………………….
1 . WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF ATTESTEDNESS ?
Hymes ' fourth component of communicative competence is knowledge
of attestedness . It indicates that some sentences and phrases , like ' Chips
and fish ' are complete and accurate according to possibility ( it does not
break any grammar rule ) , feasibility ( it is easily processed and readily
understandable ) , and appropriateness ( it does not contravene any
sensitive social convention ) , but it does not occur as frequently as ' fish
and chips ' . So the matching with possibility , feasibility and
appropriateness does not always mean an easy way to say what uses did
actually occur .
2 . WHAT IS THE HISTORY AND ITS APPROACHES ?
( ITS FIRST APPROACH )This component of knowledge emerged in
1970s , when Hymes ' ideas first attracted attention , there was no easy
way to say what uses did actually occur other than by laborious checking
of texts and transcripts . ( ITS SECOND APPROACH )More recently ,
corpus linguistics which uses computerized techniques large databanks ,
has made available much more information about probability .