Language Teaching and Learning

Applied linguistics focuses on language teaching and learning. It aims to provide more efficient communication methods in society. Language teaching and teacher education are core areas of applied linguistics. The field uses linguistic theories, methods, and findings to address problems related to language learning, teaching, use, and planning. It conducts research and development to help institutions and individuals better understand language issues and potential solutions. Factors like education, society, psychology, culture, politics, religion, and economics are relevant to topics in applied linguistics like determining an optimum age for language learning and evaluating language teaching programs.

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Language Teaching and Learning

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-Applied Linguistics-

Language Teaching
and Learning
Jihan Nawal Aini – 180403048
Novita Dyah Pitaloka - 180403004
Introduction
 Applied linguistics is motivated by the providing of more efﬁcient
means of communication in the society we live in.

 Language teaching and learning: this is dominant in applied

linguistics, in the sense that more applied linguists specialise in this
ﬁeld than in any other.

 Language teaching and language-teacher education are the only

proper concerns of applied linguistics.
CLAIMS
 The Association’s purpose is to promote research in the areas of applied linguis tics, for
example language learning, language teaching, language use and language planning, to
publish the results of this research and to promote international and interdisciplinary
cooperation in these areas. (Article 2 of the AILA Statutes 1964)

 In Crystal (1992: 24), the use of linguistics theories, methods and ﬁndings in elucidating
and solving problems to do with language which have arisen in other areas of
experience. The domain of applied linguistics is extremely wide and includes foreign
language learning and teaching, lexicography, style, forensic speech analysis and the
theory of reading.

 Wilkins (1994), In practice applied linguistics has developed so far as an enterprise

principally dedicated to creating a better understanding of the processes of language,
especially second language, learning. (ibid:164)
A Personal Account
 A story from Alice Kaplan in 1993, Kaplan told about the difﬁcult task of being a language teacher.
He was told the story of language teaching when he was learning to become a teacher.
 Kaplan suggests is that: ‘Every once in a while someone comes along and promises a new
language method. Whatever the method, only desire can make a student learn a language, desire
and necessity’ (ibid: 131).
 Language learning and language teaching are ‘problems’ because they are so often ineffectual. The
temptation is always to seek new and therefore ‘better’ methods of teaching, better methods of
learning.
 What applied linguistics offers, where its coherence (pace Wilkins 1994) lies is in its recognition
that the question to ask is not how to improve the learning, but what is it that is not being
improved.
 The applied linguist => whom knowledge about language and skill in teaching and learning are
seamlessly linked.
Applied Linguistics and Institutional Problems

 Applied linguistics as an enterprise is therefore a research and development

activity that sets out to make use of theoretical insights and collect empirical
data which can be of use in dealing with institutional language problems.
 The purpose of the activity is to provide relevant information which will help
those involved understand the issues better; in some cases on the basis of the
information it will be possible to offer a solution to the problem. More likely
is an explanation of what is involved, setting out the choices available, along
with their implications.
Optimum Age
 What is the right age to start language learning?
 Research into second-language learning suggests that there may be no
optimum age since adults can learn as efﬁciently as children and indeed more
quickly. What matters are local conditions.
Immersion language teaching

 Immersion is the teaching of the second language as the medium of instruction.

 Canadian immersion programmes have all been shown to be successful in terms
of their objectives. But they require the presence of four factors:
1. The parents of the students need to be involved in
2. Must be members of the majority community in the local bilingual setting.
3. Have a positive attitude towards the target language and its speakers.
4. The immersion programme must be optional.
Factors relevant to the optimum-age
problem
 The educational
 The social and sociolinguistic
 The psychological and psycho-linguistic
 The anthropological and cultural
 The political
 The religious
 The economic
 The business aspect
 The planning/policy aspect
 The linguistic
FACTORS RELEVANT TO THE ELTS
EVALUATION
 Educational (including the psychometric) factors
ELTS was a proﬁciency test used in an educational setting, that is at entrance
to a British university. The questions were: to what extent the test was being used
at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and for temporary attachment by
senior academics. What connection, if any, was there between the test materials
in the life sciences module and the textbooks, lectures and so on.
FACTORS RELEVANT TO THE ELTS
EVALUATION
 Social (and its interface with the linguistic and sociolinguistic) factors
ELTS was predicated on a committed view of language variety. The
theoretical and practical reasons for the design of ELTS appeared convincing at
the time of its construction. When it came to the evaluation it was necessary to
look closely at the rationale for its design, and in particular at the validity of the
notion of discrete language varieties.
FACTORS RELEVANT TO THE ELTS
EVALUATION
 Psychological (and its interface, the psycholinguistic) factors
Levels of proﬁciency beyond early and intermediate acquisition have not
been prominent in second-language acquisition research as a topic worth
pursuing. The ELTS evaluators needed to analyse how far the test designers had
looked at these different areas of language studies.
FACTORS RELEVANT TO THE ELTS
EVALUATION
 Anthropological factors (for insights on cultural matters)
The ELTS test was important to examine whether any of its content could be
thought offensive. In some countries, mention of contraception is unacceptable
and should probably be avoided. In the West itself there is disagreement as to
what should be studied and what is legitimate medical practice.
THANK
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