Editor

JLLT edited by Thomas Tinnefeld
Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching
Volume 4 (2013 ) Issue 2
pp. 133-137



Melinda Whong: Language teaching – Linguistic Theory in Practice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2011. 213 pages (ISBN 978 0 7486 3635 8)

The present textbook is divided into eight chapters that again can again be subdivided into three larger segments, comprising a discussion of what language actually is, of what possible definitions and understandings of language mean for language teaching and, finally, of how to manage the transfer of theoretical findings into practical classroom situations. At the end, there is a useful glossary (181) that helps keep track of the many approaches and developments that follow.

Chapter 1 (“Introduction”; 1-22) gives the reader either a reminder or a general overview of the different strands which exist in linguistic theory to understand and define what language actually is. As is shown in the course of the book, this has been and still remains one of the major issues with views to the development of language teaching.

The author asks the reader - supposedly a language teacher - to consider this question for him or herself and find the link to language acquisition. From functional and structural linguistics to the internal and external aspects of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches, for instance, she briefly explains the points of view and issues linked to these theories. Language development in first and second or foreign language acquisition is a further element which the author focuses on the introduction. All this is to show the interdisciplinary link between these theoretical approaches and other scientific areas with a special focus on education.

After briefly presenting the multitude of scientific attempts to explain the concepts of language and language development, the author places some questions and instructions “for discussion” (21). This segment will be evoked again at the end of each chapter to remind the reader / teacher of what has been said and to provide him or her with a tool to immediately be able to check upon existing classroom habits and possibly find a guideline for the future. From the beginning, the author encourages the reader to find for him or herself the right answer to the question of which aspects of language he or she wants or needs to teach, and thereby bridges the supposed gap between language teaching in theory and practice.

Chapter 2 (“Historical Overview – Language and lLanguage Teaching"; 23-40) provides a historical outline of the link between the understanding of language and language teaching (23). In this context, the changes in different educational systems over the centuries play an important role. The author indicates the importance of socio-cultural aspects as well as the historical understanding of language, beginning with the use of Latin as a tool “to study the classics of Ancient Rome” (24) and especially “for recording knowledge in theology, medicine and law” (24). She then explains the shift from Latin to vernaculars as nations were growing and their respective languages gained in importance, e.g. in trade (25-26).

She discusses the fact that at times, changes in language teaching theories were far too drastic for their respective times, and that this phenomenon laid the foundations for modern approaches in theory and practice (31).

Explaining early approaches from the grammar-translation method to the direct method of the Reform Movement, the author introduces the reader to Chomsky’s efforts and merits (29), again giving an informative overview, using examples to show the need for new approaches in linguistics which would have considerable influence on language teaching theories.

Chapter 3 (“Language as a Biological Property"; 41-67) deals with Chomsky’s generative theory with views to Universal Grammar (UG) and its possible influence on Second Language development (41f). Insight is given into the complicated situation which research faces at times; many contradictory findings are briefly and followed by a recommendation to pick out and focus on the most important issues for teachers:
As you can see, this kind of argumentation is complex, requiring cross-linguistic study and a sophisticated understanding of formal properties of linguistics. Ideally, teachers will be able to study enough linguistics to make sense of this kind of research. […] At the very last, it is important that you as a teacher are aware of the overall conclusions, […] (55).
Another necessary and useful remark with respect to this is to be found earlier in the text. As the explanations seem to become more and more complex, the author states that
another hurdle for teachers to overcome is the abstract nature of linguistic formalisms. While the discussions of Generative Linguistics in this book so far have hopefully been clear, you will probably agree that they are relatively complex. (50).
At this point, a few more definite examples would probably have helped teachers with a non-linguistic background understand the complexity of the concepts described.

Chapter 4 (“Language as a Tool for Communication”; 68-94) concludes with describing a framework concept that links all of the approaches and their results discussed in this part of the book, which will then make it possible for the reader / teacher to understand their link with practical language teaching.

The author briefly introduces the topic of this chapter by referring to “an overview of the major approaches, categorized here under the […] labels of Functional, Socio-cultural and Cognitive Approaches.” (68). She then describes the extent “the notion of competence” (70ff.) takes in explaining what language is.

In an attempt to visualize and make the aforementioned categories clearer, figure 4.1 (87) provides the reader with a useful reminder of the complex links between the different linguistic approaches elaborated so far. It leads over to the “consensus-based approach […] taken in the next section and the rest of this book as to make sense of (all) principles of linguistics in the context of language learning and language teaching” (87). The Modular On-line Growth and Use of Language (MOGUL) framework is introduced.

In this chapter, the author also gives clear instructions to teachers of how to create an environment that encourages the integration of the three approaches into their work by understanding what has been stated so far as defining language (91)

The section For Discussion (92) of Chapter 4 raises the reader’s awareness in rather theoretical linguistic terms of what teachers probably know already. This might sound just as complex and complicated as some of the descriptions read up to this point. However, the aim of the book as suggested by the title is well-elaborated and achieved here.

At the beginning of Chapter 5 (“Implications for Language Teaching”; 95-120), the author states that although in theoretical linguistics the different views described before are mainly “irreconcilable, the fortunate point for us is that it does not necessarily matter for language teaching” (95). She then explains the teachers’ aims in the classroom from her point of view, stating that “a conscientious teacher will recognize all of these facets of language [described] and work to develop them depending on the particular needs of the students” (96).

Before concluding with a statement that picks up the remark quoted before, the author uses the ten observations by Van Patten and Williams (96-117) briefly introduced in Chapter 3 (63) to more explicitly demonstrate the “implications for language teaching” - as suggested by the title of this chapter - of the manifold and mostly irreconcilable approaches in theory. The author reaches the conclusion that “knowledgeable teachers need to take on the complexity of language and language development (117). She identifies the existence of such complexity as one of the two most important findings from projecting the observations onto the possible experiences of teachers in classroom situations. To specify these reflexions, she then invites the reader to compare and possibly add to these generalizations on second language development in the discussion segment (118). This seems to be most necessary as she points out that “the implications presented here are logical conclusions; not all are empirically based” (117).

As she will then turn to current trends in and findings of English language teaching in chapter 6, this remark, together with the shift to a very specific example and description of teaching experiences, seems to be the general turning point in the book at which teachers are given the opportunity to further compare and take out the most important implications for themselves and their work, as suggested several times by the author as being the right way in language teaching.

Chapter 6 (“Approaches to English Language Teaching”; 121-141) first establishes the terminological difference between the terms approach and method as this will be a necessary distinction for understanding much of the last chapters of the book (121-122). Again she shows the reader the importance of awareness of theoretical issues to be transferred to classroom situations (122). The author then labels several historically and regionally developed ideas in English language teaching “designer approaches” (123) depicting different hypotheses that bring in the respective roles of a teacher (124ff.). She lists several tendencies and their respective “inventors” as developed over decades in English language teaching, recognizing again, however, that in any case it is of vital significance to be aware of “what language is, how [it] develops and what best fosters this development” (128-129).

As not every possible classroom scenario can be calculated and therefore covered by one specific approach in terms of making theory “foolproof” (129) in practice, she turns to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) that she identifies as the prevailing approach in recent times (129). This seems to enable theorists and teachers alike to reconcile the presumably irreconcilable, taking into consideration many factors that account for the differences in theoretical approaches. In addition the author shows that one important characteristic of this approach is the fact that it “is likely to make use of all four skills” whereas “the more traditional practice of teaching each skill separately does not sit well with an approach which mimics real-life interaction” (132). She carries on by saying that “CLT is an approach to teaching, not a method. It embodies a range of beliefs and understandings about language; language development and learning in general that have developed over time” (134). With this, she encourages the reader to conscientiously decide on the methods appropriate in and for a specific teaching environment.

The author suggests the method of TBLT (Task-Based Learning and Teaching (135) that seems to be adequate in the framework of communicative language teaching as “the importance of communication is clearly central to Task-Based Learning" (137) and at the same time is flexible enough to help adapt to many different teaching situations. In the remainder of the book she will continue to use this method with some precise examples.

The discussion section at the end of Chapter 6 invites the reader to search any textbook at hand and check for the “elements of the approaches and methods identified” (139) as a transition to Chapter 7 in which the author will not try “to propose any new super-method” (162), but instead explicitly depict the main aim of the book with setting up a lesson plan and “[uncovering] some of the theoretical points which are foundational to sound language-teaching practices” (162).

Chapter 7 (“Putting Theory into Practice”; 142-163) emphasizes again that “there is no such thing as a 'typical' language-teaching context” (142). By summarizing an exemplary scenario featuring class size, the CEFR level of students and other relevant factors (144), the author develops an exemplary lesson plan and syllabus, referring back to the form/function principle (145) in teaching and looking at the appropriations and necessities to adapt the plan to each environment, starting, however, from a “simple standard format appropriate for most teaching contexts” (147) and with which teachers and students can build upon the knowledge acquired over time.

From their own experience, teachers will agree that the flexibility of one’s teaching plan is key to success when adapting it from lesson to lesson, from classroom situation to classroom situation, being fully aware of students’ needs. With regard to this aspect, the book renders a good framework for rather inexperienced teachers who are just starting their career. With respect to experienced language teachers, it serves as a mirror that helps reflect what a teacher presumably knows when having a linguistic rather than a merely pedagogical background. It reflects what the reader / teacher might rather have been unaware of, even though setting up and using lesson plans like the one suggested in this chapter.

One major point that the author keeps focusing on is that there is no approach, and with it no method, that could be considered most adequate for language teaching in general; taking this thought one step further, this may also mean that there is not even the one approach or method for a specific, but ever changing classroom environment.

The aim of the book to show that the lack of the one and best strategy for any teaching environment is fully accomplished by constantly showing the variety of issues in questions in each chapter and topic. The help for structuring one’s teaching with an awareness for possible underlying theoretical aspects that is provided is very practical, especially as the author states that
in many language-teaching contexts, there is real pressure to teach specific forms. […] Even in places where there is a degree of freedom for teachers to choose their own classroom materials, the formal assessments for very many courses are, in fact, very 'form-centric' (152),
which will, of course, restrict teachers in their freedom to decide what, from a student’s perspective, is needed in the classroom situation. In the last part of this chapter, this point is dealt with under the subheading of “deciding what to teach (and what not to teach)” (161). The author will pick up this statement again in the last chapter (166), apparently recognizing this assumption as a key problem to be taken into account by teachers.

As summarized in the lesson plan, the assumed classroom situation focused on a specific group of learners that cannot cover all of the aspects involved, such as “differences in age of acquisition” (162) or “in levels of proficiency” (163). In a more general view, this is taken up in the following last chapter of the textbook.

For this purpose Chapter 8 (“Practice and Practices – Responding to Student Needs”; 164-180) is divided into segments giving an overview of the needs of learner groups that differ from the one described in the previous chapter. The author observes groups of low- and advanced-level adult learners and young learners of English. The unit and lesson topic used in chapter 7, however, are kept.

Under the subheading “The Global Context: English as a Lingua Franca” (174), the author briefly explains her turn to exclusively writing about teaching English in the last two chapters of the book, although most of it applies to and is “relevant to the teaching of any language” (174). To conclude, she picks up another of the major issues discussed throughout the book – what language actually is –, by focusing on what English is in the aforementioned global context (174ff.).

Summing up by admitting that “in many ways this book raises more questions than it answers” (178), the author invites and encourages the reader / teacher to be aware “of the complexity of [the] subject area: language” (178). She finishes the final discussion section with the following:
What do you consider the most important points made in this book? To what extent will they affect your views on teaching? What, specifically, could you plan to do differently as a teacher that you did not do before (as a language teacher or learner)? (179).
This very last notion of allowing teachers to see themselves not only as language teachers, but also as language learners, is a good final hint to create the awareness the author considers key to success.



Reviewer:

Christine Mathews
Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes
University of Applied Sciences
Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaten / Business School
Waldhausweg 14
66123 Saarbrücken
Germany
E-mail: christine.mathews@htwsaar.de