Linguistics in education refers to a small but growing field of
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
which advocates a greater use of linguistic theory and in
primary and
secondary education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
.
Background
Due to changes in national standards for K-12 education in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
during the 1960s,
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
was largely dropped from
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
courses. The belief was that direct grammar instruction was not required for improved instruction in writing. Despite more recent research that has shown the positive effects of grammar instruction, the attitude that it is unnecessary persists today.
Challenges
Because grammar has not been taught in many years, generations of teachers were never exposed to its direct instruction. Thus, even though many wish to teach it in their classrooms, they do not find that they have adequate knowledge on the subject. Unfortunately, this often perpetuates
linguistic stereotypes that can sometimes be discriminatory to speakers of
nonstandard language varieties.
Another issue is that the curriculum for teachers is already very broad, especially in comparison to other college students, so requiring further courses for would-be teachers is rather unpopular. The same problem exists in the K-12 classroom which already have difficult time constraints on their current curriculum. To add grammar to an already full curriculum is extremely difficult.
Benefits
Studies of how grammar and other linguistic theory can be incorporated into K-12 classrooms have been highly successful both in improving students' conscious knowledge of grammar and changing attitudes about non-standard English dialects.
There is evidence that grammar instruction can be beneficial to students' writing such that replacing writing or vocabulary instruction with grammar can actually be a more productive use of class time.
Current theory
Linguists have also been involved in this field in attempts to change
misconceptions about language. One common example is the definition of
nouns
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
. Traditionally a noun is defined as a "person, place, or thing". While this definition captures much of what nouns are it does not incorporate all possible definitions and uses. For example, mental concepts such as "belief" or "idea" are also nouns but do not neatly fit the traditional definition. This can be especially difficult for children to understand. A more comprehensive definition seeks to describe nouns through their features and uses. However this definition requires the teacher to have greater knowledge of English
syntax.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Cambridge.org
Language acquisition
acquisition-stub