ERIC Number: ED018426
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1967-Oct
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE TEACHING PROCESS.
EMIG, JANET ANN
THE TEACHING OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE MAJOR MODES--THE PRESCRIPTIVE, THE DESCRIPTIVE, AND THE PRODUCTIVE. PRESCRIPTIVE TEACHING PROCEEDS FROM TWO (SUSPECT) ASSUMPTIONS--(1) THAT THERE ARE ABSOLUTE STANDARDS UNANIMOUSLY KNOWN AND SHARED BY EDUCATED ADULTS, TO WHICH A STUDENT'S LANGUAGE SHOULD ATTAIN, AND (2) THAT PRESCRIPTIVE TEACHER INTERVENTION IN LANGUAGE PATTERNS OF ADOLESCENTS OR CHILDREN OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE CAN EFFECT SIGNIFICANT CHANGE. DESCRIPTIVE TEACHING DESCRIBES HOW LANGUAGE WORKS, ITS NATURE, AND ITS HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS. SOME LANGUAGE SUBJECT MATTERS THAT CAN BE APPROACHED DESCRIPTIVELY ARE GRAMMAR, LEXICOGRAPHY, SEMANTICS, LANGUAGE HISTORY, DIALECTOLOGY, AND THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION. PRODUCTIVE TEACHING, WHICH OVERLAPS MARKEDLY WITH THE DESCRIPTIVE MODE, IS DESIGNED TO EXTEND THE STUDENT'S EFFECTIVE USES OF THE NATIVE LANGUAGE, TO MAKE HIS LANGUAGE STYLES--BOTH WRITTEN AND ORAL--ADAPTABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF POSSIBLE AUDIENCES. WHICHEVER MODE A TEACHER PREFERS, THE MOST POWERFUL AND SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE TEACHING REQUIRES (1) A FORMIDABLE SUBSTANTIVE COMMAND OF THE DISCIPLINE OF LANGUAGE, (2) A KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURE OF BOTH LEARNER AND TEACHER, AND THEIR INTERACTIONS, AND (3) CERTAIN PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES, PARTICULARLY FLEXIBILITY, WHICH LET HIM MOVE FREELY AMONG THE MODES. (THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN "ELEMENTARY ENGLISH," VOL. 44 (OCTOBER 1967), 602-608, 709.) (MM)
Descriptors: Descriptive Linguistics, Elementary Education, English Instruction, Grammar, Language Instruction, Language Research, Language Teachers, Language Usage, Linguistics, Modern Language Curriculum, Secondary Education, Teacher Effectiveness, Teaching Methods, Teaching Styles, Transformational Generative Grammar
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A