ERWIN SANTANA ORTEGA

ASSIGNMENT #2

INTRODUCTION
For this essay, I will use the following analogy: Teaching someone to learn English as a foreign language
will be similar as teaching someone how to drive a car. In the same order of ideas, I will propose different
scenarios to exemplify my thoughts.
DISCUSSION
When a teenager aged 15 is about to start learning English as a foreign Language for the first time, we can
make the assumption that the same boy is going to start taking driving lessons. In the particular case that this
boy has never studied English before, then it would be recommended to start from the beginning, which
means: learning the most common words in the English language, to ask for a glass of water or food and also
how to pronounce I love you correctly. Although, not forcing to correct the pronunciation in a strict way in
the beginning. Here, of course there is room for the correct pronunciation of the teacher, but maybe not for
explaining the whole International Phonetic Alphabet. According to Crystal (1994, p. 237) There are in fact
20 or so vowels in most accents of English. This is where the English teacher is expected to know those
vowels but not necessarily hope the learner to memorize them if that is not going to add any value to his
communicative skills. Perhaps listening for a long period of time to a conversation taking place between a
couple of friends with a very clear and understandable English accent would be more beneficial to the
listener. In fact the two friends can pronounce very well the sounds they acquired from their childhood and
not know the word tripthongs and still add value to the skills of the learner.
The use of common sentences in English can be at the same time productive and motivating, but teaching
only the correct syntax of that language could turn the learning process somehow tedious and demotivating.
The syntax according to Matthews (1981, p. 1) traditionally, it refers to the branch of grammar dealing with
ways in which words, with or without appropriate inflections, are arranged to show connections of meaning
within the sentence. Some traditional English teachers spend lots of time explaining those rules of syntax
without having the students enough time or activities to make learning more enjoyable and permanent.
Making a comparison with the teenager learning how to drive a car of course it is important for the facilitator
to know the correct name of some of the main parts of the car in order to be speaking about the same thing
with the learner. But reviewing all and every single one of the components and systems of the car before
getting in the drivers seat is not going to be very helpful and again, it would only make the situation tedious
and demotivating for the learner.

The learner needs practice in order to master either one of those skills. Whether it is to become fluent in the
English language or become a good car driver. Which is the best way for the inexperienced driver to be good
at driving a car? Maybe to sit in the pilots seat and start the engine, then pushing the gas pedal and take
control over the steering wheel and be aware of all the mirrors inside the car. Next he is going to find a spot
to make parallel parking and he is going to miss for the first time he tries to do that, but then he is going to
learn from his mistakes.
He is not going to learn how to drive a car unless he does drive a car himself. He is going to make mistakes,
of course. He is not going to make the car stop with the correct amount of force in his legs, he is going over
speed or advance too slowly more than once, and he is going to turn off the car unintentionally. Just in the
same way the English apprentice is going to make mistakes with Syntax, Phonetics, morphology, semantics,
and pragmatics.
 ERWIN SANTANA ORTEGA
Morphology of course is an essential knowledge of linguistics for teaching English as a foreign language
from the earliest studies. Especially the inflectional morphology is important due to the fact that one root
word will serve to determine what some new word can be created and learnt by the student when adding
either a prefix or a suffix. If a student has heard the word employ before, then inflectional morphology can
help understand the word unemployed, and many more that derivate from the root word.
If the theory can be used in the practice, then I agree with the idea of a thorough knowledge of linguistics is
essential for teaching English as a second language. However, if it is the case that more exposure to
memorizing the linguistic terms for the students implies less time to practice the use of vocabulary and
listening to conversations, then it would become a nonsense to teach all the linguistic part.
The study of any language in the world has the goal to be able to communicate and understand what others
are saying. This idea is based on the communicative approach, which is used to learn English as a second
language as well as Spanish as a first language in school.
CONLCUSSIONS
If the theory of linguistics can be used in practicing the use of the English language, then it is recommended
that teachers have a thorough learning of this area, but if the teacher cannot find any activities or ways from
which the student can perform a better use of his English, then the use of linguistics has to be re-thought.

REFERENCES:

Crystal D. (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Matthews P.H (1981). Syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Fromkin V., R. Rodman, N. Hyams (2002). An Introduction to Language. (7th ed.). Thomson & Wadsworth.
Skillwise, Math and English for Adults. (2017, may 20). http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/factsheet/en18root-
e3-f-what-are-root-words
Yule G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.