对比语言学与英语教学

Contrastive Linguistics and Teaching English as a

Second Language
2024 Spring Semester
Email: [email protected]
Time: 10:10-11:50, Thur
Venue: S114 Reading Bldg
Office Hour: 12:30-13:30, Fri at Lanjiang S412
Getting started

趸
dǔn
 The history of
Contrastive Linguistics
 Unit 3 The history of CL

 History of Contrastive Linguistics in

western countries
 History of Contrastive Linguistics in
China
The history of contrastive linguistics in Western countries

 the first period (1820s-1940s)

 foundation stage
 Humboldt----On the comparative
study of language and its relation to
the different periods of language
development(1820)
 Whorf--- Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Humboldt, Jespersen and Wolff all pursued the same goal, that is, to
study the nature of language and its relationship with the nation and
the human spirit through the study of language contrasts.
Comparative study
August Schleicher

Language Family Tree

树
形
谱
系
图
图系谱形树
Language Family
Tree
The history of contrastive linguistics in Western countries

 the second period (1940s-1970s)

 Robert Lado---“Linguistics across
Culture”(1957)
The pursuit of the second
period in the West was

It marks a turning point mainly in the application of

in contrastive studies. second language teaching.
The history of contrastive linguistics in Western countries

 the third period The goals of the Western Third

(1980-) Period were expanded upon the

 the revival period that dissatisfaction with the goals of the

focuses on the Second Period.
construction of subject Candlin stated more clearly the goal
and theory
they were pursuing: contrastive
analysis can provide more than just
difficulties for language learners.
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

the first the third the fifth

period period period
(1898-1921) (1956-1976) (1990-)

the second the fourth

period period
(1922-1955) (1977-1989)
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

The first period(1898--1921)

Ma Jianzhong （马建忠）

Mashi Wentong( 马氏文通 )—the

beginning of contrastive linguistics.
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

The second period(1922--1955)

Scholars opposed imitation and wanted to
establish our own grammar and language research
system by comparing China with the west.

 Lu Shuxiang ( 吕叔湘 )—— 《中国文法要略》

 ——
《中国人学英文》
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

The third period(1956—1976)

Tentative system— “Common program” of
Chinese grammar was established.

 1950s—1960s Comparison between Russian and

Chinese
 1960s—1970s Stagnant: there was no publication
in China
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

The fourth period(1977—1989)

Studies in this period aimed at serving second
language teaching and learning.
 1978—1980 Contrastive studies developed again
 1980s Contrastive studies between Chinese
and English developed rapidly.
2.The history of contrastive linguistic in China

The fifth period(1990—)

The direction changed. The focus
became to discover the characteristics
of Chinese through contrastive studies
and make contributions to the
construction of general linguistics.

landmark
 N U I S T >>>

Current Development
in western countries

明 德 格 物 立 己 达 人
 In recent years contrastive analysis has
been applied to areas such as the theory and
practice of translation, L2 writing,
understanding and description of particular
languages, language typology, the study of
language universals.
 Any aspect of language may be covered in contrastive
studies.

 The studies make use of both micro-linguistic and macro-

linguistic approach.
 Micro-linguistic analysis compares the structure of
linguistic systems, whereas macro-linguistic analysis
focuses on their realizations in speech and the factors
which underlie certain linguistic forms and their
variants.
(Danchev, 2001, pp. 89-91;
Ke, 2019, pp. 8-9)
 It is this macro-linguistic widening of the
analysis that represents the new trend within
contrastive linguistics.
 It is realized by the incorporation of speech
production which is of two types - translated,
usually translation corpora, and non-translated,
i.e. produced by native speakers and foreign
language learners. (Danchev , 2001, pp. 89-91)
 the need to identify the universal features of the
language material;
 the desire to describe the national picture of the
world of speakers of different languages;
 the need to improve bilingual dictionaries, where
national-specific features of the semantics of
translation correspondences are indicated;
 the interest in the study of the national specifics of
semantics and linguistic thinking;
 the enlargement of the scope of foreign language
teaching. (Pirozhkova, 2016, pp. 159-160)
Languages in Contrast

International Journal for

Contrastive Linguistics
 Languages in Contrast welcomes
interdisciplinary studies, particularly those
that make links between contrastive
linguistics and translation, lexicography,
computational linguistics, language teaching,
literary and linguistic computing, literary
studies and cultural studies.
 LATEST ARTICLES

5 October 2023
The Gravitational Pull Hypothesis and
imperfective/perfective aspect in Catalan translation
2 October 2023
On similative demonstratives in Czech and English:
Evidence from corpora
Translating emotions: A corpus-based study of the
conceptualization of ANGER in German-Spanish
translation
 LATEST ARTICLES

29 September 2023
The fate of 'pseudo-'words: A contrastive corpus-based
analysis
22 September 2023
Intermediate perfects: A comparison of Dutch, Catalan and
Breton
27 January 2023
How did you break that? Semantic boundaries of Italian
and English action verbs encoding breaking events
 Contrastive Linguisitics
the first specialized journal devoted to
contrastive linguistic analysis at
international level
 The contrastive studies investigate more than
fifty languages and are published in six
languages.
Except for vocabulary, phonology, morphology,
syntax and semantics, the research articles cover
other aspects of language as well, including text
and discourse, pragmatics and sociolinguistics.
 The finding shows that there is only a slight increase in macro-linguistic
analyses in recent years, but contrastive analysis remains a vibrant area of
research with a potential for development at discourse level in particular.
(Kostova, B. (2022). The potential of contrastive analysis in the study
of discourse. Studies in Linguistics, Culture, and FLT, 10(2), 66-80.)
 This growth of interest in contrastive studies
of specialized discourses is motivated by the
new developments and disciplines in the field
of linguistics such as text linguistics, discourse
analysis, genre analysis, pragmatics and
sociolinguistics.
DEVELOPMENT

First, applied contrastive studies of academic

discourse has proven to be supportive in areas such as
foreign language teaching and learning, writing for
publication and translation.
These are areas where contrastive data can suggest
solutions through various practical linguistic data.
 DEVELOPMENT

Second, although there is a growing trend of contrastive

studies conducted from macro perspective, there is a niche
for contrastive theoretical studies at discourse level and even
a larger niche for contrastive studies of political discourse.
In the future, the broader perspective of such contrastive
studies can test and possibly modify modern linguistic
theories that are based on the study of western languages
and can have a real contribution to intercultural tolerance.
Course overview

What is this course like? How?

• A course for postgraduate students majoring in English Education
• Focus on the relationship between linguistic theories and English
teaching (on its theory and practice as well), and on relevant
researches.
• English-medium lecturing, discussion, collaboration, and presentation
• Presentations
• A variety of after-class assignments
• Process-oriented assessment
Course plan and content
Week Content
1-2 Course introduction and core concepts
3 Contrastive Linguistics and its history
4 Contrastive Linguistics in China
5 Parataxis and Hypotaxis
6 Synthetic VS. Analytic
7 Static vs Dynamic
8 Direct and Indirect
9 Impersonal and Personal
10 Abstract and Concrete
11 Repetitive and Substitutive
12 Active and Passive
13 Cognitive Linguistics
14 Meataphor and TESL
15 Cognitive Linguistics and TESL
16 Review
Course objectives and goals

What can this course do for us?

• Equip with a package of contrastive linguistics.
• Master the connections between linguistic theories and TESL theories
and practice.
• Link espoused theories with personal practical knowledge and learn
to carry out teaching practice with theoretic motivations and
guidance.
• Get well-prepared for academic academic writing and academic
research in the field of linguistics and relevant research on English
language teaching.
Course requirements

1. Regular Attendance
2. Classroom involvement
3. After-class assignments
4. Class presentation
5. Final course report
对比语言学与英语教学

Contrastive Linguistics and Teaching English as a

Second Language
2024 Spring Semester
Email: [email protected]
Time: 10:10-11:50, Fri
Venue: S114 Reading Bldg
Office Hour: 12:30-13:30, Fri at Lanjiang S412
 Some Core concepts

Language
Language teaching
Linguistics
Contrastive linguistics and comparative linguistics
Conitive Linguistics
Views on Language

Task 1
Work in groups, Brainstorm possible answer to the question: what
is language? When you are ready, join another group and share
your ideas.
Views on Language

Roughly speaking, there has been more than 60 definitions of

language (Pan Wenguo 2006).
Some samples

• So many definitions can be categorized into different schools or

views of languages.
• In other words: There are many possible theoretical positions
about the nature of language.
• Here are three different views which explicitly or implicitly is
reflected in current approaches to language learning.
Typical views on language

Structural view

Functional Interactional
view View
1. Structural view

—The founder ： Saussure

—The structural view of language sees language as a linguistic
system made up of various subsystems ：
1.the sound system (phonology)
2.word combinations (morphology)
3.rules of sentence structures (syntax)
……
—Learning the language is to learn the structural items ，
study the inner structure and rule of language, ignore the
1. Structural view

• Structural view sees language as a linguistic system made up of

various subsystems: phonology, morphology and syntax etc. Each
language has a finite number of such structural items.
• To learn a language means to learn these structural items so as
to be able to understand and produce language.
Structuralist Approach to TESL
2. Functional view

Functional view Functional view sees language as a linguistic

system as well as a means for doing things. Most of our day-to-day
language use involves functional activities: offering, suggesting,
advising, apologizing, etc.

—Representative: Johnson 、 marrow 、 swain canal (the core:

grammar)
2. Functional view

• Therefore, learners learn a language in order to do things with

it. To perform functions, learners need to know how to combine
the grammatical rules and the vocabulary to express notions that
perform the functions.
3. Interactional view

• Interactional view refers to the view that language is a

communicative tool to build up and maintain social relations
between people.
• Therefore, learners not only need to know the grammar and
vocabulary of the language, but also need to know the rules for
using them in a whole range of communicative contexts.
3. Interactional view

— Emphasis ： appropriateness
— Language is a communicative tool ， which main use is to
build up and maintain social relations between people
—Learners need to know the rules for using the language in
certain context
—The structural view limits knowing a language to knowing its
structural rules and vocabulary
Language and society

Language is a social phenomenon closely intertwined with society.

Language is constrained by society and, in turn, influences society.
Language is dependent on society for several reasons.
Firstly, language, as the most important tool of human communication,
emerges from people's shared labor and life experiences.
Secondly, every individual's linguistic activities (including language
acquisition and usage) must also take place within a social
environment.
Language and society

Language develops with the progress of society and dies with its
decline.
Society places constraints on language in various ways.
Firstly, social interaction leads to linguistic changes. For example, the
widespread phenomenon of borrowing words in many languages
illustrates the influence of interethnic communication on language.
Secondly, the social environment impacts language. Various social
factors such as class, factions, professions, and politics exert a
considerable influence on language usage within specific contexts.
Language and society

Lastly, social division and unity affect the division and unification of
language. In conclusion, language is shaped by society and, at the
same time, has a reciprocal impact on society. The close
relationship between language and society ultimately gives rise to
the field of sociolinguistics.
Language and Thinking

There is a dialectical unity between language and thought.

Language cannot exist without thought, and thought cannot exist
without language. The units of language are words and sentences,
while the units of thought are concepts, judgments, and reasoning.
Firstly, language serves as a tool for the formation of thought or ideas.
Secondly, language serves as a tool for expressing thought or ideas.
Thirdly, language serves as a tool for evoking thought or ideas in
others.
Language and Thinking

Fourthly, language serves as a tool for modeling the process of

thought. Language humanizes thought and allows humans to
transcend the conditions of the animal world.
On the other hand, thought is one of the primary driving forces behind
semantic changes in language. Thought is also a major factor in
the expansion of speech. Thought drives the selection of units of
language for the creation of discourse. Additionally, thought
exercises control over the establishment and expansion of
language.
Language and Culture

Culture: 1) Ecological culture; 2) Linguistic culture; 3) Religious

culture; 4) Material culture; 5) Social culture.
Language serves as the carrier of culture and reflects the culture of a
society. Some people liken language to a "vehicle" and culture to
"traffic signals." (There are many articles available online for
further reading and downloading on this topic.)
Views on Language Learning

Task 3
• What are the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes
involved in language learning?
• What are the conditions that need to be met in order for these
learning processes to be activated?
 Views on Language
Learning

Characteristics & Objectives

Views on Language Learning

Two broad learning theories ：

1. Process-oriented theories: are concerned with how the mind
organizes new information.
2. Condition-oriented theories: emphasize the nature of human
and physical context.
 Typical views on language
teaching
• Behaviorist theory
• Constructivist theory
• Cognitive theory
• Socio-constructive theory
Core concepts

• Teaching is a complex process which can be conceptualized in a

number of different ways.
• Traditionally, language teaching has been described in terms of
what teachers do: that is, in terms of the actions and behaviors
which teachers carry out in the classroom and the effects of
these on learners.
Views on Language and Teaching Approaches

If language is seen as a knowledge system (similar to mathematics,

physics, chemistry, etc.) or a symbolic system.
The teaching objectives would focus on phonetic systems,
grammatical systems, and semantic systems. Language-centered
teaching approaches such as grammar-translation method are
commonly used.
Views on Language and Teaching Approaches

If language is seen as a means of communication, a tool for

interaction,
The teaching objectives would focus on language ideas, functions,
skills, situations, and contexts. Communication-centered
teaching approaches such as direct method, audio-lingual
method, audiovisual method, situational method, and task-
based method are emphasized to enhance language
application.
Views on Language and Teaching Approaches

If language is seen as a social phenomenon and a set of social

conventions,
teaching approaches such as functional approach and communicative
approach are commonly employed.
Views on Language and Teaching Approaches

If language is viewed as a set of physiological mechanisms,

the teaching objectives would focus on language habits. Language
learning-centered approaches are employed, with an emphasis on
practicing language structures. Teaching methods such as sentence
substitution and comparative teaching are commonly used.
Views on Language and Teaching Approaches

If language is regarded as a tool for thought and a cultural carrier,

the teaching objectives would aim to enable students to observe and
understand the world through learning a foreign language, with a
focus on students‘ thoughts, emotions, ways of doing things, and
experiences. Teaching methods such as problem discussion, case
analysis, cultural comparison, and role play are often employed.
(Cited from: 桂诗春《应用语言学》 p50 ；夏纪梅《现代外语
课程设计流派与实践》， 2003 ，上外出版社， P14-15.)
Views on Language Learning

Behaviorist theory
 B. F. Skinner
 A stimulus-response theory of psychology
 Audio-lingual method
 The idea of this method is that language is learned by
constant repetition and the reinforcement of the teacher.
Mistakes were immediately corrected, and correct utterances
were immediately praised.
 Noam Chomsky’ question:
If all language is a learned behavior, how can a child
produce a sentence that has never been said by others before?
Views on Language Learning

Cognitive theory

 Influenced by Noam Chomsky (revival of structural linguistics)

 According to Chomsky’s theory, language is not a form of
behavior, it is an intricate rule-based system.
 A learner acquires language competence which enables him to
produce language.
 One influential idea of cognitive approach to language teaching
is that students should be allowed to create their own sentence
based on their own understanding of certain rules.
Views on Language Learning
Constructivist theory
 Jean Piaget (1896—1980)
 The learner constructs meaning based on his/her own
experiences and what is already known.
 Education is used to develop the mind, not just to rote recall
what is learned.
 Therefore, teachers must balance an understanding of the habits,
characteristics as well as personalities of individual learners
with an understanding of the means of arousing learners’
interests and curiosity for learning.
Views on Language Learning

Socio-constructivist theory
 Vygotsky
 “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD); scaffolding( 脚 手
架)
Learning is best achieved through the dynamic interaction between
the teacher
ZPD:andthe
thedistance
learner and between
between the learners.
actual developmental level
as determined by independent problem solving and the level of
potential development as determined through problem solving
under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.
（ Vygotsky 1978 ： 86 ）
Linguistics and TESL

How many linguistic theories are you familiar with?

• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Cognitivism

What is the relationship between linguistic theories and TESL?

Different English pedagogies are based on different theories on
language and language learning.
Structuralist Approach to TESL

• Ferdinand de Saussure
• Noam Chomsky
• GTM (grammar-translation method)
Functional Approach to TESL

• M. A. K. Halliday
• Emphasizes the instrumental function of
foreign language
• Learning English means learning to
communicate, to develop learners' ability to
use language effectively in real-life
communicative situations.
Functional Approach to TESL

• Language as a communicative tool

• Language in context
• Meaning-making through language
• Language variation and register awareness
• Language for specific purposes (ESP)
• Integrated language skills
Functional Approach to TESL

• Sociolinguistics
1.Language and social context
2.Communicative competence
3.Language variation and diversity
4.Language and identity
5.Critical language awareness
6.Sociocultural competence
Functional Approach to TESL

• Corpus linguistics
1.Authentic language use
2.Data-driven learning
3.Frequency-based instruction
4.Collocation and phraseology
5.Language variation and register awareness
6.Corpus-informed materials and activities
Cognitive Approach to TESL

Major claims of CL:

• Language as a cognitive phenomenon
• Embodied cognition
• Conceptual metaphor and image schemas
• Construction grammar
• Prototype theory and categorization
• Attention and salience
Cognitive Approach to TESL

Major claims of CL:

• Language as a cognitive process: Language learning involves
the development and organization of cognitive representations
related to linguistic knowledge and use.
• Meaning construction and conceptualization: meaning is not
fixed or predetermined but is actively constructed through
cognitive processes. e.g. conceptualization, metaphorical
mappings, and image schemas.
Cognitive Approach to TESL

Major claims of CL:

• Usage-based language learning: Exposure to and interaction with
meaningful language examples., authentic language use and
meaningful communication
• Cognitive strategies and metacognition: metacognitive
awareness, attentional focus, pattern recognition, and problem-
solving
• Embodied cognition and experiential learning: experiential
learning, multisensory activities, and embodied metaphors
• Conceptual integration and blending
 Concepts of language and implications
1) Language is a system of structures: structural learning, formal
instruction of grammatical structures;
2) Language is a means of communication: instruction focused on the
functions and notions of language; learning through using;
3) Language is the reflection of cultures: instruction on cultures and
focus on appropriateness of speech;
4) Language is the reflection of human thought process: learning is
the thought-provoking process; to improve cognition of learners;
5) Language is performance: application of authentic materials;
learning language as it is used;
6) Language is full of varieties: instruction of dialects, register,
gender, discourse to improve the appropriateness of language use.
77
 Concepts of language and implications
7) Language is a systematic means of communicating ideas or
feelings by the use of conventionalized signs , sounds , gestures , or
marks having understood meanings.
9) Language is a system of communication consisting of a set of small
parts and a set of sets rules which decide the ways in which these
parts can be combined to produce messages that have meaning .
9) Language is any set or system of linguistic symbols as used in a
more or less uniform fashion by a number of people who are thus
enabled to communicate intelligibly with one another.
10) Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human
communication (Wardhaugh, 1972: 3).

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• Language is a system of arbitrary, verbal
symbols which permit all people in a given
culture, or other people who have learn the
system of that culture, to communicate or
interact. ( Finocchiaro,1964:8)
• Language is any set or system of linguistic
symbols as used in a more or less uniform
fashion by a number of people who are thus
enabled to communicate intelligibly with one
another.
 Characteristics of language learning

1) learning is goal-oriented
2) learning is needs-motivated
3) learning is strategic
4) learning is both explicit and implicit
5) learning is contextualized
6) learning is rule-governed
7) learning is directed
8) learning is interactive
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Objectives of language teaching and learning

1) develop linguistic competence

2) develop communicative competence
3) develop discourse competence
4) develop learning competence to promote learners’
autonomy
5) develop test-tackling competence

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Tea break