Language Teaching: Linguistic Theory in Practice

How can theories of language development be understood and applied in your language classroom?

By presenting a range of linguistic perspectives from formal to functional to cognitive, this book highlights the relevance of second language acquisition research to the language classroom. Following a brief historical survey of the ways in which language has been viewed, Whong clearly discusses the basic tenets of Chomskyan linguistics, before exploring ten generalisations about second language development in terms of their implications for language teaching. Emphasising the formal generative approach, the book explores well-known language teaching methods, looking at the extent to which linguistic theory is relevant to the different approaches. This is the first textbook to provide an explicit discussion of language teaching from the point of view of formal linguistics.

Key features

• Deconstructs a lesson plan to show the translation of theory to classroom practice
• Provides 'For Discussion' sections at the end of every chapter
• Includes a Glossary of key terms and concepts in the field

About the author

Melinda Whong is a lecturer in English Language Teaching at the University of Leeds. Having taught in the US, China, Egypt, she did her formal academic training in the UK in generative second language acquisition. By applying theory to practice, she brings the two sides of her career together.