Construction grammar and English language teaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v3i1.1592Keywords:
communicative approach, construction grammar, formulaic language, workplace communicationAbstract
This paper begins by noting that disappointments have been expressed with the communicative approach to language teaching, before discussing a number of problems involved in its implementation. This leads to the question of how English language teaching can attend to grammatical form, but without sacrificing the focus on communicative function. The paper then points to a convergence between strands of research in both theoretical and applied linguistics. In theoretical linguistics, the increasing prominence of ‘construction grammars’ resonates nicely with recent suggestions that ‘lexical phrases’ or ‘formulaic sequences’ should be given greater focus in language teaching. The rest of the paper goes on to consider the pedagogical value of the notion of a construction.
References
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McGrath, I. 2002. Materials evaluation and design for language teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
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Nattinger, J.R. 1980. A lexical phrase grammar for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 14, 337-44.
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Pennycook, A. 1994. The cultural politics of English as an international language. London: Longman.
Rossner, R. 1988. Materials for communicative language teaching and learning. In C. Brumfit (Ed.) Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 8 (pp. 140-63) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Widdowson, Henry G. 1979. Explorations in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Widdowson, H. G. 1989. Knowledge of language and ability for use. Applied Linguistics 10, 128-37.
Willis, D. 1990. The lexical syllabus. London: Harper Collins.
Wray, A. 2000. Formulaic sequences in second language teaching: Principle and practice. Applied Linguistics, 21/4, 463-489.
Bao, Z M & Wee, L. 1999. The passive in Singapore English. World Englishes, 18/1, 1-11.
Bills, D. B. 2004. The sociology of education and work. Oxford: Blackwell.
Cameron, D. 1995. Verbal hygiene. London: Routledge.
Cameron, D. 2000a. Styling the worker: Gender and the commodification of language in the globalized service economy. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 4/3, 323-347.
Cameron, D. 2000b. Good to talk? London: Sage.
Cameron, D. 2002. Globalization and the teaching of ‘communication skills’. In David Block & Deborah Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and language teaching (pp. 67-82). London: Routledge.
Carter, R. 1997. Investigating English discourse. London: Routledge.
Cheshire, J. 1982. Dialect features and linguistic conflict in schools. Educational Review, 34/1, 53-67.
Clarke, D. 1989. Communicative theory and its influence on materials production: State-of-the-art article. Language Teaching, 22, 73-86.
Croft, W. 2001. Radical construction grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Duranti, A. 1992. Intentions, self, and responsibility: An essay in Samoan ethnopragmatics. In Jane H. Hill & Judith T. Irvine (Eds.), Responsibility and evidence in oral discourse (pp. 24-47). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fillmore, C. J., Kay, P. & O’Connor, M. C. 1988. Regularity and idiomaticity in grammatical constructions: The case of ‘let alone’. Language, 64, 501-538.
Gee, J. P. Hull, G. & Lankshear, C. 1996. The new work order: Behind the language of the new capitalism. NSW, Australia: Allen and Unwin.
Goldberg, A. E. 1995. Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hall, D. 1995. Materials production: Theory and practice. In Hidalgo, A., Hall, D., & Jacobs, G. (Eds.), Getting started: Materials writers on materials writing. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Kay, P. & Fillmore, C.J. 1999. Grammatical constructions and linguistic generalizations: The What’s X doing Y? construction. Language, 75, 1-33.
Lewis, M. 1993. The lexical approach. Hove: Teacher Training Publications.
McGrath, I. 2002. Materials evaluation and design for language teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Mitchell, R. 2000. Applied linguistics and evidence-based classroom practice: The case of foreign language grammar pedagogy. Applied Linguistics, 21/3, 281-303.
Nattinger, J.R. 1980. A lexical phrase grammar for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 14, 337-44.
Nattinger, J. R. & DeCarrico, J.S. 1992. Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pennycook, A. 1994. The cultural politics of English as an international language. London: Longman.
Rossner, R. 1988. Materials for communicative language teaching and learning. In C. Brumfit (Ed.) Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 8 (pp. 140-63) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Skehan, P. 1988. A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wallace, C. 2002. Local literacies and global literacy. In David Block & Deborah Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and language teaching (pp. 101-114). London: Routledge.
Widdowson, Henry G. 1979. Explorations in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Widdowson, H. G. 1989. Knowledge of language and ability for use. Applied Linguistics 10, 128-37.
Willis, D. 1990. The lexical syllabus. London: Harper Collins.
Wray, A. 2000. Formulaic sequences in second language teaching: Principle and practice. Applied Linguistics, 21/4, 463-489.
Published
2007-05-31
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Section
Articles
