Paper 304- ELT1

Assignment: Paper E-C-304,

Topic: Socio-linguistic context: a vary of perception in second language Teaching

Student's Name - Pooja N. Trivedi, 

Roll No - 18 

M. A. Part II, Semester - III,

Submitted To - Dr. Dilip Barad, 

                        Department of English,

                        Bhavnagar University,

                        Bhavnagar.

Sociolinguistic Context: A vary way of perception in Second Language Teaching

Abstract:

Language is a social phenomenon. When it is learned there must have some internal, social function in community. It is not only an abstract system of formal lexical and grammatical aspect but also fulfils a social function and viewed against social context in its use. In fact, a child learning his language and learning to interact with his environment never receives linguistic data isolated from its socio-cultural context. Hence, there is a need to shift the emphasis from encouraging learners to memorize grammatical rules to helping them interact with people using different language in a variety of situations. In this paper researcher has attempted to propose the idea of how this goal can be achieved and perception of teaching-learning process of the second language can hold a different view.

Paper:

Linguistic study focuses on the various functions of language. As Halliday puts in,

“Linguistics… is concerned…with description of speech acts or texts, since only through the study of language in use are all the functions of language and therefore all components of meaning, brought into focus.”

The study of teaching and learning of language has to be made keeping in view that language is not an alien subject to learn. It is a special and aculurate phenomenan. The study of language and linguistic behavior influenced by social and cultural factors. As frantc fanon noteds in his “black skin white masks.”

“To speak means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of civilization.”

Hence sociolinguistic as an important branch of linguistic is concerned with certain social functions of language. It is social meaning of linguistic. It is concerned with description of speech acts or texts through the study of language in use in particular society. In fact something important missed out of study of language if it does not describe how language is used to talk to friends, scold children conduct lasiness, grumble and so on . if we can gain insight into how language works by studying its formal grammatical properties, we must also realize that language is not a “thing” external to human beings, but rather something that makes up  a part of who we are..

The basic issue of concern of socio-linguists has been what goes into competence and what goes into performance. Chomsky stresses on the notion of competence as rather restricted. This theory and grammar omit everything pertaining to language use, everything of socioultural significance.

Unlike chomskyan view

Dell Hymes point out that.

‘Chomsky’s category of competence provides no place for competence for language use, but neither does, his category performance despite it equating language use with performance. This omits almost everything of social cultural significance. (Hymes 1971:280)

Campbell and Wales (1970:247) point out that Chomsky’s competence omits by far the most important linguistic ability” to produce or understand utterances which are not so much grammatical but ,more important appropriate to the context in which they are made and by context we mean both the situational and verbal context of the utterance.

Dell Humes develops the notion of competence further to account for the communicative functions of language. As we says words can deal with a heterogeneous speech community, diffential competence, the constilative role of socio caltaial features…….

A major aspect of sociolinguistic research in past decades an area generally referred to as language variations. As its own name implies, language variations focuses on how language varies in different contexts, where context refers to things like ethnicity, social class, sex, geography, age and a number of other factor. Therefore, language is not only an abstract system of formal lexical and grammatical aspect but also fulfils a social function and also viewed against social context of its use. The development of sociolinguistic shifted the emphasis from an abstract study of rules of language to concrete acts of language use.

   Yet in second language teaching, i.e., teaching of English in India is far more from the dream of making it social, cultural and contextualized as Kacharu observes that the controversy about the legacy of English and desirability of its content place in language polices and its cultural associations has still not abated.

Criticizing this role of teaching English Viceory Dufferin said,

“In too many Indian schools, English was taught as if it were a dead language. The students can read, explain… he knows hundreds of grammar rules by heart but he can not understand the language spoken by an English man and he can neither speak nor write it.”

English started in india as a foreign and much-hated language. From dislike instrument of domination  to willingly accepted  lingua franca to a status symbol its position today has come a long way. English is expected to fulfill function of the most preffered language for communication. Today Indians are not learing English merely to buy or sell or to find employment. It has started acquiring an interactive roll. A slight change in learning-teaching attitude can lead to the dream of making English our second language in real sense.

On the whole, it may not be out of place to say that English is no longer just our just our window on the world or our link language but it has now certain implications entered into the spheres  of public life. The first step should rcommended that it should be studied in high school and universities in order that we keep in touch with living stream of ever-growing knowledge. Secondly,the  teaching of English literature should be related to Indian literature to stimulate critical thinking. Besides we should teach students how to demand and answer, how to thank and apologize, how to request etc. the learners should have the freedom to make in their own way the use of it. They should be encouraged to use the language and by that learn it.

Finally, it should become language of our daily life and there is hardly any part remain where it is not used. Without achieving these goals the teaching-learning of second language would turn out to be futile. To and with the words of Pit Corder, “Every social person is a bundle of personae, a bundle of parts, each part having its lines. If you donot know your lines you are no use in the play.”