[Kerala University English Teacher
Educator’s Forum - KUETEF]
If you scan the
list of topics mentioned under Paper V and Paper IX, you will not find
any mention of the teaching of Linguistics.
Now,
ask yourself ... will a sound knowledge of Syntax, Semantics, Sociolinguistics and Discourse
Analysis yield a linguistically aware individual better equipped to teach English ? Would our trainees be capable of making any connection with the academic subject of study at University
called ‘Linguistics’ and the school curriculum subject called ‘English’?
As part of
course work on Sociolinguistics for the
MA TEFL programme, participants are usually taught about language variation. Edwards and Owen (2005) conducted a study
with
the trainee teachers who enrolled
for one such course and sought to find out whether the trainee teachers
considered that their instruction in language
variation had ‘usefully impinged on their professional practice’. Edwards and Owen also surveyed the course participants on a large number of issues. On the issue of
whether students were able to make
connections between the content taught and pedagogical considerations, it was found that while some were able to articulate
how particular aspects of the topic of language variation illuminated their English teaching, a few trainee teachers had no idea about what to do with the content information
they learned.
Edwards, C. & C. Owen. 2005. ‘The
impact on teachers of language variation as a course component’. In N. Bartels
(ed.) Applied Linguistics and Language Teacher Education (pp.43–58). New
York: Springer.
Well friends, what is your opinion in this regard?
Dr. C. Praveen
Secretary, KUETEF
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