An Analysis of Target Language

1. An Analysis of Language

We use language everyday and we live in a world of words. Hardly any moments passes without someone talking, writing, or reading. Indeed, language is most essential

tomankind. But we as language users do not know yet what exactly language is. To presume to define language adequately would be folly. Linguists and philologists

have been trying for centuries to define the term, but there is still no simple and single answer to it. In fact, the study of language has more than 2500 years. During the long

history of linguistic study, a lot of theories and schools of thought emerged. Different linguists haveviewed language from different perspectives and

have given different definitions anddescriptions of language. Here we will briefly introduce the following four schools.

1.1 Basic Views

of Language
1.1.1 Traditional LinguisticsTraditio nal linguistics has a tradition of more than 2000 years. In the fifth centuryB.C. the ancient Greeks began to make

serious study of language. There were two famouscontroversi es at that time. One was between the naturalists and conventionalists on therelations between form and

meaning. The naturalists argued that the forms of wordsreflected directly the nature of objects. They use onomatopoeia and sound symbolism astheir evidence to justify

their point of view. On the contrary, the conventionalists thoughtthat language was conventional and there was no logic connection between form andmeaning of

words. The other was between the analogists and anomalists on theregularities of language. The analogists claimed that language in general was regular andthere were

rules for people to follow. The anomalists maintained that language was basically irregular and that was why there were so many exceptions and

irregularities inthe Greek language. Although the two sides of the two controversies could not convinceeach other, their debate roused peoples interest in language and led them to the

detailedstudy of Greek.Traditional study of language was, to a large extent, practical in nature. Peoplemade a study of language in order to understand the

classic works of ancient times and inorder to be able to teach students, enabling them to understand and appreciate thoseclassic works. The practical proposes

made traditional linguists believe that the writtenform of language was superior to the spoken language which was regarded as thecorrupted form

of language, so they give priority to the written form and took words astheir starting point. When discussing the rules of language, they usually took a prescriptive

approach, because they wanted to set up principles and standards for peopleto use language correctly.In summary, traditional linguists viewed

the nature of language as consisting of following axioms:1) Language is writing: the written record of the language is the purest form.

Object 6

Speech is secondary and to be distrusted since it is ephemeral and degenerate.2) Language is conventional: language is conventional and it

is not only invented, but in its progressive advancement, it varies for the purposes of practicalconvenien ce.3) Language is prescriptive: wellprescribed

language can be used correctly.1.1.2 Structural LinguisticsAmeric an structuralism started at the beginning of the 20
th

century and was

very popular and influential in the 1930s and 1940s throughout the world. The two forerunnersof it were Franz Boas and Edward Sapir. Boas, as an anthropologist,

found the traditionalgrammat ical model could not be used to analyze the structures of American Indianslanguages. Therefore, he had to describe them as

they were used. Sapir began to do thefieldwork in 1904 and recorded a dozen and a half American Indians languages andfound that although those languages had no

written forms and were regarded as primitive,they were virtually systematic and were very efficient in communications within their communities. Another

outsatnding structuralist in the late 19

th

and early 20
th

century was F. deSaussure. He considered language as an edifice or a well-

defined object. Central toSaussures views is the arbitrary nature of linguistic sign. He viewed language as asystem of signs where the sign is a union of

the signifier (the sound image) and thesignified (the idea). There are no natural and inevitable connections between the signifier and the signified.

Language does not simply assign arbitrary names to a set of independently existing concepts but rather sets up an arbitrary relation between signifiersand

signifieds of its own construction. In other words each language has an arbitrary wayof organizing the world into concepts and categories.Leonard Bloomfield, a

linguist in America, is regarded as the father of Americanstructural ism. He accepted the theories and principles of behaviorism and characterizedlangu

age and language acquisition in term of behaviorist terminology. For him, alanguage was a habit of verbal behavior which consisted of a series of stimuli

andresponses. He argued that to acquire a language was to form a habit of verbal behavior and learning a second language was learning a new habit. He thought

that speech was primary and writing was a secondary because for him writing was a later development to present speech. He stated, in agreement with Sapirs view, that

each language had aunique system of its own and linguists should describe instead of prescribe what peopleactually say, which is in direct contrast with traditional

linguistics.During the years of the World War II, a lot of American structuralists joined in thetraining of military personnel and they summarized the ideas and

principles of structuralism and applied them systematically to the teaching of foreign languages. Their methods were so successful that they set a new approach to

foreign language teaching(audiolingual method) on its course.In structuralists belief, language is a linguistic system made up of varioussubsystems

: from phonological, morphological, lexical, etc. to sentences. Each languagehas a finite number of such structural items. To learn a language means to

learn thesestructural items so as to understand and produce language.For the structuralists, language consists of following three axioms:

1)Language is speech: this is in direct contrast with traditional linguistics whichrelegated speech to a position of secondary importance, after

writing. Thestructuralists declared that the speech is the language. The written recorded is but a secondary representation of the language. 2)Language is a

structural system: language is a system of forms, elements or itemsof which are combined in certain ways to create sentences. 3)Language is an arbitrary system:

there is absolutely no relationship between thewords and objects they represent.1.1.3 Transformational Generative LinguisticsThe year 1957 saw the publication of

Noam Chomskys book Syntactic Structures, which started a revolution in the linguistic world and ushered in a new school --thetransformational

generative linguistics. Although Chomsky was trained in the structuralisttraditio n, he was not satisfied with the theory of structuralism, which was

inadequate inexplaining some common linguistic facts and phenomena. For example, it would be verydifficult for the structuralists to explain why children acquire

their first language in a fewyears, and why the same structure can be used to express different meanings and differentstructures can be used express the same

meaning.Noam Chomsky viewed language as an internalized system of rules and equatehuman beings with automata. He assumes that children are born

with a languageacquisitio n device (LAD). This LAD is made up of a set of general principles calleduniversal grammar. These general principles can be applied to

all the languages in theworld. Once the child is born, the particular language environment will trigger the LAD.Chomsky assumes that the child will make

hypotheses on the basis of the general principles, then he will test the hypotheses against the actual language data, then he willmodify the hypotheses accordingly. This

hypothesis-testing procedure will repeat againand again until the hypotheses agree with the actual grammar of the language. Childrenslanguage acquisition process

completes when the universal grammar is successfullytransfo rmed into the grammar of a particular language. Only in this way, is it possible tooffer

explanations for the facts that all children acquire their first language at roughly thesame speed; they will make mistakes that never occur in the adult language. Meanwhile,Choms

ky emphasized that human language is creative in that humans are able to produceand interpret an infinitely large number of sentences that they have never heard

before.Thus language is a set of rules or deep structures which underlie the surface structure. For the transformationalist s, language is a system of knowledge made

manifest in linguisticforms but innate and universal. 1)Language is a system which relates meaning to substance: it emphasizes meaningin

linguistic description. 2)Language is a mental phenomenon and innate: the innateness of languageacquired but not inherited in the form of a

specific language, suggests agenetically imparted ability for language learning. It is this ability thatdistinguishes mans language from animal

communication systems. 3)Language is universal: all normal children acquire a mother tongue. At a highlyabstract level, all languages must share some

universal characteristics.
Object 7

1.1.4 Functional LinguisticsThe functional linguistics develops directly from the London school of linguistics.The

linguist like J.R. Firth attempted to establish a descriptive framework for the analysisof language by the application of the context of situation to language events.

He definedmeaning as function in context. He held the position that all branches of linguistics areconcerned with meaning, and the meaning of

linguistic items depends on the context of situation. For Firth a system is simply a set of choices within a specific context. Anylinguistic item has got two sets of

contexts: the context of the other possible choices in asystem and the context where the system itself occurs.Although Firth attempted to develop a model of linguistic

description, he was never able to work out his theory in detail. It is M.A.K.Halliday who has accomplished this task and made the London School of linguistics one of

the most competitive linguistic theoriesof systematic linguistics. While he was developing and elaborating the theory of systematic

linguistics, Halliday made remarkable progress in the study of context. Asearly as 1961, Halliday made quite clear his point of view that linguistic events

should beaccounted for at three primary levels: substance, form, and context. The substance is thematerial of language which can be phonic or graphic. The form is the organization

of thesubstance into meaningful events. And by context, he meant the relation of the form tononlinguistic features of the situations in which language operates, and

relation of formto linguistic features other than those of the item under attention. Meanwhile, he alsoemphasized the various functions of language and made

an attempt to show how thedimensions of context are linked to the linguistic forms and to the ideational,interper sonal and textual functions of language. He

regarded language as an instrumentused to perform kinds of functions in social interaction.To functionalists, language is viewed as a dynamic, open

system by means of which members of a community exchange information and communicate. They seelanguage not only as a linguistic system but also as a

means for doing things. Languagehas to serve various purposes as there are different types of occasions for using it. In fact,most of our day-to-day

language use involves functional activities: offering, suggesting,advisin g, apologizing, etc. Therefore, learners learn a language in order to be able to dothings with it. To perform

functions, learners need to know how to combine thegrammatical rules and the vocabulary to express the notions that perform the functions.Example

s of notions are concept of present, past & future time; the expressions of certainty and possibility; the roles of agent and instrument within a sentence; and

specialrelationship s between people and objects. In general, language has at least seven basicfunctions: phatic, directive, informative, interrogative, expressive,

evocative, and performative. Halliday also provided one of the best expositions of language functionsand outlined seven different functions

of language.1) The instrumental function, which serves to manipulate, to cause certain events tohappen.2) The regulatory function, which is the control of

events. Regulatory functions of language are not so much the unleashing of certain power, as the maintenance of control.3) The representational function, which is

the use of language to make statements,convey facts and knowledge, explain, or report--to represent reality as one sees it.

4) The interactional function, which serves to ensure social maintenance. 5) The personal function, which allows a speaker to express feelings, emotions and personality.6)

The heuristic function, which involves language used to acquire knowledge, to learnabout the environment.7) The imaginative function, which serves to create

imaginary systems or ideas.

1.2 Definition of Language

1.2.1 Different Definitions of LanguageWhat is language? This may sound like a naive question.

Yet, to this extremelyfamiliar phenomenon, it is very difficult to give a satisfactory definition. Although therehas been an enormous amount of research in

language in the past half century, noauthoritative answer has been given to What is language? Rather, people talk aboutviews of language, seemingly allowing

for or accepting different theories for the moment.We may say language is a tool for human communication. But that doesnt sayanything about its defining

properties, only about its function, and there are many other systems (secret codes, traffic signals, for example) performing the same function. Wemay say

language is a set of rules; again that says nothing about its function, and thereare other systems containing sets of rules. Still other common definitions of languagefound in

dictionaries and introductory textbooks include the following ones:Language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols which permit all people in a givenculture, or

other people who have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or to interact (Finocchiaro 1964: 8).Language is a system of communication by

sound, operating through the organs of speech and hearing, among members of a given community, and using vocal symbols possessin g arbitrary conventional

meanings (Pei 1966: 141).Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication(W ardhaugh 1972:3). [Language is] any means, vocal or

other, of expressing or communicating feeling or thought a system of conventionalized signs, especially words, or gestures having fixedmeanings ( Websters New

International Dictionary of the English language 1934:1390) [Language is] a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionaliz

ed signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings( Websters Third International Dictionary of the English language 1961: 1270).

[Language is] a system of communication consisting of a set of small parts and a setof rules which decide the ways in which these parts can be combined to

producemessages that have meaning ( Cambridge International Dictionary of English 1995: 795) Many of the significant characteristics of

language are capsulized in these definitions.Some of the definitions, Finocchiaro, Pei, and Wardhaugh, for example, restrictthemselves to the notion of vocal symbols,

while both of the Websters definitions includemore than merely vocal symbols as the proper domain of language. Finocchiaro andWardhaugh

limit their definitions to human language, thereby implying that animalcommunicat ion and language are essentially different.
Object 8

A consolidation of the definitions of language yields the following compositedefinitio n.1) Language is systematic and generative.2) Language is a set of arbitrary

symbols.3) Those symbols are primarily vocal, but may also be visual. 4) The symbols have conventionalized meanings to which they refer.5) Language is used

for communication. 6) Language operates in a speech community or culture.7) Language is essentially human, although possibly not limited to humans.8)

Language is acquired by all people in much the same way--language andlanguages learning both have universal characteristics. 1.2.2 Nature of

LanguageThen, what is language on earth? As language teachers, we clearly need to knowgenerally what sort of entity we are teaching to our students. In fact, generally

speaking,linguists are in broad agreement about some of the important characteristics of humanlanguage, and most of them would accept a tentative

definition like the following:Langua ge is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication(W ardhaugh 1972:3). This does not appear to be very

original at first sight, but each wordin it has been chosen with care to capture an important aspect of language.By system, we mean all elements of language in this

system are arrangedaccording to certain rules; they can not be combined at will. In English, bkli will not bea possible word. He table a green will not be an

acceptable sentence. If language werenot systematic, it could not be learned or used consistently. In other words, it is becauseevery language has its system that it

conveys the same meaning to different speakers.By arbitrary, it meant that there is no intrinsic connection between the word pen

and the thing we use to write with. The fact that different languages have different wordsfor it ( bi in Chinese for instance) speaks strongly for the

arbitrary nature of language.Although the choice of certain sound symbols to represent certain objects, events or ideasis arbitrary, once the relationship is

established, it becomes a fixed convention. It is because the sounds and words of a language are used in fixed ways that the speakers of the language can understand one

another, thus making communications and interaction possibl e.By symbolic, it is meant that anything that represents something else is a

symbol.It explains words are associated with objects, actions, ideas by convention. For example,the dove is the symbol of peace. Language consists of another

type of symbols, soundssymbols or speech sounds. These symbols are not chosen for any particular reasons but atrandom.By vocal, it is because the primary medium is

sound for all languages, no matter how well developed are their writing systems. All evidence shows that writing systemscame much later than the spoken forms and

that they are only attempts to capture soundsand meaning on paper. The fact that children acquire spoken language first before theycan read or write also indicates

that language is primarily vocal.By human communication in this definition, it is meant to specify that languageis human specific; that is, it is very different from the

communication systems other forms of life possess (such as bird songs and animal cries). Everybody agrees thatlanguage is used for human

communication and language is possessed only by human beings. It allows people to say things to one another and to express their thoughts andneeds and even very

complex ideas such as making hypotheses and devising theories or complicated feelings such as both love and hate at the same time. In short, language is aunique system of

communication, and it is the cornerstone of society.

2. An Analysis of Learning and Teaching

2.1 An Analysis of language

Learning and Teaching

2.1.1 Nature of Language LearningHuman beings are continually engaged in some sort of learning activities all

their lives, for example, learning to swim, dance, play football, manage a company, or speak aforeign language. Then, what is learning? A search in contemporary

dictionaries revealsthat learning is acquiring or getting of knowledge of a subject or a skill by study,experience, or instruction. A

more specialized definition might read as follows:Learning is a relatively permanent change in a behavioral tendency and is the result of reinforced practice (Kimble

and Garmezy 1963: 133). Breaking down the componentsof the definition of learning, we can extract a number of characteristic features of learning:1)

Learning is acquisition or getting.2) Learning is retention of information or skill.3) Retention implies storage systems, memory, and cognitive

organization.4) Learning involves active, conscious focus on and acting upon events outside or inside the organism.5) Learning is relatively permanent but

subject to forgetting.6) Learning involves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice. 7) Learning is a change in behavior.These concepts can also

give way to a number of subfields within the discipline of psychology: acquisition processes, perception, memory (storage) systems,

recall,conscious and subconscious learning styles and strategies, theories of forgetting,reinforc ement, the role of practice. So, we can see that the concept of

learning has beengreatly influenced by the psychological study of the learning process, and as a result it ismuch more widely interpreted than has been

customary in popular uses of the term. The psychological concept of learning goes far beyond learning directly from a teacher or learning through study or

practice. Learning not only includes the learning of skills (for example, swimming or sewing) or the acquisition of knowledge. It also refers to abstractand

psychological aspects of learning, such as learning to learn and learning to think, themodification of attitudes, acquisition of interests, social values, or social

roles, and evenchanges in personality.Langua ge learning, in keeping with this broad interpretation, is also very widelyconceived. It includes all

kinds of language learning for which no formal provision ismade through teaching. First of all, there is the vast area of first-language acquisition to
Object 9

be discussed shortly. Secondly, an individual in his lifetime, without any specific tuition,acquires new terms, meanings, jargons, slangs, codes, or registers ; he may

learn new patterns of intonation, new gestures, or postures; he may acquire a new dialect. In manymultilingual settings, he may learn to function in more than one

language. Much, and perhaps even most, of such language learning goes on without any teaching, and someof it outside the conscious awareness of the learner. We can not

afford to ignore all suchnatural, undirected or informal language learning.2.1.2 Nature of Language TeachingTeaching can not be defined apart from learning

and it is implied in the definitionof learning. Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn,setting the conditions for learning. Teaching

can be defined as showing or helpingsomeone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with

knowledge, causing to know or understand (Kim ble &Garmezy 1963). An extended definition of teaching will spell out governing

principlesfor choosing certain methods and techniques. Theories of teaching should specify thefollowing features:1) The knowledge that

most effectively leads the individual to a predispositiontowa rd learning.2) The ways in which a body of language should be instructed so that the learner can

most readily grasp it.3) The most effective sequences in which to present the materials to be learned.4) The nature and pacing of rewards and punishments in the process of learning

andteaching.Langu age teaching can be defined as the activities which are intended to bringabout language learning . All that need be pointed out here is

that language teaching ismore widely interpreted than instructing a language class. Formal instruction or methods of training are included; but also is individualized

instruction, selfstudy,computerassisted instruction, and the use of media. Likewise, the supporting activities,such as the preparation of teaching materials or the training of

teachers, as well as makingthe necessary administrative provision inside or outside an educational system---they allfall under the concept of

teaching. Sometimes it is argued that informal methods of deschooling (Il lich 1971), using the language in unplanned situations, teach languagesmore

effectively than formal classroom instruction. Even in these cases, although ateacher is not much in evidence, we are still within the range of what legitimately can

bedescribed as teaching, as long as such informal approaches are planned for the purposesof language learning. To sum up, we should interpret language teaching

widely so as toinclude all activities intended to bring about language learning. 2.1.3 The Relationship between Learning and TeachingHow do teaching and

learning interact? The relationship between learning andteaching is that theories of learning will yield theories of teaching. Learning is the prerequisite and the basis of

teaching. Nathan Gage (1964: 269) noted that to satisfy the practical demands of education, theories of learning must be stood on their head so as to

yield theories of teaching. Theories of learning always determine theories,methodol ogies and techniques of teaching. The understanding of a

theory of learning isneeded before a theory of teaching can be formed. Our understanding of how the learner learns will determine our philosophy of education, our

teaching style, our approach,methods, and classroom techniques. If, like B.F. Skinner, we look at learning as a processof stimulus and response through a carefully paced

program of reinforcement, naturallywe will teach accordingly and adopt the audio-lingual method in our teaching. On theother hand, if we view second

language learning basically as a deductive rather than aninductive process, we will probably choose to present copious rules and paradigms to our students rather

than let them discover those rules inductively. And if we consider language learning as a process of cognitive activities, we will get students

involved inmeaning learning and cognitive development. All in all, theories of learning alwaysdetermine theories, methodologies and

techniques of teaching.

2.2 Two Polarized Views of Human learning

The language learning theory underlying an

approach or method usually answerstwo questions: 1) what are the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved inlanguage

learning? 2) What are the conditions that need to be met in order for theselearning processes to be activated? Although these two questions have never

beensatisfactorily answered, a vast amount of research has been done from all aspects, whichcan be broadly divided into processoriented theories and condition-

oriented theories.Processoriented theories are concerned with how the mind processes new information,such as habit formation, including,

making inference, hypothesis testing andgeneralization. Conditionoriented theories emphasize the nature of the human

and physical context in which language learning takes place, such as the students, what kindof input learners receive, and the learning atmosphere.2.2.1 Behavioristic

Views of Human LearningThe behaviorist theory of language learning was initiated by behavioral psycho logist Skinner, who applied Waston and

Raynors theory of conditioning to theway humans acquire language (Harmer, 1983). Based on their experiments, Watson andRaynor formulated a stimulus-response

theory of psychology. They claimed thatemotional reactions are learned in much the same way as other skills. The key point of the theory of

conditioning is that you can train an animal to do anything (within reason)if you follow a certain procedure which has three major stages, stimulus, response,

andreinforcement (Harmer, 1983: 30). Based on the theory of conditioning, Skinner suggested language is also a form of behavior. He regarded language as a

human behavior and holds that language can be learned the same way as an animal through achain of stimulusresponse reinforcement. Thus it focuses on

publicly observablerespons es, which can be objectively perceived, recorded and measured. A behavioristdefines that learning is the change in the

behavioral tendency and is the result of thereinforced practices of stimuli and response.As far as this is concerned, some similarities exist between humans

and animals
Object 10

acquiring a set of habits. But learning is unique to the human beings because learninginvolves not only passive stimulus and

response behaviors, but also active and consciousfocus on and acting upon events outside or inside the organism. Animals can not learnlike human beings because their

changes in behavior are no more than the results of repeated stimulus and response or rewards and punishment. There is no spontaneity at allin animal

learning.2.2.2 Cognitive Views of Human LearningThe term cognitivism is often used loosely to describe methods in which studentsare asked to think rather than

simply repeat. It seems to be largely the result of NoamChomskys reaction to Skinners behaviorist theory, which led to the revival of structurallinguistics

. Cognitive view of learning regards language not as a human behavior, but asan internal linguisticprocessing ability of the human individual and an intricate

rule- based system and a large part of language acquisition is the learning of this system.Children learn their native language very quickly and with little effort. The

linguisticinput is limited and of poor quality, but the output is a perfect language system. On theother hand, children in the world learn their first language in very different

environments.How ever, they follow more or less the same stages in their linguistic development. Allthese seem to suggest that language is somewhat innate

and human beings are innately predispos ed to acquire a language. There must be aspects of linguistic organization thatare basic to the human brain

and that make it possible for human beings to acquirelinguistic competence creatively despite the complex nature of language.

2.3 Nature of L2 Learning

When we discuss the nature of L2 learning, we first need to give a definite answer to a crucial question: in learning a second language, what does the learner acquire, a

newlanguage system or a new cognitive system? Learning L2 does acquire a new languagesystem, but it need not acquire a new cognitive system. Human cognitive

system isalmost the same and undergoes similar process of development. In learning a secondlanguage, we may learn a few new concepts that do not exist in our

native language, butit is unnecessary to alter our cognitive system. What we do is to add new concepts to our existing cognition through assimilation and accommodation.In

order to understand better the nature of L2 learning, we must make clear whatare the tasks confronting the L2 learner so as to attain native-like proficiency. J.

Richardscontends that the task for L2 learning is the acquisition of semantic, transformational andsyntactic and phonological competence for the realization of

languageindependent deepstructure conceptual system. That is to say, second language learning primarily involvesthe acquisition of a new set of

realization of a universal type. The task for the L2 learner is to acquire the linguistic competence, or rather the words for expressing the conceptualinstead of a new cognitive

system. Richards points out that there are two levels of task inL2 learning: the competence level and the performance level. On the competence side,the L2 learner

has to learn to readjust his optional and obligatory categories in thelanguage he is learning. He has to learn to discover the grammatically crucial elements

of the syntactic system of the new language such as how to recognize the noun phrase and the verb phrase and their structures of

modification and how the major syntacticcategorie s are realized. He also has to learn to perceive sound contrasts which are notdistinctive in his own language. On the

performance side, the L2 learner has to learn howto perform in the new language. He has to produce unfamiliar sounds or use familiar sounds in unfamiliar

positions. He has to learn to write or speak the new language in a particular style or register for a particular communicative role. The question is whichlevel

should be more stressed in L2 learning? J. Richards concludes that in the initialstages of L2 learning focus should be on the competence side, because it is the

linguisticcompeten ce that L2 learners must first acquire. Performance is secondary to competence;the learners interlanguage is accepted as normal signs of a complex

rule system in thestage of second language development. In the advanced stages, focus should be shiftedfrom competence to performance,

should learn how to speak or write appropriately in a particular context. At a later stage, attention shifts to performance itself and thesignificance of

appropriate performance.

2.4 Major Modern L2 Learning Theories

In the study of second language acquisition

process, researchers and languageteachers tried hard to describe and explain the L2 acquisition process, and the differentaspects of L2 acquisition

they have tackled included (a) situational factors, (b) thelinguistic input, (c) learner differences, (d) learner processes, and (e) linguistic output. Asa result, many new theories

about SLA about each aspect of L2 learning appeared. Buthere, we shall only concentrate on some of the more influential L2 learning theories. 2.4.1 The Habitformation

TheoryThe habitformation theory comes from the behaviorist psychology and was very popular in the 1950s and 60s. According to behaviorists, language is

regarded as a set of linguistic habits and the linguistic habits are formed through identifying andstrengthening the associations between stimuli

and responses. Learning a secondlanguage means the formation of a new set of linguistic habits. Imitation and practice play an important role in the process of

habit-formation. Since the process of secondlanguage acquisition is regarded as a process of habit formation, then the old habits--mother tongue of the learner---will

either facilitate or get in the way of the secondlanguage learning. That is to say, if the mother tongue and the target language have thesame linguistic habits,

then positive transfer will occur and the target language learning process will be facilitated. However, when the mother tongue and the target languageshare a

meaning but express it in different ways, the learner will transfer the way of expression in the mother tongue to the target language. This is called negative

transfer and the results of such transfers are realized by errors made by the learner. Therefore,accordin g to the theory, errors should be avoided and

should be corrected if they have been made, because they are indication of nonlearning and have the danger of becoming bad linguistic habits. Since errors will

interfere with the new habitformation process andare the results of the negative transfer, the best way to avoid the errors is to predict whenthey will occur and find

ways to prevent the occurrence of them. Contrastive analysis is

Object 11

proposed as a valid means to predict potential errors. Some scholars believe

that if acareful and detailed comparison between the mother tongue and the target language isdone, then all the errors in second language learning process

can be predicted andavoided.2.4.2 The Hypothesis of Linguistic UniversalsThe hypothesis of linguistic universals originates from the study of

linguisticuniversal s in natural languages. It is acknowledged that there exist certain linguistic propertie s which are true to all the natural languages in the world. There are

two mostinfluential approaches to the study of linguistic universals. One is taken by NoamChomsky, who is making detailed study of a particular language

in order to reveal theuniversals of language; the other is taken by Joseph H. Greenberg, who studies andcompares different languages in an effort to

determine the linguistic universals.Chomsk y divided the grammar of a natural language into core grammar and peripheral grammar. According to him,

human beings are born with a languageacquisitio n device which consists of a set of general principles. The core grammar of anatural language agrees with the inborn set

of general principles while the peripheral cannot be governed by the language acquisition device. In researches into the secondlanguage acquisition

process, people have found that second language learners usuallyacquire the core grammar of the target language and then the peripheral grammar. This

issimply because the core grammar agrees with the inborn general principles and is mucheasier to learn. They also believe that the core grammar of the learners

mother tonguewill facilitate the development of the learners interlanguage and will exert a positiveinfluence on the acquisition of the target language.2.4.3 The

Acculturation TheoryThe acculturation theory originated in the late 1970s and was put forward by J.Schumann and R. Anderson. By acculturation they

meant that individuals of one culturehave to go through the process of modification in attitudes, knowledge, and behavior inorder to function well in

another culture. It involves not only the social adaptation butalso psychological adaptation. Schumann thinks that second language acquisition is

justone aspect of acculturation and the relation between acculturation and second languageacquisitio n is that the degree of the former will control the degree

of the later. That is tosay, successful acculturation will bring about successful second language acquisition,while poor acculturation will produce poor second language

acquisition. When discussingthe factors which determine the degree of acculturation success, Schuman maintains thatthe social and psychological

distance play a decisive role. Social distance is created bythe relations between the learner and the members of the target social group, and psychological

distance is the result of various affective factors of the learner. It isassumed that the shorter the distance, the better the learning environment, hence the better the

language learning result.2.4.4 The Discourse Theory The discourse theory was established by E. Hatch in the late 1970s. This theory of second

language acquisition was developed from M.A.K. Hallidays theory of firstlanguage acquisition. Halliday thinks that the process of first language

acquisition isactually the process is actually the process of learning how to communicate in thatlanguage. Hatch agrees with Hallidays views on first language

acquisition and perceiveslittle difference between the first language acquisition process and the process of secondlanguage acquisition---only through communication

discourses can the learner acquirethe second language. The main points of the discourse theory can be summarized asfollows:In second language acquisition, the

rules of grammar are acquired in a natural order.2) When communicating with a non-native speaker, the native speaker will adjust hisdiscourse.3) The strategies and

means used in discourses and the adjusted language input willinfluence the speed and order of second language acquisition.4) Therefore, the natural order of second language

acquisition is the result of thelearners learning to make discourse interactions.From the above points of the discourse theory, we could see that Hatch

focuses hisresearch on the process of second language acquisition and he tries to describe the process by analyzing the faceto-face communication. 2.4.5 The Monitor

TheoryThe monitor theory, which is very important theory in second language learning,was put forward by Stephen Krashen in the late 1970s. In so far as it is probably the

mostcomprehensiv e of existing theories. Krashen formulated this theory in a set of fivehypotheses about second language learning in a host of articles and books between

1975and 1985.1) The Acquisitionlearning hypothesisKrashen claims that adult learners of a second language have two ways of developing their competence in a

second/foreign language. One is acquisition whichrefers to the subconscious process in which they develop their language proficiencythroug h natural

communications in the target language and it is very similar to the process children use in acquiring their first language. The other is learning which refers tothe

conscious process in which they acquire the explicit knowledge of the rules of thetarget language. The basic distinction between language acquisition and languagelearning

is whether the learner pays a conscious attention to the rules of the targetlanguage. Generally speaking, language can be acquired in

natural communicationsett ings when learners pay attention to meaning instead of form, or in the classroom whenthe focus is on communication. Focusing on the

form of the target language will onlyresult in an explicit knowledge of the rules of the target language. In Krashens point of view, conscious learning usually does not lead to

acquisition.2) The Monitor HypothesisAccordi ng to Krashen, acquisition and learning have different functions in thecommunication activities.

Acquisition is responsible for the fluency of the utterances produce d by speakers while learning is responsible for the accuracy of the speeches or passages. That

is to say, in natural communication settings, acquisition has a far more

Object 12

important role to play than learning, the only function of which is to monitor

or edit whathas been or is going to be produced according to the norms of the target language.In order to perform this monitor function, language learners have to satisfy at

leastthree conditions. The first condition is that the speaker must have sufficient time tomonitor his production. In normal conversations, the

speaker usually does not haveenough time to monitor his speeches. The second condition is that the language performer must have his focus on form. In certain

occasions such as language examinations or preparation of a formal speech, accuracy becomes an important factor and if the learner has enough time, he will try

his best to monitor what he is going to produce. The thirdcondition is that the language performer must have an explicit knowledge of the rules of the target language;

otherwise, the language performer wont be able to monitor his production.3) The Natural Order HypothesisThis hypothesis claims that foreign language learners

acquire the rules of the targetlanguage in the same order no matter where, when, and how they are learning thelanguage. For example, one group of learners may learn a

language in a naturalcommunica tion setting and another group may be taught in the classroom. However, their order of acquisition of the language system

will be the same. Krashen believes that thisnatural order of acquisition is independent of the order of rules taught in the classroom. Inhis point of view, language teaching

cannot change the natural order of languageacquisitio n. The only thing it can do is to facilitate the speed of acquisition. Although atthe moment Krashen is sure that there is

a natural order of language acquisition, he cannot explain with evidence what this order is. And he assumes that one task of appliedlinguistic research is to find

out the true picture of this natural order.4) The Input HypothesisKrashen uses the input hypothesis to explain the relationship between languageinput and

language acquisition and to answer the question of how people acquirelanguages. According to Krashen, the only way for people to acquire a language

is byunderstanding messages or receiving comprehensible input. They move from i, their current level, to i+1, the next level along the natural order, by

understanding inputcontaining i +1. That is to say, language is acquired by peoples comprehension of inputthat is slightly beyond their current level.

People understand input containing i +1 becausethe situation, context, facial expressions, gestures, etc. will provide clues for their comprehensi on. Krashen maintains that

input containing i +1 will be providedautomatic ally in natural communication settings, so it is not necessary for the languageteachers to teach the next

structure deliberately along the natural order.5) The Affective Filter HypothesisThe affective filter hypothesis attempts to account for the variation in speed

of language acquisition among individuals of the same group. Research in second languageacquisitio n shows that motivation, selfconfidence and anxiety are the

three affectivefactors which determine the degree of success in second language acquisition. Generallyspeaking, learners with high motivation, self-

confidence, and low anxiety will do much better than those that are unmotivated, lacking in selfconfidence and concerned toomuch with failure. The

affective filter hypothesis is formed on the basis of such researchand it claims that language acquirers with a low affective filter will get more

inputcontaining i +1 and they are able to make a better use of the input in their acquisition process, while learners with a high affective

filter which will block the input in their language acquisition process. This explains why we do have individual differencesamong the same group of learners.

3. An Analysis of Target Language

English
At the beginning of the fifth century Britain was

invaded by three tribes from the North Europe: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. These three tribes landed on the Britishcoast, drove the Britons west and north and settled down on the

island. These three tribesmerged into one people. And the three dialects they spoke naturally grew into a singlelanguage, the English language.English is classified as a

Teutonic language, that is, a Germanic language. To bemore exact, English belongs to the Low West Germanic branch of the IndoEuropeanfamily. That is to say,

English belongs to the group of languages to which German,Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian also belong. The English language is of a

mixedcharacter. On the one hand, it shares with West Germanic languages many commonwords and similar grammatical structures. On the other hand, more

than half of theEnglish vocabulary is derived from Latin and French. Besides, English has acceptedwords from other languages of the world in the course

of its historical development.

3.1 The Structures of English

Most people rarely think of language as consisting of structures, that is,

of partswhich fit together in systematic ways. In their minds, the sounds of the language aresimply the letters of the alphabet, the vocabulary is only

a listing of words in a dictionary,and the grammar is only sets of rules which do not make much sense, since there are somany exceptions. And the idea of a discourse having

a structure seems almostunthinkable. Most people never think about the order or arrangement of what they say or write. They may show appreciation for a well-written

essay or story, but they seldomrealize that their evaluation is based on such factors as unity, completeness, proportion, balanc e, and cohesion. In fact all languages

consist of four major structures: sounds,lexemes, syntax, and discourse. Here, in order to have a concise recognition of languagestructures, we need to have a

brief review about language components respectively.Huma n beings can make a wide range of sounds but only a small set of sounds areused in speech. Each language has

a limited number of distinctive sounds which arecrucial in signaling differences of meaning (the socalled phonemes). In English, thereare

20 phonemes in the received pronunciation vowel system and 24 phonemes in theconsonant system. But each of these phonemes consist of a set of closely related

sounds(often called phones), and each phoneme contrasts in at least one dimension with allthe other phonemes in the language. In addition, the sounds are not a

random selection of possible noises, but a systematically organized set of sounds which are contrastivelyrelate d to one another to form meaningful units. Apart from

the consonants and vowels of a language (often called the segmental phonemes), there are also a number of featureswhich may accompany these sounds and

which may radically alter the meaning of whatis said. These paralinguistic features include, for example, the tone of voice.
Object 13

The lexical part of

language is structured in two quite distinct ways: formal andsemantic. The major formal classes of words in English consist of such sets as nouns,verbs,

adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and exclamatory partic les. The major semantic classes, however, are somewhat parallel,

but quite distinct,namely, entities, e.g. man, child, house, tree, hill, activities, e.g. eat, think, run, work, plough, characteristics, e.g. good, swift, true,

beautiful, lovely, and relations, e.g. in,under, through, because, furthermore. For example, the noun reason is often a way of talking about a

relations between two events, e.g. the reason he came was to collect themoney . Note, however, that reason in the expression he may reason in that way

representsa particular kind of intellectual activity.The syntactic structures of language are of two basic types: syntagmatic (the linear relations of grammatical units)

and paradigmatic (the vertical or substitutional relationsof grammatical units). The syntagmatic relations can be easily identified, such as

thesentence the old man hobbled into the house . The paradigmatic structures are based onthe relations of substitution. For example, in the

grammatical frame the boy ran out it is possible to substitute a number of other words for each of the components, as illustratedin the following sets:the boy ran outa child

walked inthis man rode throughthat ball rolled aroundThat fact that certain words can fill particular positions in a syntagmatic framemeans that they belong to the

same paradigmatic classes, e.g. determiners, nouns, verbs,and adverbs. There is, however, another type of paradigmatic relation in the substitutionof one term as a cross

reference to another.Most people are conscious of the rules of grammar and how sentences must be puttogether, but they are largely unaware of that

there are also patterns for putting sentencestogether into paragraphs, combining paragraphs into sections, and organizing sectionsinto chapters and

chapters into books. There are so many different kinds of discoursestructures that many people feel that almost any order or arrangement of sentences

is justified. This is certainly not true, and readers are quick to recognize whether a particular text is well organized or poorly arranged, however, they do not know just why

they reactas they do. Nevertheless, most people do have a significant competence for theorganization of discourse. In fact, for any discourse, it implies the underlying

structurewhich accounts for the organization of a text or a discourse. Different kinds of texts anddiscourse (e.g. stories, descriptions, letters, reports, poems) are

distinguished by the waysin which the topic, propositions, and other information are linked together to form a unit.

3.2 The Features of English

Linguists believe

that English and Chinese fall into different language classesaccording to their respective features. Firstly, English is a synthetic-analytic languagewhich is characterized by

frequent and systematic use of inflected forms to expressgrammatica l relationships and many function words (a definition from Websters Ninth New

Collegiate Dictionary), while Chinese is an analytic language which ischaracterized by a relatively frequent use of function words, auxiliary verbs,

and changes in word order to express syntactic relations, rather than of inflected forms (adefinitio n from The Random House

College Dictionary). The differences are wellexpressed and demonstrated through numerous changes under the dimension of morphology. That is changes in

the internal structures, namely, conjugation, declension,affixatio n (prefix and suffix). These changes can also be subdivided into such sub-aspectsas gender, number,

case, tense, aspect, voice, mood, degree of comparison, person, partsof speech (LIAN Shu-neng,1993), with these diversities of words and

conversion of thesame word and inner structures, lexical and grammatical meanings and significance of English can be achieved.Secondly, as to another

different feature of morphology between English andChinese, usage in function words, especially in article, preposition, auxiliary word,is different. Most

parts of speech in English have their equivalent parts of speech inChinese, but article is an exception. Some articles can be substituted by classifiers inChinese while

most of them can not. In fact, the use and usage of article is a linguistic phenome non. Preposition is active in English while verb is active in Chinese. English andChinese both

have their auxiliary words but are different in usage. In English, the number of auxiliary words is not large, and most of them are used in sentences to help the mainverbs to

make a sentence. Such as do/does, did are used in simple present and pasttenses (limited to negative, interrogative, inversion, stressed sentences) and will, shall,would,

are used in simple future and past future tenses respectively with the main verbsto indicate a future action will happen or in sentences to convey a desire or a wish. As

tomodel verbs, such as ought to, must, need, had better, would rather are used withmain verbs to indicate ones ability, responsibility, obligation,

suggestions, intentions.These rules are easy to follow. But usage of auxiliary words in Chinese (a. wordsreferring to an action: ; b. words

referring to structure: ; c.words referring to mood and tone:

) can be acomplicated

question.Thirdly, parts of speech also falls into the category of different language classes.Whats more, words in both English and Chinese are polysemantic. As a

result, the problems become complicated. In English wordbuilding is through composition,conve rsion and derivation

(affixation). By way of these approaches of word formation, parts of speech or meanings of English words can be changed or enhanced. In conveyingcertain

meanings we do not need to look for other words, instead, just find the right or proper words in their right parts of speech. For this part, native speakers assume the ruleis obvious

and self-evident, but for Chinese learners, they may use the same word indifferent sentences, parts of speech being identifiable by the auxiliary words

while in English the case is that we should change the parts of speech of the words tocorrespond to the sentences grammar by changing their affixes. Besides,

Englishgrammatic al functions of words or parts of speech can be changed without changing theword forms. That is a very typical feature of English.Fourthly,

English and Chinese are different in language structures in many aspects.Although English and Chinese have modifier used before or after a

noun to indicate pertinence, character, quantity (The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, ChineseEnglishEdition) but in most cases, the modifiers are

20 pre-determined in Chinese while inEnglish they can be pre-determined as well as postdetermined. And the postdeterminedcase in English is predominant, such

as: attributive clause; present and past participle;

Object 14

proposition phrases; infinitive; adjective after the relative pronoun which or who andthe link verb

be (various forms) in an attributive clause.Fifthly, it is well acknowledged that English is a hypotactic language whileChinese is a

paratactic language. That is, English greatly stresses formal cohesion whileChinese stresses semantic coherence. When expressed, English is found to use

differentsubordinat e relations such as participles and subordinate clauses, to indicate logicalmeanings and structures while in Chinese, with influence of Chinese way of

thinking or beliefs for centuries, factors of time, sequence are attached great importance in conveyingmessage s. That is to say, Chinese sentence order is relatively

rigid. It is often put in a wayaccording to the time, sequential events, reason, condition, and so on. But Englishsentence order is largely based on S-V sentence pattern

in that the main idea is put priority while the subordinate idea is put by way of subordinate clause, or participles. R.Eastman (1984) once pointed, The English

sentence is extremely plastic. It can beenlarged, combined, adjusted with almost any degree of fineness to accommodate awriters thought. In fact, English is

like an architecture style in that conjunctive-nexus isthe main feature. In summary, we can also use several pairs of words to distinguish thediversities

between English and Chinese: hypotactic vs. paratactic, overt cohesion vs.covert coherence, formal cohesion vs. semantic coherence, grammatical and

notionalconcord vs. functional concord, preciseness vs. conciseness, compact vs. diffusive, andcomplex vs. simplex.At last, discourse is the

highest level at which we may find cultural deposits, whichusually take the form of the discourse pattern and the stylistic features of a specific genre(ibid). Thus

we should adapt the thinking pattern of the target language and adjust theconveying in a high discourse level rather than take a word-forword policy.

3.3 Uses and Functions of English

The teaching of second and foreign language is a major international enterprise.The current status of

English has turned a significant percentage of the worlds population into part-time users or learners of English. Here, we will survey some usesand functions

of English around the world.3.3.1 English as a Mother TongueEnglish can be described as the mother tongue or first language of over 45 percentage of

the populations in 10 countries; ranked according to greatest percentage of speakers of English these are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New

Zealand,Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, the United States, Canada, and Guyana (Fishman et al.1977). In English-speaking countries like these, English is not spoken in an

identicalmanner, however. Different varieties or dialects of English exist, reflecting such factorsas a persons degree of education, ethnic group, social class, or geographical

location. Adialect may be distinguished by differences of vocabulary or grammar, but differences in pronunciation are generally its most recognizable

feature and determine the speakersaccent, that is, the way his or her dialect is pronounced. The variety of English that isrecognized by speakers of English as being

the correct way of speaking, that is used asthe basis for written English, and that is the variety generally used to teach English to those learning it as

a second or foreign language is referred to as Standard English. 3.3.2 English as a Second LanguageIn many countries a language that is not the mother

tongue of the majority of the population may still function as an official language, that is, as the sole or major languageof law, government, education,

business, and the media. In countries where English hasthese functions it is usually referred to as a second language. English is an official (andhence second) language

in Botswana, Cameroon, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, India, Malta,Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and so on.When English functions

as a second language, that is, where it is used alongsideother languages but is commonly the most important language of education, government,or

business, it is often regarded by its users as a local rather than a foreign language(Richards 1979). Consequently, it is spoken in ways that mark its local

status. Thus incountries like India, Nigeria, and Singapore people refer to their variety of English as Nigerian English, Indian English, or Singaporean

English. These are legitimate varietiesof English with a greater total number of users than the varieties of English spoken incountries where English is considered a

native language. (L.E. Smith 1981; Kachru1982). They often serve as vehicles for the expression of literature and creative writing.In their written forms they are close to

standard British or American English, but their spoken forms maybe quite distinctive. 3.3.3 English as a Foreign LanguageIn countries where English is not an

official language it may still have a significantrole to play. It may be an important school subject and it may be necessary to pass anexamination in English to enter a

university. It may be the language of certain courses ata university, or at least of a large percentage of the students textbooks. It may be neededfor people who work in

tourism, business, and for some sections of the civil service. Incountries where English has these functions, such as China, Japan, France, Germany,Mexico,

Israel-that is, all those countries where English is not regarded as a secondlanguage--English is described as a foreign language.In EFL countries, as they are sometimes

referred to, English is increasingly the firstforeign language studied at school or college. In China, English has replaced Russian asthe most commonly studied foreign language.

In many south American countries, it is placing French as a foreign language in schools. In addition, over 50 percentage of theworlds non-

English-speaking foreign students study in Englishspeaking countries. Thishas led to a greater need for English to be taught at the higher levels of education in EFLcountries.

4. Basic Conceptual Distinctions about Language

In language teaching and learning, we inevitably come

across a number of termswhich are not easy to distinguish between them. We often use such terms as firstlanguage, second language and foreign

language. One would assume that as language

Object 15

teachers, we could use terms which are neatly defined and totally unambiguous. But far from it, the

ironic fact is that the terminology we need in language pedagogy is oftenambiguous and sometimes downright confusing. We must be alert to

this source of possible misunderstanding and try to minimize it by explaining the terms we use. We canat this point only illustrate the problem of terminology by

discussing terms: first,second or foreign language.

4.1.First Language Vs Second Language

We start from the common-sense

distinction between mother tongue or nativelanguage and second language or foreign language. At a more technical level we alsofind for the first two

terms primary language and L1 and for the second twosecondary language and L2. In order to have a clear and concise impression, all theseconfusing

terms can be generally categorized into two groups.Distinction between L1 and L2L 1 L 2 f i r s t

l a n g u a g e s e c o n d l a n g u a g e n ative language non-native l a n g u a g e mot her tongue foreign language p r i m a ry language

secondary l a n g u a g e Mis understanding and confusion often arise when people use the same term to talk about different things and express different meanings.

Therefore, it is very necessary tomake such distinctions clear. H.H. Stern once pointed out: these two sets of terms arealways relative to a person or a group of persons.

They indicate a subjective relationship betwee n a language and an individual or a group. We can never assign any particular language , for example, English, French, or

Japanese, in any absolute way to one or theother set of terms. They can be distinguished in the light of the manner of acquisition,social function and the level of

proficiency.Thus, the L1 terms are used to indicate, first of all, that a person has acquired thelanguage in infancy and early childhood (hence first or native)

and generally withinthe family (hence mother tongue). Secondly, the L1 terms signal a characteristic level of proficiency in the language. They suggest an

intuitive, nativelike, full, or perfectcommand of the language, a high level of proficiency. So sometimes it is necessary for usto make a distinction between L1 as

language acquired first in early childhood and L1as language of dominant or preferred use. Consequently, it would be best to reverse theterm native language

for the language of early-childhood acquisition and primarylanguage for the language of dominant or preferred use when this distinction has to bemade, with the terms first

language or L1 to cover both uses, allowing the context tomake clear the distinction.The concept of L2 (non-native language, second language, foreign

language)implies the prior availability to the individual of an L1, in other words the individual isalready in command of an L1 or some form of bilingualism.

Again, the use of the L2 setof terms has a dual function: it indicates something about the acquisition of the languageand something about the nature of the command.

Whether the learning is formalized in any way, for example, through a languagecourse in school, through private study, or is

left informal, in all three cases the languageis learnt as a second language or foreign language. It implies that such languages arelearnt by these individuals after

they have already acquired a L1. Secondly, the L2 termsmay indicate a lower level of proficiency in the language in comparison with the primarylanguage.

The language is the individuals weaker or secondary language. It feels lessfamiliar, new, or strange.To sum up, the term second language

has two meaning. First, it refers to thechronology of language learning. A second language is any language acquired (or to beacquired) later than the native language. This

definition deliberately leaves upon howmuch later second language is acquired. At one extreme the second language learning process takes place at an

early age when the native language command is stillrudimentary. At the other, it may take place in adult life when the L1 acquisition processis virtually

completed or slowed down. Or, it may take place at any stage between the twoextremes. Secondly, the term second language is used to refer to the level of languagecommand

in comparison with a primary or dominant language. In this second sense,second language indicates a lower level of actual or believed

proficiency. Hencesecond means also weaker or secondary. As in many cases the two uses coincide,that is to say, proficiency in a language acquirer

later than the L1 is frequently lower thanthat in the L1, the term second language or L2 is used to cover both meanings. If thelower proficiency level is to be referred to

specifically, the terms weaker or secondarycan be used for clarification.

4.2.Second versus Foreign Language

Another

distinction worthy of note is that within the second group, there is adifference between a second language and a foreign language. In the past, the termforeign

language was most widely used in contrast to native language. In recentdecades the other term second language has been increasingly applied for all

types of non-native language learning. Now mostly the two are regarded as a synonym and secondlanguage and foreign language are used interchangeably, and some scholars

now usesecond language to cover both foreign language and nonnative language, but in certaincases a conceptual distinction is still necessary in the use of second or

foreign .In contrasting second language and foreign language there is today consensusthat a necessary distinction is to be made between a

non-native language learnt and usedwithin one country to which the term second language has been applied, and a nonnative language learnt and used with reference to a

speech community outside national or territorial boundaries to which the term foreign language is commonly given. A secondlanguage usually has official

status or a recognized function within a country which aforeign language has not. When immigrants come to a new country and learn thelanguage of that

country, they are learning a second language. Second language refers tonon-native language, which is learned or used in the second language environment,

i.e.within one country or speech community where it has official status or recognizedfunctio n and is accepted as lingua franca used for education, government, or

businesswithin one country.Foreign language also refers to a nonnative language. But it is learnt or used not in
Object 16

the second environment but in

the first language environment, i.e., within ones owncountry or speech community with little exposure to native use of the language or fewopportunities

to use the language. The second distinction is that second language is notlimited to classroom instruction only, but is learned or used outside

classroom or nativelanguage environment while foreign language is usually taught by the language teacher and used in an artificial environment.The purposes of second

language learning are often different from foreign languagelearning. Since the second language is frequently the official language or one of two or more

recognized languages, it is needed for full participation in the political andeconomic life of the nation (Paulston 1974:12-13); or it may be the

language needed for education (Marckwardt 1963). Foreign language learning is often undertaken with avariety of different purposes in mind, for

example, travel abroad, communication withnative speakers, reading of a foreign literature, or reading of foreign scientific andtechnical

works. A second language, because it is used within the country, is usuallylearnt with much more environmental support than a foreign language whose

speechcommunity may be thousands of miles away. A foreign language usually requires moreformal instruction and other measures compensating for the lack of

environmentalsup port. By contrast, a second language is often learnt informally (pick up) because of its widespread use within the environment.

3
Rini Desmayanty Sinaga
File Types Available: PDF, TXT An Analysis of Target Language 1. An Analysis of Language We use language everyday and we live in a world of words. Hardly any moments passes without someone talking, writing, or reading. Indeed, language is most essential to mankind. But we as language users do not know yet what exactly language is. To presume to define language adequately would be folly. Linguists and philologists have been trying for centuries to define the term, but there is still no simple and single answer to it. In fact, the study of language has more than 2500 years. During the long history of linguistic study, a lo
Object 24 Object 1