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LINGUISTIC THEORY and SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING David LINGUISTIC THEORY AND SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING David McComick A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Curriculum Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto O David McCormick 1997 National Library ~i~iiotnequenarionaie I*I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, disîribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/^, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des exîraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation, LINGUISTIC THEORY AND SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING Master of Arts, 1997 Department of Cumculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario lnstitute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto David McCormick Abstract This thesis is written for the language teacher who wishes to gain theoretical insight into the teaching of grammar. In particular, the discussion seeks to investigate the teaching of 'psychologically mal' grammar in the foreign language classroom. It aims therefore at a grammatical understanding which corresponds to the distributional and metaphoncal realities of language. With this purpose in mind, three twentiethcentury grammatical models of the formal matrix are analyzed: the Structuralist school of thought associated primarily with Ferdinand de Saussure, the Transformational-Generative project identified with Noam Chomsky, and the Systemic-Functional mode1 advanced by Michael Halliday. Subsequent to the theoretical section, a heuristic discussion is undertaken for purposes of pedagogicyl reflection. Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to the Supervisors of this thesis, Dr. Patrick Allen of the Department of Curriculum and Modem Languages (OISUUT) and Dr. Normand LaBrie of the Centre de Recherche en Education Franco-Ontarienne (OISUUT). Their clarifying reflections and consistent guidance were much in demand throughout the writing of this thesis. I also wish to acknowledge the support that I have received from Ms. Sheila Tait, Principal of Continuing Education, and Ms. Margaret Kinsey, Adult ESL Program Supervisor, both of the Etobicoke Board of Education. Their gracious permission to use the facilities and the resources of the Board and their ongoing support have greatly facilitated the successful completion of this thesis. iii For my rnother and father Andrea and Lee McCormick Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements................................................................................................... iii Dedication................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents..................................................................................................... v Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ viii Chapter One: Introduction....................................................................................... 1 Psychological Grammar and the Language Teacher .......................................... 2 The Format.................................................................................................... 3 A Practical Point of Departure.......................................................................... 6 The Importance of Theory ............................................................................... 8 Chapter Two: Linguistic Structuralism.......................................................................... 13 The Philological Perspective........................................................................... The Course in General Linguistics................................................................... Parole and Langue ............................................................................. Syntagm and Paradigm....................................................................... European Structuralism: Roman Jakobson....................................................... Emic and Etic Realities. ........................................................................ Jakobson's Ladder ............................................................................ American Structuralisrn: Leonard Bloomfield.................................................... The Relegation of Meaning................................................................ The Elevation of Form........................................................................ The Descriptivists........................................................................................... Summary....................................................................................................... C hapter Three: Generativism...................................................................................... 38 The Rationalist Perspective............................................................................ Empirical ProMems with Behaviourist Linguistics.............................................. ... The Disciplinary Link....................................................................................... The Distributionafist Legacy............................................................................ Syntactic Structures (1957) ................ ,. ........................................................ The Mechanics of the Model 1: Generation........................................... The Mechanics of the Mode1 II: Transformation............ ............ ,.... Ernpirical Problems with syntactic Structures............................. The Standard Theory (1 965) .......................................................................... Competence and Performance........................................................... The Components of the Model........................................................... Empirical Problems with the Standard Theory ...................................... Case Grammar ............................................................................................... The Extended Standard Theory (1972) .......................................................... The Revised Extended Standard Theory (1975) .............................................. Universal Grammar.......................................................................................... Summary....................................................................................................... Chapter Four: Functionalism..................................................................................... The Ethnographie Perspective...................................................................... J.R. Firth's Linguistics................................................................................... DeIl Hymes's Linguistics................................................................................ Michael Halliday's Linguistics......................................................................... Functional Grammar...................................................................................... The Uses of Language (1) ................................................................. The Situation Type (2)....................................................................... The Sociosemantic Connection (3) .................................................... Ontogeny and Phylogeny..................................................... The Macrofunctions of Language (4).................................................. Lexicogrammar (5) - (6)...................................................................... Scale and Category Grammar (1961) .............................................................. The Paradigmatic Orientation............................................................. The Syntagmatic Orientation.............................................................. System in Functional Grammar ............................................................ Surnmary....................................................................................................... Chapter Five: Penpective(s).................................................................................... 118 . Part 1: The Theoretical Milieu........................................................... 119 . The Pedagogical Milieu....................................................................... 121 Theoretical and Applied Linguistics...................................................... 123 Relating Educational and Theoretical Linguistics................................... 126 Part II: Questions.......................................................................................
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