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Linguistics in the Preparation of Modern Foreign Language Teachers 71 - 74-39 EDDY, Peter Armes, 1941- LINGUISTICS IN THE PREPARATION OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Language and Literature, linguistics University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © 1971 Peter Armes Eddy ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LINGUISTICS i n t h e preparation OP ITODBRN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University , By Peter aC Eddy, B.A, M.A. ****** + *** The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by Adviser College of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer's interest was first attracted to linguistics by work in phonetics done with Andre Mal^cot at Middlebury College. At Ohio State, an introductory course with Charles J. Fillmore served to rekindle this interest and to persuade the writer to pursue further linguistic studies. During the writing of this dissertation, the en­ couragement and aid of friends and colleagues were a constant source of stimulation. Although their many contributions could not be measured in so short a space, two individuals, Terrence J. QuinJi and George M.Landon, were particularly generous with their time and personal resources. The writer is greatly indebted to A. Bruce Gaarder, of the United States Office of Education, who permitted him access to the records of NDEA institutes. Chapter II of the dissertation could not have been written without this information. Finally, this brief mention cannot sufficiently acknowledge the support, both financial and moral, given by Edward D. Allen, the writer's major adviser, and by Paul Pimsleur, Director of the Listening Center. ii VITA 25 May 1941 Born — New Rochelle, New York 1961 Summer travel grant: Carnegie Foundation 1965 B.A., Haverford College 1965 Scholarship: Montgomery County (Mary­ land) PTA Scholarship Fund 1966 Amicale scholarship: Middlebury French School 1966 Prlx d'honneur, Middlebury French School 1966 M.A., Middlebury College 1967-69 Special University Fellow, The Ohio State University * * # * * * * 1965-67 Teacher of French: Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools 1968-70 Research Assistant, part time: Paul Pimsleur, The Listening Center, The Ohio State University 1968 Visiting Instructor of French, Univer­ sity of Colorado, summer 1969 Staff member: Southeastern Language Center, University of Georgia, summer 1970 Appointed Assistant Professor of French, Western Washington State College PUBLICATIONS "Five Years of Dial-Access at Ohio State," in Remote Access Audio-Video Information Systems, ed. David M* Crossman (Association for Educational Zommunication and Technology, NEA, forthcoming), with Paul Pimsleur* iii FIELDS OF STUDY Major field: Foreign Language Education Professors Edward D. Allen and Paul Pimsleur Minor field: Linguistics Professors Charles J. Fillmore and George M. Landon Minor field: French Literature of the XVIIIth century Professors Hugh M. Davidson and Robert Mitchell Minor field: Teacher Education Professor Leonard 0. Andrews iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................. VITA .......................................... Chapter I. APPLIED LINGUISTICS FOR TEACHERS: DESCRIPTIVISM............................ Introduction Nature of language Pedagogy Curriculum for teachers II. NDEA EXPERIENCE WITH APPLIED LINGUISTICS.............................. Development of Model Course Survey of courses: 1964-, 1966 III. A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OP PEDAGOGICAL TREATMENTS OF FRENCH .................. Introduction Phonology Morphology Syntax IV. PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL CRITICISM OF DESCRIPTIVIST APPLIED LINGUISTICS . Introduction Transformational criticism Transformational formalism and language teaching Criticism of transformationalism applied to language teaching V. SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR AN ECLECTIC COURSE IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS . APPENDIXES.................................... BIBLIOGRAPHY CHAPTER I APPLIED LINGUISTICS FOR TEACHERS: STRUCTURALISM Introduction The teaching of language has been going on for at least two thousand five hundred years, according to one contemporary scholar. ^ Yet the concept of a "lang­ uage teaching profession" (complementing, but not iden­ tical to a "literary profession,") which implies a body of knowledge to be controlled by the members of the profession, is a relatively new one. It is so new in fact that over the past three decades, a recurrent theme in the literature has been an attempt to define p it and to justify its legitimacy. Presently, in the United States, some knowledge of linguistics is of­ ficially designated as essential to the formation of an adequate teacher of language. ^ This situation has not existed for much more than a decade. Fifteen years ago, a mood of mutual antago­ nism prevailed between descriptive linguists and pro- Zl fessional language teachers and teacher trainers. And previous to that, although the educational establishment was paying increasing heed to the professional training 2 of language teachers,'’ little mention was made of ling­ uistic study other than that of traditional grammar and, occasionally, etymology. The report of the Committee of Twelve stated that ...to he decently prepared...(the teacher of language) should know thoroughly the grammar of the language in its present form. If he has some knowledge of the historical development of the forms, such knowledge will help him in his teaching, especially the teaching of French to pupils who have studied Latin. A 1927 survey of universities, colleges, and teacher's colleges preparing foreign language teachers mentioned a course in etymology. In a series of rank-ordered topics discussed in the methods course, a topic labelled "devices for teaching and drilling special grammar topics (e.g. adjective endings, use of subjunctive, 7 etc.)" appears seventh out of 24 topics listed. In a volume appearing in 1929» C.J'. Purin emphasized the role of diachronic linguistics in second language acquisition: After the study of earlier forms of the languages, most of the irregularities featured by the grammars are seen to exemplify well-defined rules of phono­ logical development and many of the difficulties in form and syntax disappear. Also, the habit formed in linguistic study of thinking of words in terms of etymology and of families of words o is of great aid in the acquisition of vocabulary. The "Coleman Heport" mentioned language comparison, with increased awareness of English structure and semantic organization as the fifth immediate objective in a two- year program. In keeping with the overall goals of the program suggested by Coleman, the comparison is primarily of the written languages, and the grammar is "traditional;" Progressive development of an increased knowledge of the derivations and meanings of English words, of the principles and leading facts of English grammar and the relationships between the foreign language and English.9 Stephen Freeman, writing in 1941 about the pre­ paration of foreign language teachers, recommended that teachers acquire knowledge about the foreign language that today would be classified as linguistics. Freeman recommended that good language teachers watch ...our habit of using the English stress accent to emphasize a word in a sentence, even though we know that the French don't do it that way. These are not really the "fine points" of the language, as we tell our pupils — they are the fundamental point of view of the language Freeman recommended also that the the language teacher take up the study of etymology, if he had not received training in it during his professional preparation. In a 1945 survey intended to bring up to date statistics about the formation of foreign language teachers, C.C.D. Vail discussed language requirements and requirements in the area of professional prepara­ tion in education. The primary point of emphasis of this survey was to see whether teachers were more compe­ tent in the language they were teaching than they had heen reported to be in 1929 by Purin. Ho mention was made of areas other than language competence. Hreeman, speaking again about the formation of language teachers in 194-9» emphasised the habitual nature of language and the resultant length of sequence which was reouied to attain language mastery. In addition to a reformulation of his remarks of 194-1, he recom­ mended ...a thorough training in the pronunciation of the foreign language. This is best done by a scientific study of phonetics, carried to a fairly advanced stage. The intonation of whole sentences, voice inflection and expressive diction should receive attention, instead of limiting the analysis to sounds and single words. American patterns of accent and intonation should be completely eradicated. 12 Freeman clearly intended this training for the improve­ ment of the language competence of the teacher; there was no explicit reference suggesting that knowledge of phonetics could make a teacher more effective in teaching pronunciation. A 1954- survey reporting on the training of modern foreign language teachers made no mention of course- work in linguistics or phonetics which would aid the teacher's performance in the classroom. J.B. Tharp, director of the survey, mentioned that training in such areas might be obtained at the masters level. "The present poverty of advanced coursework in grammar review, phonetics, language history and civilization may not be too depressing since teachers are likely to 15 get such coursework in taking the M.A. degree.1' The li-LA
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