10.5 Linguistics in the professional development of language teachers

　 In this chapter we first conceptualize foreign language teaching as a system and then analyze the contribution of linguistics. It is shown that linguistic theories underlie syllabus design and teaching methods. This section expounds the role of linguistics in the preparation of foreign language teachers.

　 What are the qualities or characteristics of successful foreign language teachers? There have been research projects that attempted to find out the answer. As early as a century ago, it was pointed out by scholars who had insights into the complexity of language teaching that knowledge of the target language alone is inadequate for successful teaching. The professional development of foreign language teachers has been given more and more attention in many countries since the 1940s. As the misconception of method as a panacea was gradually abandoned, the focus was shifted on the qualities and the roles of the teacher.

　 A well-known study of the effect of the foreign language teacher's characteristics upon learning outcome was conducted by Politzer and Weiss (1969). The question they explored is whether it is really the method that makes the difference in student achievement or the way in which individual teachers implement that method with respect to their own situations. An attempt was made to observe the classroom behaviors of a group of teachers to identify those who were successful and to compare their behaviors and characteristics with those of less successful ones. The results show that student achievement was greater in classes where the teachers used a variety of drills and aids and went beyond the procedures strictly prescribed by the syllabus, supplementing it rather than merely implementing it. They therefore formed the opinion that a certain propensity for innovation and flexibility is evidently a desirable characteristic of the foreign language teacher. There were a number of similar projects in the 1960s and 1970s that studied the qualities of foreign language teachers.

　 The desired qualities of foreign language teachers cannot, however, be discussed without assuming the roles of the teacher. In fact, different methods require different roles on the part of the teacher. Since the 1970s, Hymes's theory of communicative competence and his argument that there are rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless (Hymes 1972) have shifted the emphasis from form to communication. Halliday's emphasis on meaning and his ideas of learning how to mean have further enhanced the theoretical basis of communicative language teaching. The change required a re-definition of the roles of the teacher.

　 In communicative language teaching (approach), the teacher needs to fulfill at least the roles of a communicator, a model, a designer, an organizer, and a counselor. The teacher communicates with the students in the target language. His/her proficiency in the language is absolutely a pre-requisite in fulfilling the role of communicator. At the same time, he/she sets the students a model in using the target language. The younger the learners are, the more important is the role of model. He/she is a designer of the tasks and activities that engage the students, and he/she is an organizer of these. Finally, he/she diagnoses students' errors and problems in the process of learning and gives advice accordingly.

　 These roles require that the teacher should reflect upon his/her own teaching, pondering rationally these fundamental questions: Why is the language taught? What are the objectives of the learners? What is the nature of language? How is a foreign language learned? As mentioned in 10.1, linguistics is one of the relevant disciplines in language teaching. It is therefore an indispensable component of the curriculum for the professional development of language teachers. Its value lies in these aspects: to increase the teacher's understanding of the nature of language; to develop the teacher's awareness of the complexity of language and language learning; to sensitize the teacher in identifying errors and diagnosing their sources; to help the teacher to monitor his/her own use of the target language. With these values in mind the writer selects the content of this book from the vast field of linguistics and hopes that it will do its share in helping you to become a successful teacher of English as a foreign language.