Page 168 - Beyond Methods

CHAPTER 7
Fostering Language Awareness
As you are reading these words, you are taking part in one of the wonders of the natural world. For you and I belong to a species with a remarkable ability. . . . That ability is language. . . . The ability comes so naturally that we are apt to forget what a miracle it is.
—STEPHEN PINKER, 1994, p. 15
Language is intricately woven into the fabric of human life. It is closely linked to the relationship between mother and child, between self and society, between thought and action, between war and peace. It is all-pervasive. We use it, misuse it, and abuse it. And yet, we seldom think about it. We hardly notice its presence around us. We rarely recognize when people use it to control others. We barely notice when politicians manipulate it to manage public opinion.
It is no wonder, therefore, that educational centers seek to play a pivotal role in fostering students’ awareness of the role played by language in the development of individuals as well as institutions. The relevant literature in the fields of education and language teaching presents various strands of thought about how language awareness can be fostered. These thoughts may be classified under the rubric of (a) general language awareness and (b) critical lan- guage awareness. The former treats language awareness primarily as an awareness of linguistic and sociolinguistic features governing language usage, while the latter treats it primarily as an awareness of social and political factors governing language use. Let us con- sider both in relation to L2 classroom teaching.
General Language Awareness
Educational philosophers all over the world have long emphasized the role of general language awareness in human development. However, it is only recently that concerted efforts have been made