Section 2 Language and Language Learning

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课程与教学的概念

I. Brainstorming

Read the 【Case Reflection】in your textbook and give your own ideas. Do you agree with this point of view? Why or why not?

II. Language

What exactly is language? How should we define it in order to help us further understand language learning and then language teaching?

1) Jack Richards in Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics: “Language，the system of human communication which consists of the structured arrangement of sounds (or their written representation) into larger units，e.g. morphemes，words，sentences，utterances.” This definition seems clear，though in fact it is only the defining of language as an object；beyond this there is little mention of the essence of language teaching，and almost，nothing about the features of language use.

2) In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language，David Crystal，president of the International Association of Applied Linguistics，explains language from different perspectives instead of giving it a single definition. Only a general definition as follows is given in the academic glossary of this huge book： “Language: the systematic，conventional use of sounds，signs，or written symbols in a human society for communication and self-expression.” Differing from definitions which generally regard language as “a system of symbols and medium of communication”，this definition illustrates and emphasizes that language is a kind of “activity”.

3) To grasp the real essence of language requires an understanding of its features. The basic features of language suggested in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language are： the function of communication and self-expression；the system of sounds，signs，and written symbols；and the systematic and conventional use of the system.

4) Language is the medium of communication in human society. This is especially true when we recognize that the different cultural symbols，body postures，gestures etc.，are part of the definition of language in a broader sense. When we regard self-expression as an important function of language，we can conclude that language is not used exclusively for communication. An example of self-expression is Anne Frank's diary. When she wrote her diary，she did not have any plan to publish it later in the form of The Diary of Anne Frank . Although she named her diary “Kitty” whom she wrote all her diaries to，she actually wrote all her diaries to herself. As another example，praying is also a very common form of self-expression. During the process，we do not know whether there is someone listening to us，yet we still pray “Oh my god，bless my whole family”.

Function and features of language

1) Halliday: Seven functions of language are listed in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language: emotional expression，social interaction，the power of sound，the control of reality，recording the facts，the instrument of thought，and the expression of identity. In reality，these functions should all be converted into abilities for language use that could be acquired by students during the language teaching and learning process. However，the effect of teaching these functions varies at different stages of language teaching. For example，the teaching of functions as the instrument of thought and the expressions of identity receives a lower level of attention in elementary schools than in middle schools，since the average cognitive level of elementary school pupils is lower than that of middle school students.

2) In addition，functions as the control of reality，recording the facts，the instrument of thought，and the expression of identity all naturally relate to another feature of language: Language as an important part of culture. For example，with identity becoming an important focus in politics，sociology and cultural studies，language and identity then naturally become a focus of linguistics.

3) The linguistic system of sounds，signs and written symbols is the material basis on which language functions can be demonstrated，since no matter whether in communication or self-expression，we all need certain carriers in the form of sounds or symbols. In addition，only through certain systematic and conventional combinations of these sounds and symbols can people communicate and express themselves effectively. It is only in the manifestation of these combinations（like vocabulary，grammar，discourse，etc.）that people can process and understand them as discourse to show thoughts，emotions，facts，and so on. These conventions may be established by usage，or prescribed by certain people and then accepted by the public. As a result，language teaching duly requires the teaching of the system of sounds and symbols，as well as their systematic and conventional combinations.

Summary

From the perspective of language education，language is more than an object，a sign or a tool. Language is a series of practical activities based on certain systems and norms，using conventional sounds, symbols and written signs to conduct communication and self-expression in political，economical，social，cultural，and other fields. From the micro perspectives，language is a system based on certain systems and norms with the uses of conventional sounds，signs and written symbols to conduct communication and self-expression. Above all，language is the pattern of existence of human being，and the practice of existence of human being.

II. Language Learning

Definition of learning

1) The Analects of Confucius opens with an explanation of learning： “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application？” In Chinese，the word “learning” refers to two separate words： “xue” and “xi”. Here “xue”，according to Confucius，means to see，to hear，and to acquire knowledge and skills，which implies “to know”；and “xi” means review，exercise and practise，which indicates “to act”. Therefore，as far as Confucius is concerned，learning is the unity and integration of knowing and acting.

2) To approach learning from the perspective of teaching，we need to view from both education and psychology. From the perspective of psychology，learning is a mental activity of humans and animals which is expressed in the change of behavior and behavior potential. Educationally，learning is regarded as the process in which students grasp knowledge，acquire abilities，and form emotional attitudes under the instruction of teachers. The psychological description is relatively straightforward，while the educational illustration appears more complex；but integrating these two will help us comprehend the essence of learning more precisely. Therefore，starting from this point，learning refers to the activity process during which，under the influence of both internal and external factors，changes take place in one's amount of knowledge，behavior，behavior potential，emotional attitudes and values through personal practice.

3) Learning can be defined macroscopically and microscopically. Macroscopic definition of learning refers to the process through which both humans and animals adjust their natural and instinctive reactions，and form new ones，during the course of interaction with their surroundings，in order to adapt themselves to their environment. Normal conditioned reflexes in interactional experience with an environment produce learning activities，and the process of establishing conditioned reflexes is the process of learning. By comparison，a microscopic definition of learning refers to human learning，which is essentially different from that of animals in its form，content，psychological mechanism and other aspects. This learning behavior leads to a change in an individual's potential for growth or ability，and does not simply take place during an individual's interactional experience with the environment. It is rather a combination of this and the internal processing that is applied to the learning.

4) Learning discussed in this book refers to human learning activities. This is a complicated psychological process. From simple perceptual learning to thinking-centered learning，all involve complicated psychological processes and mechanisms. One important measure to determine whether learning activities are actually taking place is observing whether there is change in behavior or behavior potential. This change could be in explicit behavior，like in learning to ride a bicycle or to read；or in implicit behavior potential，like growth of knowledge，change in ability，emotional attitude or conscious tendency.

5) Learning can be the result of repetitive experience. Learning of this kind is mainly subdivided into two types： one is generated by pre-programmed practice or training，similar to students' learning in school；the other is learning caused by incidental life experience，as in the acquisition of certain knowledge and experience drawn from life. Therefore，some content learning requires repetition，while other learning may require much less in terms of time.

6) The change caused by learning is due to the interaction of the subject and its environment. This change begins after birth，and is self-constructed through the subjective functionings of learners. In the construction process，the external influence or experience，though indirect，is of overriding importance，since learners cannot obtain indirect experience by depending on their internal factors alone. What is more，a great deal of human experience cannot be repeated，or can only be repeated at great cost. For example，we cannot arouse awareness among people of the importance of environmental protection by providing each generation with experience of the birth of the earth or making people in all parts of the world suffer from the drought of Lop Nur；much less could we subject everyone to the pains and hardship of the Nazi concentration camps of World War Two to feel the suffering of Anne Frank and the grief for lost lives. Therefore，in the process of inheriting human culture，teachers make significant contributions in that they can impart indirect experience to students directly，thereby shortening the time and reducing the cost for the next generation to assimilate the experience of survival and development that has been accumulated through the human history.

Language learning

In terms of language learning，learning activity refers to the practice and process through which individual language practice leads to changes in an individual’s existing language knowledge，language behavior or behavior potential，and relevant emotional attitude and values，as a result of both internal and external influences.

Undoubtedly，language learning is also a kind of language activity. Since language is necessary for survival，language learning is a human learning activity for the purpose of survival. Language learning is language practice activities through which the learners' language behavior or behavior potential changes.