INTRODUCTION

The process of teaching linguistics may sound like a difficult task to assess in an
class, as this scientific study of language is very large and complex to explain,
however now, when talking about a second language class, it is very important to
make the process of teaching/learning a language effective and efficient, so the
students are not going to be oversaturated of information.

as a future English teacher, it is very important to understand how English language

works in a common daily context as the main role of any language is to communicate
a message. But, when teaching and learning a second language, it is very important
to recognize that English goes beyond the understanding of the messages, as thins
language have multiple ways to be explore.

In the following essay, the importance and implications of teaching linguistics

aspects of English are being explained, stating some advantages for students and
providing examples of possible scenarios that future students may be facing and
struggling with, giving suggestions of how to assess these parts, and possible
actions to take into considerations.

THE IMPORTANCE AND IMPLICATIONS OF TEACHING LINGUISTIC ASPECTS

OF THE ENGLISH LANGAUGE
Linguistics is the science of language, which is divided into several sub-disciplines,
such as phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics
that are filled with various topics that may be difficult or complex to understand,
especially for beginners who might feel overwhelmed for the large number of
information being transmitted by the teacher.
That is to say, a good language teaching with the implementation of linguistics
should be according to the needs of the learners, to make them efficient and effective
users of the target language, being able to comprehend listening, produce speaking,
comprehend reading, and produce writing.

Each sub-discipline of linguistics should be helping these skills to be improved,

making useful contributions for complementing a language teaching class, for that
reason, in the following lines, each linguistics sub-discipline is briefly described and
connected on how it can contribute to language teaching.

Starting with phonetics and phonology, which need to be combined into one
category, because both of them, deal and study the sounds of speech of the English
language at different levels. With the implementation of this sub-discipline to our
language classes, the learners are going to be capable, of developing pronunciation
and fluency, by making them aware of the different sounds that English use, this may
be tricky depending on the students’ mother tongue, because the sounds used in L1
may not be similar or will be completely different from L2.

For example, learners whose mother tongue is Spanish, tent to struggle with the
production of certain phonemes, such as the /j/ (as in “you”) and /ʤ/ (as in “jazz”)
sounds, because this last one does not exist in Spanish phonetics sounds, therefore,
teacher need to be aware and create activities that improve the aspect of recognizing
the voiced and unvoiced consonants.

This implicates, giving extra time for revising pronunciation in classes, which can
bring a lot of advantages to the students, it can help them to learn how native
speakers usually talk and, and to develop their speaking and listening skills.

Following with the next sub-discipline, morphonology is the study of words are
formed, by following a list of rules, this linguistics aspect is very important for
students to develop their spelling, vocabulary, reading and writing skills in a
language class as they can perceive how words are constructed and therefore, get
to know words which meaning are based on the formation of the word.

This opinion can be supported, by quoting a web page article by Richardson (2021)
that expresses why this linguistics aspect is important in a language classroom
“Morphology is also important for helping students with their reading comprehension.
When a student encounters a difficult word and is able to determine the meaning of
the word and keep reading, they are better able to make sense of what they are
reading.”

The example provided here, state that most of the students do not know how to act
when encountering a unknown word for them, So, the implications of adding
morphology to language teaching is taking the time to present to students the ways
a word can formed which is going to bring the main advantage of building a better
understanding of words.

However now, moving to the sub-discipline of syntax, which is described as the study
of the order and how sentences are formed, can also help to the develop reading
and writing skills

An example of a struggle a student may be facing can be done when creating

complex writings, most of the time students avoid using complex sentences, and
state everything in simple sentences as this can result challenging for them to
accomplished, because they do not know the rules to follow, and tent to have
multiple mistakes.

To support this example and provide a suggestion of what to do in the case of syntax
struggle, an entry of a blog can be quote from Moore (2021) “In either case, gently
coaching students to use complete sentences when they are engaged in oral
language is more effective than you may realize. Just sitting nearby and whispering
to a student to finish their thought… and then giving a full five seconds of wait time
before you do anything else … is incredibly powerful.”

By doing this kind of activities to the students, teacher can engage a understanding
of how creating sentences works, and lead them to an implicitly better syntax
comprehension. Supporting the students learning.
Taking the next two sub-disciplines into analysis, semantics and pragmatics are
strongly related, as they let students, recognize the different meaning and uses the
words are able to have, and enhancing all of their language, as it is very crucial, to
know the meaning and uses of the words to produce and comprehend the target
language

a semantic/pragmatic struggle that a student may be facing in a language class is

the different dialects that English has and the colloquial expressions that dialect
might have, used in different context, as they usually are not following a logical way
of understating them, or they may be simply different from the way students perceive
this in their mother tongue.

For example, if a student is learning American English, and is also learning all the
fixed expression of this language, it will be difficult and may felt confusing for her/him
to understand a British English expression.

and even though this can be frustrated at first, it is necessary to tell the students that
English, just as the rest of the languages in the world, is involving, because of the
speakers of the language, and it will be difficult at first, but over time, it will easier to
know and recognize this phenomenon and if they want to study deeper this part of
English that can do it independently

a suggestion to take into account to solve this kind of struggle is to take some time
of the language class to present the different kinds of way that words present
meaning a uses, providing some practice and production activities for them to find
out by themselves.
With all of this information, the presentation of language subjects can be made
easier, teacher should be organizing the time of class by thinking what skill should
be practice and which sub-discipline use, preparing even further students to know
how language really works.
CONCLUSION

To conclude this document, it is very important to emphasize the importance of

implementing the linguistics aspects to teaching language, as the main aim of this
one is to help learners communicate in the target language, however, by giving some
linguistic knowledge to language students, they can become more competent,
strengthening their language in general.

Personally, I would take into account these aspects and bring them into my future
classroom, no matter what level and number of students I might have, I would
implicitly add some of the linguistics aspects and present them to my future students.
they may not be noticing the implementation of linguistics; however, it will be helpful
to make them a better user of the target language.
REFERENCES

• Amenu, M. (2020). EXAMINING THE ROLE OF LINGUISTICS IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING AS EFL AT HIGHER INSTITUTION: THE CASE OF
METTU UNIVERSITY. International Journal of Applied Research in Social
Sciences, Vol.2, 2706–9184.
• American English. (n.d.). Teacher’s Corner: Simple Ways to Incorporate
Pragmatics in the EFL. americanenglish.state.gov.
https://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/teachers-corner-simple-ways-
incorporate-pragmatics-efl-
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across%20cultures%20and%20languages.
• Daulay, S. H., Ningrum, D. W., & Dalimunte, M. (2021). The Importance of
Linguistics for Teachers in English Language Teaching. ENGLISH FRANCA:
Academic Journal of English Language and Education, 5(2), 2580–3689.
https://doi.org/10.29240/ef.v5i2.2721
• Mansur, E. (n.d.). Pronunciation for Spanish speakers. International House
World Organisation. https://ihworld.com/ih-journal/issues/issue-
48/pronunciation-for-spanish-speakers/
• Maulani, V. (2023, February 7). Why Semantics is Important in Language
Teaching? Ikaula. https://ikaula.com/why-semantics-is-important-in-
language-teaching/
• Moore, B., [BethMooreSchool]. (2021, April 5). Why Teach Syntax? TWO
WRITING TEACHERS. Retrieved May 14, 2023, from
https://twowritingteachers.org/2021/04/05/why-teach-syntax/
• Richardson, A. (2023, May 8). Morphology: What It Is and Why It’s Important
for Teachers. Mrs. Richardson’s Class.
https://www.mrsrichardsonsclass.com/morphology-what-it-is-and-why-its-
important-for-
teachers/#:~:text=Morphology%20is%20an%20important%20skill,understan
d%20the%20structure%20of%20words.
• Worthington, K. (2021, November 26). Importance of Phonetics and
Phonology. Bridgewater Psychology & Learning Center.
https://bridgewaterpsychology.com/2021/11/26/importance-of-phonetics-
and-phonology/