Linguistics, Language Learning and Language Teaching

Linguistics, Language Learning and Language Teaching
Linguistics is a theoretical discipline, but from its beginnings it has had language learning and teaching as one of its possible applications. All speakers are familiar with the phonological phenomenon of «speaking with an accent», and similar phenomena are found in grammar (e.g. using the noun information in the plural), at the semantic level (e.g., using the word concept with the meaning «plan») and in phraseology (e.g., saying take [up] contact instead of make contact). The structure of texts (for instance, academic papers) is also culture-specific. How can linguistics help with such problems? The papers in this volume show how linguistics can heighten awareness of differences, help identify false friends and interlingual grammatical differences, use computer corpora to identify problems, appreciate the relevance of universal grammar and take account of the learner's and teacher's environment. The volume as a whole is a stimulating introduction to the fascinating field of applied linguistics and second language learning.
Table of contents
Contrastive Analysis and the language learner: a new lease of life?
Carl James
Recent advances in contrastive linguistics and language typology: the spin-off for language teachers
Christian Mair
Teaching contrastive rhetoric(s): bridging the gap between English language competence and academic success in English for the non-native speaker
Tamsin Sanderson
Cross-language homonymy and polysemy: a semantic view of «false friends»
D.J. Allerton and Judith Wieser
Problems of adverbial placement in Learner English and the British National Corpus
Chris Gledhill
Corpora and language teaching: what learner corpora have to offer
Nadja Nesselhauf
Error Analysis with computer learner corpora: a corpus-based study of errors in the written German of British university students
Ursula Weinberger
The comprehension and acquisition of metaphorical and idiomatic phrases in L2 English
Judith Wieser
CALL and linguistics
Cornelia Tschichold
Swiss English or simply non-native English?
A discussion of two possible features
Yvonne Dröschel, Mercedes Durham and Lukas Rosenberger
English teaching and learning in Hong Kong
R.Shui-Ching Ho
Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition
Pius ten Hacken
International Cooper Series in English Language and Literature (ICSELL)
Series Editors: David John Allerton, Willy Elmer, Balz Engler, Hartwig Isernhagen
The International Cooper Series in English Language and Literature (which appeared from 1956 to 1990 under the title Cooper Monographs), usually known as ICSELL, has since 2001 been published by Schwabe. The series is international both in the range of scholars represented in it and in the prominence given to comparative topics from linguistics and literary studies. It encompasses the English language in all its forms and aspects and all genres of literature throughout the English-speaking world. This gives due recognition to the international status of English, something that is particularly evident in Switzerland, and, most appropriately, it was the international nature of the English language that provided the topic for the first volume to appear at the new publishers (Perspectives on English as a World Language, ICSELL 6).The editors of ICSELL are the professors of English at the University of the city variously known as Basle, Basel and Bâle, and internationally situated on the Rhine at the junction of Switzerland, Germany and France.