I. Brainstorming

Applied linguists have pondered the relation between linguistics and language teaching. What contributions of linguistics to language teaching?

II. Contribution of linguistics: applications and implications

Linguistics contributes to language teaching. The contribution is seen as twofold: applications and implications.

Applications

The contribution in terms of application is easier to understand. The products of linguistic description provide the input to syllabus design and material construction. It is hard to imagine that language can ever be taught and learned as a component of education without reference to the outcome of linguistic descriptions.it is hardly possible to define content of teaching without linguistic descriptions.

Implications

Implications are less obvious but bot less important. The insight aimed by linguists into the nature of language and language learning may enlighten language teaching professionals in thinking about what to teach and how to teach.

At the preparatory level the decisions are made by specialists. To make wise decisions, they need to draw information from relevant disciplines. They need to evaluate linguistic theories and see what implications a certain theory has for language teaching.

At the operation level, the language and the process of language learning influences his thinking about what to teach and how to teach. Whether one is aware of it or not, a view of language and language learning underlies one’s decisions about teaching.