The Philosophy and Practice of Foreign Language Education

This volume brings the writings of Russian linguist Lev Vladimirovi erba (18801944) to English-language readers for the first time. The collection includes key essays in which erba addresses the issues of educational methodology for foreign languages, contextualised with a critical introduction and commentary, as well as an extensive bibliography of further reading. In the historical context of linguistic scholarship, erba's work is closely interlinked with major developments in the field of modern language studies in Western Europe at the turn of the twentieth century as well as with the Russian educational tradition. By studying erba's writing, it is possible to trace the foundational linguistic impetus for the development of this field of scholarship, as well as educational concerns that have since been integrated in the programme of modern language studies. The ideas advanced in erba's texts remain directly relevant today to policy-makers, teacher trainers, methodologists, and foreign language practitioners. They should be of particular interest to readers in Anglophone countries where foreign languages remain on the periphery of all levels of education. This book will enable English language readers to engage in their own critical reflection on erba's texts.

Links general linguistic theory and educational methodology for foreign languages Covers an array of methodological approaches to teaching languages in their socio-historical context Provides a rationale for the inclusion of foreign language studies in the core curriculum of schools

Auteur

Olga Campbell-Thomson trained as a language teacher before obtaining her Master's degrees in Linguistics and Speech Communication in Russia and the USA, and her doctorate from the University of Manchester, UK. Over the past thirty years, her career has encompassed research and teaching in the multilingual and multicultural environments of the USA, Cyprus, Qatar, and the UK. She has an enduring interest in language education and her current research is focused on the history of modern foreign language teaching. She has published several translations of essays of Russian linguist Lev Vladimirovic Scerba (1880-1944) and has promoted his work on educational methodology for modern foreign languages. Her critical review of Scerba's writing published in The Curriculum Journal in 2017 received the editors' choice award for innovation, academic rigor, clarity of writing and contribution to knowledge.

Texte du rabat

This volume brings the writings of Russian linguist Lev Vladimirovi erba (1880 1944) to English-language readers for the first time. The collection includes key essays in which erba addresses the issues of educational methodology for foreign languages, contextualised with a critical introduction and commentary, as well as an extensive bibliography of further reading. In the historical context of linguistic scholarship, erbäs work is closely interlinked with major developments in the field of modern language studies in Western Europe at the turn of the twentieth century as well as with the Russian educational tradition. By studying erbäs writing, it is possible to trace the foundational linguistic impetus for the development of this field of scholarship, as well as educational concerns that have since been integrated in the programme of modern language studies. The ideas advanced in erbäs texts remain directly relevant today to policy-makers, teacher trainers, methodologists, and foreign language practitioners. They should be of particular interest to readers in Anglophone countries where foreign languages remain on the periphery of all levels of education. This book will enable English language readers to engage in their own critical reflection on erbäs texts.

Contenu

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Building the scientific foundations of an educational methodology for foreign languages.- Chapter 3. The impact of the socio-political structure and social needs on approaches to teaching foreign languages.- Chapter 4. Urgent tasks of an educational methodology for teaching foreign languages.- Chapter 5. Basic methodological contrapositions.- Chapter 6. The general educational value of foreign languages and their place in the school curriculum.- Chapter 7. Educational methodology for modern foreign languages in accordance with the conceptualization of language as a threefold unity of linguistic phenomena.- Chapter 8. The interrelationship between grammar and lexis from a methodological perspective.- Chapter 9. Phonetics of the French language: Outline of French pronunciation in comparison with Russian pronunciation. Introduction.- Chapter 10. The relationship between the mother tongue and a foreign language.- Chapter 11. A general outlook on teaching foreign languages at school.- Chapter 12. On the proliferation of the knowledge of foreign languages in the USSR and on the status of philological education.