My knowledge of linguistic is very important and supportive to my work of teaching English. It is said so because linguistic as a scientific study of language encompasses a number of sub-fields that are helpful in language teaching and learning. An important topical division in linguistic that I, as an English teacher, must be adequately equipped with is between the study of language structure (grammar) and the study of meaning (semantics). Grammar is discussed in some of the sub-fields like morphology that is the formation and composition of words, syntax that is the rules that determine how words combine into phrases and sentences, phonology that is the study of sound systems and abstract sound units, and phonetics that is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds (phones), non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and perceived. By understanding some fields of linguistic mentioned above, technically I have the tool to help me teach the basic foundation of learning a language that is the grammar which is needed to produce the language and to recognize the problems that my students may face during their learning process. For example, morphology helps me understand parts of a word like syllables, prefixes, suffixes, the process of changing the part of speech or derivation, inflections and markers. Syntax helps me understand the rules of how to combine words to construct phrases, clauses and sentences. It also gives me the knowledge of the use of conjunctions, the types of clauses, and the types of sentences. Phonology and phonetics helps me understand the sound systems, pronunciation, spelling, articulatory organs, and phonetic symbols. While semantics helps me understand how meaning can be inferred in different ways, lexically or syntactically.
Besides, now I am also studying psycholinguistic that helps me understand the process of acquiring or learning a language, including why mistakes are inevitable to be considered as creative construction or developmental errors in learning according to the constructivist. Actually, this statement is an enlightenment that has given me new perspective in my teaching career because since I knew this point of view, there are no longer “stupid” students. Instead, they are only slow learners and they just need more time to deal with any influential factors that may be the problems that they face during their learning process.
Fundamentals of English Grammar, Third Edition (Full Student Book with Answer Key)
Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication
Psycholinguistics
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