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2 An applied linguistic approach to discourse analysis
little pedagogic utility and what has pedagogic utility may have little or no theo-
retical value (see Corder 1973). This is a point which the more proselytizing lin-
guist tends to ignore. Again we may quote from Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens
(1964) since, again, this book expresses a very common and very pervasive view
of the role of linguistics in language teaching pedagogy:
(the teacher) is teaching something which is the object of study of linguis-
tics, and is described by linguistic methods. It is obviously desirable that the
underlying description should be as good as possible, and this means that
it should be based on sound linguistic principles.
This is the main contribution that the linguistic sciences can make to the
teaching of languages: to provide good descriptions. Any description of a
language implies linguistics ... It is a pity then not to apply the linguistics
best suited to the purpose. The best suited linguistics is the body of accu-
rate descriptive methods based on recent research into the form and sub-
stance of language. There is no conflict between application and theory:
the methods most useful in application are to be found among those that
are most valid and powerful in theory.
(Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens 1964: 166-7; my emphasis)
The notion that what is a good description from the linguistic point of view
must necessarily be good for language teaching appears to be a matter of faith
rather than of reasoned argument. Moreover it leads to a number of practical dif-
ficulties. The establishing of “accurate descriptive methods” has proved to be
extremely elusive, and there is a good deal of controversy as to what “sound lin-
guistic principles” might be. One has only to refer to Postal (1964) to see how
precarious the kind of methods and principles that the above quotation are refer-
ring to can prove to be. One can hardly expect language teachers to be pedagogic
camp-followers after the style of Paul Roberts (see Roberts 1956, 1962, 1964) and
to adjust their approach to teaching in accordance with the shifts of linguistic
fashion. In fact, Halliday himself later acknowledges (Halliday 1964) that it may be
possible to think of various descriptions of language, subject to different stan-
dards of adequacy according to their purpose, rather than of one “correct” or
“accurate” one. Although such a view might be criticized on theoretical grounds,
as it is for example, in Wales and Marshall (1966), it would appear to be the only
valid one for the applied linguist to take. It happens that the line taken by Halliday
in Halliday (1964) runs counter to the psycholinguistic orientation to language
study which Wales and Marshall adopt: paradoxically the idea that there may be
different linguistic descriptions according to purpose does not suit their particular
purpose. But there is no reason why their special pleading should be given special
status.
But if linguistics cannot provide descriptions which are good for all purposes
and which therefore can automatically serve as a basis upon which teaching mate-
rials “can at last be devised with confidence and certainty”, what contribution
does linguistics offer to language teaching pedagogy? I think the answer to this
question is suggested by the distinction that Wilkins makes in a recent book be-
tween three ways in which linguistic theory may have an effect on the practice of
the language teacher.
4 An applied linguistic approach to discourse analysis
A A
Insights Insights
Linguistic Teaching
B C B Linguistic C Teaching
description materials description materials
Diagram I Diagram II
ter presents examples of the kind of teaching material which might be developed
from the approach to discourse analysis previously outlined.