Not the nine o'clock linguistics class: Investigating contingency grammar

Abstract

An innovative focus on language in teacher education is essential for the success of Language Awareness. One goal is to promote the emergence of a new discipline, educational linguistics (no more ‘Linguistics as usual'), another goal is the facilitation of efficient language education in the schools. LA, both in teacher education and in schools, must be experiential (based on teachers’ language knowledge and expertise), task‐based (based on real‐life concerns and projects), and critical (examining the roles of language in life). The implementation of LA at the teacher education level, along the lines discussed, will bring into focus a number of themes or topics that relate education to linguistics, such as correctness, cross‐cultural communication, language learning, classroom interaction and variation. For illustrative purposes one of the most crucial themes, contingency grammar, is explored in some detail. It is argued that contingency grammar, defined as ways of displaying attentiveness to other turns, forms the essence of learning through social interaction. The investigation of contingency in their own classrooms will lead teachers to a greater understanding of the ways in which they go about their teaching, and it will encourage them to reflect on the role of language in educational processes.

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