English Language Teaching and Importance of Linguistics.

English Language Teaching and Importance of Linguistics.

Language is an expression and a mode of communication. Among all the other languages in the world, English language is one of the most popular languages in the world. The demand of learning this language is increasing rapidly day by day that so many hundreds and thousands of teachers in education are specializing in English Language every day to meet the needs of such a huge population. Philosopher Franz Fanon once said, “To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” The hundreds and thousands of teachers are graduating everyday with experience and great amount of knowledge to take over the world of English Language students and make them “language-perfect.” However, in order to make them “language-perfect,” teachers really need a deep understanding of Linguistics so that they can come up with a more refined teaching material for the language students. Further in this essay, I will discuss about the need of deep understanding of Linguistics in English Language teachers.
Linguistics is to be instilled completely in English Teachers because when they are on duty, they work like correspondents, education specialists and assessors. They also work as educated human beings and are also the forerunners of developing sense of negotiators of socialization to their students.
The teachers work like correspondents. I say this because as a teacher it is really important to develop good conversational skills in order to be able to communicate with students from varied backgrounds.  They should be their own communication designers so that the teachers know the way to structure knowledge and deliver it to the students. The language output should be designed carefully and vividly so that students understand and communicate productively in class and outside as well. Reversely, understanding the students is essential. Listening to the students carefully and responding to it is an important issue. It is because
understanding and assessing what they know, understand, their ability to reflect and if the teaching techniques are effective on the student is a crucial part of student assessment which teachers must go through. Linguistics is really important for teachers to instil because lately, the mode of education is innovating rapidly. The classrooms are getting diverse and there are more students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and most importantly different languages. This shows that teachers, to a great extent, will have to face students whose first language is not English mostly.  In this type of world of rapid innovation and diversity, a deeper knowledge of linguistics will assist teachers to notice that the speech forms they value are characteristics of their own culture and background. They are neither general nor characteristically more effective than other possible speech forms. If the teachers do not get the cultural difference, they will assume that there is something fishy with students’ ways of utilizing language and the teachers may not expect using the language this way completely thus, creating complicated issues again. If the teachers cannot identify the effectiveness of other ways of speaking, this can shake their student’s self- esteem in their own ability to communicate.
An example of the above awkward situation is given by Geneva Smitherman (1977) through a conversation thread which is really a touching one given below:

Student (excitedly): Miz Jones, you remember that show you tole us about? Well, me and my momma’s  nem?

Teacher (interrupting with a “warm” smile): Bernadette, start again. I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you.

Student (confused): Well, it was that show, me and my momma!

Teacher (interrupting again, still with that “warm” smile): Sorry, I still can’t understand you.
(Student, now silent, even more confused than ever, looks at floor, says nothing.)
Teacher: Now Bernadette, first of all, it’s Mrs. Jones, not Miz Jones. And you know it was an exhibit, not a show. Now, haven’t I explained to the class over and over again that you always put yourself last when you are talking about a group of people and yourself doing something? So, therefore, you should say what?
Student: My momma and me?
Teacher (exasperated): No! My mother and I. Now start again, this time right.
Student: Aw, that’s okay, it wasn’t nothin.

This is why it is really important to have Linguistic knowledge so that neither the child nor the teacher will be humiliated during communication in class. This is why, Linguistics can prepare the English Language teachers to work with students with varied cultural, social and linguistic backgrounds. Their understanding of use of language would be probably different from the Native- Australian English speaker which is really a key factor in teaching.

In conclusion, English language is a language when combined with deeper understanding of Linguistics and is instilled in a teacher and if taught properly to students, the students in turn will have a proper form of linguistic awareness without any form of humiliation while speaking and writing in English Language despite the nations’ diverse social, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. It can't be said that linguistics isn't needed although it's an interesting course as it was mentioned in many reader's comments. It's essential and consider to be a major structure in language.