Applied linguistics in fostering language learners’ language skills and basic principles of this science in teaching foreign languages

Today we are moving to the path of innovative development aimed at radical improvement of all spheres of life of the state and society.

Sh. Mirziyoyev

Linguistics is one of the basic fields of science which has a number of different branches. Each branch of this science is specialized in learning particular problems according to its subject and object. It is commonly known that there must be a certain reason and purpose for a separate branch to appear in science. The reasons and purposes of each branch are studied in detail by linguists to resolve the problems enabling that particular branch to get developed gradually. Like other branches of linguistics, applied linguistics is one of the most popular branches of linguistics which is rapidly getting developed nowadays. This branch of linguistics includes all the main assumptions, concepts, principles and theoretical basis of teaching foreign languages. In addition to that, the branch is connected with other branches of linguistics and fields of science as it has the interdisciplinary character. This character involves the specialists of this branch to work with other specialists of linguistics because studying the issues of a particular branch of linguistics from different angles develops linguistics systematically and widely. The teaching foreign language process requires a teacher to know the target language (e.g. English) from the point of philology, pedagogy, psychology, methodology, psycholinguistics, science of information technologies, and applied linguistics to be a totally professional of his or her speciality. Without any doubt it is known that it is difficult to acquire all the theoretical and practical basis of the above-mentioned fields of science. Accordingly, the procedure of teaching foreign language forms a complicated, but structurally connected system in practice. The progress of the effective system depends on the both a controller (as a teacher) and a learner (as a participant), in fact, and the rest pedagogical, methodological and technological means provide them with the form and content of the lesson.

From the history of the evolution of applied linguistics, it can be outlined that this branch of linguistics includes all the information and facts about the successful and unsuccessful periods of the branch in detail. As a result of this, the following most important principles of applied linguistics can be illustrated in the example of teaching the English language to show the actuality and role of the linguistic branch in teaching and learning foreign languages:

1. Introducing ateacher with the former methods in teaching the English languages. To define this principle of applied linguistics, it can be stated that the former methods, such as the grammar translation, direct, audio-lingual, silent way, suggestopedia, community language learning, total physical response ones inform a specialist of the main benefits and drawbacks of these methods in the process one by one by which teachers will be able to analyse and decide which method can be used at their lessons to have intriguing lessons for learners. Furthermore, teachers can be informed of the main approaches in teaching foreign languages as well. The benefits of this principle are not only connected with this, but also one of them is to enable teachers to choose their preferred approaches, methods and techniques that they implement into their lessons. Being a professional teacher means not only to know the target language, but also to know how to teach, whom to teach, and what to teach because the process of teaching and learning foreign languages is a complex process. As a consequence of this, it can be said that it is important for a teacher to be able to choose right and appropriate approaches, methods, and techniques independently.
2. Identifying the basic roles of ateacher in teaching and learning foreign languages. Generally speaking, the main theories of applied linguistics informs teachers of their roles in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages. For instance, a teacher is considered to play his or her role as a controller, organiser, assessor, prompter, participant, and resource during a lesson [2]. For this reason, we may say that the role of a teacher is highly significant with a number of responsibilities which form the whole lesson. This factor does not weaken its importance because time is rapidly changing and the requirements and responsibilities of a teacher are broadening more and more simultaneously. In addition to these roles, the types of learners are also included into the main principles of applied linguistics, such as age of learners, learner differences, different learning styles of learners which means a teacher should take them into account so as to have successful outcomes in the process.
3. The ways of how to control the classroom management in teaching foreign languages. To reach the target in teaching and learning foreign languages is not only connected with the above-mentioned factors, but also the factor of controlling the classroom management right. The classroom management consists of classroom interaction and dynamics both of which are optimized with the co-work of the teacher and learners in practice [3]. What is more, the factor of classroom arrangement which means different work-forms in classes, namely doing language learning tasks within a group, individually or with a pair. The classroom arrangement should be controlled by a teacher right because being able to create the work-forms according the level of difficultness of the tasks highlights the future of the process.
4. The factor of discipline problems enables ateacher to guide learners correctly towards the target. As it is known to all language teaching specialists that maintaining discipline within a classroom is not always easy or done successfully, and because of this reason getting acquainted with applied linguistics teaches a teacher how to apply discipline into the process right. Besides that, we should mention one thing that before maintaining a particular kind of discipline in a classroom, a teacher should think about this or that discipline thoroughly because any wrong discipline may decrease learners’ interests in learning a foreign language.
5. Organizing the appropriate ways of fostering language skills in the process should be based on all the necessary principles of applied linguistics. Alanguage teaching model is divided into input and output ones. The principle of organizing the input model is connected with the process of giving all the theoretical basis of a target language to learners, and this model can be done not only at the lessons, but also in the virtual environment, such on the platforms of social networking services (SNSs) and messengers nowadays on which the materials of the target language can be in differently visualized forms to draw the learners’ attention to learn the target language progressively. Besides that, the output model, as it is known, is the process of practising all the theoretical rules at the lessons, and this model has been developed, for instance, on the platforms of SNSs and messengers the more chances of practicing language skills can be used as one of the most convenient environment to improve language learning skills. Also, the methods of advancing the language skills, such as writing, speaking, reading, and listening are outlined in applied linguistics based on all the important theoretical basis.
6. The principles of planning the process of teaching foreign languages and feedback, error correction highlights the basis of having effective lessons. According to the main principles of applied linguistics, the branch of linguistics informs the teacher of the ways of organizing the whole process successfully [4]. To speak more concretely, the modern ways of planning the current forms and contents of the language lessons have become much more developed and optimal to meet the requirements of the time. Furthermore, the modern ways of providing learners with effective feedback, error correction have been developed progressively with modern innovative technologies. For instance, on the platforms of SNSs and messengers, we have applied a number of forms of feedback and error correction in the virtual environment according to the language skills.

To put everything into a nutshell, applied linguistics is one of the most popular and active branches of linguistics nowadays. Because the process of teaching foreign languages always changes and includes modern trends, means, assumptions, and researches in the today’s education sphere, linguistics continues to get developed gradually which means that linguistics continue trying to resolve the obstacles of the process.

References:

1. Mirziyoyev Sh. M. The Address of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Oliy Majlis. — Taskent: «Uzbekistan» publishing house, 2018. — 64 p.
2. HARMER, J. (2003): The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman.
3. J. Sarosdy, T. Farczadi Bencze,… Applied Linguistics I for BA Students in English. — Bölcsész Konzorcium, 2006. — 191 p.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_linguistics