Language awareness

A holistic view of communication skills is central in this book. While grammar and phonology are often taught as separate disciplines in English courses in higher education, we think it is a much better idea to study the two together. They provide different perspectives, but they both shed light on the same phenomenon: language. However, without words, grammar and pronunciation do not make much sense. Therefore, we start the book by looking at vocabulary and the structure of these fundamental building blocks of the language. Insight into these structures will help you in your own as well as your pupils’ work with vocabulary, and it will also open your eyes to the vast resources that the language provides. We will also describe some of the many varieties of the language. The intention here is to present some of the different types of English that learners are likely to meet. At the same time, this information will give you an impression of the dynamic nature of language. You will get a better understanding of how languages are in constant change, because we use them for so many different purposes, in a variety of contexts.

As stated above, this book will provide you with knowledge about English. However, our aim is not only to provide you with factual knowledge, but also to develop an awareness of the great resources that the English language represents.

The English language teaching professional Scott Thornbury talks about teacher language awareness as “the knowledge that teachers have of the underlying systems of the language that enables them to teach effectively.” (Thornbury, 1997: x) This means that the term language awareness embraces explicit knowledge about the language. But it also embraces awareness and sensitivity in situations of language learning, language teaching and language use. In a language learning situation, language awareness is characterized by an attitude of curiosity and openness. The idea is to be aware of opportunities for discovery and different strategies for learning, and to be able to appreciate language and language diversity.

In our description of English, we will point to some traits in other languages, Norwegian in particular, to illustrate similarities and differences. However, it is important to remember that there are many learners in Norwegian schools today who don’t have Norwegian as their mother tongue. If teachers have a basic understanding of how languages, in general, are built up, it will be easier for them

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