Internationally, the term ‘language awareness’ (LA) seems at present to be regarded as a new concept of language pedagogy, perhaps even a new ‘paradigm’ of our discipline. A review of some of the earlier LA‐related work in other European countries suggests, however, that the major ideas of present‐day LA have been around for some time, e.g. under such labels as ‘conscience métalinguistique’, ‘Reflexion über Sprache’, ‘Sprachbewußtsein’, ‘taalverkenning’ and ‘taalgevoel’. With regard to the preceding discussion, the paper will address the following two alternative questions. Are there important characteristics, similarities and parallels between the various concepts of LA which have been unduly overlooked by the continental followers of British LA? If this is the case, the term LA would probably be not much more than an inadequate generalisation of educational, language‐related problems and findings within a specific context. On the whole, the recent continental use of LA would not amount to more than a reformulatio of old ideas. Or, has the term LA and the British concept behind it added a new dimension to European language learning/teaching methodology and language education? If the latter is the case, then LA should be considered a significant step forward, a landmark of progress in the history of our discipline.
Language awareness: Progress in language learning and language education, or reformulation of old ideas?
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.