The Teaching of Linguistics in the L2 Medium.

This paper discusses some of the problems that arise for students and instructors in the teaching of the linguistics of a language to students in the process of learning that language as a second language (L2). Because non-native speakers may not have reached terminal competence in the L2, the language being presented in linguistics classes as examples of linguistic phenomena may be used by the student as a form of input to the acquisition process. Another difficulty is that non-native speakers may have reached a stage of acquisition in the L2 where their knowledge has become fossilized--when new linguistic forms are no longer being acquired. The question of linguistic intuition in first-language (L1) and L2 students is also considered. Linguistics instructors can help alleviate these difficulties by: (1) informing students that their knowledge of the L2 will not necessarily be improved by learning about the language from standard texts; (2) setting up courses that enable comparisons of the linguistic characteristics of the L1 and L2 to be made; and (3) trying to use material that is familiar to the students. Contains 10 references. (MDM)