Language teaching and training
Language teaching may involve teaching a foreign language to students who
share the same native language as you, or teaching your own language to speakers
of other languages. Language teachers work in a variety of educational
establishments from primary/elementary schools to universities and colleges.
There are many paths into language teaching: some people do a degree in a
subject that interests them, then acquire a postgraduate qualification in
teaching; some study education at undergraduate level; some start working as a
teaching assistant, then later acquire professional teaching qualifications;
some do some teaching while undertaking research.
Those teaching a foreign language need a near-native ability in that
language, while a knowledge of other languages can be useful when teaching your
native language to foreign students, especially to beginners.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Linguists study the nature
and characteristics of human language. There are many different specializations
under the umbrella of linguistics, including:
Theoretical lingusitics
- Phonetics, the study of the physical sounds of
languages, particularly the production and perception of those sounds.
- Phonology, the study of how sounds are organized and
used in languages to encode meaning.
- Morphology, the study of the internal structure of
words.
- Syntax, the study of the rules that govern the way the
words in a sentence come together.
- Semantics, the study of meaning.
- Pragmatics, the study of the way language can
communicate more than is explicitly stated.
Applied lingusitics
- Language acquisition, the study how we acquire our
native language (first language acquistion), and how we learn other
languages (second language acquisition).
- Psycholinguistics, the study of the connection between
thinking and the use of language.
- Neurolinguistics, the study of the neural mechanisms
involved in the comprehension, production and abstract knowledge of
language.
- Sociolinguistics, the study of the relationship between
language and society.
- Historical linguistics, the study of the origin of
words (also known as diachronic linguisitcs or philology).
- Anthropological linguistics, the study of the
relationship between language and culture.
- Discourse analysis, the study of language in the
context of conversation.
Linguists work for a range of organizations, including universities and
colleges, high tech companies, research institutions, consulting firms,
government, and the military.
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