What is Language Awareness?

Language awareness can help me to walk the line between extreme prescriptivism and neglect of language. If you know more about the way language is used you can teach your students to look for those markers themselves, for example: if you only teach your students the “correct” way to use English according to all grammar rules, they will never be able to have a natural conversation with a native speaker. Native speakers do not rely on the “correct” use of English but use more idioms and bastardisations for ease of use. It is important to teach your students variations in register so that they can speak on a professional, highly educated level of English and still be able to speak to mates abroad using normal everyday English. You cannot neglect the prescriptive system completely, there is a use for knowing all the rules about a language. Using your knowledge can help you bring language from your subsidiary sense into your focal awareness easily, when you spot a mistake you will know why and how to interpret that, you will be able to see the truth between the lines because you understand what is written down completely. Using these systems will help you “conquer” a language and make it your own.

Based in part on the article called: "Language awareness: What, when, and why?"

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