Towards a discipline of implicational linguistics : evidence from Korean learners of English

Abstract

A wealth of new models related to language and language teaching/learning have been introduced of late, but despite the fact that these models have much to offer a more complete view of language, they have yet to be integrated into the mainstream. This thesis, therefore, endeavours to draw attention to the need for what can be termed an implicational approach to linguistics. In an implicational approach, findings from such contexts as the language classroom, as well as from other related fields, which may better describe language learning situations and results, are to loop back onto theories of language. It is posited that through these implicational loops a more complete and viable model of language can be developed. As a possible movement towards implicational linguistics, the purpose of this thesis was to show the effects of teaching practices, developed from linguistic theories and models of language, on the linguistic development of English as a foreign language for learners in South Korea. A comprehensive set of data relating to the English systems these learners had internalized was gathered and analysed to determine what they knew and how they were able to use this information, particularly through their integration in the mental lexicon. This data was correlated back to a fairly rich set of theories from diverse areas related to language and language teaching/learning to determine which sets of theories may best describe the result of the learning process, as exhibited by the subjects.