“Turning on the lights” with a basic understanding of Linguistics
After clarifying certain common misconceptions about language that can harm our foreign language learning, we can explore the next big question:
How does a basic understanding of the science of language or Linguistics help you learn a foreign language?
The short answer is that such an understanding allows analytical students like you to learn and improve in a more conscious, targeted, and systematic way.
An apt analogy is tidying up a room with the lights on as compared to doing the same in the dark -- even though the task that needs to be done is the same, tidying up with the lights on is obviously much more systematic and straightforward because you can see where things need to go. A basic understanding of Linguistics allows you to “turn on the lights.”
More specifically, the biggest benefit that a basic understanding of the science of language translates into is probably heightened “metalinguistic awareness.” This is the ability to think about the nature and function of language consciously and intellectually.
Having heightened “metalinguistic awareness” means that you are able to see the “big picture” of how your target foreign language works in a systematic and logical manner.
We can use another analogy to illustrate this: when you have this ability to step back, learning the specifics about your target language’s grammar and other aspects would just be like fitting the pieces of a puzzle into place. That is to say, you still need to put in hard work to learn, but the process would be much more systematic and effective because you have a “picture” to guide you.
Apart from “metalinguistic awareness,” understanding basic Linguistics concepts also allows you to “demystify” the grammar of your target language -- there is nothing “mysterious” about the grammars of any of the world’s languages as long as we look at them scientifically. The grammar of your target language is something that can be learned and analyzed systematically.
Adults learning a foreign language cannot rely on exposure and practice alone to achieve perfect grammatical accuracy because only our native languages are learnt this way. Having this basic understanding about the difference between native vs. foreign language learning means that you would put in hard work and effort into your learning in the right ways to achieve accuracy (of course, assuming that accuracy is your goal).
Having a basic understanding of Linguistics also means that you can put the grammatical characteristics of your native language and target language, as well as their differences, into perspective. If you have a basic grasp of how these languages differ grammatically, you can anticipate and tackle difficulties in a targeted and systematic way.
If you have a basic understanding of how languages can be related to each other, you can also use your knowledge of the relationship between your native and target languages--or lack thereof--to your advantage as you tackle the learning process and its difficulties with intellectual clarity and precision.
讓基本語言學概念成為你的照明工具
釐清了一些可能會對學習外語有不良影響的常見誤解後，我們將探討下一個大主題：
對語言科學有基礎了解，能怎樣助你更好地學習外語?
簡單而言，語言學基礎可以使像你一樣的分析型學生更有意識、更有目標、以及懂得用更有系統的方式去學習和改進。
比方說，你打算整理房間，你會選擇置身在燈光明亮的房間裡，還是在一片漆黑之中？雖然要做的事情一樣，但在開了燈的房間中進行整理工作，一定會更直接、也更有系統。明白語言學的基本概念，就像是為你打開房間的燈一樣。
具體一點來說，對語言科學的基本理解所帶來的最大好處，應該是加強了你的「後設語言意識」 (metalinguistic awareness)，即一種有意識和會運用智力去思考語言性質及功能的能力。
有著越高的「後設語言意識」，表示你越能夠有系統和有邏輯地看到所某種外語的「全貌」。
另一個比喻: 使用這種「後退幾步以檢視全貌」的能力來學外語的文法及其他方面之特性，其實就像是砌拼圖一樣。當然努力學習仍然是必需的，但由於你有一張拼圖原貌的展示圖，過程也因此變得更高效和有系統。
除了提高「後設語言意識」，認識語言學基本概念，還能掃除外語文法的「神秘感」－ 事實上，只要我們以科學的眼光看待世界上任何一種語言的文法，便不會覺得它們抽象又「神秘」。所有外語的文法都是可以透過系統性的方式來學習和分析的。
只有母語的學習是透過日常接觸和練習就能完美地吸收準確文法的，學習外語的成年人並不能單靠這方法便能達至目標成效。明白到大腦在學習母語和外語時的分別，你才能把努力投放到正確的學習之路上，以此學會準確的外語文法 (假設你的目標正是追求文法的準確性)。
這些基本的認識還有助你更具洞察力地檢視母語和外語的文法特徵及其差異。當你對這些語言的文法差異有一定了解，也代表你能夠有針對性和有系統性地預測及解決疑難。假如你大致理解語言之間的「親戚關係」，便可以因應情況去運用這些關係上的知識，更精準地幫助自己學習。