Language Context and the English Teaching

Improvisation or transfer is the core of a course，based on the communicative approach．That is，the students are required to transfer what they learned in the textbook to real-life situation as far as possible．And in the present-day textbook of Middle School，the courses are organized in authentic everyday situations in which students can easily identify．So in the process of English teaching，it is very important for the teachers to set the language contexts correctly and flexibly．

Ⅰ．The meanings of the language context

Generally speaking，the language context can be divided into two major types：situational context and sociocultural context．

Rivers suggests that items of language in total isolation have no function;they need a system and a setting to give them both function and meaning．Children often ask for the meaning of a word in isolation，without seeing the need to provide anything for it;too quick and too casual a reply can often have unexpected consequences．eg．When the child asks what cricket is and you say it is a game，and then discover that it was a“cricket”in the context of insects．Even if we know the strict linguistics，we still need to check further into the situation and even into the society and culture to be sure of what item of the language is appropriate or acceptable．

In a narrow sense，the language context means the situational context．In Halliday’s opinion，the situational contexts include the setting，the way of talking，and participants．But Hymes divides it into eight elements：setting，role，function，notion，style，stress and intonation，grammar，vocabulary and language aids．Those factors affect each other and decide which language form is appropriate．

The situational context and sociocultural context can’t be isolated from each other．In certain sociocultural context，people must obey the particular communicative rules when they use a certain language．And in a certain situational context，people should not only pay attention to the social communication rules but also adjust themselves according to the factors of the situational context．That is，the situational context and sociocultural context affect each other and are complementary to each other．

Ⅱ．The language context and the communicative competence

“Competence” is a central issue in linguistics，whether in terms of abstract syntactic theory（as with Noam Chomsky）or in terms of social interaction（as with Dell Hymes）．And Hymes thinks the communicative competence should include four types：language competence，sociolinguistic competence，strategic competence，and context competence．If we consider the language competence is the core of the language teaching，then the other three abilities must also be taken into consideration．

Wallwork suggests that“sociolinguistic competence is necessary to language study and to attempt to study language without society is like studying anatomy without a body．”A knowledge of our society will enable us to predict with some degree of accuracy the probability of certain kind of language being used in any particular situation，and conversely give a sketch of language we can predict with some reliability．eg．Go to a country where you understand not a word of the language around you．But by observing the social context and listening to the noises，you learn the meaning．So one can’t be said to know fully the meaning of any language without knowing the social context in which it may or does occur．Widdowson also points out that the English teaching also involves an understanding of the communicative value of linguistic elements in context and this is based on a knowledge of how these elements may serve as clues which can be interpreted by reference to share conventions of communication．So in the English teaching，the teachers should train the students’sensitivity to judge which language form is right in certain language context．

The context competence and strategic competence can be realized in certain language context and have their effects on communication．In a normal language context，we often communicate in discourse，not in a single phrase or sentence．A learner who can communicate with the correct language forms has a strong context competence and knows how to use the signals to convey the information and conform it to the meaning．And according to these signals，they can understand each other better．In different language contexts，we can also make use of the strategic competence to start，end，maintain or extend a conversation．And the communication strategies we often used are such as avoidance，tolerance，suspense and accommodation．

Ⅲ．How to set the language context

A．Use all kinds of teaching aids

In the classroom，students should be provided with a chance to experience the language in meaningful ways and try out their skills，so the teachers should try to use all kinds of teaching aids to set the language context for the students．And we should not only be acquainted with the use of flash cards and wall pictures，but also we need to learn to collect and make visual aids，such as pictures from magazines，used objects like can and boxes，flannel board，and stick-figures．So with a piece of chalk，objects，people，animals，settings are created on the blackboard and the students’interest and attention are aroused．A relaxed atmosphere is created．Another technique is to use latern slides，not to tell a story but to creat situations when the students are asked to act out their dialogue or play their roles against the background of a restaurant，street，playground．We can use an over-head project，then the students can talk like real“native speakers”．And when we use the pictures，we should know the picture with accompanying voice（sometimes with music accompaniment．）will impress the students greater than a printed text or the voice alone．

B．Design all kinds of activitie