Sociolinguistics and the teaching of foreign languages

Abstract People living in a given culture generally are not conscious of the laws that govern their linguistic system, yet they can immediately recognize if a speaker is using the system correctly. The so-called hidden rules comprise a major part of sociolinguistics. It is the purpose in this paper to relate some specific examples of sociolinguistic principles as they affect language teaching. Although the examples are taken from Portuguese, the situations are intended to apply to the teaching of foreign langages in general. The first part of the study treats practical matters of gathering sociolinguistic data. In the ensuing sections on phonology and syntax the discrepancy between actual language use and typical learning materials is presented and suggestions for improvement are offered. The part on interactional rules purports to show one area of neglect in traditional teaching materials. The final section summarizes ideas on the importance of broadening language learning to include research from sociolinguistics.