Vaktaal op School

Abstract

This study of the literature has provided us with a comprehensive bibliography concerning languages for special purposes. Dissapointingly most publications do not deal with our main problem: languages for special purposes at school. The publications do, however, contain scattered pieces of information that had consequences for our ideas of: a. what languages for special purposes are b. the problemi that languages for special purposes can cause at school. A. We make the following distinctions in languages for special purposes: 1. the language of one subject (e.g. the language of hunting); 2. the general aspect of languages for special purposes; 3. the language of one school subject (e.g. the language of biology lessons); 4. the general aspect of languages f or special purposes at school. We have concerned ourselves with the domains 3 and 4. As a register a language for special purposes has language and non-language characteristics. We have opted for a wide definition of languages for special purposes so that we can identify all communicative problems connected with these registers. B. Languages for special purposes can be problematic in education in the following ways: 1. A language for special purposes as used by teachers (specialists), is a difficult register for pupils (laymen); 2. Alongside implicit use of languages for special purposes (problem 1) it is possible that a teacher will want to pay explicit attention to the general aspect of languages for special purposes or that he will teach his pupils a special register. Consequently the aims, the organi-zation and the possibilities of explicit language for special purposes-teaching become an educational problem, (problem 2) 3. Languages for special purposes can be a specific learning exercise for foreign/second-language teaching. The solution to the first problem must be sought in an analytical structure, with which the teacher can determine which communication problems are caused by his language use. The result of the study of the literature is, that we now are in a position to formulate better the questions that relate to this problem, The solution to the second problem depends on the teacher's conception of the social and educational consequences of languages for special purposes and his view of education. The consequence of this study is a list of proposals of what form teaching language for special purposes would have to take. The third problem is outside our area of investigation.