Applications of Usage-Based Approaches to Language Teaching

Abstract

In the last few decades, usage-based theories of language (e.g., cognitive and systemic functional linguistics) have started gaining greater recognition in both general and applied linguistic research. These theories’ shared focus on meaning as the basis of human communication is particularly useful for teaching L2 learners. Furthermore, their comprehensive theoretical underpinnings may serve as a coherent and relevant theory of L2 teaching and learning, thus contributing to stability and systematicity of teaching practices. However, even though the value of these approaches is becoming increasingly recognized by researchers worldwide, the number of studies testing the applicability of these theories to L2 teaching and learning processes is still fairly small. This chapter provides a summary of existing attempts to apply usage-based theories, such as cognitive and systemic functional linguistics, as well as corpus-based approaches, to L2 teaching and instructed acquisition. It outlines key tenets and concepts that have been applied in the L2 context with significant success and provides a number of suggestions for further research and investigation.