The Impact of Meaning on the Teaching of Grammar

Abstract

The linguistic system is concerned with studying the relationships between its elements in a formal manner, detached from their external context (the non-linguistic context), that is, the set of situations and circumstances in which language is used. Consequently, it does not take situational meaning into account, but rather considers it outside its scope. This approach is characterized by its focus on form more than on meaning. In its view, language is not studied as discourse, but as an abstract text, without considering the contextual clues that ultimately contribute to determining the intended meaning and understanding the speaker’s purpose.