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CL \t.

f^ I,

The Scopeof a SpanishGrammar


for Minimal
CommunicativeCompetencel
William I. Miller
The University of Akron
ARSTRACT Foreign tansuasercacherchdw lons
tecogniz,ed thst it is neither Nssibte hor recessat!
ta tea.h a cotnplete stuntnar al Spanish in acautse
.tesighed to .letcbp cotnrwti.utirc
conpetehce.
StudiesoJ co aquiatusdEeshav thor ewna ndtiwtike.olnnvrd
9f the srannar .ar cahsist o.f.ld.
.levet retb :farrs thdn are traditjoha ! thausht
hecessdtt- Basihg hirseT o, these shulies, thc
uuthor Dropases.t nininat Eratn"ur of wtb.forhs
Jor correct actire ke. Mare te\tdtite suglestiors
drc nadefat the dewlop|teht alan casitr expresed
d d uitleftbod
sinphrted Spanish for beeinners.
1'he pdpet considcs btielU the atder afpresenttution af Etuntnati.at lon s dnd .orctudes fith a
rcriew alsothe other aspec^ oJ a connunicatiw

in accuracy
and fluency.Mo.eovcr,rhercmendous
rncreasern rnotrvanonnhich rcsutrs irom the
sIU.lents'perceprionof rheir ability ro use rhe
larguaeecanbe elen morvatuabtettranlhc prac
ti calski l l acqui red.r

The linrrs ol time availabletor lcarninsptacc


serousconstrarnlon
s Lhcabi l i tyto del el opconnunrcaiion skills, A ainirg D.oficiencytn communrcatingwirh natile speatersin their own
cnvironmenr-ivhal has cone ro be callcd .an
muhrca rc cotkpcterce_inrplies a grcar dcal
beyondknosledgeof gramnar and locabtrlarv
Besides
knowireroplo saysomethiiein a,brei;n
ianerage,one musrdejde r'rar ro saydependins
lor at lcasrlhc Dasrdecadean increasingenl
on w rn, w hrc,to rvhon,aD dw hy onei s ral kpnas rhas
s b c e np l a c e do n o ra l c o m n ru n i cal i as
on
cffecrivctr,onemusr
an actrvut assell asa goalfof rhctanguageclass.! ine. In orderro communicare
whicha narivespeaker
The nedfo. rhis res cmphasiswasirdicarcdbr beawareof rheassumDlions
binCs to Lhcperjbnnanceor rheinrerpretarion
t hef ajlu. eo f m o s rs ru d e n rs
of
to a rra i D
l i mp te,,sur
panrcurarspeechacr. This ,shafeduniyer\eof
a
vival skiih" evcn afte. exrensilenudy ot rlre
di s.ourse"
i s oftenasi mtorraD t,or moreso,rhan
neccssary
vocabulary
and gradmar.The rcasontbr
l eatures
ol a !urel y l i np!i !ti cnaLurc.l
lhe failureto speakandundersrand
seems
to bertrar
Theacqui si rj o!
of a l ari ve l i kecommun' cari l e
nudent! lcam bydoing. Theydo noLlcarnro con,
compel
ence
s rhcrefore
a soatbcyond
rea$nabte
nunicaretheiro$n rhoughtsb! doinggralrnarcx
exDecrarlons
Ior
a
one
year
or
two
coursc
e.crscs
quas,connnunicaljve
and
acriviricsinvol\
The conceplof a.,ni ni nal comile only a responsero soneoncelses urierances. sequence.i
cornpcrenL
s a moreantropri drc
Whenstudentipradiccconnunicadon,theytearn rnunrcatr\c
C oal
tor
rh(
bcq
nni
rq
l
an!uape
cdrnerMrnrnrai
..mr o. onr nun ' c a tee, tb c n\y i thi n d i v i d u a l d i ff erences
mxnicarive.ompeIs onsi!rs of rhc knowtcdee
oi rvhatro say and hou, ro 5a!,ir in a ren.jcred
t l i l b n I v t ln ttPh D,n t le r L ) o r F lo r iJr ,_
A$ Ninr Fro
numberof si Luari ons
i n $hi ch rhe5tudenr
w oul d
be iound as a foreignerin anolhercllrure., Ob

c L \,\' 2
FOR E i GNI ,\N ' ]U A GE A N N LS

viously,evcna goal of srch linned scopei5 nor


realisticii one musl aho learn a compleregrall
mar of the languageas il is conmorly prcsented
in collegelevelbeeinnilgtexts.Expertshavesug
ecsled,ho{ever. that the amounrol grammarrn
a texrbook can be drasticallyreducedsilhour
reducins1beability to comn nicareeffeclilelv.r
Thc practicalproblem for the teache.is how ro
limil lhe erammalicalstrncture!presentedin the
texlbook. ln the pastthe usualsolulionha! bccn
\rhaieveradounl olmaterial
ro coverscquentially
canbe maslered.However.asidcftom thedubious
do noL
validityof lhe masteryapproach.lexlbooks
io
conmumcatlle
order the material according
crilcria,The studcnlis likelylo havelearnedmanf
itemsot little useand not to hale coveredother
morcuselulones.rln lhe tollo*ire secrions,Ishall
offer crilcriaqhichwill enablelhetcacherIo sclccr
rhc nosL e$enlial st.ucNreslo teachin a begin'
i { ni .cagi rm
n rn l (^ J r' e . Ih (..J U l ' rre .{
P I
' omperP n

Redudtun of Scope
Ih c .r r(,k o .e k .' r.nd rfe dpr.m.r ' \ ol rh'
e d .n c ,.e n " l .. l e u J r m Prl er,,dorl or r\ro
havcthe nudenlsacquiresomethingapproachnrg
a narivelikeabilily !o communicaleinfonnally jn
..ru d lo l re q u i r.n 4
' i r' ' r' .ommur " rr' \e.om_
p rrc .r. A In u \l a l l re r.b
o o l T ere.d ro n.o' _
p o ro rer' \ s o a l .b u r rl e i o o ie. r\c. ol \o e1.om
i re
p d s rh .l ' 1 g u ,i c l o n ,t' c re n .eor
d. ed..drednd
e\nositorv
to
read
includine
the
abilil,v
speakc6.
p.o!e. Such an extensivecomPeten.eis lotally
unrealisticro. a besinningcourse.Ihe iollorins
F ra i ' a p h .{ rl l o P ,n e 3 s o rl o li ed P d upcand
deterdinesomc oi ils gratnmalicalrequsiles.
s ru d ' e ..n J rae . c ro e \d , . .o ,ol i neu' ... hd\(
.n o " n h o \ \o i Pd .d n s l d g e.. l ^r rcsj on o
resion, ftom classto class,and, in the individual
\n e 3 l e r..ro - ' i ru a o n .o .| " i on. A rcd.urabl (

de Mdxi co,"show srhatnot al l rhel hi rtccDte nses


(ror iDcludinspros.essi!es
aid pa$ivct fourd in
begi nni nsl cxtsarc real l r nece$ary.:'P roJ cssor
Lope BlaDchli6t ciresthoselorris which arc nor
in current usc anrwhere,fuh're $,bjuncrile and
preteritc pe.fect, and lhose fotms which have
from spoke. A nerican
al mosl di saD peared
Spanish,secoDdpersonplural verbsand the pasl
subjurctivexr se. He lhn analyzcsphcnomena
characterisric
of spokcn \'lexican Spanish.The
readcrwillrealize,howcvcr,that madyoidieni ar.
characleristic
of other countricsas ryell.
The se.ondpersonimpe.aLire,Prole$or I-ope
Blanchnotes,is olten avoidedas some*ha1ihpolile. Crammaticalqucstion!or stalemcnlssuch
as.tui.res .allate, padias.a an., Jowt .le caluttc,
ahotu t? callas, or vor a .4//arre, arc liquenr
substilulcsfor tlt command lonn, .lllate (bc
quiei). Thi! obserlalionis largelt true of iormal
comna.ds as rvdl.
As nr thc rest of SpanishAmcrica, lhe lulure
Lense
is fallirs inlo dirusein lhe spokcnlansuase
of Mexico in favor of periphrasticconsfuclions
w;r\ t a, pensar,querer,har.r de, e1c.,o. thesim-

The cordilional lcnre, alihouehno1dilaf'pear


ine, is, accordingIo Lope Blanch,"en desvenra
josa compeLencia
con orrosticmpos," ofteDbcing
replaccdby the pastsubjunclive.'rSreake6 lie_
qtrerlly prcicr the subjunctivciD desiderative
ro
/o d]rdala (l *ould likc to help hin), hypothctical
nunca hiciern esa (l would never do rhao, and
d\birrt. qui.as l era bueno t,or (lerhaps it ivolld
Subj!'nclileis oircn
becoodlor usto eo)sentcnces.
{here thc "if".lause
usedin condilionalscnicnces
is not exprcsed,as in E, /u /!gat ra hicietaisral
(ln your placeI wonld do the \anre),and il is not
rarc elen trhen thc "iJ clauseis cxpressed
especiallyif thc resullclausetreccdcs:N, lrrr.ra
(l wouldDotbealiaid
niedo si Ud. ne acampana/d
ii you wenl with me).'j1Tbe conditioral as a
past" iD indi.ect discouNcis normall!
qoJ l f o d I r r ) ed < pdr "h. ou ! e r l l o . c \ e r I r e "luture
replaced
by the iftperfect indicativc or the
E' 3a nd|c dl r , u( r u, - r or m a ) L +d o ) d n r c m b peripbrastic
iba a {vas soinEto): Difu que v.nid
o r \ e m r adlc . ld. \ | om onc f o n D e d l i n S n i r _
(iba a wnit) .lentrade poco (Hc said thar he was
. or m r . nJ . r - or m dl p ol, . ., r 'k r i o n . ( ^ m i r , :
ir a liltle qhile),
chosen eoing !o cone
bothjntimate and very lo'malslylet.I have
Ve\ i. c n \ r dn: . \ ' or r hr ( e r p 3 . o n . . D e . . n r i r '
matcrjal is readily avallableiir seemsa usefulchoice
for Aneri.an srudcnls; n is closer to an average
'ltandard" Spanish than is lhat of some other

colloq!ial;{erican Spani5hnaLes
Like En-!1ish,
considefablylcssuseof the terltcl or compoun.l
lenscslhandocsther.iuen laiguage.Thc preteritc
lsnds Lo.eplaclhe pasl pc ccr *hrev* lhe se
qucnceofele.ts is evident.La !t.ortri.loh.le Io
deja ltot habtadejado)(t lbund hin ahere I left
I pr nine r L. . p. ' r i. l, \ er b . t 'e m . \ r 't - o
hifr [tor I hadleft]).The fLrtu'cpe.rectn extemely
J or b' r hc m J r ' . m e . on t m i f L r ' l l o r r ' r '_
thesimplelulure.
or l . n I o r e B l a n c h - .a _ rare.lr is oftenparaDhrasedvith
d! nr . A loo. dr Po;
lnanddr
dntes
delli
es (I am going ro
el
espanol
Lo
vo!
o
v{ba
I
en
ticlc, "La reducciondel sisiema

CL q(-.3
F E E RUAR YI9 E4

scDd belbreFriday),meansvery nea.tyrhesame . J l i d b r . f : r . r J . . o r J 1 g o r h o . I r


.Jr. rr mur
'I oet t.r4 p .tr h a b ti
d Dor
tn i d rn ,, \t.h a . l fa\\
d o \ | | h I 'e , f r s u l s c . . - d , h e n o r c d e . J c . r h d ,
.c|
b\ l | d .,\r
l l ( -ri ..rp . u .e o r rtp, ,.
. . a - y I . J l r e rr L o " . : d i n e q h d l
di, jo, alr f l r(c . i .
h c rc .u t ( tdu .c o t. u nJ iri ondl erammar lo sru.ty and then {,hat" nuse to make (
h q c ,1 - ./, .o rn o t,c pdJ r ') . T h ( p J J . 'r b i r . . . \ e . t o r
-\,mp p . rndi.nc.l
p' c . r , L b :. n !| e r(E rl r. ) rc p .d .e . I \i /
\ a b l e o n l r i n e \ p c - r J o d . r c o r 'r d 'y r o a - . o r ,
hubieteristo, te lo hubierud;.,to (If I had seenn, dilions. If we climinare lhe exprcssion
of countcr
I { o ld I d v . I rl d } o u .o r I n d ..} .rt,er. ! .cr l a c t u a l h y p o t h e s e s f r o m i h e . e p c f i o n e o f
funclions
be, l( r ' , r b i u -. r\" i ,
rF rtJ .e db J " hel t o r b e 8 i n n i n s S p a n j s h , L h e i o r m s b e c o m e
^
ra
J
i
l
)
r le or . a o r ' h e n d .r n ,p p.e -,r ..rb nc| r!
. '. p e , 'l r o l . I i l ( q v I R . o r r . o a
!n.ei!Ton.
'
dc p( nd1. u n th eri m( rc te
e n fc In J e a do fC r,,.
l \ . . p di r e \ D l i . \ o n - r o n i t . r n e n . ( . , I u o L _ d
dr t ! a" \ r , \td o . rL /o d e rrp i l .' !rh p J u uhar. bc practical ar lisr ro limil rhc learnef
ro rhr
reaoIl] reiurn lt to me), oncsayscuando b leas d e \ r o r i , 1 o t a . , r J . , u 1 . i o . .
.nd crctuo\
l\ \ ' l- en. o- ,.d - ,...o ,. o (mp \d \./. h e p c (.- f \ n o r i r 'n d l e r p r e *i o r . A . - . e . d r
aio o" aJo
t i\ . d, pect.a L tn ' l ol o r, o a e .J p ,rL r .. , n h (n )o I d g d i r . r r h c p e . c n rp p ( c r i r d J J v p . i n ( c ,
i mo.,
iini!h readingi!). Reirrin8 ro a pastacrion!No ofils functions. jr car be replaccd wirh prererire
a
. , , u 4" ? t t ; i h o p \. tI a a , b c .r.\e t- J rd Irdr/ of a pfesent consrruction.
r r oi. ' c p \ u ,/p n ,/,? 4 ,rJ ,e ,,o ,r. L l d o r.
An dnalj,j.o
,r ..Jn .hortJ oe u.d., !o rJ
belic lehe .i i d l h a sd o n c lrh a r).
n r r r r l - F r J n e e , t u e \ u l h p t J n . {h r . 3 . .
Di. . dr J rn er' , \o r. h .t-l J -D .b ..d o ., one r e . s l ', . 1 e . , . 1 , 1 1 r L U j , r 1 . 1 , \ ( d o . . r o
nr"r
i lc ' r s L1 ' u u'r' o (a l \- e r\e . p rFc rr. p .ee..rc '( - . l r n j " l i r '
. . . . . l f . D r c e i r . u b j d n . . . r i .- T
u.
im ! ' e. c . . . d n orre \n D pre J :d n d .h re e .,,brunc i r e o . e n r I n . o o r c r s p " n r . t , i n l o , e r b d . t d u . e .
i\ e r en. e . p re .e . i mD e .t.., d rd fJ . p e e.I ' o T m a n d . . : . I o l o u r l d l e a . r e . . e r b ! o t \ o l
s onc ob, e .e r. h a r. a .o 1 ,s q 1 . 1 ."0, .. 'i r r . 1 , . u . ( d . p , L c r D \o r . e n r a , r n d
I. aJle.i\r
. eplo. enF-r o r ,' ( o F rn p e e J q i rt - In( . d u . e . i , t . - p . . r r D ^ r r d n , i f p t v
br(4 r.e r1(
I c ' c r . r e.Pro te ..o l o o rBtrn ,t .1 J i ,, rd 1 u.,p r d ! - . p \ n r ! . e d h o e b f . . . t - *. F o J r 1 l . , . I r a l
anicle on McxicanSpankh,rharrbisphcnobenon l \ j , t - o L o b . n o r e d l n J r . . o r n r 3 1 \ s p ,
-t.
i. r ^r a in n ,..r.b n i r.ri o ,
speakcs, clausesfollowingexpressionsof emorion
?J I L. ' f l, g o , ,h e .e m p o ^.dl t..d J .p p ..rJ .Id tue. d o n o l r e q u i r e r h e s u b j u n c r i l c . :
o r f . pr ere ri rJ Id p r-.c n rp . c ,r. Il . rc r. r(Alorler.
. c r i o l {h . c h . o . b e . n . r g ! e . . ( - t o ,
||- i, I r ! ' , r 1, i . n u . ro i p ti m e o 1 c o t ,,r. 'r r r . l i i r S r h c *l o t . o m n n . 3 o n I . r e J u ! r i o r ,
prscntperlccr in comparisonro ir! heqrencyir
\" a-.c. c nolor at- ur. ondtdnd j.i.
l1(
^r
l(r
t enr ns ulaSp
r a n i s h .L r
o ,(. rc 1. rre n' nbe ur qd.\
.d)
Thc studiescited borh abolc and in the norcs sohething: il more rhan one ford rxpresse,'oa cer_
snor!Lhata narlre like conmandoiSpanishgnm_ lain iunction, rhc student should tea.n onltr rhe
mar car nrlolle iar le!! lhan wharis rradiriona y easie!ror mosr rypical one a! first aDd
ser on wirh
coDsidercdnece$afy. This poirr shoutd bc enL conrnuni.ation. The Spanish progressive tenses,
phasi2edsinceit is frequcDllynrjsundernood:a for example, unlike rhei.Elslish coirnrcfparrs,
afe
drasiic.eductionin forns cniailsno redudio! ir oDly optioralalternalivcs ro non progressivereDses
*har can bc naiu'ally exprcsed.The forns rcrain, for expresins aciion in prog.e$ ar rhe rime rettr
edin lhe s yl l a b upsro v i d ea c o tl o q u i a ta l du sual l y red to. The pa$jve voicc in Spanish is a nm.h le$
norecomnon say ot sayingc!eryrhineexpre!sed usco afternarlve to a rritcxive construclion or a
by thc forms discardcd.The sramnitical scope rransrtl!e acrive cxpression.
described thus far does nor connilute wh.r
Even qhere $vo foros do nol expt$ eracrly rhe
V aldm anc a l l sa " l i l ttc ta n c u a e e ,,,i .e
a .re d uced same funcrion, nn analysis ot lhe social funcrions
systenrvhichenables
rhc foreisncrro communicarc oflanguace mal indi.are rhar onc iorn should be
but is far lesslhan the narjrc speakcrnornalt, chosen to replacc the other. Onc can command,
ano one can requesr.Alrhough srudenrsmusr learn
10 follow comhands f.om the beinning, il wi
Furlho Simplification
ahnosi al*ays be more approprjare for rhcn, as
I l t he goa l i sro c o n mu n i c a te
a ss o o na sp o ssi - new.ome6 lo rhe foreiSDculrure, lo erpress a rc
bleir a wide.anseofsiruarions,ir seenr,advisable quesr rhaD to glvc a commaDd. aMe hace et.fnvot
1oljghIeDfu.Lhcrthe gramnatical load. The basic de... ?, iPadnA U.t..._?, rnd ieuiere U.1....? plos
as s um plioonl a n o ri o n a l ,fu n d i o nsayl l l a b upro
inli tile arc both sociall), more appropriate and
s
videsa clea. way lo do rhis: oDc orga.ires rhe ealcr than the .omplicatcd codmand tonns of

)L',ie \
I.'OREIGNLANCUAGE ANNALS

50

simplificalionof granmar lbr codmuntcaron .


Retarchef hale hvpolhesizedthat second
la.cuage acquisitionnormallv goes through a
simpliliedpidginlike stdee,lhat pidginiarlonrsthe
slratgres
'"
elfccLof uni!crsallaneuagc-acquisition
weLl
to
do
vould
the
teachcr
cae,
lf Lhisis the
becomeawarcof the phnomenonand erploir it
asaqujck wa! toproducesinpleveteffectivecom_
Amount of Grammar \_eeded
ftunicaLionwhile$or king tota.d correctSranmar
The limilationson gramnalical form imposd
long-tangeeoal The uscof objed plonouns'
ol lhe languagefuncLionsihe asa
by considerations
is sccondonlv Io lcrb iorms as a
exanple.
for
l$rne. needsto handle,logerhe'with Lhere'luc
\ource of difiicullv for lhe lcarnr and tr
tions lypical o! colloquialnaliveusage,now sug
unavoidablein narlral speechlr c'eoliTediorns
gcsta specificcharaclerialionof a gnnmar ror
(supposedlyderilcd iion carlier pidsins) ol
miniftal conmunicati!e competenceone *mcn
prever0arprorheunstressed
Ronancelanguaees,
permnsa natural erpre$ion ol ideaswith-onlv
pnco
pronouns
nounsare replaced$ith strese.l
slightlimitalionsol conlentand vanetv ol lornr'
oc_
ver!
irequenl
a
lacl
is
in
aftef the vcrb. This
ir corsisrs of rhe strucluresneededIo make
com'
srudenls
speakine
English
whcn
curence
and askqueslionsin lhe tusI and rhnd
starenrents
nuniclle in SpaD*h A commoncrror iik l/irilt
prcsnr'
im_
plurai.
the
of
forns, sineularand
p//oJcaDbe immediat1v
atd correcrltinlerpreted
perlect.and pretcriteindicalive'an'l the presenl
s a reductidrot
apparenllr
by rlrcnalivesFakr,
and pan subjunctile
bv odNlon or
(l
thc'n)
visiicd
d
c/os
L.J
rriiri
In fact iI is debalable$hedrcrarv tensesol Ine
words
unslrcssd
lhe
s b i u n !ti \es h o u l ! b ep a d o l beei nni i e{ !d-eft!'
situationmon
hi a naturallanguage_acquisilion
c rdn md r.\! tr rc \fre ^ i rs
Whreq'
time
in
self
conccrins
Lo
be
" .' i v c
rem
sluden$tend!o aloid erors
(J_
in Soa;ish,lnelish_speakine
rr Lh
' . rguage I mi " d
\\ ne
,.q u i ' ' n e I' e rbl ' r' r\ '
.ru .
oe
lorms
tne
nav slo!
dcveloprnent
'o,
-,n
rc r. ' ,C \ o J P ' hr classioofr),
rh c . d o ,f ,\rm . rl e ' d
of
Correction
pideiD
slage
the
nr! "fossilized' ai
indicatile eventhoueh lhev havelearned1necor
I'uel
l
eo
e.ner"
.r'
r'
6' ,1.
' d\el r'
rc 1 ,' d Se o rl e .u q rn . ' \e l ' _' man\ Lngrr'
"fc.t.
,i )1 Even *i!h adequaleexpo$tre,
a lideinized
om.h
n
c
b
l .o ,d .' re rb i L n !ri t F
' rrro' rt'
(\dol uh n ll(
rai
I'
e
cngl
d;e
r.
c
uDLnc
' i on
N e o t -e o ,n ro d . d -d ,r' rc.' rr..l l
across_ ]n
learncr'soDl} goal is 10get a message
l
ci
l
u-e
01
m"
rrrl
o
r.
.d
rr'
e
m
L
..'
l
,o
pro'e$
l i ."
" .d
o.derto achiele1henaluralsell codectior
.u u c rr d o !. 1 0 rrre .r' l e s see TIcre P c' '
in the .lassroon, Ihc reacherneeds!o eile the
Lobc a natural strategvol communi'arionwhich
srudenrsas rlch caPosu.elo the targelranguagc
lells the learncrto concenl'ateon lhe fealuresof
as Dosibte.Equ.llv inporian!, the goal ol com
sramfrarandlocabularvtrhichconvevlhe messacc mun-cdl ron
mJ r P obe)ord rl e l i rerdlm(' aec'
o rc h o ' s h " l ' o o n or' ' ( u e or h'
.r,d
dl e_ \c rei rIe' n( e\' cr" fo elf _
r'
c
rnJur,
'g
stralesyc\plains the large number ol erros rn
i ^ !(r' 1g d qur. ron
asrecneDlofverbsand modiliefsNnh nounseven
$
1!. ln olhe. words "inrcsnlive motlunon
where,asin lhc caseof noun_lerbnumberagree needcdas well as "instrumentalmotlvalron
ment,rhelackol corespondineitaLuc5in English
hasbee!propoq
The rcactionofnalivc sPeakcrs
is not a Possibleciplana!'on
ol
accprabilitv
lhe
tor
ed as a criterion
reJ\
t
J1Jl
r.o
\l
no.c'
k" rn(r' mi .cL....
Simplitictlion tnd Erors
lhe
ductedso faf havebeensome$hatinconclusn'e
produce
{tdc'
would
Ftrrther simplificatio!
alwavs
are
slrnosr
sludies show thar messages
rd -e trErn rre rn o e o r' o r' * en ror .' hrshl
pcrceivcdni spitc ol lhe nislakes Moreover' ir
unnatural ltrerances one could for crample'
seenslhal the alliiudeol lhe learnersand tnc cou
rc rtrol ' ur' b
d v o rdu . r' s o r' n .r' o n ..rrJ '
Icnt of$hal lhev savmatterlar moreIo the native
!
spcakingonly in simPleseltenccsand constantlv
5peake6Ihan eranmar nisrakcs
repearingnoun phrases ceriajnlv some edor
s o u l o n r p c l < b l c A rfo u oL 5' a' \ rmprr' i hJ'
A Quenion of Order
.1 J re.!\\3 r f. L ^l
I e .,r
areneccs!ar'v
' b ,(
Aiier dete nininewhi.h srrucrures
languageacqtrisitioni5 sidclv acceplednow''' ir
mustdecide
teacher
the
comnunicalion
for
aclivc
I
is still a matter of contenrionlo whal extcnt
presented
ln
be
or lhe orderirrshich thevshould

Spanish.The socialimplication\of laneulse.usc


should aho be laken into accouni rn oecrorng
vbelher or not to tcachihe fanriliarIorm or ad
dre$. The aduh{ho expeclsto lravemo'e rormal
cortactswith Spanishspeake*will havcdrch les
use for rt forms than will the voLrnscrlearner-

te Jc e r

l- o L lJ

h .( fr

ci

'

"'

l rs'

mdre

cbtr-,
F E B R U A R YI9 8 4

5I

a nolional functionalsyllabus,the ordernr *hich of erammaris reduced?Threecodponentsto be


!huse!or funcrionsof langlagcrpFeardetermjnes consi dered are l i steni ns comprhensi on,
vocabulary,and tesline.
the orde! of the grammar.Sinceso
fo.nr
ar eus e di n th ec o m m o n e s ti ru a l i o n'nany
s,
mosrofrh
The practical value of knowing a fcond
basicgrammarwould needro be presenred
\ery lansuaeeisscverclylimilcd illeanreA do not have
quickly DcarIh. bccnnrincof rbecoursand con- skill i listeninscomprehensionwhich
cxcccdstheir
tinuaur- rcvic{cd i,r what has becn called a speakinsability. wc s1illkno{ very Inlle for sure
l t re m s n o re pracri cal i n abouL hoF lansuase is undenroodj ho{cvcr,
" . r . lic a l " a p p ro a c h .n
th earlysragesLoinLroducelangudgefuncrionsin evidenceis accudularingthai contexrualclucs,
an order basedLo lome extnl on a g.aduarcd backgroundknowledge,and thc likc. play a ma
jor role.i' ForeignlanguagclearDers
preseDlation
pay
of gramnatical forms.
apparendy
One vay of de.idins rhe order of presentation little or no atention to grammarjcalsienah in a
is to observerheorderjn whichnativespeakers
ac- communicarivesituationi rbey rely ftainly on
quirelansuacestrucrures.
Accordineto a sludyol perceivine
rhewordsand usinCcontexlualclLres
to
dre acquisitionof verb forms br naii!e speakers eet the meaDjng.The evidencesuggests
!hal il js
ofSpaDish,childrcnmasterdrepresenr
rerseby rhe not necessary
ro srudy and pracricerenseswhich
age of l$o.rr Aftcr six morc moDthsthey bave arenot includedinlhe ninimal srammar.At mosr,
nrastered
the preterile,presertprogressivej
and the irregula. fulu.e/conditionalsrcmsand irresular
periphraslicfuture (vor a). Ar rb.eethey actilely pasrpaniciplescan be taughtas vocabula!y.Thc
uscthe prescnrsubjunclive,
and rhreemonrhslarer necesarycondilionsfor de!elopinglisteninsconthey add lhe irnpcrfcctindicarive.At ibur rhe use pfeheDsionare rhar lhe learnen be exposedto a
ol the inperlicl progressileand lhe presentpro la.se amountot spokenSpanish(appropriatelor
gresi!e wirh ard!?rbecodeeslablished.
Theyadd thei rl evel and
w i l h abuD daD
contertual
t
due\j
e.g.
the useol the presentlrogressjvewith i. and thc eesrures,
visualaids,previoussunmaryof thconimpcricct$'bjunclileaI four year and sixmonihs. tent, useof propernamesjerc.)and be notilated
Othcf lcnscsarc nor nastcredbelore rhe age of ro *anr ro know trhar rhey hear. The leache.,
visitos, and rccordingscan supplt lhe spoken
T here s u l ts
a r { h a ro n e{ o u l d e x p e cr.
lareuage. The topics musr bc intrinsically in
!he
si ven
a$umprionLhatchildrn arkarninem lulfillcom
Ieresljns,but lhey should aho be followed by
tnunicariveneeds.ITheylearnhow to reier to thc ic*ing fo. comprehension.
present,thcn to thc pasl and future, and $'bse
vocabularyis nuch morc al rhc ccnlerof com
quenllyacquircmodaland aspectualdislinclions. nunication, speakingas sell as comprehensio!,
I n v ie $ o i th c b e l i e ith a l c h i l d re na c q ui real l the lhan i! gramrnar.It is a comnroncxperienccol
basicC.amdar ol Lhei.narivelangulgeby the agc lincuistr and faveler! rhat they can r'erforn fa.
in shich they hare
of five,rr it is interestingto nore rhar rhe !inp1e nore elle.tively in languages
tcDsesciled jn the aboveparagraphare precisell learned a liule eramnar and an extensive
those which have been 5horvnto constitule a locabularythanin thosein whichlhey havenudied
mnrimalcom'nuricati!egrannar (ol \erb Lenset a lot of srammar bur litrle pra.tical locabtrlary.
nr Spanish,basedon LopeBlanch'ssrudyoradulr Althoueh learning*ords is ofren thouChlro b
usagc.Thc carly appearance
of a varieryof p.o- pure dfudgery, recenl experiencewith Suggrcssivcconstrucrions
niay poinl to Ihe desirabili cestopedia
and otherafledive leahing te.hniques
ty ollearningthemearlierthananinimalgramnar hasshownthal vocabularyacquisitioncan, under
*ould requi.e.Acquirineproeresivetorns would tbe right conditions, be rapid, enjorable, and
make the learner'sgrammar nore Datu.al and lasting.rDecjsionson
$hat wordsIo usearclargely
would beeasyto learnCiventhc similarir,v
berween detcrminedby rhe iopic or situalion.Thc tcachcr
Enclish and Spanishprosressiles.
should,however,iacilitatca widc ranscot adivc
coinnuni.atiorin theearlyltagesby aloidingnon
syronymsard nearl!slror! ousexpresions,rhus
Comprehensiondd Oller lactors
tn adorJLinsa grammaf for mininal con- reducinglhe numberof non connunicativechoic$
nnuri.ariveconpe!enceLhereachermun alsocon- thc sludcnt has 10 makc.
siderhos oLheraspectsof rhe couBe \!i11be a|.
Appropriatetestingis one of rhe nosr critical
Itcted. Ho* will lhe proposalsotfered abole fir facros in rheimplemcnration
ofcourseobjectivcs.
irrlo lhe roral couAe i.anewo.k. aDd, dore For students.the eoah of a cou6e are definedby
specifically,
whalcounecomponenrs
mun bgiven thetesrsino marlcrwharrheteachersays.A n.adi
nicreasedor chaneedempbasiswhenthe anounr tionaldiscrere'point
Irammaf testwillnegateBuch

cttt ^a
FOR LIC N LA N C LJA C ! A N N A LS

52
ollhe motivalionaleffe.t oi connunicarire pra.
tice in clasr.(Irlvill aho be iNreasinglydifiicult
to constructsithin the limiG ol a ninifral granmar.)An oraltulervjew,ratinelhestudcnts'global
compclcncein comhunication,sill betrertell the
reacherwharIhe sludenrshaveacconrplished,
and
will shos lhe studertsthal they harc bccDwork
ing to a l ta i nth e fe a l o b j e c ri v eosf l he cousc.,,
just discusscd
Thc componcDls
do not cxhausi
jnvolvedir desigringa
the lisr of considerations
conduni.ative cou6e. -lhe rea.her ntusl make
maDycreatireadapialions
ofaDy curreDltexlbook.
This is noi alwayscasysinc.mostaurhorsconrder
il a vi.ruc to intgratethe g.annar as nuch a!
posible inlo thc readines,di!loeues,and olheractivities of the chapter. Thc sludcnts,with the
tcachcfseuidancc,shouldoftcn crcatetheir o*n
language
situations.
Thc rcfcrcnccs
madcprcvjous
ly to thc noiional tunctionalsyllabuscan p.ovide
a tranreworkfor planning cla$ objeclivesand
acriliries., There aho exisc a ianly abundanr
lireratu.cgivinep.aclic!1suegcsiions
for laneuagc
a. q u i !i ti o na c ti v n i e \.' ,

Ibr g.eatly
I havcmadesomespeciiicluggestions
r c d u c j n sth e g .a m n a ti c a l o a d o f a beti nnl ng
Spannhcou6c and have shoivnthat this can be
don c tri rh o uat b a n d o n i n s th c tra d i ri onal
obj ecri ve
of c o n v e rs i nBgi Ih n e a rl yna ti v eg ra nnal i calpar'
lerns on son rangeof topics.This is not ro sa,v
tha!allstudenl!.eachlh; goal.'fhereis $ide va.iain then rareof
lion in accuracydue10difre.ences
lea.ning.But, by severelylimiting gramnar con'
t en t, c o n c e n r.a ri n g
o r o ra l re sponses,
sel f
o i l isteD i ng
comx p re si o n ,a n dth ed e !e l o p me rl
preh.rior, rhe teachertrill fnrd rhat all srudenrs
do learn to rcspond appropriatcly, exprcss
thenselv$ inlellisibly,and comprchcDd
\hat lhcy
Wbaleversuccess
studerls adrievc i'r ach'ally
conrmunicalingjn SpaDishis a vry st.ong
notivatinS fo.cc, Nol leastamongrhe benetilsoi
halins hore moddted ltudentsi5thaLtheLeach*\
tall is nore enjoyable.

NOI L S
an,rle i! n revi\ed reFio. ofa pape. gircn
in Spanishar the Ihnd Conlcrcncc Ior F.reign Languige
Teache$ al lounsnosn SrareUniv.trity (Youn-qnoNr,
O h io ) o n No ve m b e r 3 , lr 7 r .
lsandr! I Savigno., ar,,r!ni.atic
Ca p.knd: /1,
E\petirte,t i,r Farcign LaneuaE 1.d.rt8 (Philadcllhia:
rThcprs.

Ceiter nt Cudlulun

Developmem, 1972), p. 9.

rPchoDalcxJrcricr.chas(ntri.c.jme ol !helrulh oi
these a$cnio.s. lhq xfc also Savisnor's najor
s h i c ha l l e c to u r d e o 'f o r a l i s c u s s i o n o lr h e l a c r o r N
rons on *har ro say,sceChaprcr5, TIrc Edrnoaraphy
ol Spcafrrg, 'n, Nlal.dln Cornhrrd, An lnLodrction
10 Dn.rrrs. /rr1)in (L.ndon: Longmar, l9?l), pD.
l0 51.
5 H e l e n ! .$ r a r i n e r ,
" H i C hS c h o o l F o r c i S n L a n g r aSc
T e l r \ : T o o V u c h B e r R e ernh e C o v s s b C o v d , 'F o r e i 8 ,
LonZuaE.Annals,ll \1914).551-57.
Thc Droblcmcxists
jLrl as much in colles. tcxt
is nruchthe
'A minimal cdnnunicarivecompelence
samcasdrc dredrold Level' .f c.inpeteicedes.ribdd
in thefti chaprerolLA. lan Lk s TheThrcsholdLerel
Jat Mo.leth La4tag Leanlirf t, S.rodh (Londdn:
L o r C D a n .1 9 1 7 )t,t 5 l l
7Tfa.y T.rcll. .\ Natur!l ADror.h ro lhe Teachiis
oi Verb rornb and runcrion nr S!annh." 1,rek"
LaneuaeeAnndls, 13 (1980),i2t-r6. Scc aho Albcn
valdmrn "ComnunicaliveUseof I-aneuace
andSyllabus
DeslE, Fot.ilh ta,tuute A,,rl, ll (1978),56?-78.
l F o r r c o m p d r i s o . o t l h e e r a m m abra s e d s y u a b u s a n d
one desis.edl.r a conmu.iclrive co!6e, secChapter
I or D.,\. lvilkfx Nbrirral.S/lahuses:
A td\oh.htt onl
ns rcldane loJarcign lanEudE.ctticthnn derelapnpnt
(Oxford: Oxford Univ. Prc$, 1976),pp. 1.20.
tFor ntrrhernrformarions.cChaprcrl, Varicri.sol
Laneuae., in Muricl Savill. Traik , TheEthraEtuph!
.f CaD,"u i.aIion: A hto.lr.ra, (lralrinrore:
Univer
n t y P a r k P" r e s s ,1 9 3"2 )F, t . 5 1 1 0 7 .
"'Jurn L.te Bianch, La reduc.ioDdel sislen[ ver
bal en el esFnol de Niexrco,"in his asrrdios robr. r/
espanol .le M6i.a (Mexico: Unjvenidad Nacional
Aut6nomadc N1irico,1972),pp. l,1l 55 A \.r) usclLrl
nndy by Josic. Morcnode Alba, t/dlaresdelasJarntas
retbaleter el espanalde Maxno (Nlexico:Lrnive$idad
Na.ional A!16nomade Niirico. 1973),uonr.i to.$.n
rially thc saDcconclusions
and nrclud.snarisricaldara
on i.equcncyoioccurrcnceoirhe lensesand ftequency
ol rariou: u\age5ol each1r.s..
"\,1orcnodc ALbaiirds ihar t*o.lhifds ol Ihc nscsof
r h e l a m i l i a r i n r p e r a t i r e a r e a l l e nel ieolnl i n s c l i c h i s , $ c h
as,lid (look),,_ve(ln'en),/rar (nore)(jr. I r6). rhe im
perarive,famillarorlo.mal, in SFai.a\ wellaJi. SFanish
Ajirc.i.a,n nruchlcs poh., cvcnwtrhpor/rvrf (!lcasc),
rha. h Ed!lish !rd orhcr la.guagcsiscctltc dircussion
bj_[niLio Lor.[o,
La c\lfcsian d. Luegoy de nan.
dato cD cspanol, in his t/ ?lpanol .1. hor, lensuaen
e r l l f t i n r ( v a d r i d : C r e d o r , 1 9 7 1 ) p, r . 9 r l 0 r L o t e
Bh.ch !\o.o1es rhlr rhehona!\c suhjrnctivc,.rrrcrror,
n ire{rusrl} .erlacedby a p!'^Aht^\.. rdnlost entat,
or a \i.rple lnlerio!aiive, ;e,totno\? (r, 113)
':Accordins kr Vorcro de Alba, the tuturc t..sc has
a l $ ! l . . q L c n c yo i o c c u r e n . el s p o k c nS p a n i s h , 08 q 0
(1rn roundby william Bull Io bc over rhrceunes dor.
f.!qucnrinw.irren sourccsi\.cBull\ "\1o{lern Spanith
V.fb.lorm l reqre.cir\, ' 1tul"ru, 30 (l9r?), 45166)
l n a n u d ) o f r h e c x n r e s i o i o lf u r u r c r i m e w i t h l n d i . a t i lc
lor!r,Ihc futLtrcren!ciJ !scd ody 2101ol lhe tnne,prc-

F E B R U A R Y]9 E4
16?0.d' 1. , , p. u.
.e n' . '
. I r i i. c 5 00\ \ 4 o r e n o.
'6DerekEicke(on,,,Pidsinizarionandcreoliution:
'
Alba, p.92) I-oDeBl.nch obscnesrhat
rhe futurerenrc I a n g r d - . A . . t r . r 'r o n
I q n g l d g eU 1 i . e . . i r , . r " d
6 usedm.( oiten as a furure or probabihy (p. 145)i \ t 'e r \ ^ t J a d t . P i t *,"nn.da d a - p o l r t . L a u N . .. f t a a m
\."1 1e. V. enuoe \ t od t nd. i b t u r r r r . e l 4 !
inelon: lndia.a Univ Prcs, 19?7),pp .19_69.
uscdIn a r.mnorat,not a conjcc'ural,s..j 78oftof rtrc
r o h n l . \ . h u nd n i I n p t re . o r, o n , J en . / r , o r .
d ( - r e o l a r . o o o r I r . \ r r d ) o A d l l r s " , rd I r l g u a ! ,
"q' c t u n i 'i o 1 .
rrL opc Blanc h,pJ r .
o e d l o n n H s . l u m " l n d 1 d\ q n ! ) ( r . .
l, 1155.
.on, \pn l ranrpt t1 Sp r4d t rryLdEe t
'l o . e d
|, p. t 4r ,
ea.nhL
hd.
t
.
,
npe
.
.
.
I
n
'.
"' c
(Rowley,MA: Nesbury touse, r974),D. l40.
d !d i\"
on. '
L c d o' t ' t pJ ho! ! . r , u m , J i . r .
bur cspeciallr, rcrull' oi condirionalsen(encesi
in-lhe
in
{u d , e , . e r I . q ,e . e I L o $ r t ,.,. N { \ (
Moreno dc Alba, p. 103,howcve.ionly rheconditio.al s p r 'r p ' J r d e m e 'I
o \p..1d-t,,d,qge,eJ.rer\' | |
ienscn usedin therelnr clauseof.ondirionalscnrences r o r r ' J ( o m r 1 1 c J
o| A RelicL
/i" Mo./rl
lrln ord.r to cxpre$
the pertlctivcartecrot lhe Iaxer LahEuase Jarrnal, 66 (1982), 211 83
!e
.
, . r hF. olo! Lr .| , ) ! uaB,or ' eod\ J r . r . ! t . o t F
:eVickiCalloway,,.perccptions
ot !heConrnunicari!c
p rc. i e. I . h
I e. ' t t pe, r r r c ! 1. e. r .o r i . t d . ,
F foll.o Amelldr.rLdq .otspa .h, thp Uodet,
re n! eqnir! bi . . ' 04 i. t e. ir r p r er c .r ! . . q t r . b ,
Lar.8,aee routnat, 64 (t98q, 128-tl
'
q hi.h '
d. r r l
r.! ,
r., r,,on,.
"5e..ere1,.aroo,.,r,
'\o
o , r n r r d m d 1 .. . ( o m
. on. ' 1. ns r , . o , I i
o l" L, ef "r ' ' . ( . . o. ,'!,"c o
m u n 'c a t i v U
c s e . . . , ,p . 5 7 5 .
)d\. a G \ t a. , j r - 0, t \ t p, . p. .) a. . , 1ondr , o t J e r .
"Cusalo Conzilez,..TheAcquiririonot Cranuarical
td 4 ott d! t r t o. | \ . et 4p. . , at n Fa"o aoa n o d on a p e <r u r u r e b j v e \ . , d r
A m e . , " n I I t d , p n ,i 1 . I I d L " '
d ld' . p 41, ir \ t { er . oJ e a bd . . udy , t ! . u , u r - do
Ho.indcz Chivez,Andrew D. CohenandAnrhonv
'
o! ! uh. ' ! 6
ic . r J ' . o t . 88u) . . r h e m $ t r - | . B e . nd n o . L t t p q
t
o ! , d , , w . , n i , " u r 1 l o e r o . r ,v A .
'lp.
conjc.ruralmeanins(p. l0O).
er rer or Aprhcd I ing' c.. q-1, pn 220 I A torni
'
ai.
, 1. ! r - qr ,
h ?..s.r.
n T a e r o . o ' c r . b l i . t ^d . L n 1 . h e . F. . r p r o d. , r . \ !
h Lr.e )
a. \ t | | o i l c r t p .
nrlelnr irj rheforn nly havebeenusedcorccrly before,
- , ot ? ) , 1t ,r . . - q?r a,
T, . f et , , |. v . o. . , , L n . eo t . r .
but^l'mrtedro cenain verbsor set erpresions
condnionalpcraeclii only o.Ol0/0
accordjnsro Ntorcnc
"rhethesislharsynlaxevotvesouloicorveAaii.n:l
(d$ou^e) nflcru.es is discused by Evelyn Halch.
rrJuan LopeBla.ch,
Sobreelusodel prerernoenel
''Discourc Analysn,Spec.hActs.and Ssond Lanen,qe
espaaolde Mixicoj ' jn hisErtudiastubrcc! apanotde
Leanjng," in ed. wilriad C. R it.hie, se.oadLan;u;e
.l'r',!.? (Metico: Univesidad Nacio.al Aur6nona dc Acquisition
Reseorch:t$les and tnptuatia8 tNew \otk:
va \ico , 1972)pp.
, t 2719.
A c a d c m i cP r e $ , t 9 ? 8 ) ,p p , [ 7 - 5 5 .
!Pau r M(nrtrt, The
AcAurhah ud Dewtupncnt
o/
a,r{!d8E rEnglcunoJ(hlf\. N l prenrce.Halt,lo-t),
.,The
variabte Consrrinrs on
':oJame!P La.toti,
Mood in Puc(o RicanAnerican Spanish,, in cd.
"Sec Carol,\. Xatcs,praazatisand Senantits:Ar
NtargarnaSuricr, Cantehp.rat! Shl.liesh Ronan.e
Enpnicisr Theor! llthaca, Ny: Cornelt tjniv p.cs,
Zi,szdrts (w!!hhsron: CeorsetoRn
Univ.pres, 19?8), 1980),p. ll4, ro. a dir.ussionor judies
shownrgrhar
pp. 191217.Srudieson Nlexica.a.d Njcxjcan-Amcrica.
''the conrexrualfador
is ofsuchrundamcn(at
inponance
varietiesoi spa.ish arc alsodn.u$ed.
ihat $ne ulEnrcs aie virrua y uninrcllicjbtcshen
t a k e no u t o f c o n r e x r ',
llThe useof aioidance
s5Padicularlynnerenins
asa comnunicarionnrarcgy
in lhn resardare lhe obseF
explainswhy mistatesinvolvinssubjunctivedo not o.
\ r n o n s o f E a r l \ \ *e \ r t . M . n b r r , V e n n e r n l
cu rasor t enas oncdr ghtpr edic rSc
. . J Sc ha c h r e r , , , A n Vethal: Sohe Ps\th.lqt.dt pe'spe.tnet
ah L.reu.te
Eror in Enor Analysis,,tdrAuaqeLeornjq, 2t (j914),
,@r,rA (Rowle}, MA: NewburyHoure, t976).
2 05 I1.
"On rhenorivarionalvatueotproperrcnins.s.c Etana
'?rThereis so'ne evjd.nce,ho\ecvq,rhar subjundile Shohany, "Arrecrivc Considerarionsin Lansuaee
lorhs arc sebanricalty
\iCnifica.r,accordingro Lamotf, resina," The Modem Luryldse
.towhat, 66 \is8;),
ll 17. SccalsoSavignon,p 47, ior noded evatuatio.
,Error
"Ja.k C Ri.hards,
Analy\is and SecoDd
, in cd. John H.
L anguageSrrategies,
rTconcemingslude.l
Schumannand
inrpuron syllabus
desien,seeLin
Nanct Srenson,Ne|| tiohliers h Se.andLdnsuae.
da L. Harlower al.,..srudenlperceivcd
conmunicarion
Zerrfta (Roslel, i\,lA: NewburyHouse,197.t),p. 45. Necds:
ldraslructure of rhe Func!ionat/Norionai
''Th is . 5nNpt ion is bas i.r o lher c . hniqueosf , 'e r r o l Svla6ns,t
tbtdsn Laryrase Anhuts,t5 t.1982),j122.
a na lysis ir Sc cf or
, ex adple,HeidiC.Dut a,in d i l l a r i n a
"A recenranicle n Sknhen A. Sados. .,Crcarive
K. Bu rr , Yo! Canl I eaf n W it hour Coo t i r g : A n
Problem-SoirinSlor rhc Foreien Lan8uageClas,,,
,Liio^,,i. in ed
Analysi\ofChild.n\ Sc.ord Language
I:ateisr LdnluaEe ,1,,"k, l6 (1981). tr5 20. See
.lackC. Richalds,Erro.,4rrlfsrr: pet\pe.tiwson Se.and refcre.ces
cired rhcrc rd lunhcr sour.e\.
LunEuaS.A.Auisitian t.Londan:Loredan, t9lj), pp

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