Humanistic
A semiotic tradition of linguistic research considers language as arising from the interaction of a semantic system and a sign system. The organisation of linguistic levels is considered computational. Linguistics is essentially seen as relating to social and cultural studies because different languages are shaped in social interaction by the speech community. Frameworks representing the humanistic view of language include structural linguistics, among others.
Structural analysis means dissecting each linguistic level: phonetic, morphological, syntactic, and discourse, to the smallest units which are then reconnected with structures within a hierarchy of structures and layers. Functional analysis adds to structural analysis the assignment of semantic and other functional roles that each unit may have, including semantic and pragmatic.
Functional linguistics, or functional grammar, is a branch of structural linguistics. In the humanistic reference, the terms structuralism and functionalism are related to their meaning in other human sciences. The difference between formal and functional structuralism lies in the way that the two approaches explain why languages have the properties they have. Functional explanation entails the idea that language is a tool for communication, or that communication is the primary function of language. Linguistic forms are consequently explained by an appeal to their functional value, or usefulness. Other structuralist approaches take the perspective that form follows from the inner mechanisms of the binary or multilayered language system.
Biological
Other linguistics frameworks take as their starting point the notion that language is a biological phenomenon in humans. Generative Grammar is the study of an innate linguistic structure. In contrast to structural linguistics, Generative Grammar rejects the notion that meaning and social interaction affect language. Instead, all human languages are based on a crystallised structure which may have been caused by a mutation exclusively in humans. The study of linguistics is considered as the study of this hypothesised structure.
Cognitive Linguistics, in contrast, rejects the notion of innate grammar, and studies the impact of cognitive constraints and biases on human language. Objects of study include frames, idealised cognitive models, and memes. A closely related approach is evolutionary linguistics which includes the study of linguistic units as cultural replicators. It is possible to study how language replicates and adapts to the mind of the individual or the speech community.
The generative versus evolutionary approach are sometimes called formalism and functionalism, respectively. This reference is however different from the use of the terms in human sciences.
Approaches to Language Teaching and Learning
Abstract—This paper aimed to discuss the statement “Approaches to language teaching can be characterised as the emphasis on certain design features at the expense of others.” Specifically, both grammar-translation method and communicative language teaching method were compared and contrasted. It concluded that no one method is perfect for every teaching situation. For different teaching settings, different methods/methodologies ought to be adopted, ideally, integrated, for they compensate for each other.