在以往十年中,第二语言的教学也许存在着两种主要倾向。第一种倾向涉及认知问题,即成功的语言学习不仅仅取决于好的教材和好的施教,而且还有赖于学习者所采用的一般与各别的方略(strategies)。学习者并非是教师必须为之编制程序的计算机;他们能主动地制定自己的、影响到(如果不是决定)学习途径的教学大纲。第二种倾向涉及到语言描写的性质问题,而语言描写又是语言教学方法的依据。过去把语言描写为一个独立而单一的体系,而现在则把它作为一种社会活动的形式来对待。这两种看法的焦点是,从语言是什么转到语言起什么作用。这两种倾向都有助于目前通常称之为交际性的语言教学。 There have been two main tendencies in the teaching of second language in the past decade. The first is about cognitive problems, that is, successful language learning depends not only on good teaching materials and good teaching but also on general and individual strategies adopted by learners. Learners are not computers on which teachers must program; they can proactively develop their own syllabuses that influence, if not decide, the learning path. The second tendency relates to the nature of language description, and language description is the basis of language teaching methods. In the past, language was portrayed as an independent and unitary system, which is now treated as a form of social activity. The focus of both perspectives is what the function of what goes from language to language. Both of these tendencies contribute to what is now commonly known as communicative language teaching.