Lenguaje, mente y cultura: Reflexiones sobre las fronteras lingüísticas y la enseñanza de idiomas en el umbral del siglo XXI

Abstract

From the cognitive perspective, human language is a system of mental computation, forming a component with three frontiers: facing the interior of the mind with (i) conceptual systems, and, facing the external environment, with (ii) the articulation of speech sounds, and (iii) social action and organization. This reflective article questions certain pedagogical practices of the end of the 20th century which responded to problems of learning situated at these borders, in(i) vocabulary, (ii) pronunciation and (iii) communicative competence. Using a conceptual map provided by the cognitive sciences, a series of considerations arising from new research and recent cultural trends is highlighted, with the intention of contributing to a re-evaluation of the daily task of the language teacher and a reorientation of research priorities in the discipline.