Theoretical Linguistics in the Pre-University Classroom (Proceedings of the British Academy)

Theoretical Linguistics in the Pre-University Classroom showcases the pedagogical potential of theoretical linguistics in remaking encounters with the workings of language in pre-university classrooms. Theoretical linguistics reorients the pursuit of linguistic understanding by moving beyond instrumental skills acquisition towards intellectual discovery. It offers an untapped medium for promoting STEM education (science through language) and can engage a wider student demographic in languages study (language through science). Building on a groundswell of collaborative activity between schoolteachers and university linguists at national and international scales, this volume provides an up-to-date panorama of impact-focused research and grassroots practice emerging from the educational movement of Linguistics in Schools as it enters its 70th decade. Centred around three regional hives – North America, the UK, and Spain – the collection advances a pluralistic vision of theoretical linguistics as a means of expanding the possibilities of what it means to think about, or engage with, language and its workings in non-university settings.