A Psycholinguistic Approach to Language Teaching and Learning: Problems and Prospects

Abstract

Psycholinguistics, otherwise called the psychology of language, studies the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, process, understand and use language. This study investigates the psycholinguistic approach to language teaching and learning. In this paper, an analysis of the major branches and goals of psycholinguistics is made. The paper also dwells on psycholinguistic impact to English language study and its implications to language teaching and learning. The paper also examines the problems and prospects of psycholinguistics as a discipline. In concluding this paper, the writers evaluate the position of recent researchers who affirm that though psycholinguistics as a discipline lacks a clear distinct generative transformational approach to the study of linguistics, it however presents a better picture and widens the scope of studying language in general. Recommendations are made on further ways to study language psychologically.