"LEARNING" ONE'S LANGUAGE

Authors

  • John Harley McGill University

Abstract

Genet has set down an answer to a question implicit in my title. What is the point of "learning" one's own language? It is to achieve a tone, in the telling of a life that may otherwise be far from satisfactory, and to be guided by that tone. The simplicity of this statement may be deceptive; it has, I suggest, the force of the kind of truth that the humane studies have always been intended to bring into play in people's lives. Recognised as the legitimate aim of language teaching in English, it could make of the study something worthy of the respect it at present deservedly lacks.

Author Biography

John Harley, McGill University

JOHN HARLEY, M.A. St. Andrews and Ed.D. Harvard, is a member of McGill's Department of Instruction in the Teaching of English.

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Published

1966-08-31

How to Cite

Harley, J. (1966). "LEARNING" ONE’S LANGUAGE. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 1(002). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/6573

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Section

Articles