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Taming the chaos of the modern World – Personal linguistic experience and language awareness as a mark of the quality of university education5 Hadrian Lankiewicz (University of Gdask) Key words: ecology, educational linguistics, language awareness, linguistic identity, quali- ty in education Introduction The primary theoretical background of this article rests firmly upon the models of language pertaining to perceiving it as an ongoing interaction “a vehicle for realization of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social transac- tions between individuals” (Richards & Rodgers: 1999: 17), rather than a fixed code – should it be an accumulative product of former generations as stipulated by Saussure – or an idealized concept as suggested by Chomsky. The new dimension of language found strong support in the psychological learning paradigm initiated by Lev Vygotsky, commonly referred to as sociocultural constructivism or constructionism. Recently, Leo van Lier (2004) has made a strong call for ecological linguis- tics underlying the value of the context in language development as a personal experience hinged on the process of meaning making – semiosis. Giving lan- guage a central position in human development in his “ecological philosophy”, he makes an additional call for educational linguistics as a separate discipline to deal with language learning and language use in the school milieu to raise students and teachers’ language awareness. In his opinion educational linguistics should be an integral component of teacher education not only to enhance his/her communication abilities but also to make him/her aware of language – a powerful instrument – which is in his/her possession....