Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2006032s16 JIN JUNjie1Concepts of Language TeachingAs a professional field of study, education draws on a number of other studies, such as philosophy, psychology, or sociology, as source disciplines. So as a multidisciplinary source discipline, it is commonly divided into several disciplines: philosophy of education, history of education, educational psychology, educational sociology, economics of education, educational administration and organization, educational planning, comparative education, curriculum, and educational technology. Then we briefly examine the sub-disciplines listed above. philosophy of education: philosophers of education have interpreted the contribution of educational philosophy in different ways; generally it is or should be concerned with: analysis of educational issues; clarification; tackling abstract educational questions, seeking general perspectives on education, .etc. Language pedagogy is undeniably influenced by them. Of particular importance for language pedagogy is the analysis of concepts including so many sharing terms and the discussion of values like the importance of language learning as a curriculum activity in any educational scheme. history of education: the history of language pedagogy forms part of the history of education which provides the wider context, and while language teaching has been subjected to influences which in some ways set it apart from the general historical development of education, in most respects the history of language teaching can be better understood in the framework of educational history. educational psychology: it covers every aspect of education from a psychological angle including language teaching, second language learning, learner factors, conditions of learning and the learning process, .etc., so educational psychology is central to educational theory. educational sociology: we can study the macro-sociological factors including schools and other educational institutions as agencies within a society, and study the micro sociological factors including teacher-student relations, class composition, size, social climate, and group activities. economics of education: the relatively new branch of educational studies applies economics to education from two points of view. Its first major concern is to establish the economic benefits of education, which has been of particular importance to developing countries in deciding on the distribution of limited resources. The second approach provides the necessary cost accountancy of educational choices and decisions by making an assessment of costs and benefits of specific educational measures in comparison with other measures. educational administration and organization: the tasks of administration are varied: the proper functioning of the entire system, the management of finances, of school buildings and services, .etc. Most educational systems have a three-tier administrative structure: central, regional or local, and institutional. And most educational systems are organized in three broad stages: primary, secondary, tertiary or post-secondary education. However, in countries in which languages are politically, educationally, or socially sensitive issues, particularly in bilingual and multilingual countries, special problems do arise. educational planning: an educational system is a large and complex organization which involves the coordination of many components: personnel, students, parents, curriculum, learning materials, buildings, equipment, finance, and so on. None of the factors involved in the system is static, so planning does not mean an inflexible central control and itself includes constant renewal and revision. comparative education: comparative education studies educational institutions and process form two points of view. First, it studies education in a country or region in the context of that countrys or regions culture, society, and economy; second it undertakes cross-cultural comparisons of particular educational phenomena across different Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2006032s16 JIN JUNjie2countries such as the curriculum, school examinations, the relations between home and school, the role of the teacher, central or local educational administration. However, it has been criticized for being too subjective and impressionistic. curriculum: It refers, first, to the substance of a programme of studies of an educational institution or system. In a more restricted sense it refers to the course of study or content in a particular subject, such as the mathematics curriculum or the history curriculum. In other words, curriculum is concern with what can and should be taught to whom, when and how. Curriculum theory is concerned with: (1) the underlying ideological and philosophical assumptions of curriculum; (2) the conceptualization