Contrastive linguistics and the teaching of a second language

Resumen

This paper deals with the origins and developments of Contrastive Linguistics; its aims and objectives. Contrastive Analysis, in particular, has been used with great advantage for conducting error analysis research, with different results according to different authors. Here some findings are presented taking into account the analysis of errors made by Spanish students in their entrance examination for the University of Valladolid. The conclusion is that Contrastive Linguistics, if "applied" to the teaching and learning of a second language, should be an efficient complementary means of saving a great deal of time in the process of learning a second language, and that the possession by the learner of his mother tongue is a powerful factor not to be ignored but on the contrary to be reckoned with in that process.