在当代外语教学与研究的文献中 ,“第二语言”和“外语”这两个术语的使用十分混乱 ,很容易引起误解。狭义第二语言和广义第二语言对外语有不同的界定。英语在中国的定位应该是外语而不是第二语言。受两个术语讨论的启发 ,文章就如何看待引进的语言教学理论、中国外语教学的国情以及怎样看待传统教法等问题提出了思考 In the contemporary literature on foreign language teaching and research, the use of the terms “second language” and “foreign language” is very confusing and can easily lead to misunderstandings. Narrowly defined second languages ​​and generalized second languages ​​have different definitions of foreign languages. The positioning of English in China should be a foreign language rather than a second language. Inspired by the discussion of two terms, the article puts forward some thoughts on how to introduce the theory of language teaching, the national conditions of Chinese foreign language teaching and how to treat traditional teaching methods