我国外语教育一直偏重教学实践，轻于理论建设，缺乏明确的学科依托，这已成制约其深入发展的主因之一。因此，强化外语教育理论架构，思考外语教育理论属性，探讨外语教育学科归属，对外语教育发展具有重要意义。本文在前期研究的基础上，重点探讨外语教育学这一新兴学科与应用语言学、教育语言学、二语习得、他语人英语教学和外语课程与教学论的异同，凸显外语教育学的独特性和必要性，为构建外语教育学的独立学科地位奠定理论基础。

Foreign language education in China has long overemphasized the value of teaching practice, overlooked the importance of constructing teaching theories, and as a result received little disciplinary support to its practice. This, among other factors, hinders the further development of Chinas foreign language education. Therefore, it becomes essential and imperative to make explicit the disciplinary nature of foreign language education. This paper illustrates the similarities and differences between Foreign Language Education Studies (FLES)and its related disciplines (i.e. , Applied Linguistics, Educational Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and Foreign Language Curriculum and Pedagogy)so as to further highlight the peculiarities and necessities of FLES and provide sound theoretical basis to construct FLES as a new discipline.