Applied linguistics
Encyclopedia
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education
, linguistics
, psychology
, computer science
, anthropology
, and sociology
.
, computer-mediated communication
(CMC), conversation analysis
, contrastive linguistics
, sign linguistics, language assessment
, literacies
, discourse analysis
, language pedagogy
, second language acquisition
, lexicography
, language planning
and policies, stylistics, pragmatics
, forensic linguistics
, and translation
.
Major journals of the field include Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, International Review of Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Issues in Applied Linguistics, and Language Learning.
, and has always maintained a socially accountable role, demonstrated by its central interest in language problems.
Although the field of applied linguistics started from Europe and the United States, the field rapidly flourished in the international context.
Applied linguistics first concerned itself with principles and practices on the basis of linguistics. In the early days, applied linguistics was thought as “linguistics-applied” at least from the outside of the field. In the 1960s, however, applied linguistics was expanded to include language assessment, language policy
, and second language acquisition. As early as the 1970s, applied linguistics became a problem-driven field rather than theoretical linguistics
. Applied linguistics also included solution of language-related problems in the real world. By the 1990s, applied linguistics has broadened including critical studies and multilingualism. Research of applied linguistics was shifted to "the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language is a central issue."
United States
In the United States, applied linguistics also began narrowly as the application of insights from structural linguistics—first to the teaching of English in schools and subsequently to second and foreign language teaching. The linguistics applied approach to language teaching was promulgated most strenuously by Leonard Bloomfield, who developed the foundation for the Army Specialized Training Program
, and by Charles C. Fries, who established the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Michigan
in 1941. In 1948, the Research Club at Michigan established Language Learning: A Journal of Applied Linguistics, the first journal to bear the term applied linguistics. In the late 1960s, applied linguistics began to establish its own identity as an interdisciplinary field concerned with real-world language issues. The new identity was solidified by the creation of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in 1977.
United Kingdom
The British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) was established in 1967. Its mission is "the advancement of education by fostering and promoting, by any lawful charitable means, the study of language use, language acquisition and language teaching and the fostering of interdisciplinary collaboration in this study [...]" http://www.baal.org.uk/about_constit.pdf
Australia
Australian applied linguistics took as its target the applied linguistics of mother tongue teaching and teaching English to immigrants. The Australia tradition shows a strong influence of continental Europe and of the USA, rather than of Britain. Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) was established at a national congress of applied linguists held in August 1976. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/alaa/
Japan
In 1982, the Japan Association of Applied Linguistics (JAAL) was established in the Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET) in order to engage in activities on a more international scale. In 1984, JAAL became an affiliate of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA).http://www.jacet.org/about-e.html
America
Europe
Oceania
Asia
Others
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
Domain
Major branches of applied linguistics include bilingualism and multilingualismMultilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
, computer-mediated communication
Computer-mediated communication
Computer-mediated communication is defined as any communicative transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers...
(CMC), conversation analysis
Conversation analysis
Conversation analysis is the study of talk in interaction . CA generally attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction, whether institutional or in casual conversation.Inspired by ethnomethodology Conversation analysis (commonly abbreviated as CA) is the...
, contrastive linguistics
Contrastive linguistics
Contrastive linguistics is a practice-oriented linguistic approach that seeks to describe the differences and similarities between a pair of languages .-History:...
, sign linguistics, language assessment
Language assessment
Language assessment or language testing is a field of study under the umbrella of applied linguistics. Its main focus is the assessment of first, second or other language in the school, college, or university context; assessment of language use in the workplace; and assessment of language in the...
, literacies
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, discourse analysis
Discourse analysis
Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event....
, language pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
, second language acquisition
Second language acquisition
Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...
, lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
, language planning
Language planning
Language planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure, or acquisition of languages or language variety within a speech community. It is often associated with government planning, but is also used by a variety of non-governmental organizations, such as grass-roots...
and policies, stylistics, pragmatics
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, and linguistics. It studies how the...
, forensic linguistics
Forensic linguistics
Forensic linguistics is the application of linguistic knowledge, methods and insights to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. It is a branch of applied linguistics...
, and translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
.
Major journals of the field include Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, International Review of Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Issues in Applied Linguistics, and Language Learning.
History
The tradition of applied linguistics established itself in part as a response to the narrowing of focus in linguistics with the advent in the late 1950s of generative linguisticsGenerative linguistics
Generative linguistics is a school of thought within linguistics that makes use of the concept of a generative grammar. The term "generative grammar" is used in different ways by different people, and the term "generative linguistics" therefore has a range of different, though overlapping,...
, and has always maintained a socially accountable role, demonstrated by its central interest in language problems.
Although the field of applied linguistics started from Europe and the United States, the field rapidly flourished in the international context.
Applied linguistics first concerned itself with principles and practices on the basis of linguistics. In the early days, applied linguistics was thought as “linguistics-applied” at least from the outside of the field. In the 1960s, however, applied linguistics was expanded to include language assessment, language policy
Language policy
Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
, and second language acquisition. As early as the 1970s, applied linguistics became a problem-driven field rather than theoretical linguistics
Theoretical linguistics
Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is most concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered the core of theoretical linguistics are syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics...
. Applied linguistics also included solution of language-related problems in the real world. By the 1990s, applied linguistics has broadened including critical studies and multilingualism. Research of applied linguistics was shifted to "the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language is a central issue."
United States
In the United States, applied linguistics also began narrowly as the application of insights from structural linguistics—first to the teaching of English in schools and subsequently to second and foreign language teaching. The linguistics applied approach to language teaching was promulgated most strenuously by Leonard Bloomfield, who developed the foundation for the Army Specialized Training Program
Army Specialized Training Program
The Army Specialized Training Program was a military training program instituted by the United States Army during World War II at a number of American universities to meet wartime demands for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills...
, and by Charles C. Fries, who established the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1941. In 1948, the Research Club at Michigan established Language Learning: A Journal of Applied Linguistics, the first journal to bear the term applied linguistics. In the late 1960s, applied linguistics began to establish its own identity as an interdisciplinary field concerned with real-world language issues. The new identity was solidified by the creation of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in 1977.
United Kingdom
The British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) was established in 1967. Its mission is "the advancement of education by fostering and promoting, by any lawful charitable means, the study of language use, language acquisition and language teaching and the fostering of interdisciplinary collaboration in this study [...]" http://www.baal.org.uk/about_constit.pdf
Australia
Australian applied linguistics took as its target the applied linguistics of mother tongue teaching and teaching English to immigrants. The Australia tradition shows a strong influence of continental Europe and of the USA, rather than of Britain. Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) was established at a national congress of applied linguists held in August 1976. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/alaa/
Japan
In 1982, the Japan Association of Applied Linguistics (JAAL) was established in the Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET) in order to engage in activities on a more international scale. In 1984, JAAL became an affiliate of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA).http://www.jacet.org/about-e.html
Societies
- International Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.aila.info/)
America
- American Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.aaal.org/)
- Center for Applied LinguisticsCenter for Applied LinguisticsThe Center for Applied Linguistics is a private, nonprofit organization that describes its mission as “working to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture”...
(http://www.cal.org/) - Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.aclacaal.org/)
- Asociación Mexicana de Lingüística Aplicada (http://www.cele.unam.mx/amla/)
- Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de América Latina/Associação de Lingüística e Filologia da América Latina (http://www.mundoalfal.org/)
Europe
- Association Belge de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.abla.be/)
- Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (http://www.aesla.uji.es/)
- Association Finlandaise de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~kmantyla/afinla/!index.html)
- Association Française de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.afla-asso.org/)
- Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata (http://www.aitla.unimo.it/)
- Association Néerlandaise de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.aila.info/about/org/ic.htm#SG)
- Association Norvegienne de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.hf.ntnu.no/anla/)
- Association Suédoise de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.nordiska.su.se/asla/)
- Association Suisse de Linguistique Appliquée (http://www.vals-asla.ch/cms/)
- British Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.baal.org.uk/)
- Estonian Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.eki.ee/rakenduslingvistika/)
- Gesellschaft für Angewandte Linguistik (http://www.gal-ev.de/)
- Greek Applied Linguistics Association (http://www.enl.auth.gr/gala/)
- Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.iraal.ie/)
- Polish Association of Applied Linguistics
Oceania
- Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand (http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/alanz/alanz.html)
- Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/alaa/)
Asia
- Asian Association of TEFL (Asia TEFL) (http://www.asiatefl.org/)
- Applied Linguistics Association of Korea (http://www.alak.or.kr/)
- China English Language Education Association (http://www.celea.org.cn/)
- Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.haal.hk/)
- Japan Association of College English Teachers (http://www.jacet.org/index.html)
- Japan Association of Language Teachers (http://www.jalt.org/)
- Linguistic Society of the Philippines (http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/inside/organizations/lsp/default.asp)
- Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.saal.org.sg/)
Others
- Israel Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.tau.ac.il/~ilash/)
- Southern African Applied Linguistics Association (http://www.saala.org.za/)
See also
- List of linguists
- Glossary of language teaching terms and ideasGlossary of language teaching terms and ideasLanguage teaching, like other educational activities, may employ specialized vocabulary and word use. This list is a glossary for English language learning and teaching using the communicative approach.- Accuracy - Burnout :...
- Internet linguisticsInternet linguisticsInternet linguistics is a sub-domain of linguistics advocated by David Crystal. It studies new language styles and forms that have arisen under the influence of the Internet and other New Media, such as Short Message Service text messaging...
Further reading
- Berns, M., & Matsuda, P. K. (2006). Applied linguistics: Overview and history. In K. Brown (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of language and linguistics (2nd ed.; pp. 394–405). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
- Cook, G. (2003) Applied Linguistics (in the series Oxford Introduction to Language Study), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Davies, A. & Elder, C. (eds.) (2004) Handbook of Applied Linguistics, Oxford/Malden, MA: Blackwell.
- Hall, C. J., Smith, P. H. & Wicaksono, R. (2011). Mapping Applied Linguistics. A Guide for Students and Practitioners. London: Routledge.
- Johnson, Keith & Johnson, Helen (1999) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, Oxford/Malden, MA: Blackwell.
- McCarthy, Michael (2001) Issues in Applied Linguistics, Cambridge University Press.
- Pennycook, Alastair (2001) Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Schmitt, Norbert (2002) An Introduction to Applied Linguistics, London: Arnold.