Applied Linguistics [PDF]

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We distinguish linguistics and applied linguistics in terms of difference of orientation. While linguistics is primarily concerned with language in itself and with language problems in so far as they provide evidence for better language description or for teaching a linguistic theory, applied linguistics is interested in 12 Alan Davies and Catherine Elder language problems for what they reveal about the role of language in people’s daily lives and whether intervention is either possible or desirable. What this means is that applied linguistics is as much concerned with context as with language and will therefore be likely to draw on disciplines other than linguistics, for example, anthropology, education, psychology. It also means that the language problems with which applied linguistics concerns itself are often concerned with institutions, for example the school, the work-place, the law-court, the clinic.

than) thirty-year history, however, the field has not only grown to encompass the teaching

Applied linguistics Perhaps no other field in either the humanities or the social sciences has experienced as much debate and discussion in coming to terms with its self-image as has applied linguistics. The term was coined more or less simultaneously in the United States and in Britain in the latter half of the 1950s. In 1956, the University of Edinburgh established the School of Applied Linguistics under the direction of J.C. Catford, and in 1957 the Center for Applied Linguistics was founded in Washington, DC, directed by Charles Ferguson (Strevens 1992: 14). While the two organizations differed in scope, both shared the general aim of promoting and enhancing the teaching of the English language around the world. Thus, from the outset, applied linguistics was a field not only related to the teaching and learning of language, but to the teaching and learning of a specific language – English. Over the course of its (more

and learning of languages other than English, but it has also broadened its vision to include more than language teaching and learning. Rampton (1995b: 234), for instance, contends that the British School of applied linguistics is shifting away from traditional concerns with pedagogy, linguistics and psychology, and towards a more general interest in social phenomena. In fact, there appears to be a general consensus among those who consider themselves to be applied linguists that, in addition

to its traditional base, the field now encompasses such areas as language policy and language planning, lexicography and lexicology, speech therapy, multilingual and language contact studies, language assessment, second language acquisition, literacy, forensic linguistics, and some would even include (although not uncontroversially) stylistics, genre studies, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, language socialization, conversation analysis and translation and interpreting (see Grabe and Kaplan 1992). The field counts a number of internationally recognized journals among its publishing organs, including Applied Linguistics, the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, the International Review of Applied

Linguistics and the International Journal of Applied Linguistics. These journals, among others, espouse editorial policies that have paralleled the expansion of the field and regularly publish articles in many of the areas listed above. Other journals, such as Language Learning, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Research and the Modern Language Journal, have maintained their focus on empirical and, to a lesser extent, theoretical studies, relating to the acquisition and teaching of languages beyond the first. At least two journals focus primarily on the teaching and learning of English (TESOL Quarterly and English Language Teaching Journal), and at least one journal, Spanish Applied Linguistics, founded in 1997, is exclusively dedicated to acquisition research on a language other than English. Still others

are concerned with specific domains, such as Language Testing and the Journal of Second Language Writing. Another sign of the robustness of the field is the increasing number of monograph and book-length volumes published by important academic and commercial presses, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Blackwell, Routledge, Edward Arnold, Pearson, John Benjamins, Kluwer, Lawrence Erlbaum, Elsevier and Ablex. Attendance at conferences such as those sponsored by the American, British, German and Spanish Associations for Applied Linguistics, as well as the International Association of Applied Linguistics, continues to increase. There has also been remarkable growth in the number of universities around the world offering graduate degrees in applied linguistics. Despite its prosperity, the field continues to be nagged by a lack of agreement on the precise nature of applied linguistics as an academic discipline and on how it relates to other domains of linguistics. What, for example, are the fundamental statements around which the field coheres? What precisely is applied in applied linguistics? Is there a theoretical component to applied linguistics or is it only a practical discipline? The early Edinburgh School considered applied linguists to be consumers rather than producers of linguistic theory. The task of applied linguistic activity was to interpret the findings of linguistic research on how languages are learned and used, in order to inform language teaching (Corder 1973: 10). In arguing for an expanded understanding of the domain of applied linguistics to include not just language teaching but also stylistics, language disabilities and

translation, Crystal (1980) proposed that, not only could the findings of linguistic research be made relevant to these areas, but so could its theories and research methods. As applied linguistics expanded its interests beyond the domain of language teaching, it became apparent that disciplines other than linguistics would need to be drawn on in order to develop in-depth understandings and solutions to realworld language problems. Eventually, Widdowson, a disciple of the Edinburgh School, proposed an important distinction between applied linguistics and linguistics applied. The latter concept is closer to the original understanding of the term ‘applied linguistics’; that is, it assumes that language-based real-world problems can be solved exclusively through the application of linguistic theory, methods and findings (Widdowson 1980). The former term recognizes that, while linguistics offers important insights and solutions to language problems, and continues to form the core of applied linguistics, research from other disciplines, such as psychology, anthropology, sociology (and perhaps even philosophy and literary research), can also profitably be brought to bear on these problems. In fact, according to Widdowson (2000a, 2000b), there is good reason to reject the understanding of applied linguistics as linguistics applied, since most language-based problems cannot reasonably be solved through the application of linguistic principles alone. According to Widdowson, the applied linguist serves as a mediator between linguistics and language teaching in order to convert the abstract findings of linguistic research into knowledge that is useful for pedagogical practices

(Widdowson 2000a: 28). This perspective, then, seems to mirror the earlier ‘applied linguists as consumer’ interpretation proposed by Corder. Unlike Corder, however, Widdowson recognizes the necessity for applied linguistics to draw on disciplines outside of linguistics in order to develop its insights and recommendations. One reason for drawing a distinction between applied linguistics and linguistics applied is the worry that, as linguistics itself expands the domain of its own research interests beyond theorizing about autonomous and abstract grammatical systems to recognition of the relevance of context for language use and language learning, the narrow interpretation of applied linguistics as linguistics applied could well make redundant the work of applied linguists (Widdowson 2000a). Furthermore, the need for applied linguistics to draw on disciplines outside of linguistics means that, unlike linguistics proper, it is a genuinely interdisciplinary field. Spolsky (1980: 73) argues that a more appropriate way to mark the distinction between applied linguistics and linguistics proper is to recognize that the former is a ‘relevant linguistics’, while the latter believes there is merit in the autonomous study of language as an object in itself divorced from any real-world use. Another matter of some controversy concerns the brand of linguistics that should inform the activities of applied linguists. Widdowson (2000a: 29–30), for example, argues that generative theory is relevant to language teaching, but it is not the task of the theoretician to demonstrate its relevance. The applied linguist, as the mediator between theory and practice, is charged

with the responsibility of realizing this task. Widdowson contends, for example, that Chomsky’s rejection of language learning as habit formation, and recognition that acquisition is a ‘cognitive and creative process’ in which learners infer possible grammars on the basis of input and biologically determined constraints, has had a major impact on language teaching practice. While learners most certainly draw inferences based on what they hear and see in their linguistic surroundings, it is not at all clear, despite a good deal of research, that their inferences are constrained in the ways predicted by generative theory. What is more, Chomsky’s understanding of ‘creativity’ is quite technical in nature and does not reflect the kind of creativity that others, such as Harris (1981), Bakhtin (1981) or Kramsch (1995), recognize as genuine linguistic creativity (i.e. the ability to create new meanings and forms, especially in the domain of metaphor), and it is this latter kind of creativity that might in the long run be more relevant to the language learning process. Grabe (1992) proposes that, in addition to generative research, applied linguists draw upon work in three other lines of linguistic research: functional and typological theories as seen in the work of Halliday, Chafe, Givon, Comrie and Greenberg; anthropological linguistics and sociolinguistics, represented in the research of Labov, Hymes, Ochs, Gumperz, Fishman and the Milroys; and research which results in descriptive grammars based on corpus linguistic analyses (see ). Interestingly, this latter type of research is criticized by Widdowson (2000a: 24) as too narrow in scope because its focus is on what is done rather than on what is known – although it

has to be added that Widdowson sees some relevance for corpus linguistics, since it is at least able to reflect a partial view of how language is deployed in the real world. What agreement has been achieved seems to point to applied linguistics as a field whose scope of interest is the development of solutions to language-based problems in the real world. To realize its goal, it draws on theoretical, methodological and empirical research from a wide array of disciplines, including (but not limited to) linguistics. One problem with perspective, however, is that it is not clear that all of the work that refers to itself as applied linguistics can legitimately be seen as entailing solutions to real-world problems. For instance, some of the leading journals in applied linguistics publish articles on genre studies, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics that are potentially of interest to applied linguists, but in and of themselves not do purport to solve real-world language problems. The same can be said of the programmes of the important international conferences in the field. The argument could be made that this type of research, while not really applied in nature, is at least relevant to applied linguistics, and therefore could be included within its domain. But this same argument can be made for work in linguistics proper; yet it is not likely that such research would find its way into the field’s journals or conferences. Where, then, are we to draw the line? If we draw it too broadly, everything could be included within applied linguistics; if we draw it too narrowly, some of the areas that have been traditionally included under the umbrella of applied linguistics would be left out. If applied linguistics does not stay focused on solving real-

world language-based problems, then it might eventually be taken over by linguistics itself, as the parent discipline is no longer content with analysis of language as an autonomous object but has become increasingly interested in contexualized language learning and use (Widdowson 2000a). Yet, if the problem-solving focus is to be the distinguishing feature of applied linguistics, we might even question whether an area such as second language acquisition research should be legitimately included in applied linguistics. Some SLA researchers, especially those working within the framework of Universal Grammar, have in fact claimed that their project is not about solving real-world problems and might better be situated within the domain of theoretical linguistics. This argument is not without merit, as such research can be construed as an attempt to explore whether or not the same constraints that operate in first language acquisition also hold for languages acquired later in life. This is not to suggest that SLA research is not relevant to applied linguistics, but it does point to the complexities entailed in deciding whether a particular research programme meets the criteria for inclusion within applied linguistics. In laying the foundation for linguistics as the science of languages, Saussure proposed that if linguistics was to operate as a legitimate scientific enterprise it would be necessary to overlook how people actually use and learn languages in their lifeworld. He thus created the illusion of language as an autonomous object, akin to the objects of the physical universe, so it could be studied in accordance with the principles of scientific enquiry (see Crowley 1996). This viewpoint has dominated much of

the research in linguistics to the present day. Kaplan (1980a: 64) believes, however, that despite an assumption that applied linguistic research adheres to the principles of scientific investigation, applied linguists might, on occasion, have to sacrifice allegiance to these principles in their commitment to find solutions to language-based human problems. Kaplan (1980a: 63) contends that for this reason applied linguists are ‘the most humanistic breed of linguists’. Perhaps, then, applied linguistics would be more appropriately situated alongside literary, historical and even some branches of psychological research as a human, rather than as a social, science (see Polkinghorne 1988). Even though a humanistic applied linguistics manages to bring people back into the picture, it continues to foreground language over people as its proper object of study. Another way to conceptualize applied linguistics is as the human science that is interested in the theoretical, as well as empirical, study of people as linguistic beings. Applied linguistics, according to this view, investigates how people come to participate linguistically with other people in communities of practice and how they mediate their activities within these communities. It also seeks to uncover and understand the sources and consequences of problems that arise when people experience difficulties fully participating in communities of practice and attempts to help people develop ways of overcoming such difficulties. It also undertakes to understand the ways in which people succeed or fail

in their attempts to participate in new communities of practice, and it seeks to develop appropriate means to assist them in their efforts. All of this clearly distinguishes applied linguistics from linguistics proper, which has as its object of study language, not people. J.P.L. Suggestions for further reading Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (2000) 20. Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R. (eds) (1992) Introduction to Applied Linguistics, Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. Rampton, B. (1995b) ‘Politics and change in research in applied linguistics’, Applied Linguistics 16: 231–56. Widdowson, H. (2000b) ‘On the limitation of linguistics applied’, Applied Linguistics 21: 2–25.