APPLIED OF LINGUISTICS

APPLIED OF LINGUISTICS

  An Introduction to Applied Linguistics

What is applied linguistics?

 Applied Linguistics is using what we know about :

A.    Language,

B.     How it is learned,

C.     How it is used,

 In order to achieve some purpose or solve some problems in the real world” (Schmitt & Celce-Murcia, 2002, p. 1).  

Defining characteristics of Applied Linguistics

·         Autonomous, multidisciplinary and problem solving: uses and draws on theory from other related fields concerned with language and generates its own theory in order to find solutions to language related problems and issues in the real world.

·         Practical concerns have an important role in shaping the questions that AL will address.

·         Language related problems concern learners, teachers, academics, lawyers, translators, test takers, service providers, etc.

A sample of questions Applied Linguistics

·         How can we teach languages better?

·         How can we diagnose speech pathologies better?

·         How can we improve the training of translators?

·         How can we develop valid language examinations?

Theoretical, Interdisciplinary and Applied Linguistics

Theoretical linguistics •Phonology, •Morphology, •Syntax and structural grammar, •Semantics, •Historical linguistics.

nterdisciplinary linguistics •Psycholinguistics, •Sociolinguistics, •Pragmatics, •Discourse analysis. •Computational and corpus linguistics.

Applied linguistics •Applied linguistics to language education, •Applied linguistics to foreign language education, •Translation studies, •Lexicography.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics

·         Linguistics is primarily concerned with language in itself and in findings ways of analysing language and building theories that describe language.

·         Applied linguistics is concerned with the role of language in peoples’ lives and problems associated with language use in peoples’ lives.

·         Linguistics is essential but not the only feeder discipline.

Applied Linguistics

 

·         Linguistics (the study of the nature, structure and variation of language).

·         Education (teaching, learning, acquisition, assessment).

·         Sociology (the scientific study of human behavior and the study of society).

·         Psychology (the science of mind and behavior, and the application of such knowledge of various spheres of human activity).

·         Anthropology (the scientific study of the origin and behavior of man).

Applied Linguistics or linguistics applied?

Widdowson (2000, p. 5) presents the question in terms of linguistics applied and applied linguistics: “The differences between these modes of intervention is that in the case of linguistics applied the assumption is that the problem can be reformulated by the direct and unilateral application of concepts and terms deriving from linguistic enquiry itself. That is to say, language problems are amenable to linguistics solutions. In the case of applied linguistics, intervention is crucially a matter of mediation . . . applied linguistics . . . has to relate and reconcile different representations of reality, including that of linguistics without excluding others.”

Major Applied Linguistics Organisations

·         TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

·         IATEFL: International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

·         AAAL: American Association for Applied Linguistics.

References BAAL. (1994). Recommendations on Good Practice in Applied Linguistics. British Association for Applied Linguistics . Corder, S. P. (1974). Error Analysis. In Allen J. P. B. and Pit Corder (1974, editors). Techniques in Applied Linguistics (The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics). London: Oxford University Press. Grabe, William. (2002). Applied linguistics: an emerging discipline for the twentieth century. In Robert B. Kaplan (Ed.), Oxford handbook of Applied Linguistics (pp. 3–12). New York: Oxford University Press. Schmitt, N. and Celce-Murcia, M. (2002). An overview of applied linguistics. In Schmitt, N. (ed.), An Introduction to Applied Linguistics. Arnold Press. Widdowson, H. G. (2000). On the limitations of linguistics applied. Applied linguistics, 21(1), 3-25.