Controversies in Applied Linguistics


Book Description

There are several issues in English teaching on which applied linguists take very different positions: e.g. linguistic imperialism, the validity of critical discourse analysis, the pedagogic relevance of corpus descriptions of language, the theoretical bases of second language acquisition research, the nature of applied linguistics itself. This book presents exchanges between scholars arguing different positions, and directs attention to the key points at issue.




Explorations of Chinese Theoretical and Applied Linguistics


Book Description

This volume explores the implications of Chinese for linguistic theory building and for the field of second language acquisition. Bringing together selected papers from the first International Symposium on Chinese Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, it sheds light upon under-documented topics in a variety of areas within theoretical and applied research. The topics covered here include competing approaches within optimality theory to phonological opacity, formal solutions to puzzles in Shanghainese morphosyntax, and different approaches to polarity items and presentational sentences in Chinese. With regard to applied linguistics, the contributions in this volume address challenges in the acquisition of Chinese phonology by L1 Danish speakers as well as the acquisition of the Mandarin ba construction by Cantonese learners, and the expression of social judgements in the L1 and L2. Taken together, the papers in this volume contribute to the empirical documentation of aspects of the Chinese language and its acquisition, as well as helping to unpack the significance of Chinese for mainstream linguistic theory.




Introduction to Applied Linguistics


Book Description

This second edition of the foundational textbook An Introduction to Applied Linguistics provides a state-of-the-art account of contemporary applied linguistics. The kinds of language problems of interest to applied linguists are discussed and a distinction drawn between the different research approach taken by theoretical linguists and by applied linguists to what seem to be the same problems. Professor Davies describes a variety of projects which illustrate the interests of the field and highlight the marriage it offers between practical experience and theoretical understanding. The increasing emphasis of applied linguistics on ethicality is linked to the growth of professionalism and to the concern for accountability, manifested in the widening emphasis on critical stances. This, Davies argues, is at its most acute in the tension between giving advice as the outcome of research and taking political action in order to change a situation which, it is claimed, needs ameliorisation. This dilemma is not confined to applied linguistics and may now be endemic in the applied disciplines.




The Wug Test


Book Description

The Wug Test is a picture book for children and adults that uses invented nouns, verbs, and adjectives to illuminate what children know about their own language. This book includes the original delightful Wug Test drawings and test questions created by Professor Jean Berko Gleason in 1958. The Wug Test, first given in research settings, showed that children do not learn language simply by memorizing what they hear. Instead, they learn the rules of their language so that they are able to make plurals, past tenses and other forms when presented with words they have never heard before. This book has pictures and interesting questions to share with children, along with informative notes and commentary for adults. It provides a fascinating insight into what even very young children know about language, as well as a way to understand and observe a child's acquisition of the rules of language over time. Ages 3-7.




Posthumanist Applied Linguistics


Book Description

Drawing on a range of contexts and data sources, from urban multilingualism to studies of animal communication, Posthumanist Applied Linguistics offers us alternative ways of thinking about the human predicament, with major implications for research, education and politics. Exploring the advent of the Anthropocene, new forms of materialism, distributed language, assemblages, and the boundaries between humans, other animals and objects, eight incisive chapters by one of the world's foremost applied linguistics open up profound questions to do with language and the world. This critical posthumanist applied linguistic perspective is essential reading for all researchers and students in the fields of Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics.




Perspectives on Corpus Linguistics


Book Description

Perspectives on Corpus Linguistics is a collection of interviews with fourteen well-known researchers in the field of linguistics. Each interview consists of a set of ten questions: the first seven are common to all contributors while the last three are connected to the research experience of each guest. In the general questions, the invited scholars explore (sometimes controversial) topics such as the concept of representativeness, the role of intuition and the status of Corpus Linguistics. In the specific questions, they provide a thorough discussion of materials and methods in corpus research as well as theoretical and applied perspectives on the use of corpora in language studies. Whether experts or novices, the volume should be of interest to all those who want to learn about corpus linguistics and carry out research in this fascinating and growing area.




Research in Applied Linguistics


Book Description

Newly updated and revised, this popular text provides a solid introduction to the foundations of research methods, with the goal of enabling students and professionals in the field of applied linguistics to become not just casual consumers of research who passively read bits and pieces of a research article, but discerning consumers able to effectively use published research for practical purposes in educational settings. All issues important for understanding and using published research for these purposes are covered. Key principles are illustrated with research studies published in refereed journals across a wide spectrum of applied linguistics. Exercises throughout the text encourage readers to engage interactively with what they are reading at the point when the information is fresh in their minds. Changes in the second edition: new examples in chapter two reflecting formatting changes made by ERIC major reordering in chapter four to better represent the sample types reorganization of chapters six and seven to enhance cohesion of the themes being discussed updated references and recommended reading lists in all chapters.




Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication


Book Description

This volume is an up-to-date, concise introduction to bilingualism and multilingualism in schools, in the workplace, and in international institutions in a globalized world. The authors use a problem-solving approach and ask broad questions about bilingualism and multilingualism in society, including the question of language acquisition versus maintenance of bilingualism. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of multilingualism and multilingual communication presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field, offers solutions of everyday language-related problems international handbook with contributions from renown experts in the field




Handbook of Intercultural Communication


Book Description

In today’s globalized world of international contact and multicultural interaction, effective intercultural communication is increasingly seen as a pre-requisite for social harmony and organisational success. This handbook takes a ?problem-solving? approach to the various issues that arise in real-life intercultural interaction. The editors have brought together experts from a range of disciplines, including linguistics, psychology and anthropology, to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the field, whilst simultaneously anchoring it in Applied Linguistics. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of intercultural communication presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field offers solutions of everyday language-related problems international handbook with contributions from renown experts in the field




Handbook of Interpersonal Communication


Book Description

Interpersonal communication (IC) is a continuous game between the interacting interactants. It is a give and take - a continuous, dynamic flow that is linguistically realized as discourse as an on-going sequence of interactants' moves. Interpersonal communication is produced and interpreted by acting linguistically, and this makes it a fascinating research area. The handbook, Interpersonal Communication , examines how interactants manage to exchange facts, ideas, views, opinions, beliefs, emotion, etc. by using the linguistic systems and the resources they offer. In interpersonal communication, the fine-tuning of individuals' use of the linguistic resources is continuously probed. The language used in interpersonal communication enhances social relations between interactants and keeps the interaction on the normal track. When interaction gets off the track, linguistic miscommunication may also destroy social relationships. This volume is essentially concerned with this fine-tuning in discourse, and how it is achieved among various interactant groups. The volume departs from the following fundamental questions: How do interpersonal relations manifest themselves in language? What is the role of language in developing and maintaining relationships in interpersonal communication? What types of problems occur in interpersonal communication and what kind of strategies and means are used to solve them? How does linguistically realized interpersonal communication interact with other semiotic modes? Interpersonal communication is seen and researched from the perspective of what is being said or written, and how it is realized in various generic forms. The current research also gives attention to other semiotic modes which interact with the linguistic modes. It is not just the social roles of interactants in groups, the possible media available, the non-verbal behaviors, the varying contextual frames for communication, but primarily the actual linguistic manifestations that we need to focus upon when we want to have a full picture of what is going on in human interpersonal communication. It is this linguistic perspective that the volume aims to present to all researchers interested in IC. The volume offers an overview of the theories, methods, tools, and resources of linguistically-oriented approaches, e.g. from the fields of linguistics, social psychology, sociology, and semiotics, for the purpose of integration and further development of the interests in IC., Topics e.g.: Orientation to interaction as primarily linguistically realized processes Expertise on theorizing and analyzing cultural and situational contexts where linguistic processes are realized Expertise on handling language corpora Expertise on theorizing and analyzing interaction types as genres Orientation to an integrated view of linguistic and non-linguistic participant activities and of how interactants generate meanings and interact with space Expertise on researching the management of the linguistic flow in interaction and its successfulness.