Applied linguistics

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, anthropology, and sociology.

Domain

Major branches of applied linguistics include bilingualism and multilingualism, computer-mediated communication (CMC), conversation analysis, language assessment, literacies, discourse analysis, language pedagogy, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, language planning and policies, pragmatics, forensic linguistics, and translation.

Major journals of the field include "Applied Linguistics", "International Review of Applied Linguistics", "International Journal of Applied Linguistics", and "Annual Review of Applied Linguistics".

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 linguistics, and has always maintained a socially accountable role, demonstrated by its central interest in language problems. [Alan Davies & Catherine Elder.(Eds.). 2004. Handbook of Applied Linguistics. 1]

Although the field of applied linguistics started from Europe and the United States, the field rapidly flourished in the international context.

United States

Although it is not clear when the field of applied linguistics began, the first issue of "Language Learning: A Journal of Applied Linguistics" was published from the University of Michigan in 1948. 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. Researches of applied linguistics were shifted to "the theoretical and empirical investigation of real world problems in which language is a central issue." [Christopher Brumfit. How applied linguistics is the same as any other science, "International Journal of Applied Linguistics", 7(1), 86-94.]

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 [Alan Davies & Catherine Elder.(Eds.). 2004. Handbook of Applied Linguistics. 6] . Applied Linguistics of 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/)

North America
*American Association for Applied Linguistics (http://www.aaal.org/)
*Center for Applied Linguistics (http://www.cal.org/)
*Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.aclacaal.org/)
*Asociación Mexicana de Lingüística Aplicada (http://www.cele.unam.mx/amlaweb/)

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/)
*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.tau.ac.il/~ilash/)
*Polish Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.ocot.pl/st_ptls.php?id=8)

Oceania
*Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand (http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/alanz/alanz.html)
*Applied Linguistics of 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/index.asp)
*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)
*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
*Estonian Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.eki.ee/rakenduslingvistika/index_eng.php)
*Israel Association of Applied Linguistics (http://www.tau.ac.il/~ilash/)
*Southern African Applied Linguistics Association (http://www.saala.org.za/)

See also

* Fremdsprachen und Hochschule

Further reading

*Cook, Guy (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' Malden, MA: Blackwell.
*Johnson, Keith and Johnson, Helen (1999). 'Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics' *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.

References