Applied Linguistics

Dr. Husnat Ahmed

 Main issues of this unit
• What is linguistics?
• What is the relation between linguistics and applied
linguistics? How do they differ?
• What is applied linguistics?
• When did applied linguistics develop as an independent
area of study?
• What are the main areas of concern of applied
linguistics?
• What will this course focus on? How is this course
organised?
 What is Linguistics? (1/2)
• Linguistics is the scientific study of language.
Linguists do work on specific languages, but their
primary goal is to understand the nature of Language
in general.
• Linguistics is primarily concerned with the nature of
language and communication. There are broadly
three aspects to the study, including language form,
language meaning, and language use in discursive
and communicative contexts.
 What is Linguistics? (2/2)
• Linguistics deals with the study of particular
languages, and the search for general properties
common to all languages or large groups of
languages.
 Some questions linguistics tries to answer
(1/2)
• What distinguishes human language from
other animal communication systems?
• What features are common to all human
languages?
• How are the modes of linguistic
communication (speech, writing, sign
language of the deaf) related to each other?
 Some questions linguistics tries to answer
(2/2)
• How is language related to other types of
human behaviour?
• What is language and how is it organized?
• How is it analysed? etc
 Branches of linguistics

Pragmatics

Semantics Phonology

LINGUISTICS

Syntax Phonetics

Morphology
 What is Interdisciplinary Linguistics?
Interdisciplinary studies • Historical Linguistics,
involve two or more • Sociolinguistics,
academic disciplines • Psycholinguistics,
which are considered
• Ethno-linguistics or
distinct. The most
Anthropological
common interdisciplinary
Linguistics,
branches of Linguistics
are: • Computational
Linguistics,
• Neurolinguistics.
 Applied Linguistics:
When did it all begin? (1/2)
• The term Applied Linguistics (AL) is an Anglo-
American coinage.
• It was founded first at the University of
Edinburgh School of Applied Linguistics in
1956.
• Then at the Center of Applied Linguistics in
Washington D.C. in 1957.
 Applied Linguistics:
When did it all begin? (2/2)
• The British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
was formally established in 1967, with the following
aims: “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 inter-
disciplinary collaboration in this study” (BAAL, 1994).
• It was largely taken for granted in the 1960s and
1970s that applied linguistics was about language
teaching.
 What is Applied Linguistics? (1/4)
• Applied Linguistics entails using what we know about
language, about how it is used, and about how it is
learned in order to solve some problems in the real
world.
• Applied Linguistics uses language-related research in
a wide variety of fields (e.g. language acquisition,
language teaching, literacy, gender studies, language
policy, speech therapy, discourse analysis,
censorship, workplace communication, media
studies, translation, lexicography, forensic linguistics).
 What is Applied Linguistics? (2/4)
“AL is the utilisation of the knowledge about the
nature of language achieved by linguistic
research for the improvement of the efficiency
of some practical task in which language is a
central component.” (Corder, 1974, p. 24)
 What is Applied Linguistics? (3/4)
“Applied Linguistics is using what we know
about (a) language, (b) how it is learned, and (c)
how it is used, in order to achieve some purpose
or solve some problem in the real world”
(Schmitt & Celce-Murcia, 2002, p. 1).
 What is Applied Linguistics? (4/4)
“The focus of applied linguistics is on trying to
resolve language-based problems that people
encounter in the real world, whether they be
learners, teachers, supervisors, academics,
lawyers, service providers, those who need
social services, test takers, policy developers,
dictionary makers, translators, or a whole range
of business clients.” (Grabe, 2002, p. 9).
 Examples of Language Related Issues
• Designing language curricula for ESL (English
as a Second Language) or EFL (English as a
Foreign Language) learners
• Developing teaching methods based on
research into second language acquisition
(SLA)
• Assessing language proficiency through
standardized tests like IELTS or TOEFL

An Introduction to Applied Linguistics 15

 Examples of Language Related Issues
• Applied Linguistics can improve translation
software (e.g., Google Translate) by enhancing
accuracy and cultural nuances
• Training interpreters for real-time translation
in international settings, such as political or
business contexts
• Researching machine translation and the role
of human vs. AI translators.

An Introduction to Applied Linguistics 16

 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.
 Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary
• Sociocultural Theory (Vygotsky) – From
Psychology
• Speech Act Theory (Austin & Searle) – From
Philosophy
• Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) – From
Sociology
• Constructivism (Piaget) – From Education

An Introduction to Applied Linguistics 18

 Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary
• Behaviorism (Skinner) – From Psychology
• Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner) – From
Social Psychology
• Communicative Competence Theory (Hymes)
– From Anthropology and Linguistics
• Frame Theory (Goffman) – From Sociology
• Cognitive Linguistics (Lakoff & Johnson) –
From Cognitive Science
An Introduction to Applied Linguistics 19
 What problems are related to language?

Problems related to: • language assessment,

• language learning, • language use,
• language teaching, • language and
• literacy, technology,
• language contact • translation and
(language & culture), interpretation,
• language policy and • language pathology.
planning,
 A sample of questions Applied Linguistics
addresses (1/2)
• 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?
 A sample of questions Applied Linguistics
addresses (2/2)
• How can we determine the literacy levels of a
population?
• What advice can we give the ministry of
education on proposals to introduce a new
teaching method?
• What advice can we give a defence lawyer on
the authenticity of a police transcript of an
interview with a suspect?
 What is the relationship between AL and
other language related disciplines? (1/2)
• Applied linguistics occupies an intermediary,
mediating position between language related
disciplines (linguistics, psycholinguistics and
sociolinguistics) and professional practice.
• It uses theories/principles from language related
disciplines in order to understand language related
issues and to solve language related problems.
 What is the relationship between AL and
other language related disciplines? (2/2)
• Applied linguistics conducts research into
professional practice and on the basis of the
results develops theory.
 Theoretical, Interdisciplinary and Applied
Linguistics
Theoretical Interdisciplinary Applied linguistics
linguistics linguistics
• Phonology, • Psycholinguistics, • Applied linguistics
• Morphology, • Sociolinguistics, to language
• Syntax and • Pragmatics, education,
structural • Discourse analysis. • Applied linguistics
grammar, • Computational and to foreign language
• Semantics, corpus linguistics. education,
• Historical • Translation studies,
linguistics. • 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.
 Diagramme

Linguistics

Applied
Education
Linguistics
Applied linguistics and related sciences.
Linguistics
(the study of the nature, structure and variation of language).
Applied Linguistics

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).
 Subfields of Applied Linguistics
Language and Language, work Language, information
education and the law and effect
• First language • Workplace • Literary stylistics,
education, communication, • Critical discourse
• Second language • Language analysis,
education, planning, • Translation and
• Foreign language • Forensic Interpretation,
education, linguistics. • Information design,
• Clinical linguistics, • Lexicography.
• Language testing.
 Applied Linguistics to foreign language
teaching and learning: Related sub-fields
• EAP, ESP, EYL, • Language teacher training
• CALL and education,
• Materials development and • Research into second and
evaluation, foreign language learning,
• Syllabus design and • Language education policies
language curriculum and language planning,
development, • Educational technology and
• Language testing, language learning,
• Language teaching methods • Immersion education,
and techniques, • Language education in
multilingual settings.
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.
 Focus of this course:
Foreign language didactics
What How
• How does one select • How does one organise
and organise the the teaching/learning
content of what is to be process?
taught and learnt? • How does one develop
• What do you teach? knowledge and skills?
Issues discussed in the course (1/2)
What?
• Methods in language teaching.
• Language theories and their effect on foreign
language teaching.
• Syllabus design and curriculum development.
• Communicative competence.
• Communicative language teaching, task based
language teaching and intercultural competence.
Issues discussed in the course (2/2)
How?
• Theories of language learning and their effect
on foreign language teaching/learning.
• Individual characteristics and their effect on
language learning.
 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.