what do applied linguistics do?
Chapter 2 Doing being applied linguists: the importance of experience
INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE.
INSTITUTIONAL APPLIED LINGUISTICS.
SEVEN CASES STUDIES
DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Individual experience
Davies proposes some important aspects about including reflection in relation to the own experiences in language problems.
The experiences make the difference between teaching applied linguistics in an undergraduate level vs. teaching applied linguistics in a postgraduate level.
How are experiences articulated in language problems?
INSTITUTIONAL APPLIED LINGUISTICS.
“APPLIED LINGUISTICS DEFINES ITSELF BY ACTIONS RATHER THAN BY DEFINITIONS.”
WHAT DOES AILA. DO?
Research networks.
Applied linguistics and literacy in Africa and the Diaspora
Content and language integrated learning
Discourse analysis
Language and migration
Language in the media
Language policy
Learner autonomy in language learning
Multilingualism at the workplace
Multilingualism: acquisition and use
Standard language education
Task complexity
Translating and interpreting
Seven cases studies.
The authors illustrates the scopes of applied linguistics in seven case studies for showing what some activities or researchs are involved in the framework of applied linguistics.
1. Language-programme evaluation.
2. Literacy acquisition.
3. Pedagogical grammar.
4. Workplace communication.
5. Language and identity.
6. Assessing English as a lingua franca.
7. Critical pedagogy.
1. language - programme evaluation
In this aspect Alan Davies proposes that Evaluation of language teaching projects is a kind of activity in which applied linguistics is involved.
Davies decided on four criteria for determining success of a project:
Product
Teacher development
Sustainability.
Extendibility.
2. literacy acquisition
“…applied linguistics also contributes its careful reading of published results in these fields. The study that is now briefly described, the critical literature review of biliteracy illustrates the applied-linguistic contribution to the ongoing debate on literacy in education…”
Are contemporar y literacy and schooling synonymous?
DEFINE
CLARIFY
3. pedagogical grammar
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In this aspect, Davies proposes that a pedagogical grammar can be defined as a grammatical description of language which is intended for pedagogical purposes. Teaching a language through a grammar design.
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Applied linguistics gives to the pedagogical grammar some questions and theoretical issues about teaching a language by the grammar of the language.
4. Workplace communication.
The author proposes the idea that applied linguistics is involved in this topic for solving a need “misunderstandings in workplaces” by migrants and native speakers.
Theor y vs. Practice.
Applied linguistics professional fields
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Extend knowledge about language genre and language variety.
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Design languageteaching materials.
5. Language and identity.
In this case, Davies takes some ideas from the text “Language and Identity: National, Ethnic, Religious” by John Joseph.
Language as a central of individual identity.
“…national languages do shape individual identities but also ‘national identities shape national languages.”
6. Assessing English as a lingua franca.
The role of English language around the world and the status of: “a lingua franca”
For applied linguistics is more than just testing non-standar speaker with standar tests. The project should be aware of context and culture between world population and the use of English as “the world language”
7. Critical pedagogy.
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About this topic Alan Davies proposes a relation between critical pedagogy and applied linguistics. It means a critical applied linguistics.
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Into this term, the author explains how context, politics, culture and social factors are involved in the language development and overall how language can be analyzed in the different contexts and the different functions in the society.
“a critical practice in English language teaching must start with ways of critically exploring students’ cultures, knowledges and histories in ways that are both challenging and at the same time affirming and supportive” Pennycook Alastair.
1 . DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS
1.1 Language assessment
1.1.1 Development:
The real problem at the hear t of applied linguistics… Project: (Elder 1997)
1. There is a social problem which needs resolution;
2. An applied linguist is invited as consultant; and
3. A solution (not the solution) is proposed.
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.1 Development:
Education in a English-speaking country: Australia.
There these languages are known as LOTEs (languages other than English). 36 languages.
Victorian Cer tificate of Education (VCE).
Victorian Cer tificate of Education (VCE).
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.1 Development:
There’s the problem.
Students have started the LOTE in school from scratch vs those with a “background” in the LOTE from home exposure.
Background: students from Italian and Greek migrant families who may still maintain some use of the language at home. Or the students who at the other extreme have recently arrived in Australia from, for example, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, where they may have already received some (possibly all) of their education in the medium of the LOTE they are now offering at VCE.
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.1 Development:
“There is an advantage of the students with a Background over those who do not”
This is obviously a language problem. The contribution of applied linguistics was: determine a methodology for categorizing back ground and non-background speakers.
to examine the test results for bias. It was decided that if the tests were fair then background speakers would have no special advantage.
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.1 Development: ďƒ’
Applied linguistics in this project needed skill in devising a methodology for collecting and analyzing the data. It also needed knowledge of the bilingual LOTE setting and an ability, based on experience and knowledge, to bring together the different points of view, psychometric, educational and socio-political.
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.2 Research:
“I do not share the ambition of some applied linguists to map out the language… Because I am sceptical of this ambition, I am content with smaller successes, offering partial and temporary understandings…”
Language is rule-governed.
NO spontaneity.
John Oller: (1983) language is not unitary; language is binary or multifactorial. (multiplicity)
1 .1 Language assessment 1.1.2 Research:
Study 3 Alderson and Urquhart (1985):
Drawing together their results from all three studies the researchers concluded that ‘academic background can play an important role in test performance. However the effect has not been shown to be consistent … the studies have also shown the need to take account of other factors such as linguistic consistency’ (ibid: 202). But the most interesting conclusion they reach is the distinction they make between direct and overview questions with relation to accessing the content area under test. They report: “when these students were familiar with the content area, they were able to answer content area was lacking they could still answer direct questions, but their ability to answer overview questions was greatly reduced”.
1 .2 Language planning 1.2.1 Development
Populations are also resources, their abilities and, through education, their qualifications and skills.
state body oversees prescriptive issues (Academie Française).
The need for a national language plan…
There is a relationship between the official language and the language planning.
‘language problems which confront Australia’.
English:
• inadequate past attempts to tackle illiteracy levels.
• persistently high levels of inability to use/comprehend English among immi – grants.
• deficiencies in ESL for children.
LOTEs:
• lack of take-up, especially among boys.
• lack of recognition and use of migrant.
. • decline of aboriginal languages.
1 .2 Language planning 1.2.2 Research
Einar Haugen’s 1966 essay.
The relevance of Haugen’s work to applied linguistics is that it provides a methodology for examining language in use. It abstracts and theorizes from actual language data, the dialect continuum, the existence of standard languages, the decisions by society as to which dialect to select for standardization purposes.
1 .3 Language-teaching curriculum 1.3.1 Development
Curriculum definitions:
The applied linguistics of curriculum studies may therefore be regarded as the language teaching specialism, which N. S. Prabhu sees as ‘a matter of identifying, Doing being applied linguists 35 developing, and articulating particular perceptions of teaching and learning on the one hand and seeking ways in which perceptions can be shared and sharpened through professional debate in the teaching community on the other’
TEACHING - LEARNING.
Prabhu was not interested in revolutionizing English teaching in India. What he was interested in was to develop a fresh perception of second-language learning. He argues that ‘pedagogic innovation … may be viewed as an act of renewing contact with innovation and reinterpreting experience through a fresh perception.
1 .3 Language-teac hing curriculum 1.3.2 Research
“Communicative competence is based on the notion of appropriacy, an attempt to build a model for ‘the rules of language use without which grammar would be useless’ (Pride and Holmes 1972: 278).
1 .4 Second-language acquisition 1.4.1 Development
The Lexical Frequency Profile.
It’s a computer program where the researches can evaluate the vocabular y’s role in the seconds or foreign language learning.
1 .4 Second-language acquisition 1.4.2 Research
Some troubles:
Second/foreign-language learning and teaching is expensive.
there is an optimum age to start learning a second/foreign language.
Native speaker:
1- there are people who learn a second language perfectly and it’s impossible to distinguish their origin place.
2- native speaker have differences among themselves. and many accents, grammar.