applied linguistics

applied linguistics

The Impact and Applications of Applied Linguistics in the Modern World

1. Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Since the beginning of human development, language has been a powerful tool in aiding and facilitating social interaction and economic growth. “Linguist” was among the most valued individuals in the early human society. By learning another language in addition to learning their mother tongue, we, as the future generation, should now inherit this skill that is necessary for the promotion of a more integrated world society. Today’s traditional way of language teaching and developing language curriculums haven’t fully realized the potential synergy that might be created by integrating each other. These needs, and students have other language learning needs that institutions have to handle. The development of English language teaching in the world reflects the response of teachers and learners to the many needs of English as a foreign in a global society. The objectives are both well-meaning and commendable. Since the world is changing so quickly, the task of making this ideal more applicable and more effective is growing larger and more complex and multimedia technologies provide considerable practical help in achieving this.

2. Key Theories and Concepts in Applied Linguistics

Representation, in particular, can depend critically on one’s theoretical approach to the relation of linguistic structure to meaning. Also of central importance to applied linguistics is the teaching of a second language, and perhaps that teaching should be directed toward the performance of target behaviors. Difficult, of course, is establishing a single appropriate criterion for the teaching of language. Also relevant to our discussion of applied linguistics is the question of which to pose and which to exempt from the domain of linguistic theory, particularly in the development of language tests – another traditional field of applied linguistics – linguistic theory is used as a support discipline.

In this section and the sections to follow, we present some key theories and concepts about language, language learning, teaching, and testing which have influenced and in some cases been influenced by applied linguistics. Theories, as the word is used here, are meant to be attempts to understand or explain observable phenomena, or to account for regularities and generalizations presupposed by an explanatory representation. We are interested primarily in theories of linguistic behavior, that is, theories of the process of language learning, language use, and linguistic knowledge. We look by and large for theories that emphasize the nature of language, but we are not opposed to formal or formalizable theories. Key theoretical issues we might explore are the true or ideal representations of linguistic competence and of psychological performance, and the properties of the learnability of a given theory of linguistic behavior.

3. Practical Applications of Applied Linguistics

In the broad sphere of education, language is a key to understanding so much of the content to be learned from the late formative years of primary school students to the existing experience of adult learners. Whether for teaching school subjects to new English learners or teaching new languages to native English speakers, technological advances that make applications of digital media in education may be seen as a focus in educational studies that can reveal how applied linguistic concepts can be deployed to improve ease of access to and persistence of concentration within educational models. Within the more specific setting of language learning, the ways in which interactive systems can support listening, reading, writing, and speaking practice are increasingly being explored. Advances include speaker-independent dialogue systems in foreign language tutoring, a Speech Recognition Word Segmentation engine for teaching reading, and a writing evaluation program that is now established in fourteen countries (Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, H. D. Brown).

Rod Ellis, in his keynote address to the Fifth Annual English Australia/IELTA Conference held at the University of Technology, Sydney (2008), made several important points that are worth considering here. One of the points is that “applied linguistics is multidisciplinary – it draws upon knowledge from several areas outside of linguistics, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, information technology, and education” (Ellis, R., 2008). This variety of influences contributes to applied linguistics being brought into contact with a variety of life areas. This makes applied linguistics a rich area of study. There are, to be sure, many spheres requiring practical solutions where applied linguistic frameworks can be brought to bear.

4. Challenges and Future Directions in the Field

In addition to the above challenges, a further important aspect of the multiple specialisms brought together under the applied linguistics umbrella is the extra awareness and closer cross-disciplinary practice between linguists and the needs of other researchers both within and outside the social sciences community. At the same time as we ourselves are learning how to harvest and exploit the data and the conclusions being drawn and published and to lexically and syntactically structure and semantically and pragmatically tag such data for enhanced research access and to better harness the social scientific method to develop more profound theoretical solutions, we must also recognize the opportunities we now have to share such expertise at an inter-sector and inter-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary level so as to implement and exploit a growing range of richer and high-quality information services; develop agreed cross-sectoral and cross-functional global and geopolymer normative standards about the most effective application and use of this high-quality, and trusted data, content, and code using various modalities of new technologies; and to accelerate social global awareness and human capability, compliance, and proficiency in the effective use of the languages and technologies provided.

A further significant challenge for applied linguistics relates to how best we develop better awareness, understanding, and control of the application of a powerful range of Language Technology and Intelligent Decision Support Systems. The fundamental language technologies involved range from low levels of speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies through to syntactic, morphological, semantic and pragmatic language parsers and databases, and developing such applications, tools and services and making the use of such resources accessible will allow language professionals to add value to the many roles we perform: as learners, as tutors, as writers, as translators and interpreters, and as people who don’t want technology to replace them but can see how can be helped whilst still being compliant with the thrust and spirit of the many standards and legal edicts that are driving the more contemporary.

The primary challenge facing applied linguistics in the twenty-first century is the sheer pace and scale of the global changes that are taking place. In a world that is increasingly mobile and increasingly interconnected by electronic technology, the need to understand and develop not just first but also second, third, and fourth language acquisition and fluency across the human life-span, to better understand how languages work and how better literacy can be achieved, and to mediate between languages and negotiable and differing cultural and legal forces at the national and multinational level is of even more pressing need than it was in the last century. How can we develop and design e-materials and systems that develop language learning, respond to the learning styles and affordances of individual learners and at the same time develop that sense of social identity and community that is the backbone of successful language acquisition and language development experience? What is the optimal balance – in what blend should classroom learning and e-learning occur – and at what cost?