Edited by Robert B. Kaplan
Subject: Linguistics, Applied LinguisticsOnline Publication Date: Sep 2012
DOI:
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195384253.013.0002
Trends and Perspectives in the 1990s and the 2000s
In this section, I only note various developments that have emerged over the last 20 years and that will probably continue to define applied linguistics in the coming decade. The present volume provides the details to expand much of the brief sign posting that this section provides. For much the same reason, I refrain from a long catalog of appropriate references on the assumptions that these ideas will be well-referenced elsewhere (Davies and Elder, 2004b; Grabe, 2004; Hinkel, 2005).
First, under the umbrella of applied linguistics,
research in language teaching, language learning, and teacher education is now placing considerable emphasis on notions of language awareness, attention and learning, “focus on forms” for language learning, learning from dialogic interactions, patterns of teacher-student interaction, task-based learning, content-based learning, and teacher as researcher through action research. Research in language learning has shifted in recent years toward a focus on information processing, the importance of more general cognitive learning principles, the emergence of language ability from extended meaningful exposures and relevant practice, and the awareness of how language is used and the (p. 38) functions that it serves (Doughty and Long, 2003; N. Ellis, 2007; Robinson and Ellis, 2008; Tomasello, 2003; VanPatten and Williams, 2007).
Instructional research and curricular issues have centered on task-based learning, content-based learning, strategies-based instruction, and a return to learning centered on specific language skills (Cohen and Macaro, 2007; elsewhere in this volume; Long and Doughty, 2009; McGroarty et al., 2004; Samuda and Bygate, 2008).
Language teacher development has also moved in new directions. Widdowson 1998) has argued forcefully that certain communicative orientations, with a pervasive emphasis on natural language input and authenticity, may be misinterpreting the real purpose of the language classroom context and ignoring effective frameworks for language teaching. He has also persuasively argued that applied linguists must support teachers throughout their mediation with all aspects of Hymes's notion of communicative competence, balancing language understanding so that it combines grammaticality, appropriateness, feasibility, and examples from the attested (Widdowson, 2000).
A further emphasis for language teacher education has been the move to engaging teachers in the practice of action research. The trend to train teachers as reflective practitioners inquiring into the effectiveness of teaching and learning in local classroom settings will increase in the coming decade.
A second emphasis that has taken hold in discussions among applied linguists themselves is the role for critical studies; this term covers critical awareness, critical discourse analysis, critical pedagogy, student rights, critical assessment practices, and ethics in language assessment (and language teaching; Davies, 1999; Fairclough, 1995a; McNamara, 1998; McNamara and Roever, 2006; Pennycook, 2001; van Lier, 1997).
At the same time, there are a number of criticisms of this general approach and its impact on more mainstream applied linguistics that highlights weaknesses in much of the critical studies theorizing (Seidlhofer, 2003; Widdowson, 2004). At present, the notion of critical studies also constitutes an emphasis that has not demonstrated strong applications in support of those who are experiencing “language problems” of various types. The coming decade will undoubtedly continue this debate.
A third emphasis is on language uses in academic, disciplinary, and professional settings (Biber, 2006b; elsewhere in this volume; Connor and Upton, 2004a; Swales, 2004). This research examines ways in which language is used by participants and in texts in various academic, professional, and occupational settings. It also emphasizes how language can act as a gatekeeping mechanism or can create unfair obstacles for those who are not aware of appropriate discourse rules and expectations. In academic settings, the key issue lies in understanding how genre and register expectations form the basis for successfully negotiating academic work (Hyland, 2004a, 2008; A. M. Johns, 2002; Swales, 2004). Analyses of language use in various professional settings are described in Gibbons 2004), Grabe 2004), Master (2005), and McGroarty et al. 2003). More specific to English for specific purposes (ESP), Swales 2000) and Widdowson (2004) provide relevant overviews.
A fourth emphasis centers on descriptive (usually discourse) analyses of language in real settings and the possible application of analyses in corpus linguistics, (p. 39) register variation, and genre variation. A breakthrough application of corpus linguistics remains the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (Biber et al., 1999). It is based entirely on attested occurrences of language use in a very large corpus of English. The key, though, lies not in the corpus data themselves but in the innovative analyses and displays that define the uniqueness of the grammar (see also Carter and McCarthy, 2006). Other important applications of corpus linguistics include more teacher- and learner-directed resources (see McCarthy, 2008).
A fifth emphasis in applied linguistics research addresses multilingualism and bilingual interaction in school, community, and work and in professional settings or policy issues at regional and national levels. Because the majority of people in the world are to some extent bilingual, and because this bilingualism is associated with the need to negotiate life situations with other cultural and language groups, this area of research is fundamental to applied linguistics concerns.
Multilingualism covers issues in bilingual education, migrations of groups of people to new language settings, equity and fairness in social services, and language policies related to multiple language use (or the restriction thereof). Key issues are addressed in Baker 2006), Brisk (2005), McGroarty et al. (2003, 2006), and van Els 2005).
A sixth emphasis focuses on the changing discussion in language testing and assessment. During the past decade, the field of language assessment has taken on a number of important issues and topics that have ramifications for applied linguists more generally.
Validity remains a major theme for language testers, and it has been powerfully reinterpreted over the last 10 years (Chapelle, Enright, and Jamieson, 2008; Kane, 2006). In its newer interpretation, validity has strong implications for all areas of applied linguistic research and data collection and is not merely an issue for assessment practices (Chapelle, 1999). An additional major shift in language assessment with significant implications for applied linguistics more generally is
the greater emphasis being given to assessment for learning (sometimes discussed as formative assessment).
The goals for assessment have shifted from assessing what students can do at a given moment to using assessment as a way to improve learning effectiveness on an ongoing basis. The goal is to see continuous learner assessment for learning purposes. This trend is likely to grow considerably in the coming decade (Black et al., 2004; Davison, 2007; Grabe, 2009; Rea-Dickins, 2006; Wiliam and Thompson, 2007). More generally, emphases on
technology applications, ethics in assessment, innovative research methodologies, the roles of standardized assessment, standards for professionalism, and critical language testing are all reshaping language assessment and, by extension, applied linguistics.
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Conclusion
The coming decade of research and inquiry in applied linguistics will continue the lines of investigation noted in the second and third sections of this chapter.
Applied linguists will need to know more about computer technologies, statistical applications, socio-cultural influences on research, and
new ways to analyze language data.
Testing and assessment issues will not be limited to testing applications but will also have a much greater influence on other areas of applied linguistics research. Issues such as validity, fairness, and ethics will extend into other area of applied linguistics. These issues will also lead to continued discussions on the most appropriate research methods in different settings.
Additionally, applied linguistics will direct more attention to issues of motivation, attitudes, and affect because those factors potentially influence many language-based problems. Similarly, learning theories (as discussed and debated in educational and cognitive psychology) will become a more central concern in language learning and teaching.
Finally, neurolinguistic research will undoubtedly open up new ways to think about language learning, language teaching, and the ways in which language is used. All of these issues also ensure that applied linguistics will remain essentially interdisciplinary. The resolution of language-based problems in the real world is complex, dynamic, and difficult. It seems only appropriate that applied linguists seek partnerships and collaborative research if these problems are to be addressed in effective ways.
