Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Linguistics is the science of language. It is concerned with how languages work, develop and transmit meaning through verbal and non-verbal means. Linguistics has also ventured into the realms of social examination and recommendations. Applied linguistics, on the other hand, narrows its focus to more real-world considerations of learning and education. Since World War II, learning languages has increasingly come to the forefront, and applied linguists constantly is developing newer and better ways to acquire language skills.

Language

Applied linguistics is concerned with how language works, in order to determine how we can learn and remember it. How a language is used is also a consideration of applied linguists, in that it examines ways of expressing meaning and communicating concepts. Language use also covers the areas of grammar and vocabulary and how these are defined for the purposes of education. Systemic functional linguistics for example, redefines how grammar is taught to children.

SLA: Second Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition, or SLA, refers to any language that is learned after the native language. However, it usually is mentioned in the context of English as a Second Language, ESL. Certainly, English is the most widely spoken and learned second language in the world. The Audio-Lingual Method, ALM, was a system where students learned language by repeating recorded phrases. Krashen's Monitor Model, and Communicative Language Teaching, CLT, are also some methods developed by applied linguistics.

Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics examines correlations between languages and societies, or certain linguistic and social phenomena. Sociolinguistics attempts to reinvent accepted categories and assumptions of linguistic practices, and the place of language in human life. Sociolinguistics fills a gap in social understanding that the traditional linguistic disciplines leave somewhat fragmented.

Psycholinguistics

Also called the psychology of language, psycholinguistics studies the psychological and neurobiological considerations in language acquisition. Psycholinguists study the factors that enable people to learn, speak, understand and produce language. Modern researchers use biology, neuroscience and cognitive (how we learn) science in studying how humans process language. Practically, psycholinguistics looks at how the building blocks of language are learned, and developmental psycholinguists study a child's ability to acquire language.

Corpus Linguistics

Corpus linguistics is also the study of language, but as expressed in samples of real world text. Originally, samples of language were obtained in a controlled setting, such as a language lab, but these were deemed unnatural. This approach runs counter to Chomsky's competence/performance split, in that practicioners find that the best samples for analysis are gathered in natural contexts, which allow the texts, upon analysis to "speak truthfully" about their usage.

References

• E. Silvestri, BA English, BEd, MA Applied Linguistics, Professor of English, Fayetteville Technical Community College, 2009
• Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction, Alastair Pennycook, 2001

Resources

• Psycholinguistics Arena
• Basic Linguistic Terms Quiz