Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 3 Issue 2

Issue of Applied Linguistics Review

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available October 11, 2012

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Page range: i-iii

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October 11, 2012

On the roles of repetition in language teaching and learning

Diane Larsen-Freeman,

Page range: 195-210

Abstract

Repetition is common in language use. Similarly, having students repeat is a common practice in language teaching. After surveying some of the better known contributions of repetition to language learning, I propose an innovative role for repetition from the perspective of complexity theory. I argue that we should not think of repetition as exact replication, but rather we should think of it as iteration that generates variation. Thus, what results from iteration is a mutable state. Iteration is one way that we create options in how to make meaning, position ourselves in the world as we want, understand the differences which we encounter in others, and adapt to a changing context.

October 11, 2012

Cognitivism, adaptive intelligence, and second language acquisition

Dwight Atkinson,

Page range: 211-232

Abstract

There is no doubt that the “cognitive revolution,” in tandem with a focus on second language teaching, gave birth to the organized study of second language acquisition (SLA). In this sense, SLA studies has always been a cognitive science, although calls have recently been made to reemphasize and strengthen the connection. This paper: 1) reviews the cognitivist vision of mind/brain which has historically dominated both cognitive science and SLA studies; 2) describes how cognitive science has changed in recent years; and 3) introduces an alternative paradigm in cognitive science, adaptive intelligence , which may help us to better understand SLA.

October 11, 2012

A neo-Hymesian trajectory in applied linguistics

Ben Rampton,

Page range: 233-249

Abstract

Rather than attempting a panoramic overview, this paper looks at knowledge construction in applied linguistics through the prism of a piece of data. It follows the analysis of this data into an academic argument, into a research training programme, and into professional development materials for teachers, and it argues that this empirically driven trajectory finds coherence in Hymes' writing on linguistic and ethnography.

October 11, 2012

Migrant ethnic identities, mobile language resources: Identification practices of Sri Lankan Tamil youth

A. Suresh Canagarajah,

Page range: 251-272

Abstract

In the context of multilingualism and migration, the place of ethnic identities has come into question. Applied linguists have to contend with the possibility that ethnic identities have to be redefined in the light of changing orientations in the field. The critique of essentialism, the dismantling of the ”one language = one community” equation, and the fluidity of translanguaging have raised the question whether ethnic identities can be treated as real anymore. In the face of these changes, one group of activist scholars invokes values of ecological preservation and language rights to insist on traditional ethnic identities. Another treats ethnic identities as transient and playful under labels such as ludic ethnicities and metroethnicities . Interpreting the identification practices of Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora youth in UK, USA, and Canada, this article argues for a middle position of strategic constructivism . That is, though the Tamil youth are multilingual, and do not claim full proficiency in Tamil language, they use their mix of codes to construct Tamil ethnicity in situated uses of their repertoire. The article argues that ethnicity should be treated as a changing construct, with different codes employed to index identity in changing times and places.

October 11, 2012

Dominant pedagogical approaches and diverse teaching conditions: Integrating CLT in a Chinese university as a danwei community of practices

Huhua Ouyang,

Page range: 273-293

Abstract

With life stories of local and international teachers practicing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in a university in China, this article reveals how CLT ideological presumptions of individualism, egalitarianism and liberalism have been in a state of tension with the traditional methods and Chinese danwei characterized by collectivism, paternalism and conservatism. This tension explains the strong resistance against pedagogical agents of change in China. The article calls for a more sociological understanding of the seemingly linguistics-based and egalitarian communicative approaches to language teaching/learning.

October 11, 2012

The language of development and the development of language in contemporary Africa

Kwesi Kwaa Prah,

Page range: 295-313

Abstract

Arguably, few issues so overwhelmingly obsess African governments and societies as the question of development. Many would claim that it is the leading existential rationale of African governments. This has certainly been the case since the commencement of the era of African self-rule. The lack of success in making headway in the development of African societies has kept interested parties close to the grindstone. What over the past few decades has become clear to many is the fact that culture in general and language and literacy in particular are crucial to the development endeavour. The questions that emerge from there are that, what are the relevant contextual linguistic realities of contemporary Africa? How do they affect the issues attendant on development? How do the dominant assumptions and epistemology in applied linguistics relate to the challenges that face Africa today? This article will address these issues.

October 11, 2012

Language plurality of South Asia: A search for alternate models in knowledge construction

Lachman M. Khubchandani,

Page range: 315-331

Abstract

Under the influence of the purists' tradition in philology and in pedagogy, agencies concerned with social planning analyze linguistic heterogeneity as a serious problem of human adjustment. Viewing language in monolithic terms, there has been a traditional bias that language diversity is a problem. Constituting the mother tongue as a cult and marker of identity, many linguists and language agencies since the European Renaissance have joined nationalists (taking language as a defining characteristic of ‘nation-state’) in isolating bilinguals as being ‘rootless’ and of ‘dubious loyalty’ to the nation. In recent years, however, there has been more lip service paid to language pluralism. The characteristic of maintaining of two (or more) mother tongues is a notable feature of plurilingual India. Contemporary disciplines do not take cognizance of multiple languages existing side by side, and a speech community continues to be identified according to homogeneous constructs , in terms of formal structures and monistic values, attitudes and usage. The local and the global , the particular and the universal should be viewed, as two sides of the same coin rather than competing with each other. In the light of this, we look for new paradigms in applied linguistics so as to effectively arrest the trends of large scale commodification and homogenization pertaining to language development and make transparent the qualities of communication for an integral and sustainable development of social diversity.

October 11, 2012

Linguistic inequality and its effects on participation in scientific discourse and on global knowledge accumulation – With a closer look at the problems of the second-rank language communities

Ulrich Ammon,

Page range: 333-355

Abstract

This paper will show, on the basis of valid and reasonably representative data, that even in applied linguistics (where it might be expected least of all) the predominance of a single language, English, in international scientific communication excludes contributions from various non-Anglophone quarters and, consequently, contributes to skewed scientific development, especially neglecting Japanese and Chinese, but also French, German, Italian and Russian approaches (because of serious linguistic barriers and refusal to participate in linguistically “unfair” scientific communication, respectively). The paper will also submit proposals on how the situation could be improved and problems be mitigated such as, among others, regular linguistic support offered by publishers and conference organizers.

About this journal

Objective
Applied Linguistics Review (ALR) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that bridges the gap between linguistics and applied areas such as education, psychology and human development, sociology and politics. It serves as a testing ground for the articulation of original ideas and approaches in the study of real-world issues in which language plays a crucial role. ALR brings together critical reflections of current debates and new theoretical and empirical research.

Topics
Aspects of the linguistic and communicative competence of the individual:

bilingualism and multilingualism
first or second language acquisition
literacy
language disorders

Language and communication related problems in and between societies:

linguistic discrimination
language conflict
communication in the workplace
language policy and language planning
and language ideology

Articles that not only report new research findings but also engage in philosophical and methodological debates and point to directions of future research are particularly welcome.