Applied Linguistics

Course by Dr. Saif Aqachmar

Semester 5
 1.1. Overview and Description

The course of Applied Linguistics aims to introduce students to the study of one of the

most prominent fields of language “as a Science” or “Macro Linguistics”. The course will

help students grasp and understand the concepts listed:

1. Applied Linguistics,

2. Bilingualism and multilingualism,

3. Fist language Acquisition,

4. Second language acquisition,

5. Language pedagogy (Methods and Approaches in Language Teaching),

 1.2. Applied Linguistics

We start this definition with the famous quote by Vivian Cook “Applied

Linguistics means many things to many people” (2006). Applied Linguistics is an

interdisciplinary field that usually involves the combination of one, two, or more other

disciplines with the objective of understanding phenomena. Applied linguistics is about

understanding how language and communication works, and being able to communicate

effectively in all contexts. These skills could lead to work in many careers and industries,

including emerging areas such as machine translation, speech recognition and human-

computer interaction.

It is about how linguistics contribute to the understanding of real-life situations in

different contexts by correlating areas of study like psychology, sociology, anthropology,

communication, politics, economics…etc.

Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field. Its major branches include

bilingualism and multilingualism, conversation analysis, contrastive linguistics,

language assessment, literacies, discourse analysis, language pedagogy, second

language acquisition, language planning and policy, interlinguistics, stylistics, language

teacher education, forensic linguistics, and translation.

Applied linguistics also tracks fields like psycholinguistics, pedagogy and

sociolinguistics and their applications in various domains, including, for example,

language teaching and learning; language assessment; and language policy and

planning. It also shows how advancements in applied linguistics have been applied to real-

world problems such as how to train language teachers; how to design fair and
effective language tests; how to combat language discrimination; and how minority

languages can be revived and maintained.

The term was first coined in North America and used both in the United States and

Great Britain. Applied Linguistics was officially recognized as an independent course at

the University of Michigan in 1946. It was used to refer to applying ‘scientific approach' to

teaching foreign languages, including English for nonnative speakers. Some scholars who

helped in defining the term were Charles Fries and Robert Lado.

1.3. Bilingualism and Multilingualism

1.3.1. Bilingualism

Possibly the simplest definition of bilingualism is the one pointing to the ability of a

person to communicate in two languages. Most frequently, bilingualism is the outcome of

raising children in a bilingual family, the result of long-term exposure to more languages,

or the outcome of bilingual education that is provided by a school system (bilingual

education). Examples of officially bilingual countries are Canada and Belgium. The former

integrates the biggeest bilingual city in the world, Montreal.

Most likely, the simplest definition of bilingualism comes from Valdez & Figueora (1994)

claiming that bilingualism means “knowing” two languages. The problem is the authors do

not explain what “to know” means. On the contrary, other authors see bilingualism as a

complicated complex influenced by multiple factors such as the age of acquisition of both

languages, the amount of exposure to both languages, the way how both languages were

learned, and the level of proficiency and communication skills in each language.
 Modern definitions admit that bilingualism is composed of multiple subskills and a

bilingual (a person with the trait of bilinguialism) can have varying levels of proficiency in

both languages. It means a person may be highly proficient in one language and less

proficient in the other, or he may be highly proficient in reading and nearly unable to speak

in a second language. Tokuhama-Espinoza (2009) summarized several key factors

influencing (both in positive or negative way) development of bilingualism:

1. Timing (when exposure to two languages or formal bilingual education started);

2. Aptitude (a language” talent “);

3. Motivation (both positive and negative);

4. Strategy (how both languages are learnt);

5. Consistency (how stable and consistent the exposure to both languages is);

6. Opportunity and support (does a person have enough opportunities to

communicate in both languages? Are they supported by their families, friends,

community, etc?

7. Linguistic and historic relationship between languages (it is much easier to

become bilingual in languages coming from the same language family, e.g. Slovak

and Czech, than to be bilingual in “distant”, unrelated languages with different

graphical, lexical and syntactical characteristics, e.g. Slovak and Chinese);

8. Closest people´s attitude (e.g. parents, siblings, closest friends);

9. Gender (it is believed that thanks to better cooperation of both hemispheres, girls

are better in acquiring bilingualism);

 1.3.2. Types of Bilingualism

Simultaneous bilingualism, which occurs when two languages are acquired from birth or

very early, prior to one year of age (DeHouwer, 2005).

Sequential bilingualism, when one language is acquired following another.

True, ”pure“ bilingualism, laics and also some pedagogical documents understand the term

bilingualism as the situation when a person has a native-like proficiency in both languages.

(such people are very difficult to find)

Additive bilinguals who maintain their high-quality communicative skills in a mother

language and they learn a second language as an addition to it. The situation is rather

opposite with bilingual learners who, while improving their skills in a second language,

gradually lose or decrease their communicative skills in mother languages (subtractive

bilingualism).

Balanced bilingualism, as neither of two languages is dominant, and a bilingual

communicates in both languages equally well.

Elective bilingualism, on the other hand, is developed if a learner chooses to be bilingual

and learn a second language, not because of social or work-related reasons, but because

they want it.

Most frequently, bilingualism is the outcome of either raising children in a bilingual

family, or the result of long-term exposure to more languages in various social

environments, or the outcome of formal bilingual education provided by a school system.

Considering various types of social environments in which bilingualism is acquired and

various types of links between languages, researchers have identified seven possible

topologies of bilingualism (Maghsoudi, 2010, p. 36)

Ø Ambilingualism: a bilingual demonstrates equal ability in both languages and in

all domains, it is nearly impossible to trace any influence of one language on the

other without preferring on to another for certain uses.;.

▪ Equilingualism: a bilingual has roughly equivalent ability in both languages;

▪ Functional bilingualism: a bilingual can perform a limited set of activities in a

second language;

▪ Receptive/passive bilingualism: a bilingual comprehends a second language

(either in spoken or written form) but is not able to produce it;

▪ Productive/active bilingualism: along with comprehension, a bilingual can

produce second language utterances;

▪ Natural/primary bilingualism: the acquisition of a second language in a natural

setting (e.g. bilingual family) without formal instructing or training;

▪ Academic/secondary bilingualism: a bilingual acquires a second language

through formal teaching at school. This type of bilingualism integrates developing

biliteracy as a rule (c.f. Bialystok, 2007; Bialystok, Luk, & Kwan, 2005).

▪ Bilingual education : (both formal and informal) is provided in at least two

languages. In reality, the concept is more complicated and a comparative study of

the situation in various countries has proved that it “means different things in

different places” (Hall, Smith & Wicaksono, 2011, p. 177). In this paper, bilingual

education is understood as a term enveloping any system of education in which the

curriculum (or at least part of it) is presented to learners in two (or more)
 languages, irrespective of their combination, so that they may develop bilingualism

and biliteracy as close to true bilingualism as possible.

1.3.3. Multilingualism

Multilingualism is generally understood to mean knowledge of more languages than a

native language. It is a language term that moves from monolingualism (knowing one

language) beyond bilingualism (knowing two languages) into the realm of knowing many,

or multiple, languages.

Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers to

communicate effectively in three or more languages. Contrast with monolingualism, the

ability to use only one language. A person who can speak multiple languages is known as

a polyglot or a multilingual.

The original language a person grows up speaking is known as their first language or

mother tongue. Someone who is raised speaking two first languages or mother tongues is

called a simultaneous bilingual. If they learn a second language later, they are called a

sequential bilingual.

Multilingualism is generally understood to mean knowledge of more languages than a

native language. It is a language term that moves from monolingualism (knowing one

language) beyond bilingualism (knowing two languages) into the realm of knowing many,

or multiple, languages.Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker or a

community of speakers to communicate effectively in three or more languages. Contrast

with monolingualism, the ability to use only one language. A person who can speak

multiple languages is known as a polyglot or a multilingual.

 The original language a person grows up speaking is known as their first language or

mother tongue. Someone who is raised speaking two first languages or mother tongues is

called a simultaneous bilingual. If they learn a second language later, they are called a

sequential bilingual.

1.3.4. Bilingualism and Multilingualism

"Current research...begins by emphasizing the quantitative distinction

between multilingualism and bilingualism and the greater complexity and diversity of the

factors involved in acquisition and use where more than two languages are involved

(Cenoz 2000; Hoffmann 2001a; Herdina and Jessner 2002). Thus, it is pointed out that not

only do multilinguals have larger overall linguistic repertoires, but the range of the

language situations in which multilinguals can participate, making appropriate language

choices, is more extensive. Herdina & Jessner (2000b:93) refer to this capacity as 'the

multilingual art of balancing communicative requirements with language resources.' This

wider ability associated with the acquisition of more than two languages has also been

argued to distinguish multilinguals in qualitative terms. One . . . qualitative distinction

seems to lie in the area of strategies. Kemp (2007), for example, reports that multilingual

learners' learning strategies differ from those of monolingual students learning their first

foreign language." — Larissa Aronin and David Singleton

1.3.4.1. Multilingualism definition

Multilingualism is not a recent phenomenon. Multilingual scholars from different parts

of Europe were responsible for the translation of Arabic and Greek text into Latin and the

transmission of learning in the Middle Ages. Multilingualism was also present in the first

written examples of the Spanish and Basque languages, the Glosas Emilianenses. These
were notes in Spanish and Basque written in a Latin book at the end of the 11th century. At

the societal level, a well-known example is multilingualism in England after the Norman

Conquest in 1066. English was the language of the majority of the population, but Norman

French was the language of the ruling class, and Latin was the language of record keeping

and the Church. An older example of multilingualism is Sumerian-Akkadian inS outhern

Mesopotamia during the third millennium BCE.

Several factors have contributed to the current visibility of multilingualism. Among

them, globalization, transnational mobility of the population, and the spread of new

technologies are highly influential in different political, social, and educational contexts.

Aronin and Singleton (2008) compared the features of historical and contemporary

multilingualism and reported seven distinctions. These distinctions can be clustered into

three main areas:

1. Geographical: In comparison with the past, multilingualism is not limited to

geographically close languages or to specific border areas or trade routes. It is a

more global phenomenon spread over different parts of the world.

2. Social: Multilingualism is no longer associated with specific social strata,

professions, or rituals. It is increasingly spread across different social classes,

professions, and sociocultural activities.

3. Medium: In the past, multilingual communication was often limited to writing, and

mail was slow. In the 21st century, because of the Internet, multilingual

communication is multimodal and instantaneous.