The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Carol A. Chapelle
such as ethnicity, nation, citizenship education, and intercultural competence as they pertain to language‐related issues. Problems in applied linguistics have an ideological dimension which must at least be acknowledged and at best reckoned with because language use is not neutral. Language ideology affects how researchers choose problems to work on and the perspectives they use in their analysis. As Cook put it, “Applied linguistics is not simply a matter of matching up findings about language with pre‐existing problems but of using findings to explore how the perception of problems might be changed” (Cook, 2003, p. 10). The process of formulating and changing perceptions of problems highlights ideology, as illustrated in the entry language ideology in the discourse of popular culture.
Other entries showcase some of the concepts and practices that have been recruited from social science research methods and repurposed in applied linguistics. Most advanced degree programs preparing students to study language problems in the real world expect students to be familiar with qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. These methods and their foundations as they are used in applied linguistics are illustrated by entries such as quantitative methods, epistemology and ontology, interviews in qualitative research, mixed methods, and case study. Many of the issues in applied linguistics have been explored through lines of research using more than one method.
Reading The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics
The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics was designed to offer readers a sampling of the range of topics that have been investigated within applied linguistics and the approaches used to do so. As such, it serves as a tangible definition of applied linguistics. The detailed presentation of each of the topics in The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics reveals the potential scope of applied linguistics today, which is more comprehensively captured in The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.
Yet, even in The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, defining the boundaries of the field is a growing challenge with the expansion of language contact, language technologies, and approaches to research. More and more people, either by choice or by necessity, migrate to live in a location where they use an additional language. Such movement creates important issues such as how such transitions can be made in a manner that affords new residents and their children a genuine opportunity to succeed. Even people who remain physically within their first language context are seeing their physical linguistic landscape change as a result of the movement of others. Moreover, the Internet continues to create opportunities for connections across time and space, changing the way people communicate. The language–technology interface is an area of constant evolution as new forms of communication are taken up by individuals who invent new uses for them. Readers will find The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics a good starting point for learning about the way that applied linguists approach the study of language‐related problems.
References
1 Cook, G. (2003). Applied linguistics. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
2 Corder, S. P. (1973). Introducing applied linguistics. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Education.
3 Davies, A. (2007). An introduction to applied linguistics: From practice to theory (2nd ed.). Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press.
4 Davies, A., & Elder, C. (Ed.). (2004). The handbook of applied linguistics. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
5 Hall, C. J., Smith, P. H., & Wicaksono, R. (2011). Mapping applied linguistics: A guide for students and practitioners. New York, NY: Routledge.
6 Kaplan, R. B. (Ed.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of applied linguistics. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
7 Simpson, J. (Ed.). (2011). The Routledge handbook of applied linguistics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Suggested Readings
1 de Bot, K. (2015). A history of applied linguistics: From 1980 to the present. London, England: Routledge.
2 Gass, S. M., & Makoni, S. (Eds.). (2004). World applied linguistics (Special issue). AILA Review, 17.
3 Schmitt, N. (Ed.). (2019). An introduction to applied linguistics (2nd ed.). London, England: Routledge.
Note
1 1 The area editors of The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics designed the content configuration of each of its 27 topic areas. The area editors with their respective areas are the following: Karin Aijmer (Grammar), Claudia V. Angelelli (Translation and Interpreting), Brian Baer (Translation and Interpreting), Jasone Cenoz (Bilingual and Multilingual Education & Bilingualism and Multilingualism), Thomas Cobb (Technology and Language), Ulla Connor (Language for Specific Purposes), Patricia Friedrich (Language Ideology), Marta González‐Lloret (Pragmatics), Durk Gorter (Bilingual and Multilingual Education & Bilingualism and Multilingualism), Nadja Grbic (Translation and Interpreting), Marianne Gullberg (Cognitive Second Language Acquisition), Dorothea Halbe (Corpus Linguistics), Linda Harklau (Qualitative Methods), Joan Jamieson (Quantitative and Mixed Methods), Rodney H. Jones (Analysis of Discourse and Interaction), Krzysztof Kredens (Forensic Linguistics), Eva Lam (Literacy), John Levis (Phonetics and Phonology), Angel Lin (Critical Discourse Analysis), Joseph Lo Bianco (Language Policy and Planning), Aya Matsuda (Language Ideology & World Englishes), Kim McDonough (Quantitative and Mixed Methods), Kristian Mortensen (Conversation Analysis), Murray J. Munro (Phonetics and Phonology), Sigrid Norris (Discourse), Amy Snyder Ohta (Social Dynamic and Complexity Theory Approaches to Second Language Development), Lourdes Ortega (Language Learning and Teaching), Lia Plakans (Assessment and Testing), Karen Risager (Culture and Context), Meryl Siegal (Qualitative Methods), Michael Stubbs (Corpus Linguistics), Thomas A. Upton (Language for Specific Purposes), Johannes Wagner (Conversation Analysis), John Williams (Cognitive Second Language Acquisition), and Brent Wolter (Lexis).
Acknowledgments
The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics is the result of many years of work by a large group of people who shared their expertise to define and explain applied linguistics to a wide audience of prospective readers. It began with the compilation of The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, which was published by Wiley Blackwell online in 2012 and in print in 2013. The conception of the original Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics benefited from the expertise of an advisory board consisting of established leaders in the field: Lyle F. Bachman, Heidi Byrnes, Dorothy M. Chun, Malcolm Coulthard, Alan Davies, Susan M. Gass, Nancy H. Hornberger, Gabriele Kasper, Claire Kramsch, Elana Shohamy, and Bernard Spolsky. I am grateful to the advisory board for their guidance in building the robust architecture for the Encyclopedia, which has stood the test of time. It is currently in use in over 1,000 libraries in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
I thank the area editors who conceptualized how each of the 27 topics in The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics should be elaborated and then worked with the authors to develop each topic to reflect the relevant expertise. The following people worked diligently in this capacity: Karin Aijmer, Claudia V. Angelelli, Brian Baer, Jasone Cenoz, Thomas Cobb, Ulla Connor, Patricia Friedrich, Marta González‐Lloret, Durk Gorter, Nadja Grbic, Marianne Gullberg, Dorothea Halbe, Linda Harklau, Joan Jamieson, Rodney H. Jones, Krzysztof Kredens, Eva Lam, John Levis, Angel Lin, Joseph Lo Bianco, Aya Matsuda, Kim McDonough, Kristian Mortensen, Murray J. Munro, Sigrid Norris, Amy Snyder Ohta, Lourdes Ortega, Lia Plakans, Karen Risager, Meryl Siegal, Michael Stubbs, Thomas A. Upton, Johannes Wagner, John Williams, and Brent Wolter.
The expertise of the area editors and their respective authors resulted in such a useful collection that in 2017 data captured in the electronic version of The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics indicated the entries had been visited over half a million times. The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics