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AILA – Editorial Board

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Prof. Dr. Susanne Niemeier

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  • Ulrich Ammon, Gerhard-Mercator-Universität, Germany
  • Maria Antonieta Alba Celani, National Research Council, Brazil
  • Roy Lyster (McGill University, Canada)
  • Howard Nicholas, La Trobe University, Australia

Last Updated: 2008-10-29

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 8

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 1-15 AILA Review, Volume 8

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Reading in Two Languages, Edited by Jan H. HULSTIJN & Johan F. MATTER, 1991

Download Issue 8 in PDF format (~600kB)

Guest-editor's Preface. How is reading in a second language related to reading in a first language?
Jan H.HULSTIJN
5-14
Lower level components or reading skill in higher level bilinguals: Implications for reading instruction
Norman SEGALOWITZ, Catherine POULSEN & Melvin KOMEDA
15-30
A psycholinguistic perspective on second language literacy
Elizabeth B. BERNHARDT
30-44
On thresholds, ceilings and short-circuits: the relation between L1 reading, L2 reading and L2 knowledge
Bart BOSSERS
45-60
Acquisition of biliteracy
VERHOEVEN
61-74
Conversational and academic language proficiency in bilingual contexts
Jim CUMMINS
75-89
Contributors to this issue 91

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – Awardees

You are here: Home About Solidarity Awards Application for Grants

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AILA pursues the following objectives:

  • Actively contributing to the development of all subject
    areas of applied linguistics
  • Promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge and practical experience
  • Stimulating international cooperation
  • Fostering language pluralism
  • Supporting applied linguistics in developing countries

AILA pursues these objectives by:

  • Holding a triennial world congress
  • Establishing and supporting Research Networks (ReNs)
  • Promoting the dissemination of scientific information by a variety of means, including this web site and various publications (a scholarly journal, a book series and a newsletter)
  • Collaborating with other organizations with related objectives and goals
  • Making available Solidarity Awards to support the attendance of academics from developing countries at the World Congress

Last Updated: 2008-06-15

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 16

Africa and Applied Linguistics, Edited by Sinfree Makoni and Ulrike H. Meinhof, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2003

Article Summaries

The democratisation of indigenous languages: The case of Malawi

Themba Moyo

This article attempts to explore issues of language marginalisation in Malawi. It argues that the policies pursued from independence 1964 todate have not been democratic. They have essentially favoured a small ruling English-Chichewa elite, that has emerged and entrenched itself, regardless of which government has come into power. Viable indigenous languages, which could equally play a meaningful role in the socioeconomic political life of the country, have been largely marginalised, in market places and in other national functions. In the face of this situation, the argument advanced is one of an immediate review of of such incoherent and fragementary policies for more accommodating ones, with a clear vision and an agenda for implementation for all the citizenry.

Classroom code-switching in post-colonial contexts: Functions, attitudes and policies

Gibson Ferguson

Code-Switching in the classroom across a range of curricular subjects is a widespread phenomenon in multilingual, language contact settings in Africa and, indeed, world-wide; yet it is not infrequently regarded unfavourably by educational policy-makers. This paper reviews the literature on classroom functions of code-switching in post-colonial contexts, commenting on the merits and limitations of recent research. It also examines some of the conceptions of language underlying official and lay attitudes. Finally, as befits a paper examining classroom codeþswitching from the somewhat unusual perspective of language planning in education, it evaluates a number of policy proposals addressing the issue of how code-switching might more effectively be exploited as a communicative and pedagogic resource in instruction. The paper overall is constructed so as to inform the attitudes, practices and policies of policy-makers, teacher educators and teachers.

A pilot study of Supplemental Instruction for at-risk students at an Historically Black University (HBU in South Africa

Constance Zulu

This article discusses a pilot investigation conducted between February and May 2002. The aim of this investigation was to assess the efficacy of the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program — which has a proven track record elsewhere — at an historically black university in South Africa. SI is an academic assistance program which was developed at the University of Missouri- Kansas City in 1973 by Deanna C. Martin and subsequently adopted countrywide and in other parts of the world. The pilot was conducted on a population of first year law students registered for an introductory module, “Introduction to South African Legal Method and Theory”. Two questions were investigated: 1. Does SI have an effect on students’ mastery of content? 2. Does SI have an effect on students’ perceptions of their mastery of skills? Three measures were used to explore these questions, namely pre and posttests of content mastery; student perception of skill mastery and end of course grades. Although there was no significant difference on the mastery of course content between SI and Non-SI participants, it was found that higher SI attendance rates resulted in slightly higher mean grades, suggesting that SI may have had some impact on the final course end grades. A significant difference at the .03 level was found between the mean grades of students who attended 4 or more sessions and those who attended 1–3 sessions. The investigation also revealed that a number of barriers and challenges need to be addressed for a successful SI program to be implemented at the university.

Discourse, culture and the law: The analysis of crosstalk in the Southern African bilingual courtroom

Pulie Thetela

The aim of this paper is to analyse the nature of the courtroom discourse in an African context. The nature of courtroom discourse has been extensively discussed and and analysed in non-African contexts. This paper, however, makes a unique contribution by analysing the nature of courtroom discourse in multilingual courts in Southern Africa. The contribution is unique because it investigates the probematic nature of courtroom interpretation, using the theoretical notion of crosstalk, in multilingual communities when the communicative styles of the participants are divergent and conflicting. More significantly the paper illustrates the potential impact of a special register hlonipha-the language of respect for women. The paper concludes by looking at ways in which through register we can intrerrogate power relations in courtroom discourse and examine the implications of such power discrepancy on the delivery of justice.

Popular Malagasy music and the construction of cultural identities

Pedzisai Mashiri

This paper explores the construction of cultural identities through contemporary music from Madagascar, in particular the songs by Dama — singer-song-writer of the eponymous group of musicians- the Mahaleo. Specific focus is on the role that the discourses of and about popular Malagasy music play for the identity constructions of Malagasy people in Madagascar and abroad. Discussions about contemporary African music on the media and in the cultural studies literature, and the record industry’s own appropriation and commercialization of such music as generic ‘world music — tend to neglect the lyrics — and thus the often radical social critique — contained in these songs. Since much of African music is sung in languages not normally known to ‘Western’ audiences, their appreciation hinges on the vibrancy of rhythm and sound, to the exclusion of content. Yet to ‘home’ and ‘diapsoric’ audiences, the texts are of huge significance. Our paper discusses the significance of language choice for popular music in Madagascar in the political movement of 1972 and its aftermath. We will also analyse in detail the lyrics of some typical songs from Mahaleo’s repertoire written by Dama. These will exemplify some of the ways in which the group attempts to encapsulate aspects of Malagasy every-day life, thus providing a cohesive link not only between several generations of Malagasies in Madagascar itself, but even more pronouncedly for those Malagasies who have left Madagascar and settled overseas. Finally, we will show the ways in which audiences create and perform ‘being Malagasy’ through the medium of their popular music, demonstrating the extent to which the project of ‘Mahaleo’ is being reflexively and consciously understood and taken up by their listeners.

"I want to be like a human again": Morbidity and retained ability in an Alzheimer sufferer

Stanley G.M. Ridge, Sinfree Makoni and Elaine Ridge

The article undertakes an integrated, holistic and multidisciplinary study of the language produced over an extended period by an ageing South African woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It does so against the background of the medical and legal records of the dementing person’s condition revealing certain possibilities, in treatment and care, of moving beyond pathological deficit perspective and exploring the implications of retained ability. The study is strengthened by comparison of current patterns of written and oral language use with those in letters from the same person early in her professional life, and in a highly regarded scientific book she produced at the height of her carer.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review Issues

Africa and Applied Linguistics, Edited by Sinfree Makoni and Ulrike H. Meinhof, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2003

Table of contents

World Applied Linguistics, Edited by Susan M. Gass and Sinfree Makoni, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2004

Table of contents

Applied Linguistics in Latin America, Edited by Kanavillil Rajagopalan, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2005

Table of contents

Themes in SLA Research, Edited by Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig and Zoltán Dörnyei, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2006

Table of contents

Linguistic inequality in scientific communication today, Edited by Augusto Carli and Ulrich Ammon, Modena-Reggio Emilia/Duisburg-Essen 2008

Table of contents

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 2

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 1-15 AILA Review, Volume 2

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Volume 2, Edited by Albert Valdman, Bloomington, Indiana; December, 1985

Download Issue 2 in PDF format (~280kB)

Editor's Note
Albert Valdman
5-8
Toward Linguistic Competence
Dell Hymes
9-23
Richtungen der Angewandten Soziolinguistik
Matthias Hartig
24-48
Ethnic and National Mobilization: Linguistic Outcomes
Christina Bratt Paulston
34-48
Norme, variation, créolisation
Robert Chaudenson
69-84

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 1

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 1-15 AILA Review, Volume 1

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Volume 1, Edited by Ranko Bugarski, 1984

Download Issue 1 in PDF format (~440kB)

Editorial Note V
AILA in 1984: Retrospect and Prospect
J. Svartvik
1-6
Contexts of Bilingual Education: International Perspectives and Issues
G.A. Cziko and R. C. Troike,
7-34
L'écolinguistique - aspects méthodologiques de la linguistique de contact
P.H. Nelde
33-48
Translation Studies and Applied Linguistics
A. Neubert
49-64

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 19

Themes in SLA Research, Edited by Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig and Zoltán Dörnyei, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2006

Article Summaries

Input, Interaction and Output: An Overview

Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey

This paper presents an overview of what has come to be known as the Interaction Hypothesis, the basic tenet of which is that through input and interaction with interlocutors, language learners have opportunities to notice differences between their own formulations of the target language and the language of their conversational partners. They also receive feedback which both modifies the linguistic input they receive and pushes them to modify their output during conversation. This paper focuses on the major constructs of this approach to SLA, namely, input, interaction, feedback and output, and discusses recent literature that addresses these issues.

Researching the Effects of Form-Focussed Instruction on L2 Acquisition

Rod Ellis, University of Auckland

This article examines a variety of options for conducting investigations of the effects of interventionist form-focused instruction (FFI). Constructs related to three key areas of form-focussed instruction are presented; (1) the type of instruction, (2) the target of the instruction, and (3) the definition and measurement of ‘language acquisition’. The constructs are illustrated by drawing on a representative set of FFI studies. The overall aim is to draw a conceptual map that can inform meta-analytical surveys of existing studies and the conceptualisation of new studies.

Individual differences in second language acquisition

Zoltán Dörnyei, University of Nottingham

Ever since the early days of its existence, the field of psychology has been trying to achieve two different and somewhat contradictory objectives: to understand the general principles of the human mind and to explore the uniqueness of the individual mind. The latter direction has formed an independent subdiscipline within the field, usually referred to as individual difference (ID) research. IDs are a prominent feature of SLA because a great deal of the variation in language learning outcomes is attributable, either directly or indirectly, to various learner characteristics. This paper first provides an overview of the five most important ID variables (personality, aptitude, motivation, learning styles and learning strategies) and then concludes by describing certain common themes in contemporary ID research.

Interlanguage Development: Main Routes and Individual Paths

Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig, Indiana University

The study of language development in second language acquisition naturally leads to information about linguistic processes of second language acquisition, but it also sheds light on learners’ individual differences. This article examines the acquisition of the future in L2 English and explores how learners in a longitudinal study respond to input, instruction, and the general task of learning a second language through the lens of their grammatical development.

Beyond Repair: Conversation Analysis as an Approach to SLA

Gabriele Kasper, University of Hawaii

As one of several approaches to SLA as social practice, Conversation Analysis (CA) has the capacity to examine in detail how opportunities for L2 learning arise in different interactional activities. Its particular strength, and one that distinguishes it from other social practice approaches, is its consistent focus on the orientations and relevancies that participants display to each other through their interactional conduct. CA thus affords a distinct perspective on L2 learning as object and process. It enables researchers to reconsider such established SLA topics as fluency, correction, or the benefits of tasks for L2 learning, but also offers an acquisitional perspective on interactional conduct whose potential for L2 learning has been largely unexplored.

Cognitive Perspectives on SLA: The Associative-Cognitive CREED

Nick C. Ellis, University of Michigan

This paper outlines current cognitive perspectives on second language acquisition (SLA). The Associative-Cognitive CREED holds that SLA is governed by the same principles of associative and cognitive learning that underpin the rest of human knowledge. The major principles of the framework are that SLA is Construction-based, Rational, Exemplar-driven, Emergent, and Dialectic. Language learning involves the acquisition of constructions that map linguistic form and function. Competence and performance both emerge from the dynamic system that is the frequency-tuned conspiracy of memorized exemplars of use of these constructions, with competence being the integrated sum of prior usage and performance being its dynamic contextualized activation. The system is rational in that it optimally reflects prior first language (L1) usage. The L1 tunes the ways in which learners attend to language. Learned-attention transfers to L2 and it is this L1 entrenchment that limits the endstate of usage-based SLA. But these limitations can be overcome by recruiting learner consciousness, putting them into a dialectic tension between the conflicting forces of their current stable states of interlanguage and the evidence of explicit form-focused feedback, either linguistic, pragmatic, or metalinguistic, that allows socially scaffolded development. The paper directs the reader to recent review articles in these key areas and weighs the implications of this framework.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 7

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 1-15 AILA Review, Volume 7

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Standardization in Language Testing, Edited by John H. A. L. DE JONG, 1990

Download Issue 7 in PDF format (~425kB)

Guest-editor's Preface
John H. A. L. DE JONG
3-5
Language Testing in Research and Education: The Need for Standards
Peter J. M. GROOT
6-23
The Cambridge-TOEFL Comparability Study : An example of the Cross-National Comparison of Language Tests
Fred DAVIDSON & Lyle BACHMAN
24-45
The Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ASLPR)
David E. INGRAM
46-61
Cross-National Standards: A Dutch-Swedish Collaborative Effort in National Standardized Testing
John H.A.L. DE JONG & Mats OSCARSON
62-78
The Hebrew Speaking Test: An Example of International Cooperation in Test Development and Validation
Elana SHOHAMY & Charles W. STANSFIELD
79-90
EUROCERT: An International Standard for Certification of Language Proficiency
Alex OLDE KALTER & Paul VOSSEN
91-105
Response to Alex Olde Kalter and Paul Vossen
John READ
106-107

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – Solidarity Awards

AILA aims to extend participation in Applied Linguistics across geographical areas not currently well represented in our association by offering a limited number of Solidarity Awards to scholars in Applied Linguistics who might be unable to participate in the World Congress without financial support. This is made possible by the generous donation of individuals, businesses, and organizations to the Solidarity Fund.

The selection criteria for Solidarity Awards are academic merit or promise, together with a financially disadvantaged situation, and acceptance of an abstract for presentation by the Congress organisers.

There are both 'full' awards, covering reasonable travel costs, accommodation and congress fees, and 'travel' awards, covering reasonable travel costs and congress fees.

For application procedure details, see Application for Grants.

Last Updated: 2008-06-16

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 4

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 1-15 AILA Review, Volume 4

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Linguistics as Applied Linguistics, Edited by Wolfgang Kühlwein, 1987

Download Issue 4 in PDF format (~460kB)

Editor's Preface
Wolfgang Kühlwein
5-8
Externality and finalization In linguistics
Wolfgang Kühlwein
9-24
Concepts and categories in language teaching methodology
Christopher Brumfit
25-31
The place of linguistics in general theory of second language learning and in language teaching
Bernard Spolsky
32-43
Focuses of applied linguistics in Japan: a case study
Ikuo Koike
54-56
Computational Linguistics: Theoretical foundations, misconceptions and applications
Walter v. Hahn
57-68
Clinical linguistics
Martin Ball
69-87
The (applied) linguistic's concern in multilingualism
Melanie Mikes
88-99

Last Updated: 2008-06-26

AILA – Awardees

You are here: Home About Solidarity Awards List of Donors

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AILA pursues the following objectives:

  • Actively contributing to the development of all subject
    areas of applied linguistics
  • Promoting the exchange of scientific knowledge and practical experience
  • Stimulating international cooperation
  • Fostering language pluralism
  • Supporting applied linguistics in developing countries

AILA pursues these objectives by:

  • Holding a triennial world congress
  • Establishing and supporting Research Networks (ReNs)
  • Promoting the dissemination of scientific information by a variety of means, including this web site and various publications (a scholarly journal, a book series and a newsletter)
  • Collaborating with other organizations with related objectives and goals
  • Making available Solidarity Awards to support the attendance of academics from developing countries at the World Congress

Last Updated: 2008-06-15

AILA – Guidelines for Contributors

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Invitation for Proposals

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  • All manuscripts should be addressed to the editors of the respective

    Volume of AILA Review. All submission letters must specify that the manuscript submitted is not under consideration elsewhere and has not been published elsewhere in this or a substantially similar form.

  • Contributions should be in English. If not written by a native speaker, it is advisable to have the paper checked by a native speaker.
  • No page other than the cover pages should give the author's name. The review of the manuscript will be anonymous.
  • Submit four double-spaced printed copies (preferably 12-point font) in conformance to the style as described in the unabridged submission guidelines for Eurosla proceedings. The length of the manuscript should not exceed 10.000 words. Include author name, title, full mailing address, e-mail address and telephone numbers.
  • An abstract both in English and French should be included. This should not exceed 200 words.
  • For the delivery of the final version, the article should be presented on disk and saved on IBM-PC compatible or Mac disk. Material should be saved in ASCII mode or 'non-document' mode, or 'text-only' mode. It should also be saved as a separate file in the author's normal word-processor format together with a note indicating the name of the word processor used. The format of the disk (PC or Mac) should also be labeled on the disk. An identical hard copy of the manuscript should be included.
  • References in text should be according the style as described in the unabridged submission guidelines for AILA Review.
  • Sample references:
    • Blackmore, S.J. 1982. Beyond the Body. London: Heinemann.
    • Clahsen, H. 1991. Generative Perspectives on Language Acquisition [Language Acquisition & Language Disorders 14]. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
  • Essential notes (Footnotes/Endnotes) should be numbered in the text and grouped together at the end of the article. Diagrams and figures should not be any electronic files, for gray scales TIFF format is preferred, for line drawings EPS format.
  • The author of an article will receive page proofs for correction. Corrected page proofs must be returned to the editors by the date specified in the letter accompanying the proofs. This stage must not be used as an opportunity to revise the paper. Because alterations are extremely costly, extensive changes will be charged to the author an may result in the article being placed in a later issue.
  • Authors of articles will receive a complimentary copy of AILA Review in which their articles appear.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – Volumes 1-15

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  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
  • Volume 3
  • Volume 4
  • Volume 5
  • Volume 6
  • Volume 7
  • Volume 8
  • Volume 9
  • Volume 10
  • Volume 11
  • Volume 12
  • Volume 13
  • Volume 14
  • Volume 15

The following issues have been prepared for download in Acrobat Reader format.

Volume 1

AILA Review / Revue de l'AILA 1, edited by Ranko Bugarsky, 1984
Table of contents, PDF  (437 kb)

Volume 2

Revue de l'AILA / AILA Review 2, edited by Albert Valdman, Bloomington, Indiana; December 1985
Table of contents, PDF  (274 kb)

Volume 3

Psycholinguistics — AILA-Review 1986, edited by Tatiana Slama-Cazacu, Bucharest, Spring 1987
Table of contents, PDF  (221 kb)

Volume 4

Linguistics as Applied Linguistics — AILA Review 1987, edited by Wolfgang Kühlwein, 1987
Table of contents, PDF  (448 kb)

Volume 5

Classroom Research — AILA Review - Revue d'AILA 1988, edited by Gabriele Kasper, 1988
Table of contents, PDF  (3 MB)

Volume 6

Vocabulary Acquisition, edited by Paul Nation & Ron Carter, Nottingham, 1989
Table of contents, PDF  (657 kb)

page top

Volume 7

Standardization in Language Testing, edited by John H.A.L. de Jong, Nottingham, 1990
Table of contents, PDF  (416 kb)

page top

Volume 8

Reading in Two Languages, edited by Jan H. Hulstijn & Johan F. Matter, Alblasserdam, 1991
Table of contents, PDF  (588 kb)

page top

Volume 9

Language Teaching in the Twenty-first Century. Problems and Prospects, edited by Johan F. Matter, 1992
Table of contents, PDF  (588 kb)

page top

Volume 10

Case Studies in Minority Languages, edited by Kees de Bot, 1993
Table of contents, PDF  (5.16MB kb)

page top

Volume 11

Consciousness in Second Language Learning, Jan H. HULSTIJN & Richard SCHMIDT, Nottingham, 1994
Table of contents, PDF  (892 kb)

page top

Volume 12

Applied Linguistics Across Disciplines, Anna Mauranen and Karl Sajavaara, 1995
Table of contents, PDF  (1.21 MB)

page top

Volume 13

English in a changing world. L'anglais dans un monde changeant, David Graddol and Ulrike H. Meinhof, 1999
Table of contents, PDF  (835 KB)

page top

Volume 14

Applied linguistics for the 21st century, edited by David Graddol, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2003
Table of contents, PDF  (568 kb)

page top

Volume 15

Learner autonomy: new insights, edited by Leni Dam, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2001
Table of contents, PDF  (609 kb)

page top

Last Updated: 2008-06-24

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 19

Themes in SLA Research, Edited by Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig and Zoltán Dörnyei, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2006

Article Summaries

Input, Interaction and Output: An Overview

Susan M. Gass and Alison Mackey

This paper presents an overview of what has come to be known as the Interaction Hypothesis, the basic tenet of which is that through input and interaction with interlocutors, language learners have opportunities to notice differences between their own formulations of the target language and the language of their conversational partners. They also receive feedback which both modifies the linguistic input they receive and pushes them to modify their output during conversation. This paper focuses on the major constructs of this approach to SLA, namely, input, interaction, feedback and output, and discusses recent literature that addresses these issues.

Researching the Effects of Form-Focussed Instruction on L2 Acquisition

Rod Ellis, University of Auckland

This article examines a variety of options for conducting investigations of the effects of interventionist form-focused instruction (FFI). Constructs related to three key areas of form-focussed instruction are presented; (1) the type of instruction, (2) the target of the instruction, and (3) the definition and measurement of ‘language acquisition’. The constructs are illustrated by drawing on a representative set of FFI studies. The overall aim is to draw a conceptual map that can inform meta-analytical surveys of existing studies and the conceptualisation of new studies.

Individual differences in second language acquisition

Zoltán Dörnyei, University of Nottingham

Ever since the early days of its existence, the field of psychology has been trying to achieve two different and somewhat contradictory objectives: to understand the general principles of the human mind and to explore the uniqueness of the individual mind. The latter direction has formed an independent subdiscipline within the field, usually referred to as individual difference (ID) research. IDs are a prominent feature of SLA because a great deal of the variation in language learning outcomes is attributable, either directly or indirectly, to various learner characteristics. This paper first provides an overview of the five most important ID variables (personality, aptitude, motivation, learning styles and learning strategies) and then concludes by describing certain common themes in contemporary ID research.

Interlanguage Development: Main Routes and Individual Paths

Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig, Indiana University

The study of language development in second language acquisition naturally leads to information about linguistic processes of second language acquisition, but it also sheds light on learners’ individual differences. This article examines the acquisition of the future in L2 English and explores how learners in a longitudinal study respond to input, instruction, and the general task of learning a second language through the lens of their grammatical development.

Beyond Repair: Conversation Analysis as an Approach to SLA

Gabriele Kasper, University of Hawaii

As one of several approaches to SLA as social practice, Conversation Analysis (CA) has the capacity to examine in detail how opportunities for L2 learning arise in different interactional activities. Its particular strength, and one that distinguishes it from other social practice approaches, is its consistent focus on the orientations and relevancies that participants display to each other through their interactional conduct. CA thus affords a distinct perspective on L2 learning as object and process. It enables researchers to reconsider such established SLA topics as fluency, correction, or the benefits of tasks for L2 learning, but also offers an acquisitional perspective on interactional conduct whose potential for L2 learning has been largely unexplored.

Cognitive Perspectives on SLA: The Associative-Cognitive CREED

Nick C. Ellis, University of Michigan

This paper outlines current cognitive perspectives on second language acquisition (SLA). The Associative-Cognitive CREED holds that SLA is governed by the same principles of associative and cognitive learning that underpin the rest of human knowledge. The major principles of the framework are that SLA is Construction-based, Rational, Exemplar-driven, Emergent, and Dialectic. Language learning involves the acquisition of constructions that map linguistic form and function. Competence and performance both emerge from the dynamic system that is the frequency-tuned conspiracy of memorized exemplars of use of these constructions, with competence being the integrated sum of prior usage and performance being its dynamic contextualized activation. The system is rational in that it optimally reflects prior first language (L1) usage. The L1 tunes the ways in which learners attend to language. Learned-attention transfers to L2 and it is this L1 entrenchment that limits the endstate of usage-based SLA. But these limitations can be overcome by recruiting learner consciousness, putting them into a dialectic tension between the conflicting forces of their current stable states of interlanguage and the evidence of explicit form-focused feedback, either linguistic, pragmatic, or metalinguistic, that allows socially scaffolded development. The paper directs the reader to recent review articles in these key areas and weighs the implications of this framework.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 17

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 16 and newer AILA Review, Volume 16

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World Applied Linguistics, Edited by Susan M. Gass and Sinfree Makoni, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2004

Article Summaries

Reflexions sur 1'histoire de 1'AILA

Albert Valdman, Indiana University

Albert Valdman traces the history of AILA through his memories of its origins in the early 1960s in France to its place today as the umbrella organization of over 30 national associations from all over the world. He begins with a discussion of AILA’s early days- centered in Western Europe and focused on language learning - and follows its expansion in North America and the rest of the world and to other domains of applied linguistics. Along the way, he cites significant meetings, resulting publications, research groups, the question of language use within the organization and many linguists who have contributed to the evolution of AILA.

Some current trends in applied linguistics: Towards a generic view

Martin Bygate, Lancaster University

This paper argues that the most significant trend in applied linguistics is the emergence of the field as a generic discipline, involving several subareas, all characterised by the aim of developing theoretical and empirical studies of language as a key element in real world problems. Various subsidiary trends are apparent including numerous methodological and theoretical developments. The paper argues that so far these trends respond only inconsistently to two major challenges in the relationship between the academy and the lay community: (1) identifying and studying issues held to be problems by those outside the academy; and (2) clarifying the nature of the contributions of research to those real world problems. Three themes are considered: the relationship between surface data and theory development; the problem of the specific and the general; and the importance of problematicity. The paper concludes that applied linguistics needs to be accountable to two communities, the academy and the lay communities it aims to work with.

Applied Linguistics: Brazilian perspectives

Marilda C. Cavalcanti, State University of Campinas

The aim of this paper is to present perspectives in Applied Linguistics (AL) against the background of a historical overview of the field in Brazil. I take the stance of looking at AL as a field of knowledge and as a professional area of research. This point of view directs my reflections towards research-based Applied Linguistics carried out from within in places where it is continuously' developed, that is, in universities. Having done this, I locate the Brazilian experience within Latin America.

Australia and New Zealand applied linguistics (ANZAL): Taking stock

Robert C. Kleinsasser, University of Queensland

This paper reviews some emerging trends in applied linguistics in both Australia and New Zealand. It sketches the current scene of (selected) postgraduate applied linguistics programs in higher education and considers how various university programs define applied linguistics through the classes (titles) they have postgraduate students complete to be awarded a degree. Evidence of program requirements and topics reveal not only what applied linguistics generally entails, but offers insights into how applied linguistics is defined and practiced. Additionally, some of the salient research topics (titles) being published in the journals from the two countries' applied linguistics associations are sketched.

Applied linguistics in Europe

Kees de Bot, University of Groningen

In this contribution developments in Applied Linguistics in Europe are linked to major social changes that have taken place over the last decades. These include: The decline of the USSR and the end of the cold war; The development of the EEC and the EU and fading of borders; The economic growth of Western Europe; Labor migration from the south to the north of Europe; The emergence of regionalism. All of these developments have shaped the role of languages in society and they have sparked research on linguistic aspects related to the languages in contact due to these developments.

Applied Linguistics in Asia: Pathways, Patterns and Predictions

Anne Pakir, National University of Singapore

This paper examines language trends in 21st century Asia and reports on the development of Applied Linguistics (AL) in the region. It has a dual focus: the first analyses the unique preoccupations of Asian and Asia-based applied linguists that have given rise to present research directions and preferences. These, however, seem to be not much recognized in the currently BANA dominated field. A second focal point considers the larger concerns and issues that might lead to future and different directions in AL scholarship once `proper applied linguistics' - currently originating in the West and dominating research directions - reorients and realigns itself to include these Asian research and findings. It can be predicted that with this realignment, AL will grow as a field of inquiry in leaps and bounds along with the imminent rise of Asia by the middle of the twenty first century.

Western perspectives in applied linguistics in Africa

Sinfree Makoni and Ulrike Meinhof, Pennsylvania State University / University of Southampton

The aim of this article is to analyze the nature of the historical and contemporary social contexts within which applied linguistics in Africa emerged, and is currently practiced. The article examines the challenges `local' applied Linguistics in Africa is confronted with as it tries to amplify applied linguistic programs emanating from Europe and North America. The article argues that seemingly progressive applied linguistic projects interconnect in consolidating a western view of Africa in postcolonial Africa. In this way these projects end up mirroring the very theories which they seek to challenge.

Perspectives in applied linguistics: A North American view

William Grabe, Northern Arizona University

This overview focuses on the work of Applied Linguistics in North America with an emphasis on publications in the past 6 years. Follow a brief interpretive section on the nature and status of Applied Linguistics, the article reviews a number of major areas of research in Applied Linguistics. These areas include second language acquisition (and its various sub-domains), L2 reading and writing research, language learning and teaching, language and culture, corpus linguistics, critical perspectives, language assessment, language policy and planning, language uses in professional contexts, and technology in Applied Linguistics. The overview closes with comments on seven possible areas for growth in Applied Linguistics in addition to the mainstream fields noted above.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – Forthcoming Volumes

You are here: Home Publications AILA Applied Linguistics Series Guidelines for Book Proposals

Skip to section navigation Terry Lamb and Hayo Reinders (eds) Autonomy in Language Learning and Teaching John Gibbons and M. Teresa Turell (eds) Dimensions of Forensic Linguistics Mike Baynham and Mastin Prinsloo Literacies - Global and Local Sally Magnan (ed) Mediating Discourse Online Inmaculada Fortanet-Gómez & Christine Räisänen (eds) ESP in European Higher Education: Integrating language and content. Mark Fettes The Linguistic Ecology of Schooling: A Critical Realist Exploration.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – List of ReNs

http://www.renafrica.org/

Convenors

Content & Language Integrated Learning; and immersion classrooms

Additional Information

http://www.ichm.org/clil/

Convenors

Ute Smit

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Discourse Analysis

Convenors

Diana Slade

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Language and Migration

Convenors

Language in the Media: Representations, Identities, Ideologies

Convenors

Sally Johnson

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Language Policy

Convenors

Bernard Spolsky

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Homepage: www.lpren.org

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Learner autonomy in language learning

Convenors

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Multilingualism at the workplace

Convenors

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Multilingualism: Acquisition and use

Convenors

Britta Hufeisen

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Standard Language Education

Additional Information

Convenors

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Task complexity & second language learning (TacoSell)

Convenors

Folkert Kuiken

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Translation & Interpreting

Additional Information

Convenors

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Last Updated: 2008-07-09

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 18

Applied Linguistics in Latin America, Edited by Kanavillil Rajagopalan, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2005

Article Summaries

Dialogue and confrontation in Venezuelan political interaction

Adriana Bolivar, Universidad Central de Venezuela

This paper focuses on political change in Venezuela from a critical discourse analysis perspective that emphasizes the roles of the participants in the interaction to show how, with their actions, they are affected and affect others. An interactional approach based on Firth?s categories of context (Firth, 1951) and conversational analysis is used (Bolívar, 1986, 1994a, 1994b). The interaction is studied at a global level first in order to identify the actors responsible for political change in the social dynamics, and then particular events are examined in more detail. The aim is to describe how, in ongoing interaction, the political dialogue after 1998 moved from a formal democratic one to a violent confrontation between two major groups. The article focuses on political events before and after April 11th 2002, which marked a turning point in Venezuelan history. The corpus includes national newspapers, presidential speeches, the program Aló Presidente, slogans, graffiti, and insults recalled by women and men. The results show how verbal aggression and physical violence affect and weaken democratic dialogue and, consequently, the possibility of cooperation and understanding. The discussion highlights the need to strengthen critical language awareness in order to promote peace language rather than hate language.

Code switching and identity in the discourse of Catalan immigrants in Mexico

This paper analyzes patterns of code switching found in a small group of first and second generation Catalan immigrants in Mexico, and is part of a wider study on the impact of exile upon the construction of identity in the discourse of political immigrants in Latin America. With regard to the pragmatic exploitation of code switching, it argues that code switching is used by bilinguals even when a monolingual alternative is available, either because changing languages at a specific point in conversation reduces the processing effort involved in interpreting the stretch of discourse where the switch occurs, or because the shift of code adds cognitive effects to the overall interpretation of the message. The paper focuses on the effects of ad hoc concept construction, ? a well studied phenomenon in monolingual discourse ? on the presentation of self in bilingual discourse, analyzing cases when the pragmatically derived ad hoc concept involves a switch of codes. It is argued that this mechanism helps subjects represent themselves in bilingual conversation as distinct both from Mexicans and from non expatriate Catalans.

Critical thinking in reflective sessions and in online interactions

Maria Antonieta Alba Celani, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo Heloisa Collins

This paper focuses on online educational sessions of a continuing teacher education programme. The aim of this programme is to give a contribution to the continuing education of teachers of English as critical professionals, aware of discursive classroom practices, able to analyze them in the light of objectives to be reached and knowledge to be constructed. The paper gives a detailed account of how teachers deal with central issues in face to face reflective sessions and online interactive discussions and shows the results of a pilot intervention aiming at helping teachers develop more reflective and critical perspectives.

Telling stories in two psychiatric interviews: A discussion on frame and narrative

Branca Telles Ribeiro, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,
Liliana Cabral Bastos, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

This study investigates contextualization processes in two psychiatric interviews. Specifically, it analyses how different analytical tools ? frame and narrative ? work to clarify contextual embeddings and story bits. Frame analysis provides a way of looking at local and larger social contexts in talk. Specifically it provides a way of understanding ?what?s going on here?? (Goffman 1974). Narrativee analysis provides a way of understanding the relation of major topics and themes in an interview situation. Most of all, the unfolding of a key story has implications for understanding who the patient is and what experience she values most in that encounter.

Frame and narrative also work to evidence what makes these interactions such a complex speech event. From a frame perspective, context may present multiple and unexpected frame embeddings. In the development of a story, key organizational components (for example, an orientation section) may display fragmented information or be absent. Frame and narrative address different questions and may clarify different social and linguistic processes at play in the interview situation.

Language politics in Latin America

Kanavillil Rajagopalan, State University at Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil

This paper is an attempt to take stock of the politics of language as it has been playing out in Latin America, ever since the countries in this region were colonized by European powers, mainly Spain and Portugal. Linguistic imperialism is by no means a new phenomenon in this part of the world. In more recent times, the relentless advance of English as the world?s leading lingua franca has only brought to light the difficult North?South relations that have underpinned the geopolitics of the region.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23

AILA – AILA Review, Volume 16

You are here: Home Publications AILA Review Volumes 16 and newer AILA Review, Volume 17

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Africa and Applied Linguistics, Edited by Sinfree Makoni and Ulrike H. Meinhof, Amsterdam/Philadelphia 2003

Article Summaries

The democratisation of indigenous languages: The case of Malawi

Themba Moyo

This article attempts to explore issues of language marginalisation in Malawi. It argues that the policies pursued from independence 1964 todate have not been democratic. They have essentially favoured a small ruling English-Chichewa elite, that has emerged and entrenched itself, regardless of which government has come into power. Viable indigenous languages, which could equally play a meaningful role in the socioeconomic political life of the country, have been largely marginalised, in market places and in other national functions. In the face of this situation, the argument advanced is one of an immediate review of of such incoherent and fragementary policies for more accommodating ones, with a clear vision and an agenda for implementation for all the citizenry.

Classroom code-switching in post-colonial contexts: Functions, attitudes and policies

Gibson Ferguson

Code-Switching in the classroom across a range of curricular subjects is a widespread phenomenon in multilingual, language contact settings in Africa and, indeed, world-wide; yet it is not infrequently regarded unfavourably by educational policy-makers. This paper reviews the literature on classroom functions of code-switching in post-colonial contexts, commenting on the merits and limitations of recent research. It also examines some of the conceptions of language underlying official and lay attitudes. Finally, as befits a paper examining classroom codeþswitching from the somewhat unusual perspective of language planning in education, it evaluates a number of policy proposals addressing the issue of how code-switching might more effectively be exploited as a communicative and pedagogic resource in instruction. The paper overall is constructed so as to inform the attitudes, practices and policies of policy-makers, teacher educators and teachers.

A pilot study of Supplemental Instruction for at-risk students at an Historically Black University (HBU in South Africa

Constance Zulu

This article discusses a pilot investigation conducted between February and May 2002. The aim of this investigation was to assess the efficacy of the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program — which has a proven track record elsewhere — at an historically black university in South Africa. SI is an academic assistance program which was developed at the University of Missouri- Kansas City in 1973 by Deanna C. Martin and subsequently adopted countrywide and in other parts of the world. The pilot was conducted on a population of first year law students registered for an introductory module, “Introduction to South African Legal Method and Theory”. Two questions were investigated: 1. Does SI have an effect on students’ mastery of content? 2. Does SI have an effect on students’ perceptions of their mastery of skills? Three measures were used to explore these questions, namely pre and posttests of content mastery; student perception of skill mastery and end of course grades. Although there was no significant difference on the mastery of course content between SI and Non-SI participants, it was found that higher SI attendance rates resulted in slightly higher mean grades, suggesting that SI may have had some impact on the final course end grades. A significant difference at the .03 level was found between the mean grades of students who attended 4 or more sessions and those who attended 1–3 sessions. The investigation also revealed that a number of barriers and challenges need to be addressed for a successful SI program to be implemented at the university.

Discourse, culture and the law: The analysis of crosstalk in the Southern African bilingual courtroom

Pulie Thetela

The aim of this paper is to analyse the nature of the courtroom discourse in an African context. The nature of courtroom discourse has been extensively discussed and and analysed in non-African contexts. This paper, however, makes a unique contribution by analysing the nature of courtroom discourse in multilingual courts in Southern Africa. The contribution is unique because it investigates the probematic nature of courtroom interpretation, using the theoretical notion of crosstalk, in multilingual communities when the communicative styles of the participants are divergent and conflicting. More significantly the paper illustrates the potential impact of a special register hlonipha-the language of respect for women. The paper concludes by looking at ways in which through register we can intrerrogate power relations in courtroom discourse and examine the implications of such power discrepancy on the delivery of justice.

Popular Malagasy music and the construction of cultural identities

Pedzisai Mashiri

This paper explores the construction of cultural identities through contemporary music from Madagascar, in particular the songs by Dama — singer-song-writer of the eponymous group of musicians- the Mahaleo. Specific focus is on the role that the discourses of and about popular Malagasy music play for the identity constructions of Malagasy people in Madagascar and abroad. Discussions about contemporary African music on the media and in the cultural studies literature, and the record industry’s own appropriation and commercialization of such music as generic ‘world music — tend to neglect the lyrics — and thus the often radical social critique — contained in these songs. Since much of African music is sung in languages not normally known to ‘Western’ audiences, their appreciation hinges on the vibrancy of rhythm and sound, to the exclusion of content. Yet to ‘home’ and ‘diapsoric’ audiences, the texts are of huge significance. Our paper discusses the significance of language choice for popular music in Madagascar in the political movement of 1972 and its aftermath. We will also analyse in detail the lyrics of some typical songs from Mahaleo’s repertoire written by Dama. These will exemplify some of the ways in which the group attempts to encapsulate aspects of Malagasy every-day life, thus providing a cohesive link not only between several generations of Malagasies in Madagascar itself, but even more pronouncedly for those Malagasies who have left Madagascar and settled overseas. Finally, we will show the ways in which audiences create and perform ‘being Malagasy’ through the medium of their popular music, demonstrating the extent to which the project of ‘Mahaleo’ is being reflexively and consciously understood and taken up by their listeners.

"I want to be like a human again": Morbidity and retained ability in an Alzheimer sufferer

Stanley G.M. Ridge, Sinfree Makoni and Elaine Ridge

The article undertakes an integrated, holistic and multidisciplinary study of the language produced over an extended period by an ageing South African woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It does so against the background of the medical and legal records of the dementing person’s condition revealing certain possibilities, in treatment and care, of moving beyond pathological deficit perspective and exploring the implications of retained ability. The study is strengthened by comparison of current patterns of written and oral language use with those in letters from the same person early in her professional life, and in a highly regarded scientific book she produced at the height of her carer.

Last Updated: 2008-06-23