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AILA Review invites AILA members from all national affiliate organisations to submit proposals for the future issues of AILA Review. AILA Review is edited by AILA (International Association of Applied Linguistics) and published by John Benjamins, Amsterdam. It appears once a year and is a thematically oriented, guest-edited volume of 100-120 pages. It is distributed to nearly 6,000 AILA members world-wide.

Although any AILA member can propose an issue on any topic related to Applied Linguistics, with an emphasis on cutting-edge research, AILA Review is especially meant as a forum for publications coming from AILA ReNs (Research Networks).

AILA Review is a peer-reviewed journal and all issues will not only be reviewed by the guest-editor(s), the editor and editorial board, but also by external referees. Evaluation criteria are, amongst others, the relevance of the suggested topic, a solid research orientation, innovative ideas and methodological quality.

Proposals should include the following information:

• the title of the proposed issue
• the purpose of the proposed issue and its relevance
• the table of contents
• 300-word abstracts of all papers included, along with author name(s) and affiliation(s)
• a time schedule (deadline for first drafts of the papers, deadline for revised drafts, date by which  the manuscript will be handed to the General Editor of AILA Review)
• suggestions for reviewers

The guest editor(s) is/are required to ensure that all papers comply with the Guidelines for Contributors of AILA review (see AILA website) and that the papers are properly checked for formatting and language. Depending on the guest editor(s)' preference, each issue should contain 6-8 articles, which will normally each be of 10,000 (8 articles) to 15,000 words (6 articles) in length, including tables and figures. This sets AILA review apart from the usual length of articles of 8.000 words in other journals and allows for a more detailed discussion of the volumes' topics.

Deadline for proposals: September 30 of the year before publication.

Proposals should be sent by e-mail or surface mail to:

Professor of Applied Linguistics Department of English University of Murcia Murcia, Spain E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Guidelines for Contributors

• Deadlines for proposals: September 30 of the year before publication.
• 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 in English 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.

Editorial Board

• Ken Hyland (The University of Hong Kong)
• Barbara Seidlhofer (University of Vienna, Austria)
• Razika Sanaoui (York University, Toronto)
• Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin (University of Limerick, Ireland)

AILA issues two different publications:

• AILA Review
• AILA Applied Linguistics Series

The AILA Newsletter (AILA News) was discontinued in 2004 with the establishment of the AILA website. Past issues can be accessed here.

AILA Review

AILA Review is a scholarly journal of AILA. Its first issue appeared in 1984, and from 1989, all Volumes are guest-edited and thematically oriented. Up to Volume 16, the journal was published by AILA itself. From Volume 16 onwards, AILA Review is published by John Benjamins.

AILA Applied Linguistics Series (AALS)

AILA Applied Linguistics Series (AALS) is a book series published under the editorial responsibility of AILA at John Benjamins, Amsterdam.

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 code-switching 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

Zafimahaleo Rasolofondraosolo and Ulrike H. Meinhof

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.

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

Download Issue 8 in PDF format (~600kB)

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

Download Issue 7 in PDF format (~425kB)

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.

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

Article Summaries

English monolingualism in scientific communication and progress in science, good or bad?

Florian Coulmas; Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien

(abstract not available)

The non-Anglophone scholar on the periphery of scholarly publication

John Flowerdew; University of Leeds, UK

As a symptom of globalization and the marketization of the universities, more and more scholars, many or most, of whom use English as an additional language (EAL), are being required to published in English. This article presents some qualitative data which highlights some of the difficulties encountered by such writers. It first discusses a previously published case study of an EAL writer writing for publication, highlighting some of the difficulties encountered by this young scholar. It then goes on to consider a particular writing strategy adopted by some EAL writers which might be considered to be controversial, the copying of fragments of text from previously published work, and referred to he re as language re-use. The final part of the paper discusses various approaches directed towards alleviating problems encountered by EAL writers such as those exemplified in the main body of the paper.

Stereotypes about English as the language of science

Cristina Guardiano, M. Elena Favilla and Emilia Calaresu; Universita di Modena-Reggio Emilia, Italy

The progressive spread of English as the main language of international scientific communication has been interpreted in many different ways by several scholars. The paper presents a brief review of the scientific debate on such topics, focusing on the main stereotypes which have been created in order to provide explanations for the development of English as the language of science, and on the perception of non-Anglophone scholars on the reasons of the predominance of English in scientific literature and their disadvantages with respect to native speakers. Frequently used stereotypes on English as the language of science are analyzed and discussed in reference to the motivations asserted by linguists and non-linguists. A double ideological evidence can be registered: (1) arguments essentially consist in a-posteriori justifications, (2) English - far away from representing a free choice for non-native scholars - is perceived as the repository of the linguistic power that is desired and worshipped.

The overview closes with the results of a pilot investigation on the languages of scientific publications, conducted on a sample of Italian scholars belonging to various scientific fields.

The dominance of English in the international scientific periodical literature and the future of language use in science

Enrique Hamel Rainer; Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico, D. F.

Throughout the 20th century, international communication has shifted from a plural use of several languages to a c1ear pre-eminence of English, especially in the field of science. This paper focuses on international periodical publications where more than 75 percent of the articles in the social sciences and humanities and well over 90 percent in the natural sciences are written in English. The shift towards English implies that an increasing number of scientists whose mother tongue is not English have already moved to English for publication. Consequently, other international languages, namely French, German, Russian, Spanish and Japanese lose their attraction as languages of science. Many observers conclude that it has become inevitable to publish in English, even in English only. The central question is whether the actual hegemony of English will create a total monopoly, at least at an international level, or if changing global conditions and language policies may allow alternative solutions. The paper analyses how the conclusions of an inevitable monopoly of English are constructed, and what possible disadvantages such a process might entail. Finally, some perspectives of a new plurilingual approach in scientific production and communication are sketched.

Tackling the Anglophones' free ride: Fair linguistic cooperation with a global lingua franca

Philippe Van Parijs; Universite catholique de Louvain, Belgium

In science and in all other domains that require communication across borders, we need one lingua franca, and this lingua franca will be English. The adoption of the native language of some as everyone's lingua franca unavoidably raises a problem of justice in various senses. One of these is cooperative justice, the fair distribution of the cost of producing a public good. This article proposes a criterion of fair burden sharing - proportionality of cost to benefit - and explores its policy implications. Does this criterion require a linguistic tax on the native speakers of the lingua franca in order to subsidize the learning of it by all others? If so, how high should the subsidy be, and should it be pitched at the same per capita level for all learning communities? If not, is there an alternative way of implementing a fair compensation for the free riding of lingua franca natives on everyone else’s learning?

Among the article's conclusions are that fair subsidies would need to be directed disproportionately to the Chinese - even abstracting from possible differences in the difficulty of learning English - and that more hopes should be focused on the compensatory poaching of the web than on anything resembling a linguistic tax.

Assessing efficiency and fairness in multilingual communication: Towards a general analytical framework

Michele Gazzola and François Grin; Universite de Geneve, Switzerland

The comparison between various language policies that aim to manage multi­lingual communication ought to rely on some robust methodology far evalua­tion. This paper discusses the possibility to found such a methodology on the well-established concepts of efficiency and fairness. Assessing efficiency implies comparing how resources are allocated under alternative policy options (or sce­narios) in order to identify the policy promising the best overall allocation. As­sessing fairness calls for the evaluation of the distributive effects of each scenario on the linguistic groups involved in communication - that is, ascertaining who benefits and who loses (and how much) under alternative policy options.
This paper provides the background for developing indicators of effective and fair communication, which synthesise some desirable characteristics of communication processes. They enable us to compare different ways of handling communication in multilingual settings. In order to assess effectiveness and efficiency, we work with three (not mutually exclusive) definitions of communication, namely, informatory, cooperative and strategic communication. These definitions reflect the different (main) communicational intents of the actors. In order to assess fairness, we establish a distinction between communication in terms of access, process and outcome.

Shift in language policy in Malaysia: Unravelling reasons for change, conflict and compromise in mother-tongue education

Saran Kaur Gill; Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia

Malaysia experienced a major shift in language policy in 2003 for the subjects of science and maths. This meant a change in the language of education for both national and national-type schools. For national schools, this resulted in a shift from Bahasa Malaysia, the national language to English. Parallel with this, to ensure homogeneity of impact of change, the State persuaded the national-type schools, which have been utilizing the language of community, Mandarin and Tamil respectively, as medium of instruction since independence in 1957, to shift to English for the teaching of science and maths.
This paper aims to unravel the socio-political reasons underlying the shift with a focus on the Chinese community's responses to the change. This will be carried out by examining the discourses of the debate contested by members of the Chinese community, juxtaposed against the reasons for the change, set forth by the State, as articulated by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad. This multi-pronged approach will be used to unravel the underlying ideologies for the change and the reluctant compromise that was reached by the Chinese community.

Global scientific communication: Open questions and policy suggestions

Ulrich Ammon; Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany

This volume is about the role of different languages in science and scientific commu­nication, with the focus on the status and function of entire languages like English, Chinese, Russian, etc. and not on structural details of these languages - following the distinction between status and corpus in language planning. However, the latter i.e.corpus issues (language structure, vocabulary, and rules of pragmatics and discourse), on which the study of languages for special purposes would focus, cannot be entirely ignored as questions of modernization and of terminological and pragmatic adequacy of languages for scientific communication arise in this volume, but have not been dealt with in any detail.

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.

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.

Case stucies in minority languages, Edited by Kees de Bot, 1993

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Language teaching in the twenty-first century, Edited by Johann F. Matter, 1992

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The International Journal of Applied Linguistics (InJAL) publishes articles that explore the relationship between expertise in linguistics, broadly defined, and the everyday experience of language. Its scope is international in that it welcomes articles which show explicitly how local issues of language use or learning exemplify more global concerns.
Homepage: http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0802-6106

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Postal address

c/o Prof. Dr. Daniel Perrin

ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences

School of Applied Linguistics

IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies

Theaterstr. 15

CH-8401 Winterthur

Switzerland

Bank details

INT. ASSOCIATION OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS (AILA)

c/o Deutsches Seminar,Universität Basel, Nadelberg 4, 4051 Basel, SwitzerlandBank name and address: UBS AG, Aeschenplatz 6, 4052 Basel, SwitzerlandAccount: 0233-750204.60UIBAN Code: CH120023323375020460U

BIC: UBSWCHZH80A

The need for more regional cooperation among Applied Linguists is obvious in Europe in particular, where there always has been a vast amount and a wide variety of work in Applied Linguistics, but where cross-border cooperation so far takes place only on a smaller scale.

At a meeting hosted by the Free University of Bolzano, Italy, September 2006, to increase intra-European cooperation, a group of European AILA affiliates agreed with the then AILA Secretary General, Karlfried Knapp, to set up a Network of European Applied Linguists (AILA-Europe).

AILA-Europe has as its objectives to improve communication and cooperation among European Applied Linguists and for this purpose intends

• to inform on a website about latest publications, projects and congresses of the individual national AILA affiliates,
• to organize joint conferences or similar events that make it easier geographically for Applied Linguists from Europe to meet and to exchange ideas,
• to edit a European Journal of Applied Linguistics which focuses on European topics and research done by European scholars in particular and which publishes contributions in several European languages,
• to promote young researches by organizing an annual conference exclusively for junior researchers of Applied Linguistics from all over Europe where they can present their research findings,
• to conduct an annual meeting of representatives from European AILA affiliates where new issues of European concern, in particular with respect to multilingualism will be identified and where priorities for future cooperation will be set,
• to initiate and carry out joint projects to such Europe-related topics.
• to achieve consultative status with the EU and the Council of Europe, given the amount of competence on language policy related issues in Europe available among the European associations of Applied Linguistics.

The organization of AILA-Europe is intended to be as lean as possible and is mainly restricted to an AILA-Europe Coordinator. The current AILA-Europe coordinator is Antje Wilton (University of Siegen, Germany).

At present, the national associations of Applied Linguistics from the following countries have joined AILA-Europe:

Austria Verband für Angewandte Linguistik (VERBAL) Belgium Association Belge de Linguistique Appliquée (ABLA) Estonia Estonian Association of Applied Linguistics (EAAL) Finland Association Finlandaise de Linguistique Appliquée (AFinLA) France Association Française de Linguistique Appliquée (AFLA) Germany Gesellschaft für Angewandte Linguistik (GAL) Greece Greek Applied Linguistics Association (GALA) Italy Associazione Italiana di Linguistica Applicata (AItLA) Ireland Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL) Netherlands Association Néerlandaise de Linguistique Appliquée (ANéLA) Russian Federation National Association of Applied Linguistics (NAAL) Serbia and Montenegro Yugoslav Association for Applied Linguistics (YALA)  Slovenia Slovene Association of Applied Linguistics (SALA) Switzerland Association Suisse de Linguistique Appliquée (VALS/ASLA) Spain Asociación Española de Lingústica Aplicada (AEsLA) Sweden Association Suédoise de Linguistique Appliquée (ASLA)

Current activities of AILA-Europe

• In January 2007, the first 'European Junior Researchers Congress of Applied Linguistics' took place at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. The next one will be held in Münster, Germany, 2009.
• In June 2007, the Second AILA-Europe Meeting took place at the University of Erfurt, Germany, where members of special interest groups formed at the First AILA-Europe Meeting in Bolzano made presentations on the problems of language testing for citizenship in EU member states, on multilingual literacy, and on the impact of lay theories of language and language acquisition on language policies.
• AILA-Europe was represented with a string of Europe related symposia at the 15th AILA World Congress in Essen, Germany, 2008.
• Mouton-de Gruyter Publishers, Berlin, is currently planning the launch of the European Journal of Applied Linguistics in cooperation with the AILA-Europe affiliates.
• The 3rd AILA-Europe meeting took place at the 15th AILA World Congress in Essen 2008, the 4th AILA-Europe meeting was organized by the Irish affiliate in June 2009. In 2011, AILA-Europe met in Salamanca at the invitation of the Spanish affiliate and the 2012 meeting will be in Lunteren, the Netherlands.
• With the help of a questionnaire sent to all individual members of the European AILA Affiliates in spring 2008, AILA-Europe has conducted a survey of the fields of interest and preferred areas as well as ways of cross-border cooperation among European Applied Linguists. The results of this survey can be accessed here .

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.

Applied linguists have turned increasingly over the last decade to research synthesis and meta-analysis as indispensable means of reviewing accumulated research. In turn, the impact of secondary studies using these tools has been and will likely continue to be significant in terms of advancing theory, directing future research, and informing applied linguistics practice. Awareness and familiarity of synthetic methods among applied linguists is relatively new and thus underdeveloped compared to our colleagues in related fields. Therefore, the creation of a research network devoted to this research methodology can greatly enhance the field’s collective ability both to synthesize, via meta-analysis and other forms of systematic synthesis, and to interpret and apply synthetic and meta-analytic findings to research domains of interest to applied linguists.

Bearing in mind the potential of research synthesis and meta-analysis to summarize the past and direct the future of applied linguistics, we have established an AILA Research Network (ReN) of scholars active and interested in research synthesis and meta-analysis. The primary goal of the ReN is to build on the recent, foundational work in this area in order to advance and promote appropriate and effective use and evaluation of research synthetic techniques in applied linguistics. Within this broad goal, we have identified a number of more specific subgoals and research areas that the ReN will address:

• Foster a synthetic approach to primary research (Norris & Ortega, 2006, 2007)
• Educate applied linguists on the decision points and judgment-making involved in synthetic research to enable them to better conduct meta-analyses and assess meta-analytic findings (e.g., In’nami & Koizumi, 2010; Norris, 2012; Ortega, 2010; Oswald & Plonsky, 2010; Stevens & Taylor, 2009)
• Trace the use and impact of meta-analysis in applied linguistics (Norris & Ortega, 2010)
• Examine methodological quality among primary studies from a synthetic perspective (Plonsky, 2011; Plonsky & Gass, 2011)
• Develop field-specific standards that can inform producers, reviewers, editors, and consumers of research syntheses and meta-analyses (Plonsky, 2009b, in press-c)
• Refine proposed discipline-specific standards for interpreting effect sizes (Oswald & Plonsky, 2010; Plonsky, in press-b; Plonsky & Oswald, 2010; Plonsky & Oswald, 2012)
• Promote understanding of the issue of publication bias and of methods to assess it (e.g., Li, 2010; see Plonsky, 2011)
• Raise awareness with respect to the relationship between and importance of p values (i.e., statistical significance), effect sizes (i.e., practical significance), and statistical power in quantitative research (e.g., Crookes, 1991; Lazaraton, 1991, 2000; Nassaji, in press; Norris & Ortega, 2000; Plonsky, 2009a, 2011)
• Identify areas ripe for meta-analysis
• Educate the current and next generation of applied linguists on appropriate use of synthetic methods
• Keep abreast of developments in synthetic and meta-analytic techniques from other fields and evaluate their relevance for and applicability to synthesizing applied linguistics research
• Provide a forum for the discussion of the relationship between primary and secondary research and for improved understanding of what accumulation and synthesis of knowledge means in the context of increased epistemological diversity and disciplinary expansion of research interests, including new quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches in applied linguistics (Benson et al., 2009; Chalhoub-Deville, Chapelle, & Duff, 2006; Norris & Ortega, 2006 & 2007; Ortega, 2010; Thomas, 2006)

Contact:

Ph.D John Norris ()

The International Journal of Applied Linguistics (InJAL) publishes articles that explore the relationship between expertise in linguistics, broadly defined, and the everyday experience of language. Its scope is international in that it welcomes articles which show explicitly how local issues of language use or learning exemplify more global concerns.
Homepage: http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0802-6106

Volume 14, Applied linguistics for the 21st century, Edited by David Graddolf

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