Module 4

Research Methods and Applied Linguistic Cohort I - A

Professor: Ph.D. Karina Luzdelia Mendoza Bravo
Master students:
- Álava Palma Cristhian Antonio
- Bravo Clavijo Galo
- Muñoz Zambrano Jonathan Fernando
- Salazar Morán Christhian Eduardo
- Solórzano Alcívar Emili Alejandra
- Zamora Pinargote Bryan

Annex C.L. 1.1

Technique: Comparing and Contrasting
Topic: Defining Applied Linguistic

Instructions:
1. Use table 1 in order to write 5 different authors’ definitions about Applied Linguistics.
2. In table 2, after analyzing the definitions, write a paragraph about similarities and
differences among the author’s bibliographic citations in table 1. At the end, make a
paragraph about the group’s agreement based on what you all investigated about the
definitions of Applied Linguistics.

Table 1.
No. Definition Author - Year
1 Applied linguistics is using what we know about a Schmitt & Celce-Murcia,
language, how it is learned, and how it is used, in (2002).
order to achieve some purpose or solve problems in
the real world.
2 Applied Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of Li Wei, (2014).
research and practice dealing with practical problems
of language and communication that can be identified,
analyzed or solved by applying available theories,
methods or results of Linguistics or by developing new
theoretical and methodological frameworks in
linguistics to work on these problems.
3 ‘Applied linguistics’ (AL) is one of several academic Zoltán Dörnyei, (2010)
disciplines focusing on how language is acquired and
used in the modern world. It is a somewhat eclectic
field that accommodates diverse theoretical
approaches, and its interdisciplinary scope includes
linguistic, psychological, and educational topics
4 Applied linguistics is a broadly interdisciplinary field Juliane House (2010)
concerned with promoting our understanding of the
role language plays in human life. At its centre are
theoretical and empirical investigations of real-world
issues in which language plays a leading role. Applied
linguistics focuses on the relationship between theory
and practice, using the insights gained from the theory-
practice interface for solving language-related
problems in a principled way.

5 Applied linguistics is a discipline which explores the Dawn Knight, (2010).

relations between theory and practice in language with
particular reference to issues of language use. It
embraces contexts in which people use and learn
languages and is a platform for systematically
addressing problems involving the use of language and
communication in real world situations.

6 Applied linguistics means taking language and Anne Burns 2009

language theories as the basis from which to elucidate
how communication is actually carried out in real life,
to identify problematic or challenging issues involving
language in many different contexts, and to analyze
them in order to draw out practical insights and
implications that are useful for the people in those
contexts.
Table 2.
Similarities According to Schmitt & Celce-Murcia, Applied Linguistics explores the
relationship between theories and practice of languages. It helps to solve
problems in the real world.

According to most of the authors they agree that Applied Linguistics

focuses on how the language is acquired and used in the modern world.

Differences
After analyzing all theories and definitions about applied linguistics, it is
easy to deduce that most of the authors consider this term as a discipline
in an interdisciplinary field. However, there are some notable differences
in the perspectives over how applied linguistics work. For example: on
the first hand, Li Wei (2014) and Anne Burns (2009), both have the same
coincidence in which they think that applied linguistic theories are a
support to solve problems in the language. On the other hand, Schmitt
and Celce-Murcia (2002) and Juliane House (2010) think that applied
linguistics is thinking with empiric sense. So, it is used as a base of what
we know to understand how to apply a language. While Zoltán Dörnyei
(2010) is focused on this as a group of disciplines that determine how
language is acquired, Dawn Knight (2010) has a clear idea about the
relationship between theory and practice to comprehend the issues of
language use.  As we can see, each author expresses their own idea and
reflects on applied linguistics as a means of communication but with a
different perspective to identify the real objective of the use of the
language. Some of them are based on experiences, others based on
practices and theories, or the idea of identifying problems in the
language acquired.

Group’s agreement
As a group we agree that applied linguistic is an important part in
teacher’s live because the use of this is fundamental, it allows us to know
the problems that happen in the real world, using theories, methods and
results. Also, the importance of learning and using the language to
communicate in the real world.
On the other hand, it also helps the communication to be carried out in a
real context and it will be able to identify the problems and challenges
that can appear in the education process.