INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEMS: THE METHODOLOGY OF APPLIED

LINGUISTICS

Given the key issues related to language learning and teaching, such as: Applied uses,
e.g. planning the optimal age to start language learning in a school or educational system,\
questions such as language learning and checking that this has not been achieved. Linguistics has
developed a number of methodological approaches to relevant linguistic Collect data. Many of
these have been discussed in previous discussions. I now propose to look at four areas of applied
linguistics that have very direct relevance to the learning and teaching of foreign languages.
"Relevance" here means that for an applied linguist, these are areas that connect language,
learner and context in different ways. Four areas relate to these four areas:
1. Second language acquisition research: What are the phases of second language learning?
2. Aptitude test \ Language proficiency testing: what are the signs of successful language
learning?
3. LSP Teaching: What Students Should Know
4. Curriculum Design: What Teachers Should Know
In the four areas where applied linguistics is of particular importance to language
teaching and learning, the emphasis is on applied language activities. Expand our knowledge of
what the student is learning: phases, benchmarks, needs or plans, but also the goal of not just
creating linguistic evidence - if so, we would be looking at linguistics here. In addition to
linguistic tests, the linguist is also used and is also interested in science and context. Therefore, it
is primarily about the contextual acquisition of the second language, the contextual language test,
the teaching of language variants in context and programming in context. .
Here we are less interested in the very specialized form of ALS research that has evolved
over the last decade, shifting one branch of ALS research towards research related to language
acquisition in infants, and is therefore less concerned with context than with more SLA research.
Traditional. the factorial and / or cognitive investigation of the mind and its linguistic
abilities (Oller 1998), while applied linguistics deals with the mapping of indicators of success in
contextual language learning.
Again with teaching language variants. In this case, the distinction may be easier, since
language research aims to break down language variants into separate codes and / or texts. That's
not what applied linguistics is about. For two reasons: First, because contextual variations are
fundamentally uninteresting for studying the language used; second, because the learning of the
second language takes place in a context and it is therefore important for teaching to focus on the
context of its use.
Curriculum / Curriculum Design: This activity should be context sensitive for applied
linguistics purposes. Fully generalized curriculum. It would be too abstract to be effective.
 In all cases, the linguist used tries to connect the language, the learner and the situation.
This is the challenge, and this is the value of applied linguistics in teaching and learning
languages. yet another aspect, and this is the role of the critical linguist; here I am not thinking so
much about the critically applied linguistics that we described in Chapter 2 and which we will
return to in Chapter 7.On the contrary, I think more traditionally of the role of the scientist, who
should always be skeptical everywhere.
7.1 Second-language acquisition research
Research on the acquisition of a second language began in a very traditional way in
applied linguistics, examining the problem of student error. All language teachers (and probably
all language learners) are aware of the fact of a mistake: a mistake is a space (filled or empty) in
the knowledge of the target language by the student. So much is obvious and has always affected
language teachers in the search for explanations for mistakes: Is it linguistic that needs to be
clarified by contrasting analysis so that the mistake is some kind of mistake between one or the
The other multiple components of L1 and L2 (target language); or is it psychological that can be
explained by a theory of learning?
The contribution of applied linguistics was to (1) combine these two types of
explanations and (2) look at the error system without looking for the causes (note that, as
suggested in Chapter 3, this is the normal linguistics used is states, no change). Together they
provide a synchronous explanation of the stages of second language learning.
Starting with the problem of the meaning of the error, SLA Research has developed its
research on the language of the learner (or "interlingua") towards more abstract applied language
projects (Birdsong 2004), to the point where the linguists apply applied linguistics (not just
language teachers) have begun to question what the current paradigm for understanding and
improving communication has, What we have suggested is the general goal of applied
linguistics.
Linguistic, which would explain the increase in the time spent studying cognitive models
based on the universal theory of grammar L1. If so, then the study of ALS is no longer part of
applied linguistics and can be such a natural process by which the linguistic problems studied
can be formalized, a kind of colonization by linguistics, the expansion of the empire; Similar
advances can be traced back to language and stylistics: both deal with the problem of analyzing
texts that are longer than a sentence, and now some measures are included in higher linguistics,
where they are on the applied side or at least in the no man's land in between are linguistics and
applied And lately, body linguistics seems to have taken the same path, as it is, in a sense, a
linguistic formalization of ideas about gender and different types of language texts, as we will
see later in our discussion of LSP education.
7.2 Language proficiency testing
The tests are a more normal part of language teaching than other programs, as the
language teacher focuses on skills and knowledge, which means that there is more test. History,
physics etc. There is no equivalent or group of people representing the end result of the
scholarship, while the native language is a goal in many linguistic learning processes, but the
tests are increasingly criticized by the mother tongue (see Davies, Hampa - Lyon).
Linguistic test, tests are for the moment in which the corresponding goals are defined for
different levels and use the language of the linguistic competence tests is now centrally.
However, this is not always the case. In the past thirty years, it is obvious that the role of the
essay in what the student has to know about certain knowledge and the scope must know in the
knowledge, in which knowledge is practical and contributes to the success of the practice. And
understand the theory of learning among linguistic and linguistic needs
They make language learning operational by setting clear and precise goals. This is
another way of saying that language tests mean that learning a language means "knowing" the
language. To do this, they test relevant areas of the language being learned and ensure that their
samples are correct by documenting their reliability and validity. and here is the main difference
between an aptitude test and passing (or passing): a test to test knowledge of the language being
learned; analyzes a sample of an already approved program (curriculum, courses, textbook, ) and
then a sample of an existing sample.
Six types of information can be distinguished from the language test. The first is to check
which language proficiency test makes assumptions about our understanding and learning of
languages. The status and concept of language proficiency, structure of language proficiency,
and the order of learning natural languages have been extensively covered by language testers
using language testing techniques. These questions are primarily aimed at improving our
knowledge and understanding of languages and language learning, although they undoubtedly
also apply to language
The second use of the language test in experiments is a subset of the first use in research.
There is one important difference, however. In research applications, we think of language
proficiency tests; In experimental applications, we use tests as experimental criteria in language
teaching, for example in relation to methods.
A third application, which is reflexive and often viewed as a mandatory test, is used less
often than it could be, the washback effect in language assessment programs (Clapham et al.
1997) The impact of test results and their relevance are used as a critique of the curriculum and
curriculum. while the structure, content and method of the tests themselves influence the
teaching. In teaching for the test, the effects will be constructive as the derogatory aspect of
washing is always implied, however we emphasize that there is a positive side.
The fourth use of linguistic tests is measured between student progress, the most common
test type is a achievement test .
The fifth question is the selection of students on the basis of acquired knowledge or more
general language skills or a disposition for the next level of education or for a particular
occupation. Use for screening, i.e to what extent a valid progress test is itself an important test
for screening purposes.
 The sixth question concerns the evaluation of courses, methods and is a special test
application that has to process a learning variable in order to distinguish it from the hardware
evaluation.
The assessment of language proficiency delivers a threefold message:
1. A message about skills, the extent to which students have reached an appropriate but defined
level, and the role of language tests in forming more specific and detailed indicators of relevant
skills.
2. At first glance it just seems psycholinguistic as it suggests progress on a very clear and
obvious path to final realization. This evidence also does not hold true for native speakers, who
may have very different endpoints. The evolution for all language learners is an indication of the
identity the learner chooses (usually unconsciously). Development information thus provides -
through evaluation - indications of the learner's psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic background.
3. Users, native and non-native, are characterized by an awareness of the areas of playful
creativity. The language seems to differentiate between native speakers and foreigners. This
obviously has some relation to our first message, competence transfer, as there may be an
element of knowledge in the skills that determines the different skills (Davies 1990:11, Davies
2006)
7.3 The teaching of language for specific purposes (LSP)
The definition of LSP :
“a second or foreign language used for a specific purpose and limited type of communication
(e.g. medical reports, scientific writing, air traffic control), as well as vocabulary, grammar, and
language features. These functions are different from normal languages. When teaching a
language, you need to decide whether the student or group of students will need a general
language or a specific language.” (Richards et al. (1985))
Such definitions are exaggerated, taking the discretion of the LSP and the registers for
granted. With the exception of the limited areas (e.g. knitting patterns) in which the LSP
corresponds to the type of ritualized language, there is no margin of appreciation here, which
always overlaps is an excerpt from an encyclopedic article in the field of cognitive :
Marr and Poggio (1979) implemented “The same two constraints, evenness and uniqueness, in a
completely different uncooperative stereo algorithm that uses multiple channels tuned to spatial
frequency and a coarse-fine-tuning strategy. The key idea was to take advantage of the fact that
there are very few ridges in very coarse channels with only minor ambiguity problems. The
matches obtained there can then be used to perform the match in better matched channels. the
divergence range permitted for the partner. This requires that the high spatial frequency channels
have very narrow regions of divergence and therefore must be "placed in the right place to
search" in order to find the right For this purpose, the algorithm generates suitable interlocking
movements that are guided by thick channels.” (Frisby 1990: 251)
 I am an educated Englishman now, but like most people, I tend to read material that I am
already quite familiar with. The content of this topic of cognitive psychology (computational
perceptual theory) is fairly new to me and I find it difficult to work through the above passage.
One could, of course, say that this ten-line portion is part of a larger whole, and if I had read the
entire article carefully I would have been better able to understand the passage quoted. While this
is undoubtedly the case, the simple process highlights the problem faced by a second language
learner who wants to access this article. The suggestion to read the entire article is a version of
the essential tips for understanding the text. In this area, you need to understand the topic first.
To understand this step, you first need to read not only the article it is from, but the entire
encyclopedia the article is from. Disadvantages ads! If you are new to cognitive psychology,
reading an encyclopedia will likely also require understanding that you may not yet remember
learning English as a second language.
In my case, it is simply possible that when I read the entire article and check the links to
other articles I can understand the passage quoted and, in practice, when that passage is given to
another. - The language student almost always finds that a particular student is already studying
cognitive psychology at both L1 level and in English and therefore has the basic knowledge of
the subject to explain the perception of the computer, even if the actual information is completely
new If all or most of the previous research in cognitive psychology has been done at the L1 level,
there may be language problems with English in this position that require attention. The question
about the student's needs and interests is well asked. Hence, it is helpful to provide this type of
text as part of the content of the psychology course or as a student in or one of them in an
English support class.
A more theoretical approach to LSP is supported by Douglas (2000), citing Chapelle:
“What is needed is a theory about how the context of a given situation in a broader cultural
context limits the linguistic choices a user can make” (Chapelle 1998:15)
The basic requirement of LSP programs is function, purpose, area, etc. They require the
use of a certain variety of languages. This argument was made in the discussion on language and
gender in Chapter 3. Different areas of social life can be equated with different linguistic
variants. The development of LSP (ESP for English) over the past thirty years has been
important, but obviously nothing new. German for scientists / chemists / engineers was very
fashionable a long time ago for non-German-speaking scientists who needed access to scientific
work in German. What has changed is that the English language has taken over the old role of
the German language in science. and almost every other language in the world. This is the first
reason to continue the tradition in a new medium. The second reason concerns English: it is a
reaction to the literary material that is widely used in teaching English as a foreign / second
language.
On the one hand, the required skills in the areas of text analysis, writing or practical
material as well as LSP tests were taught. Experimenting with the rating of courses using LSP
versus courses using non-specific language materials (e.g. general English), on the other hand,
made a skeptical comment, criticizing the lack of a clear diversity model showing that
differences account for variations The frequency of use of may result in functions other than an
entirely different use. Of course, there would always be specific vocabulary. But those with a
basic understanding of the subject already knew these terms, or at least learned them quickly.
The main contribution of applied linguistics to the learning and teaching of languages has
been the development of material specifically written for the language teacher. As in the case of
the LSP, as we saw in Chapter 2, with pedagogical grammar. A content area tailored to the needs
of the target group, in this case experienced language teachers (Howard and Brown 1997).
7.4 Curriculum design
Language teaching is not limited to classrooms: if then the idea that teaching is and
should be a method were stronger, teaching a language indeed requires the necessary training of
the teacher, preparation for class, further teaching and any professional activity of the teacher,
including lifelong learning, that keeps the teacher informed of developments in this area
(Richards and Rodgers 1986). Language teaching tasks also include teacher support systems,
new teacher training, in-service teacher training, textbook writing, scoring systems, scoring
projects, design and planning. and perhaps, of course, from those who are also active in the
classroom or who have done so in the past. A language teacher's program is a plan based on the
viewpoints or philosophy of language and learning (Ferguson 2006).
According to Richards, Platt and Platt (1985),the design of the curriculum (including the
curriculum) concerns: research and development of objectives, content, implementation and
evaluation of the educational system for which the learner needs a language (needs analysis); Set
goals and develop curricula, teaching methods and materials; and evaluate the impact of these
practices on the student's language.
Nunan quotes Stenhouse with approval (Nunan 1990: 76):
The uniqueness of each class means that every proposal, including at the school level, has
to be reviewed, verified and adjusted by every teacher in their class. Ideally, the curriculum
specification supports a teacher's personal research and development agenda by deepening their
understanding of their work and thereby improving their teaching - it is not enough to study the
teachers' work - they must study it (Stenhouse 1975: 143).
Richards and Rodgers (1986) suggest is although the curriculum is often a plan and a
philosophy, the curriculum gives details of the content to be taught and the methods to be used.
The program may, of course, include a curriculum: “Traditionally, the term curriculum has been
used to refer to the way in which linguistic content is presented in a course or method are going
to be treated” (Richards and Rodgers 1986: 21).
Basically, a linguistic contribution to program design is to provide an overview of a
sequence of learning steps and objectives to ensure that basic grammar, vocabulary and
pragmatics are covered in the course. An added benefit would be the provision of course material
that is interesting and stimulating. However, this is not primarily the responsibility of the applied
linguist unless he is also a textbook author (McGrath:2002). This aspect of the work of an
applied linguist is part of an older methodological formulation which, in the work of a language
teaching methodologist, was given the task of selecting, evaluating and sequencing three aspects
so that it can happen that all the characteristics of a language are the same It is difficult, but a
hardworking professional linguist, to organize them so that progress (and the inclusion of what
was before) seems appropriate, and while mocking the suggestion that such teaching materials
should be "teacher-tested", " Intent "it is fundamental, it is commendable given the wide range of
professional pedagogical skills and competences available in the education system; Also takes
into account the level of knowledge in the target language of these teachers.