Studying applied linguistics

Reading is one of the main ways in which we increase our knowledge about any
subject, so it follows that a university programme is going to involve a lot of
reading.
Critical thinking’ is the ability to evaluate particular ideas, arguments and
courses of action, and it is critical thinking, rather than just an encyclopaedic
knowledge of facts, that is valued in higher education.
Critical thinking is part and parcel of everyday life; it is something that
everyone does every day.

We need to consider the different types of reading (and listening) material

available to you as an applied linguistics student.

Textbooks
Journals are the most important publications in applied linguistics

Discussing

The point of seminars is to give you an opportunity to interact with your teacher
and your peers, and to discuss and ask questions, not just listen in silence.
Talking about ideas also helps to consolidate them in your mind; in this sense,
seminar discussions are rather like play rehearsals.
The whole purpose of the seminar as a mode of academic interaction is to give you
the opportunity to ask questions, so it is entirely expected that you should do
this during the seminar, and not after it has finished. Also, if you ask questions
during the seminar, the whole class can benefit from them.

Writing
The most important reason for setting written assignment tasks is that they are
where the real learning takes place, or at least where your prior learning is
consolidated.

We will simply offer four very general pieces of advice about writing assignments.
First of all, check at regular intervals whether you are answering the question
that has been set for you. Second, it is important to avoid padding out your essay
with irrelevant or over-general material. Our third piece of advice is that you
should make sure that your own voice and ideas always occupy ‘centre-stage’ in your
writing. When writing assignments in applied linguistics, it is important to write
analytically rather than simply descriptively. Writing analytically involves
putting forward your own ideas, seeing relationships and contradictions between the
ideas of others.

Researching
Research in applied linguistics takes two forms. One is based on the analysis and
critique of other people’s work and ideas; the other involves doing an original
research project of your own.