31.2187, Review: Applied Linguistics: Chapelle (2019)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-31-2187. Mon Jul 06 2020. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 31.2187, Review: Applied Linguistics: Chapelle (2019)

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Date: Mon, 06 Jul 2020 23:32:07
From: Camille Meritan [camille.meritan at gmail.com]
Subject: The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/30/30-4713.html

EDITOR: Carol A. Chapelle
TITLE: The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics
PUBLISHER: Wiley
YEAR: 2019

REVIEWER: Camille Meritan, Bentley University

SUMMARY

This “Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics” is a condensed version of
the “Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics” edited by Carol A. Chappelle and
published in 2012. 180 of the most online accessed entries from the
“Encyclopedia” were updated to create the concise version. This “Concise
Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics” edited by Carol A. Chapelle aims at
introducing readers new to Applied Linguistics with an overview of the field. 

This aim is thoroughly achieved by organizing the 180 entries alphabetically
and dividing them into thirteen thematic units. There is a total of 215
contributors from more than 30 countries. The Encyclopedia also provides
readers with a concise definition of applied linguistics and explains how the
field of applied linguistics touches on “a wide range of issues, each of which
may be shared by another discipline” (p. xxvi). The “Concise Encyclopedia”
provides readers with an extensive survey of terminology and constructs, some
“emphasiz[ing] the problems applied linguists investigate and others
target[ing] research methods used in applied linguistics” (p. xxvii). 

The list of entries and subjects at the beginning facilitate navigation around
the book and make it easy to identify and locate topics. The title of the
thematic units appears in bold in pages vii to xi; then the entries are listed
alphabetically. This Encyclopedia can also be used as a dictionary as most
entries begin with a short definition of the term/topic/subject in question.

The thirteen thematic units are: Analysis of context of language use (with
entries related to heritage languages, language identity, and language
ideology among others), Analysis of language use (with entries related to
conversation analysis, corpus analysis, and discourse among others), Language
assessment and testing (with entries related to assessment of skills, rating,
validation, and washback among others), Language learning and teaching, (with
entries related to classroom research, second language instruction, and study
abroad among others), Language policy and planning (with entries related to
the African Union, Francophonie and russification among others), Language for
specific purposes (with entries related to academic, business, and
occupational purposes among others), Linguistic analysis for applied problems
(with entries related to formulaic language, grammar, lexicon, pragmatics, and
pronunciation among others), Multilingualism (with entries related to
bilingual and multilingual education among others), Research methods (with
entries related to quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods among others),
Second language development (with entries related to critical period,
interlanguage, third language acquisition, beliefs and motivation among
others), Technology and language (with entries related to computer and mobile
assisted language learning among others), Translation and interpreting (with
issues related to history of translation, and different approaches to
translation among others), and finally World Englishes (with entries related
to English as a Lingua Franca among others). The topics are not limited to one
sub-field such as Second Language Acquisition or Language Policy but cover a
wide array of problems and issues, as well as research methods one might
encounter in Applied Linguistics.

All entry end with “see also” key words and phrases discussed throughout the
volume and a reference list. Most provide a “suggested readings” list as well
to complement the reference list. 

EVALUATION

This concise Encyclopedia clearly and comprehensively surveys Applied
Linguistics terminology. The international specialists contributing to this
Encyclopedia offer articles that are not overwhelmingly discussing their own
innovations. When it is the case, it is done subtly. As stated in the
introduction, this offers readers valuable content, and gives novice readers
the opportunity to acquire knowledge from the best in the field. 

Indeed, the Encyclopedia draws from all subfields of Applied Linguistics. From
language ideology, and language and identity to World Englishes, it covers a
very wide array of topics. Under Analysis of Language use, one can find
articles about conversation analysis in a variety of contexts, such as
Classroom interaction or Computer-mediated interactions; but also, about
corpus analysis or Discourse analysis, thus rendering this unit especially
useful for researchers wishing to expand their knowledge of and about language
analysis. The language assessment unit brilliantly covers assessment in the
classroom in general, including a very well written article on the role of
assessment in the classroom combining social constructivism and educational
assessment literature, as well as more specific topics such as assessment of
listening, pragmatics, reading, speaking, vocabulary, and writing – everything
a novice researcher in language testing and assessment could wish for. 

A researcher looking to expand their knowledge about language policy and
planning will find contributions concerning the African Union, the Council of
Europe, English-only movement, but also language planning and history on the
first emperor of unified Chin, as well as an article on the International
Organization of Francophonie, its history and current policies, an article on
Linguistic human rights, and the history of russification in the post-soviet
era. This unit is thus extremely well-rounded and well-thought out, covering a
variety of linguistic background as well as historical details. 

The unit on Language for specific purposes is another interesting unit
especially considering Generation Z’s enthusiasm for a more pragmatic, and
relevant education (Seemiller & Grace, 2019). However, it would have been
particularly relevant to include articles concerning other languages than
English as many learners wish to use French or Spanish for business to travel
and/or work abroad. Furthermore, considering this current Generation which
composes the majority of our classrooms right now, and knowing that many Gen Z
learners are multilingual, an article on Spanish/French/Chinese for specific
purposes would have been a nice addition.

The Linguistic Analysis for Applied Problems is a formidable unit encompassing
many topics from grammar to pragmatics, lexical borrowings and pronunciation
assessment. It is particularly useful for researchers starting to learn about
Applied Linguistics but also for those of us who wish to freshen up on those
topics we do not study every day. Each article provides a brief description
and historical background of the topic under study, as well as a brief
theoretical background and review of the literature.  

The unit on Multilingualism is well developed covering bilingualism and 
immersion, as well as multilingualism and metalinguistic awareness and teacher
education for multilingual education. It is indeed especially important to
acknowledge the fact that most current students not only belong to Gen Z
(being born after 1995) but also learned English not as a second language but
as a new language in addition to other languages previously learned (Selingo,
2018), and this unit does so very well. 

The research methods unit is also very well developed and covers an array of
methods crucial for Applied Linguistics research from case study, to
qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, the latter becoming more and
more important in the field of Applied Linguistics. It would have been
interesting to address Cumming (2012), Larson-Hall (2015) and Plonsky’s (2015)
call for changing and advancing the way quantitative research is carried out
in applied linguistics in general and second language research specifically,
i.e., reporting effect sizes and confidence intervals rather than just p-value
statistical significance. 

The tenth thematic unit on Second Language development presents the main
points of the foundations of second language acquisition (SLA). This unit
covers from attention, noticing, and awareness in SLA to the critical period
hypothesis, cross-linguistic influence and third language acquisition. Each
article offers a brief description of the terminology as well as some review
of the literature and/or historical background. Each article summarizes its
concept very clearly. This unit is particularly useful for novice researchers
in Applied Linguistics who want to survey or focus on Second Language
Acquisition.

The antepenultimate unit offers articles on technology and language. The
articles within this unit address multimodality, speech recognition,
computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and computer-mediated
communication (CMC) among others. Considering that Gen Z is the most tech
savvy generation to date, acknowledging their use of technology, and
discussing and advancing our teaching methods is an important step towards
supporting this generation. 

The last two units on Translation and Interpreting, and World Englishes are
rather short but cover the essentials. Translation and Interpreting gathers
well-detailed articles about cognitive, cultural, and functional approaches to
translation, as well as history of translation. World Englishes discusses the
varieties of English in Asia, Lingua Franca and English as a second language. 

One of the downsides of Encyclopedias is that it does read like a dictionary
more than a handbook. It would also have been practical to be provided with a
list of entries by author along with the thematic list, as it makes navigation
around somewhat difficult if looking for a particular author. But to the
Editors’ credit, deciding on the 180 entries from the original Encyclopedia of
Applied Linguistics must have been a difficult evaluative exercise. It does
not feel here, as if the Encyclopedia was cut short but rather reorganized to
include only the most essential entries for novice readers. Obviously, not all
readers will agree with the selection of entries, but it is important to keep
in mid the main goal of this Concise Encyclopedia to “introduce readers to
language-related issues that arise in the real world where languages are
learned and used” (p. xxv). Furthermore, it gives those readers the
opportunity to find out more about the field of Applied Linguistics from the
valuable contributors of this Concise Encyclopedia. 

Overall, this edited Encyclopedia is a great introduction to Applied
Linguistics. The limitations that are inherent to any encyclopedias are
handled well and this volume makes an important contribution to the field of
Applied Linguistics.

In conclusion, I would argue that this volume is an excellent addition to any
applied linguist’s library beyond the novice reader as it provides refreshers
on methods and approaches and offers a wide range of topics relevant to many.
It is also a wonderful addition for any student in the field whether debutant
or finishing their studies. Finally, it can also be useful to advisors should
they need to read up and freshen up on their advisees’ research.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Camille Meritan has recently defended her dissertation on self-reflection as a
pronunciation learning strategy for Generation Z learners of French. She will
graduate this Spring 2020 from the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign.
She will join the Modern Languages Department at Bentley University this
summer as Assistant Professor of French.





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