Die toegepaste linguistiek – 'n toekomsbli k

Abstract

Applied linguistics as an academic discipline is here viewed not only as “academic”. There are connotations in the description “applied” that suggest that insights gained from research in a variety of disciplines used as a point of departure should ideally contribute to practical implementation in a wide spectrum of human endeavour. This includes language teaching in formal education and training, functional literacy, academic support in a language used as language of learning. Our research should, for example, yield expertise for the production of textbooks and other learning materials. The context, however, is the reality of time and place. The South African context demands asking questions relating to our changing society, and the social and economic factors that will determine our future. It also requires an understanding of what politicians, sociologists and educationists mean when they talk about equity and transformation. It means that applied linguists cannot divorce themselves from the practical realities in which they operate.


(Journal for Language Teching: 2002 36(1-2): 1-14)