Transparency and accountability in applied linguistics

Abstract

The designed solutions to language problems that are the stock-in-trade of applied linguistics affect the lives of growing numbers of people. By calling for these designs to be accountable, applied linguistics has, in its most recent, postmodern form, added an ethical dimension that is lacking in earlier work. Postmodern understandings of the field echo many valid concerns that were first raised several decades ago in other fields (cf Stafleu, 2004: 107): the non-neutrality of science, and a critique of progressivism and scientific hubris. The paper shows how this discipline has struggled with issues of continuity, integrity and validation, before analysing the ideas of transparency and accountability as an ethical concern in current applied linguistics. Illustrations are given of attempts at greater transparency and accountability for a typical applied linguistic artefact, the Test of Academic Literacy Levels (TALL) that is used by three South African universities.

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2006, 24(1): 71–86