Dear Applied Linguists,
This is an observation, much limited to my Pakistani context, that linguistics is comparatively a very new field. However, it is gaining momentum and ground in Pakistan through various university programs and a lot of research is being undertaken on various issues related to language(s).
But here comes the problem, the research that we produce is limited to only our linguistic departments, the discourse too is limited to conferences, symposiums, workshops, seminars and private discussions and classroom discussions. We do not connect with the public and masses who are the actual beneficiaries of this research. There is a gulf of distance between us and them. Have we identified the means through which we can reach them? Can we really do that? How to get to them? This question is for all practitioners and researchers to brainstorm ideas about this problem at the hand.
The first thing to do is to create awareness about the need to bridge the gap. The next thing will be to demonstrate to the public how important language is, in their day-to-day activities. The trader needs it, the housewife needs it, the politician, the teachers, and learners in all domains will be missing out on so many things if they cannot use the language.
Everybody would like to keep abreast with the latest events especially in science and technology. Language in the medium.
Dear Justine Ngang Forchap,
You are right. I agree with you. I would like to ask one thing from you: How can we create an awareness about bridging this gap?
Something like introducing an exciting invention or some new discovery and making the targeted population see how it can benefit them. Then let them know that to get more information for their own interest about those kinds of things they can learn the language so that they are always the first to know and can use the information before everyone else knows about it.
What applied linguistics has been trying to do is update our view of how language is used in society by different groups of speakers. The problem has been that since much of the work of applied linguistics is provide a framework for language teaching, there needs to be a bridge between applied linguistic theory and pedagogy.
Dear Joel Bloch,
There has been a strong link between pedagogy and applied linguistics for past 50 plus years. But, unfortunately, the pedagogy is synonymous to ELT which is a grave thing. Teaching practices should be informed not just about how to teach a language, but also about the matters like how a language constructs or deconstructs identity; how a social order is created or disrupted through language use; how power is created, maintained or diminished by using a language; how to combat unequal linguistic rights; what political ends are met by using language as a tool of propaganda; and so on and so forth. Unfortunately, the scope of applied linguistics has been extremely narrowed down to understanding what happens with the grammar and communication of a language. It's time we freed applied linguistics from the dark room of ELT and gave it the freedom to huddle on in the valleys of linguistic matters.
The debate over translingualism and code meshing is one alternative to what you suggest. If you take the role of what one may call Pakistani-English not as a dialect of standard English but as a language in itself, then you can see the role that applied linguists are playing in terms of exploring the relationship between language and power or social context. In this way, language is connected to grammar and communication, but the problem is how do you incorporate that in the classroom. That's why in some journals, applied linguists are required to discuss the teaching implications of their research, even though their insights may or may not be of value to ELT.
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