Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Catalog description

Application of theories of language to psycholinguistics, philosophy of language, anthropological linguistics, sociolinguistics, bi/multilingualism, second language acquisition and teaching. APLNG 482 Introduction to Applied Linguistics (3) (IL)This is a survey course concerned with the application of theories of language to issues in the areas of psycholinguistics, philosophy of language, anthropological linguistics, sociolinguistics, bi/multilingualism, second language acquisition, and second language teaching. Specifically, the course focuses on: a) how language influences the way people think and bring meaning to what they do, b) how language users match their utterances to specific functional purposes within specific social contexts, c) how the language practices of a particular culture are closely tied to the beliefs and conceptual principles by which people in the culture live, d) how language is used by speakers of different races, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, and e) how language is acquired, used, and perceived within bi/multilingual societies. Through reading, writing, and discussing the major issues in each of these areas students will come to understand how theories of language have influenced the way we think and bring meaning to what we do, the ways we communicate within different cultures and societies, and the way languages are learned and used.