APPLIED LINGUISTICS

What is Applied Linguistic ?

Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of linguistics. Major branches of applied linguistics include bilingualism and multilingualism, conversation analysis, contrastive linguistics, sign linguistics, language assessment, literacies, discourse analysis, language pedagogy, second language acquisition, lexicography, language planning and policy, interlinguistics, stylistics, pragmatics, forensic linguistics and translation.

In Applied Linguistic, I am very interesting with Second Language Acquisition.

Why do I choose this ?

 because, by chance I have school especially for kids,  where the program  in my school is bilingual. Before I learned introduction to linguistic, I do not know what the true meaning of the language and how to apply the rules of the language to the children, so that the students understand the knowladge which given  by the teacher to the children.  Now, thanks God I already know.

So, what is  Second Language Acquisition?

Second-language acquisition, second-language learning, or L2 (language 2) acquisition, is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition (often abbreviated to SLA) is also the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process. The field of second-language acquisition is a subdiscipline of applied linguistics, but also receives research attention from a variety of other disciplines, such as psychology and education.

I interest in this branch because there are two experts that inspire me, they are Fred Genesee and Noam Chomsky. Their works and theories is really suitable with my school’s program. I can take some reference from their books and journals.

Here the following experts who inspire me.

1.Fred Genesee

 

Institution(s): 

McGill University

Research Interests: Literacy; bilingualism and multilingualism; mechanisms of language acquisition, comprehension and production; mental representation

Civic Address: 

Stewart Biological Sciences Bldg. Room N7/19
1205 Dr Penfield Avenue 

Montreal, Quebec 
H3A 1B1

Dr. Fred Genesee's primary research interests focus on bilingualism and bilingual first language acquisition in normal and impaired populations. In particular, his research examines the early stages of the acquisition of two languages with the view to (a) better understanding this form of language acquisition and (b) ascertaining the neuro-cognitive limits of the child's innate ability to acquire language. He is also interested in second language acquisition in school and the modalities for effective acquisition in school contexts. 

Principal member

Recent Publications: 

Zyaigzne, M., Oshima-Takane, Y., Genesee, F. & Hirakawa, M. (in press). A cross-linguistic study of verbal and gestural descriptions in French and Japanese monolingual and bilingual children. G. Stam & M. Ishino. Integrating gestures. John Benjamins.

Gauthier, K., Genessee, F., & Kasparian, K. (in press). Acquisition of Complement clitics and tense morphology in internationally-adopted children acquiring French. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

Paradis, J., Nicoladis, E., Crago, M., & Genesee, F. (2011). Bilingual children's acquisition of past tense: A usage-based approach. Journal of Child Language. 38, pp. 554-578.

Gauthier, K., Genesee, F., DuBois, M.E., & Kasparian, K. (2011). Communication patterns between internationally-adopted children and their mothers: Implications for language development. Applied Psycholinguistics. pp. 1-23.

Genesee, F., Savage, R., Erdos, E., & Haigh, C. (in press). Identification of reading difficulties in students schooled in a second language. V. Gathercole. Bilinguals and Assessment: State Of The Art Guide To Issues And Solutions From Around The World. pp. 271-279. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Lyster, R., & Genesee, F. (2011). Immersion education. J. Cenoz & D. Groter Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. pp. 1-7. Oxford, UK: Wiley/Blackwell.

Erdos, C., Genesee, F., Savage, R., & Haigh, C. (2011). Individual differences in second language reading outcomes. International Journal of Bilingualism. 151, pp. 3-25.

Bellocchi, S., & Genessee, F. (in press). L'apprendimento della lettura in bambini scolarizzati in una seconda lingua: traiettorie evolutive tipiche e difficoltà (Reading development in children schooled in a second language: Typical developmental trajectories and difficulties). Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo.

Delcenserie, A., Genessee, F., & Gauthier, K. (in press). Language abilities of internationally-adopted children from China during the early school years. Applied Psycholinguistics.

Gauthier, K., & Genesee, F. (2011). Language development in internationally-adopted children: A special case of early second language learning. Child Development. 822, pp. 1-15.

Genesee, F. (in press). Language development of English language learners: Debunking some common beliefs. E. Murphy. Welcoming Linguistic Diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Erdor, C., Genessee, F., Savage, R., & Haigh, C. (in press). Predicting risk for oral and written language learning difficulties in students educated in a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics.

Genesee, F. (2011). Reflecting on possibilities for immersion. D.J. Tedick, D. Christian & T.W. FortuneImmersion education: Practices, policies, possibilities. pp. 271-279. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (in press). The education of English language learners. K. Harris, S. Graham, & T. Urdan. APA Handbook of Educational Psychology. Washington DC: APA Books.

Haigh, C.A., Savage, R., Erdos, C., & Genesee, F. (2011). The role of phoneme and onset-rime awareness in second language reading acquisition. Journal of Research in Reading. 341, pp. 94-113.

 2. Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is an eminent American theoretical linguist, cognitive scientist and philosopher, who radically changed the arena of linguistics by assuming language as a uniquely human, biologically based cognitive capacity. He suggested that innate traits in the human brain give birth to both language and grammar. The most important figure in “cognitive revolution” and “analytic philosophy”, Chomsky’s wide-ranging influence also extends to computer science and mathematics.

Early Life and Education:

Avram Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1928. Both his parents were prominent Hebrew scholars. He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1945, where he achieved a bachelor’s degree in linguistics in 1949, a master’s degree in 1951, and later earned his doctorate in 1955.

Contributions and Achievements:

Noam Chomsky became a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and perfomed his services at MIT as a visiting professor. Influenced by the ideas of his mentor, Zellig Harris, Chomsky published his famous work, “Syntactic Structures”, in 1957. During that era, concepts regarding the origin of language were inspired by behaviorist ideas, for instance those of renowned Swedish psychologist B. F. Skinner, who advocated that newborn babies had a blank mind (tabula rasa) and that children acquired language by means of learning and mimickry.

Chomsky rejected that belief and argued that human beings were in fact born with the innate ability to realize the generative grammars that constitute every human language. Children make use of this innate ability to learn the languages that they are exposed to.

Chomsky established his linguistic theory in 1965 with “Aspects of the Theory of Syntax”, and in 1975, with “The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory”. Later works in cognitive science supported his claims. The influence of Chomsky on linguistics is similar to that of Charles Darwin on evolution and biology. His ideas have significant logical implications for various subjects of psychology, and also extends to cognitive science, anthropology, sociology and neurology.

Later Life:

Noam Chomsky won an honorary fellowship at the Literary and Historical Society in 2005. Two years later, he received The Uppsala University Honorary Doctor’s degree in 2007, named after Carolus Linnaeus. He was honored with the President’s Medal from the Literary and Debating Society of the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2008. Chomsky has been serving as an honorary member of The International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) since 2009.

references :
www.crblm.ca/members/regular/fred_genesee
www.famousscientist.org/noam-chomsky/ 

That all about applied linguistics, Child Language Acquisition and some experts of it. I am sorry for any mistake, I hope all of you can get the benefit from this post.