Readers from a variety of disciplinary orientations will appreciate the logical layout of this field guide to applied linguistics. The design chosen by the authors is a “map in book form” (p. xviii). They avoid laying out an overly detailed map and elect instead to provide resources for further reading. A glossary incorporated into the text, end-of-chapter activities, lists of suggested roles for applied linguists, and examples of real-life contexts are particularly useful to students who seek to conduct a comprehensive exploration of applied linguistics. The end-of-chapter activities require students to take action and probe further into the use of language in their own lives and communities.
The authors adopt an autonomous view of applied linguistics that, unlike linguistics applied, draws on many disciplines beyond general linguistics, such as public policy, health sciences, sociology, and information technology. Applied linguists are not restricted to the area of language learning and teaching, and thus only one chapter is dedicated to acquisition of additional languages. In keeping with the authors’ view of applied linguistics as problem and practice oriented, this chapter focuses on the practice of classroom-based learning rather than on theories and underlying processes of SLA. To use the mapping metaphor, additional language educators and learners may choose to start and end their journey with this section; however, like all the chapters, it is directed toward a broader audience and successfully shows readers from different linguistic arenas how they can benefit from the knowledge and tools developed in fields outside their own.
The authors propose a bottom-up exercise of the profession, charging all applied linguists with the social responsibility of using their research findings to benefit the communities from which they gather data and to contribute to a general knowledge base to defy regulation imposed by nonlinguists. Readers depart with a clear understanding of how to respond to the monolithic view of languages and misleading beliefs of linguistic practice.
