Interview-based research has seen a dramatic rise in recent years; however, the methodological practice of interviewing itself remains underexamined (Prior Reference Prior2016). In response, David Block’s Interviews in applied linguistics provides a reflective exploration of research interviews as complex communicative events from a sociolinguistic perspective, embedding scholarly analysis with autobiography to illuminate the nuanced dynamics in interviews, pertaining to sociology, anthropology, and education studies. It is a welcome addition for both individuals engaged in qualitative inquiry within applied linguistics and the broader social sciences.
The book is systematically structured into seven chapters, each chronicling a distinct phase of Block’s scholarly trajectory. The introduction lays a foundation for this project by outlining the book’s objectives and its unique integration of academic discourse and life-storytelling. Subsequent chapters present specific research experiences, ethical dilemmas, methodological challenges, and theoretical reflections, ultimately culminating in a discussion of Block’s recent projects and pedagogical insights.
Chapter 1 begins with Block’s transition from language teaching in Barcelona to applied linguistics, where he emphasizes the pivotal role that engagement in academic activities played during his tenure as a language educator. These activities, encompassing a diploma course in English language teaching and a summer school on applied linguistics, served as a dual catalyst for his professional development and scholarly growth. He highlights that these experiences not only deepened his understanding of language curricula and methodologies, but also inspired his research interests to bridge practical teaching experience with scholarly inquiry, leading to his MA project on metaphor studies in language learning and teaching. In these studies, he utilized interviews for the first time, which, as he reflects, were too structured and lacked dialogic interaction.
In chapter 2, Block moves to the use of triad differentiation interviews in his PhD research, investigating learners’ perceptions of classroom events. Triad differentiation, a method designed to elicit participants’ psychological constructs by asking them to compare three elements, was employed to have students contrast their most memorable teachers. Through a detailed analysis of two interview excerpts, where interviewees offer extensive portrayals of their teachers, Block demonstrates that this interview method is highly interviewee-centered, well-suited for generating rich, detailed data. Nevertheless, he critically reflects on its limitations, acknowledging that it may not be appropriate for all research questions—particularly for addressing narrow and direct questions, such as ‘What are students’ evaluation criteria for classroom events?’—and that participants’ language proficiency may significantly affect the quality and depth of the responses.
Chapter 3 summarizes key considerations for conducting interviews, beginning with Block’s evolving research philosophy rooted in constructivism, aimed at understanding participants’ perspectives within their sociocultural contexts. Block highlights the critical role of establishing rapport to facilitate effective interviewing, while also emphasizing the ethical responsibilities inherent in qualitative research, especially obtaining informed consent, navigating the cultural interpretations of signing consent forms, and maintaining a power balance with participants. Additionally, the chapter discusses challenges in translating and transcribing interview data. To ensure accurate and contextually appropriate translations, Block suggests considering linguistic variations, registers, and situational contexts, as well as advocating for multilingual consultant involvement. In discussing transcription, he notes the phenomenon ‘din in the head’: an interviewer’s prolonged engagement with participants’ words, expressions, and intonations can linger in the researcher’s mind. This ‘din’ highlights how deeply researchers are influenced by the data they collect—not merely as detailed observers but as actively engaged and reflective participants in the research process. The chapter ends with a call for a more nuanced and context-sensitive approach to analyzing research interviews—one that fully considers the cultural and contextual factors shaping the interview encounter. This theme is further developed in the following chapter.
Chapter 4 further delves into the approaches to interviews. Building on the ideas of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists such as Cicourel, Neisser, and Lemke, Block contrasts a product-based approach, which treats interviews as mechanical, rule-prescribed exercises, with a linguistic anthropological or sociolinguistic (social-theoretical) perspective, which conceptualizes interviews as ‘socially situated communicative events’. Advocating for the latter, Block argues that the product-based view overlooks the complexity and co-constructed nature of conversational exchanges, wherein language, culture, and social context shape both how questions are interpreted and how responses are framed. Moreover, ignoring these interactions risks producing misinterpretations or incomplete data, as the nuanced influences of participants’ backgrounds, experiences, and worldviews remain unexamined. Therefore, although communications may be subjective and influenced by memory constraints, the sociolinguistic approach can still ensure research plausibility within specific discursive fields.
Chapter 5 shifts focus to Block’s research on migration, globalization, and identity, drawing on life-story interviews with migrants residing in London. The chapter explores various cases, including modern foreign language teachers seeking to adapt to the UK education system, the ambivalent national and gendered identities of middle-class transmigrant TESOL students, and marginalized life of less-privileged Spanish-speaking Latino migrants. Block argues that identities do not develop in isolation, but rather emerge from the interplay between migrants’ transnational ties, cosmopolitan orientations, and lived socioeconomic realities. By recognizing these interconnections, the chapter highlights how broader structural forces—such as class divisions and legal frameworks—intersect with personal trajectories, thereby shaping migrants’ evolving sense of self and belonging. Methodologically, Block also emphasizes researchers’ ethical duty to avoid harming and, where possible, empower these vulnerable interviewees.
In chapter 6, Block shares his experiences teaching interview methodologies to graduate students. He observes that prescriptive approaches to interviewing and limited understanding of qualitative research are common challenges among students. In response, Block emphasizes aligning interview techniques with specific research questions at hand. For example, in studies with an ethnographic orientation that require exploratory or in-depth conversations, he suggests relatively unstructured interviews, rather than a structured format. Furthermore, he encourages a critical stance toward traditional methods resembling spoken questionnaires, especially critiquing the naive positivist assumption embedded in such methods that researchers can remain entirely objective and uncover universal truths by controlling variables. The chapter also explores various types of interviews, sampling strategies, and the value of experiential learning in developing expertise in interview-based research. By highlighting the centrality of experience, Block emphasizes the need for researchers to engage with the practical and contextual complexities of conducting interviews.
In the final chapter, Block introduces the model of ‘multimodal communicative events spheres’ and its application to identity research. The framework posits that psycho-cognitive, sociocultural, institutional, and deep-level social spheres mediate interactions and identity construction. Applying it to an interview with English medium instruction professionals, Block demonstrates how one interviewee’s resistance to the ‘ELT gaze’—imposed by interviewers framing him as a language instructor—reveals the interplay of these spheres, particularly institutional requirements and group identification. This reinforces the conceptualization of interviews as ‘socially situated communicative events’. In the concluding postscript, Block promotes critical realism as a philosophical foundation for social science research, asserting that our understanding of reality is mediated through social, historical, and linguistic contexts. Accordingly, an interdisciplinary and encompassing approach, such as the multimodal communicative events spheres model, is recommended to capture and analyze the multidimensional factors at play in interviews.
Overall, the book offers an innovative and insightful exploration of research interviews. Its uniqueness lies in the use of autobiography as a genre, which not only introduces variation in narrative style by weaving together personal experiences and scholarly analysis, but also facilitates an in-depth reflection on the conduct and interpretation of interviews through Block’s lens as a qualitative researcher, constructivist, and critical realist. It insightfully examines the ethical complexities intrinsic to qualitative research and the role of affective factors in research interviews, highlighting the importance of ethical considerations and the significance of rapport-building in enhancing interview quality. Furthermore, the book transcends conventional discussions of interview techniques by engaging with related themes such as metaphor studies, teacher education, and identity construction, offering readers a deeper understanding of the interconnection between theory and practice while also highlighting the multifaceted nature of research interviews in applied linguistics.
While the book’s scope is one of its strengths, it may also entail certain organizational challenges. Block acknowledges the selective and subjective nature of his narrative, which could result in a lack of cohesiveness and logical flow. The diverse content—ranging from personal anecdotes to theoretical reflections—might pose challenges for readers seeking to follow a clear line of argument or extract key insights. Future editions could benefit from a more explicitly defined framework or outline, which could enhance the logical progression of ideas and improve the overall structural clarity. Nevertheless, the book’s relevance extends beyond ‘applied linguistics’, offering valuable insights for researchers in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology as well through its exploration of the interplay between language, social context, and cultural practices. Ultimately, it makes an important contribution to our understanding of interviews as a research method and provides rich, practical insights for both researchers and educators.
