Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied LinguisticsVol. 33:2 (2010) ► pp.15.1–15.16
What’s in a name?
Degree programs and what they tell us about ‘applied linguistics’ in Australia
In this paper we explore the provision of applied linguistics within Australian universities. We focus on how the ‘what’ of applied linguistics, as captured in scholarly definitions of the discipline, accords with the ‘where’, as captured in potential contexts of application as these are manifested in provision. In doing so, we examine the extent of any congruence or divergence between how applied linguistics is understood in the abstract and how it is realised in degree programs. Our findings, based an analysis of data collected via a survey of university websites, suggest that while the rhetoric around course offerings may suggest a wider view of the discipline, the content of applied linguistics programs generally reflects a narrower interpretation which aligns closely with observations often made as caveats to scholarly definitions and sees English language teaching as predominant
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