Becoming and Being an Applied Linguist

“A fascinating read on so many levels! Ellis’ collection brings us into the personal and professional milieu that laid much of the foundation for what applied linguistics is today. In this book, we find captivating human stories and trajectories – many that parallel and intersect with our own – spanning decades and streaking the globe, from Australia to Zambia.”

“How did Paul Nation get interested in vocabulary, how did Zoltan Dörnyei develop his ideas about motivation and what made Anne Burns turn to Dynamic Systems Theory? Answers to these questions can be found in this book for which Rod Ellis contacted a group of leading applied linguists and asked them to write their story on how they got involved with Applied Linguistics, and in particular with the link between language teaching and applied linguistics. The 13 narratives present a fascinating picture of both the individual developmental paths and some general trends in the field. I’ll have my students read these life stories when they have to study the publications of these researchers on the one hand to be able to link their work with the larger picture and theories, on the other hand to show that all those famous people are primarily humans trying to find their way in life.”