Executive
Summary: Applied Linguistics by Guy Cook
Guy
Cook (2003) Applied Linguistics (USA: Oxford University Press) pp.144,
price US. $ 27.23.
About the author
Guy Cook is Professor of Language and Education at the Open University, UK. He was formerly Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Reading (1998-2004) and head of TESOL at the London University Institute of Education (1991-1998). He was co-editor of the journal Applied Linguistics 2004-2009. He is current Chair of the British Association for Applied Linguistics, and an academician of the UK Academy of the Social Sciences. He has published extensively on applied linguistics, discourse analysis, English language teaching, literary stylistics, advertising, and the language of environmental debate. He has been an invited speaker in over 30 countries. (www.goodreads.com)
Introduction
This is executive
summary of the book Applied Linguistic,
written by Guy Cook. The book is divided into following four sections: Survey,
Reading, References and Glossary.
The first section of the
book Survey consists of eighty one
pages; the section is divided into eight important chapters. These chapters
are: Applied linguistics, Prescribing and describing: popular and academic
views of ‘correctness’, Language in the contemporary world, English Language
Teaching (ELT), Language and communication, Context and culture, Persuasion and
poetics; rhetoric and resistance, Past, present and future directions.
The second section of the
book Reading consists of thirty three
pages. This section is a collection of texts taken from different pieces of
literature. Eight chapters are drawn on the lines of the chapters in survey.
Reference
is the third section of the book. All the references of eight chapters are
given with short commentary. It is also important for people, who want to go
for advance search.
Glossary
the
fourth and final section of the book is very useful for those, who are new to this
subject (Applied Linguistic).
Section
1: Survey
Chapter 1
Applied Linguistics
Cook pens down the
first chapter with the line, “Language
is at the heart of human life”. This sentence basically shows his bent of mind
that language encircles almost every activity of life. He, then, raises some
questions regarding child acquisition of L1.
For this we should
investigate and understand facts of language use basing upon our accumulated
knowledge. Applied Linguistics concerns with the decision making, that is
justified and taken rapidly, but not on foolish grounds with the relation of
language to its usage, The author has posed some imaginary situations to
exemplify his idea clearly.
The
author of this book divides the scope of Applied Linguistics into three
headings as: Language and Education; Language, Work and Law; Language,
information and affect.
In
the end, Guy Cook says,” Applied linguistics is not simply a matter of matching
up findings about language with pre-existing problems but of using findings to
explore how the perception of problems might be changed”.
Chapter
2
Prescribing
and describing: popular and academic views of correctness
Children are expected to speak best
language. A child pronounces brang instead of brought. He says, ‘I seen it’ but
in the school he is expected to speak ‘I saw it’. Moreover, spelling of words like
color or colour makes him confused again. There is a need for standardization,
while we often see disagreement when we precede the standardization. Applied
linguistics needs to approach such debates carefully and with respect.
Language in practice is ‘description’;
and language what ought to happen is ‘prescription’. What is the standard,
language should not be changed. The standard is neither superior nor more
stable than any other variety. Having different regional standards are
considered positive for the growth of language.
Linguistically ‘correctness’ is an
abstract point, but people always want correct usage of language. Criteria of
correctness may change, and it could be implicit or explicit. Applied
Linguistics is to bring out what these criteria.
Chapter
3
Language
in the Contemporary
People do not speak ‘language’ but they
speak languages. In order to communicate with other language speakers, there
are two ways: first people have to learn other’s language, or they have to employ
a translator. Question arises, who learns whose language.
Linguistics have to deal with various
arbitrary notions. Latin is more logical language than others, German is more
efficient and French are more romantic than other languages and so on, are some
of the beliefs of people and these ideologies do not base on any scientific
reasons.
Nowadays, languages are compared in two
ways; the number of speakers and the geographical distribution, because of
these numbers and geographical distribution some linguists consider one language
is more important than other.
In ‘The
growth of English’ Cook says, “In the past, English was but one international
language among others, It is now increasingly in a category of its own”. In
every country English is being taught.
Chapter 4
English
Language Teaching (ELT)
Earlier it was considered that Applied
Linguistics and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) are two names of
one product. The insight of study tells us, there is a wider relevance than
might at first appear. In this chapter Grammar Translation Method (GTM) of
language teaching, ‘the direct method’, ‘Natural’ language learning and ‘the
communicative approach’ are discussed.
The primary objective of Grammar translation method is to make
students understand the structure and translate the first language into second
and target language into the native. A language student focuses on reading and
understanding the things through translation and speaking and listening are
neglected by the instructor and the students as well.
To learn a language in a minimum time
was the need of students, immigrants, business people and tourists. Linguists
advocated a direct method target
language was the vehicle of classroom communication. The method was entirely
different from the Grammar Translation Method GTM.
Exposure of ‘meaningful’ input is a root
of Natural Language Learning. Though Several points in the method do not
resemble the linguists view, but the method is based on the mainstream linguistics
research into child’s first language acquisition. The communicative approach was introduced after the natural
approach. To achieve the goal of successful communication CLT is considered the
most appropriate and modern way language learning.
Chapter
5
Language
and Communication
This chapter ‘language and
communication’ is explained through following four headings: Knowing a
language, Linguistic Competence, communicative competence and influence of
communicative competence.
In knowing
a language, traditionally grammar translation language teaching, assumed
that knowing the rules of a language and using them in a language are same
things, but in the society there are several examples where someone masters the
rules he can not apply those rules in his communication.
Cooks defines Linguistic Competence, and
quotes Chomsky,” the human capacity for language as illustrated by a
child’s acquisition of language around them, is not the product of general
intelligence or learning ability, but an innate, genetically determined feature
of the human species.” (Cook, 2003)
What is needed for communicative competence, Hymes suggested four types of knowledge:
possibility, feasibility, appropriateness, and attestedness. Communicative competence
remains, however an extremely powerful mode for applied linguistics, not only
in language teaching but in every area if enquiry.
Chapter
6
Context
and Culture
For users, a language is not abstract,
it always makes sense and happens in specific situations, but in linguistics,
language is very obviously abstracted from experience in order to be seen more
clearly. Systematizing context: discourse analysis, culture, translation
culture and context, own language: rights and understanding and teaching culture
are the main topics of this chapter.
In ‘Systematic
context: discourse analysis’ Cook writes, “ Some linguists have claimed,
that the meaning of language in context is so messy and subjective that it is
beyond the reach of systematic enquiry.” Moreover, To demonstrate this, applied
linguistics has drawn upon, and also developed discourse analysis---the study of how stretches of language
perceived as meaningful and unified by their users. Furthermore, three areas of
study which contribute to this field are paralanguage, pragmatics, and genre
studies.
The successful understanding of a
language in context depends upon the how participants share conventions and
procedures including those related to paralanguage, pragmatics and genre.
In Foreign language education, doing
business with other communities, and in research work, we always do the Cross-culture communication. Meanings of
different conventions like kissing, pressing palms, nodding of head are
different at different communities. Culture has a strong impact on language.
Whatever our definition of culture, or our
views about its universality, there can be a little doubt that a real danger in
the many activities which involve cross cultural communication is
misunderstanding. Consequently, in a wide range of personal and professional
contexts, practical decisions must be made about how to avoid it. Translation,
own language, and teaching culture also interwoven with culture. In short, without
considering culture, language study is not possible.
Chapter
7
Persuasion and poetics;
rhetoric and resistance
In this chapter literary stylistic,
language and persuasion and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has been chosen
as main topics. What is relation of literature with the applied linguistics?
How does Applied linguistics deal with the literary terms, fiction, and
figurative speeches etc. Literary Stylistic deals with the literature. Cook
says, “Stylistic analysis tend to highlight three related aspects of literary
language: its frequent deviation from the norms of more everyday language use;
its patterning of linguistics; and the way in which the form of the words
chosen seem to argument or intensify the meaning.” In language and persuasion it is discussed that language can be used
to tell the truth or sometimes people lie. The language used to prevail lie
does not base on facts. Same thing also happens in the language of
advertisement. Applied linguistic has to deal with these kinds of problems. In
Critical Discourse analysis, different aspects like affect of society,
audience, background information and the literal meaning are probed. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) does not provide a concrete answer
to problems based on scientific research. In other words, CDA will unfold
the motivation behind a text, or behind the choice of a particular ways of
research to interpret that text.
Chapter 8
Past,
Present and Future Directions
This chapter spots light the future
directions of Linguistics, keep in view of past and present. Eight headings
have been discussed in this chapter as follows: Early orientation, subsequent
changes, Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Corpus Linguistics, Being Applied,
Critical Applied Linguistics, ‘post-modern’ applied linguistics and A harder
future: mediation.
In Early Orientation concerns of initial
linguists and its direction has been discussed. Second Language Learning is one
of the major area of Applied Linguistics. Corpus linguistics is concerned with
the patterns and regularities of language use which can be revealed by
systematic analysis of such corpora. Moreover the formation and use of corpus
is also discussed in this chapter. Critical Applied Linguistics and post modern
Applied linguistics are also illustrated in detail by Cook. In ‘A harder
future: mediation’ most important issues: the education of children, the rights
of the disadvantaged, the changing balance of culture and languages, the affects
of technology on communication are manifested.
Section
2: Readings
Chapter
1
In
this chapter, four texts have been chosen: one to discuss the development in
the discipline and its shift from Linguistics Applied to Applied Linguistics,
which was a total shift of the focus from the dependent status to independency;
second to pose the immediacy of discourse analysis and forensic sight of
linguistics; third deals with the translation studies in relation to the
linguistics; and fourth one to cater the area of clinical linguistics. These
texts are taken to relate the things to those three arenas which are considered
in the first chapter of survey section.
Chapter
2
This
chapter presents a deep insight onto the matter of descriptivism and
prescriptivism in line with the second chapter of the survey section. It has
two texts about descriptivism and correctness. In the first text, Cameron D.
strengthens the prescriptive point of view by putting a critique on the proponents
of descriptivists. The second text deals with the social bias of dialect to
others in which Labov focuses upon the so-called depravity of child regarding
his accent or deploying his accent to describe his issues, but that is fluctuation
from the norms.
Chapter
3
This
chapter having three texts tries to put a balance in the views for and against
the concept of English Native speaker. Monopoly of English language over the
other languages found and spoken in the world and the concept of linguistic hegemony,
which English is playing like a Damocles sword. Moreover, the need of corpora
and its impact both for and against are also discussed. It enlightens the
issues of nativity and corpus, in relation to English language.
Chapter
4
Here three texts have been chosen:
first is presenting the teaching of English language with historical,
demographic and economic point of view; second text deals with how learning
happens around in the mind, and the co-mingling of form-focused approach with
aspect of communication in which meaning has primary foci; third text deals
with the separation of English language from its central user and how it has
created its own community.
Chapter
5
Here two texts are presented to
audience. In the first text first language acquisition is discussed, that how a
child learns a language, as time passes he masters the infinite ability, that
of producing and understanding in principle any and all grammatical sentences
of language.” We have then to account for the fact that a normal child acquires
knowledge of sentences, not only as grammatical, but also as appropriate. Cook
compares this text with Hyme’s view of communicative competence which is often
represented as a complete rejection of Chomsky’s account of competence. Second
text deals with the different types of competence: grammatical competence,
sociolinguistics competence and strategic competence. The author puts these
components with the Hymes’ model (possibility, feasibility, appropriateness,
and attestedness).
Chapter
6
In this chapter the only text is chosen from Context and Culture in Language Teaching by
Claire Kramsch. In this book culture in language teaching enjoys central
position. Her view about classroom is not only a meeting place of cultures, but
there emerges a ‘third culture in its own right’. Following are some questions,
raised in the text, considered very important. “We want to teach language in
such a way that learners are initiated into its social and cultural meanings,
how many of these meanings must be made explicit, how many can be understood
implicitly? How can a foreign way of viewing the world be taught via and
educational culture which is itself the product of native conceptions and
values? ...” . What is the answer of these questions? and these arguments
discussed in the text, in your view, apply equally to the teaching of all
languages, and in all circumstances.
Chapter
7
In this chapter, two texts have
been chosen by the author. In the first text, how poetic language is used to
create special effect is penned down. In the second text, the two of the
leading figures Norman Fairclough and Ruth Wodak , gives a clear and accessible
introduction to the movement’s main principles. Cook raised questions after
second text to further explain his point,” is there a contradiction between the
claims that CDA sees itself not as dispassionate and objective social science?”
Chapter
8
Guy Cook has chosen three texts.
In the first extract the authors, Mitchell and Florence reflect upon the
relationship between theories of SLA and foreign language teaching. “The agenda
of SLA research does not necessarily centre on the issues which teachers are
most conscious of problematic.” Moreover next they state, “ there can be no
‘one best method’, however much research evidence supports it, which applies at
all times and in all situations, with every type of learner”. Cooks probes is
this at odds with the argument of text. In the second extract different benefits
of corpus are discussed and the last extract indicates some of the distinctive
features of Calx.
