Overview

Applied Linguistics could be considered a discipline of design, with the aim to investigate and design solutions to social problems associated with language. It includes theoretical and empirical investigations of actual and contemporary matters in which language is a central issue. These form the basis for responsibly designed solutions to enhance reciprocity between theory and practice. Examples of focus areas include test design, language policy and planning, syllabus and course design, writing development and second or foreign language acquisition. For organisational purposes the Sub-programme is structured in five different nodes. These nodes represent fields of expertise and/or interest of staff members.  These are: (i) Language course design for diverse contexts, (ii) Academic literacy and academic writing, (iii) Language testing, (iv) Foreign language acquisition, and (v) Language practice. Each node has a team leader and a number of collaborators.