Applied linguistics attempts to practically solve language-related-problems.

It chooses, modifies
and communicates the findings.

Applied linguists are the ones in charge of actually accumulating and utilizing knowledge about
the nature of language. Their research aims to improve the efficiency of some practical tasks in
which language is a central component. They use what we know about language, how it is
learned and how it is used in order to achieve some purpose or solve problem in the real world.
The focus of applied linguistics is on trying to solve Language-Based-Problems which we
encounter in the real world and academic fields like translation, teaching, dictionary making, etc.

Applied linguistics is about taking decisions, whereas applied linguists are regarded as decision
makers who utilize the finding of their researches to solve controversial issues of the language.
However, they are not responsible for making policies that would affect those issues in the real
world.

When linguists conduct a research about a language-related-problem, they come up with findings
that can help solve that problem though they are not responsible for making policies.

Applied linguists are decision makers in the sense that they make crucial decisions about
different controversial language-based-problems.

Policy makers are the ones who would decide whether to add Moroccan Arabic in the
educational curriculum, at which age it should be taught, and how many hours per week it should
be taught.

Which one is more important, Meaning or Form?

The importance of each one of these two language components depends on the nature of the text,
whether it is a piece of poetry or prose.

Form is more important in poetry.

Meaning is more important in prose.

Lexicography: (it is the writing of dictionaries, and dictionary makers called
lexicographers)

The problems that lexicographers come across while writing dictionaries:

The question that arises here is whether to use these new generated words in dictionaries.

e.g. (v) to unfriend/ friend -- to Google – to Facebook

(All these words function as verbs though they do not exist in English.)

Some words may lost their original meanings and obtain new meanings after a long period of
time. Thus, some applied linguists disagree about whether to consider these new meanings as
second meanings of these words and to add them in dictionaries.

Common mistakes are considered as another controversial issue in lexicography as applied

linguists may disagree about whether to add these common mistakes in dictionaries as correct
words and becoming no more as mistakes.

The problem with these common mistakes is that people who make them think they are correct.

Descriptive grammar describes what people say.

Prescriptive grammar teaches people how to speak.

Descriptive grammarians are more open concerning these problems of lexicography (New
generated words – Old words with new meanings – Common mistakes). They argue that
dictionaries should include all words being used or spoken by people though they do not exist in
English, whereas Prescriptive grammarians are more conservative about adding these words in
dictionaries.

Multi-disciplinary/Inter-disciplinary: (relating to more than one branch of knowledge)

Applied linguistics is associated with a lot of disciplines. Therefore, it solves language based
problems existing in many academic fields through decision making and solution finding.
Applied linguistics has two scopes:
Narrow scope of applied linguistics Wide scope of applied linguistics

LAD: language acquisition device Translation

LL/LT: Language learning Lexicography etc.

Language teaching (the issues that arise in any linguistic field)

Behaviorism: (it is a school of psychology)

Behaviors can be explained in terms of conditioning.

Behaviorism forms a habit.

The experiment of Pavlov’s dogs:

Stimulus Response
Showing food Salivation

Showing food and ringing the bell Salivation

Ringing the bell Salivation

The behavior of the dog was conditioned to the stimulus.

Stimulus is everything that incites you to act or react in a certain way.

Neutral stimulus does not necessarily trigger a response. In the case of the experiment, the
sound of the bell did not provoke any reaction in the dog.

An Unconditioned Stimulus automatically and naturally leads to an Unconditioned Response.

It prompts to behave in a certain way and brings into a desirable state. (It has influence on
everyone).

An Unconditioned Response is not subject to any condition.

A Learned Response is triggered when the neutral stimulus has been repeatedly paired with the
Unconditioned Stimulus for a long period of time.

Conditioned Stimulus/ Conditioned Response: After regularly and repeatedly pairing the
Unconditioned Stimulus and the Neutral Stimulus, the latter alone will start to evoke a
response, but this one is conditioned (Conditioned Response). Similarly, this previously
Neutral Stimulus will become a Conditioned Stimulus.

Sound of the bell (neutral stimulus) ᴓ (does not necessarily trigger a response)
Showing food (unconditioned stimulus) Salivation (unconditioned response)

Showing food and ringing the bell (unconditioned stimulus) Salivation (unconditioned response)

Ringing the bell (conditioned stimulus) Salivation (conditioned response/learned response)

(The law of temporal contiguity)

According to Behaviorism, our behaviors are governed by external factors, no room for
motivation, love, will power etc.

Within Behaviorism there a lot of theories:

1. Classical conditioning
2. Operant conditioning

Good behavior

Reinforcement (reward)

Habit formation (to keep doing the behavior again and again)

The purpose of reinforcement is to increase a behavior by doing it again.

EXTINCTION: when you do a good behavior, but you do not receive your reward. Thus, you
will often stop doing that behavior.
 Positive Reinforcement
To add something by
giving reward that can be
everything and anything.

Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
It does not mean punishment.
To remove something that
you do not like by means of
remission.

Bad behavior

Punishment

Habit Stoppage (to decrease that behavior)

Positive Punishment
to give something bad

Punishment
Negative Punishment
to take away something
good
John Watson says “give me a dozen healthy infants well-formed and my own
specified world to bring up in and I will guarantee to take any one at

random and train him to become any type of specialist. I might select

doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant and yes, even beggar and thief regardless

of his talent, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his

ancestors”.

For him there is no room for creativity and our behaviors are governed by conditions regardless
of talent, potential a person has, which means that his behaviors and future are conditioned by
external factors.

Behaviorism says:

Good behavior

Reinforcement

Habit formation (Repetition of the behavior)

Bad behavior

Punishment

Habit Stoppage (to decrease that behavior)

Note: If a person loves doing something, a behavior will increase, but if not, the reinforcement
might not always work or lead to habit formation. Similarly, the punishment also does not
always result in the decrease of a behavior. Sometimes, our talents and dreams play a major role
in shaping our future. A person may not have suitable conditions to be what he dreams, but his
eagerness for his dream pushes him to struggle for it.
 Adult: I watched TV yesterday.

Child: I watched TV yesterday.

Adult: good.

L1 is a matter of imitation, repetition, reinforcement and habit formation.

In the case of L2, we imitate teachers, and it is also a matter of imitation, repletion,
reinforcement and habit formation.

Note: The notion of Repetition here is against creativity as there is a punishment if the
repetition is not correct.