Electronic Reserve Text:

Chapter 1, from Alastair Pennycook, Critical Applied Linguistics. Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum, !!1
"ntro#ucin$ Critical Applie# Lin$uistics
Critical Applie# Lin$uistic Concerns
%omains of Critical Applie# Lin$uistics
Conclusion: &hy Critical Applie# Lin$uistics'
&hat is critical applie# lin$uistics' (imply put, it is a critical approach to applie#
lin$uistics) (uch a response, howe*er, lea#s to se*eral further +uestions: &hat is applie#
lin$uistics' &hat is meant by critical' "s critical applie# lin$uistics merely the a##ition
of a critical approach to applie# lin$uistics' ,r is it somethin$ more' -his short
intro#uctory chapter $i*es an outline of what " un#erstan# critical applie# lin$uistics to
be, before " e.pan# in much $reater #etail in later chapters on the #omains it may co*er,
the theoretical issues it en$a$es with, an# the types of +uestions it raises) Critical
applie# lin$uistics is not yet a term that has wi#e currency, so this intro#uction in a
sense is a performati*e act: /ather than intro#ucin$ an alrea#y establishe# #omain of
work, this intro#uction both intro#uces an# pro#uces critical applie# lin$uistics 0CAL.1)
"t is therefore also a fairly personal account of this area) An# since " belie*e critical
work shoul# always be self2refle.i*e, this intro#uction must necessarily be critical
0hence a critical intro#uction1)
/ather than simply tryin$ to #efine what " take critical applie# lin$uistics to be, " woul#
prefer to raise a number of important concerns an# +uestions that can brin$ us closer to
an un#erstan#in$ of this area) -hese concerns ha*e to #o with:

34
22-he scope an# co*era$e of applie# lin$uistics
22-he notion of pra.is as a way of $oin$ beyon# a #ichotomous relation between theory
an# practice
22%ifferent ways of un#erstan#in$ the notion critical
22-he importance of relatin$ micro relations of applie# lin$uistics
to macro relations of society
22-he nee# for a critical form of social in+uiry
22-he role of critical theory
22Critical applie# lin$uistics as a constant +uestionin$ of assumptions
22-he importance of an element of self2refle.i*ity in critical work
22-he role of ethically ar$ue# preferre# futures
22An un#erstan#in$ of critical applie# lin$uistics as far more than the sum of its parts)
CRITICAL APPLIED LINGUISTIC CONCERNS
Applied Linguistics
-o start with, to the e.tent that critical applie# lin$uistics is seen as a critical approach
to applie# lin$uistics, it nee#s to operate with a broa# *iew of applie# lin$uistics)
Applie# lin$uistics, howe*er, has been a notoriously har# #omain to #efine) -he
Lon$man %ictionary of Applie# Lin$uistics $i*es us two #efinitions: 5the stu#y of
secon# an# forei$n lan$ua$e learnin$ an# teachin$5 an# 5the stu#y of lan$ua$e an#
lin$uistics in relation to practical problems, such as le.ico$raphy, translation, speech
patholo$y, etc)6 0/ichar#s, Platt, an# &eber, 1789, p) 191) :rom this point of *iew, then,
we ha*e two #ifferent #omains, the first to #o with secon# or forei$n lan$ua$e teachin$
0but, not, si$nificantly, first lan$ua$e e#ucation1, the secon# to #o with lan$ua$e2relate#
problems in *arious areas in which lan$ua$e plays a ma;or role) -his first *ersion of
applie# lin$uistics is by an# lar$e a result historically of its emer$ence from applyin$
lin$uistic theory to conte.ts of secon# lan$ua$e pe#a$o$y in the <nite# (tates in the
17=!s) "t is also worth obser*in$ that as >achru 0177!1 an# others ha*e pointe# out, this
focus on lan$ua$e teachin$ has also been massi*ely oriente# towar# teachin$ En$lish as
a secon# lan$ua$e) -he secon# *ersion is a more recent broa#enin$ of the fiel#,
althou$h it is certainly not accepte# by applie# lin$uists such as 16i##owson 017771,
who continue to ar$ue that applie# lin$uists me#iate between lin$uistic theory an#
lan$ua$e teachin$)
"n a##ition, there is a further +uestion as to whether we are #ealin$ with the application
of lin$uistics to applie# #omains22what &i##owson 0178!1 terme# lin$uistics npplien22
or whether applie# lin$uistics has a
3?4
more autonomous status) Markee 0177!1 terme# these the stron$ an# the weak *ersions









374
(uch preferre# futures, howe*er, nee# to be $roun#e# in ethical ar$uments for why
alternati*e possibilities may be better) :or this reason, ethics has to become a key
buil#in$ block for critical applie# lin$uistics, althou$h, as with my later #iscussion of
politics 0chap) 1, this is not a normati*e or moralistic co#e of practice hilt a reco$nition
that these are ethical concerns with which we nee# to #eal) An#, as with my earlier
#iscussion of Critical -heory, this notion su$$ests that it is not only a lan$ua$e of
criti+ue that " am tryin$ to #e*elop here but rather air ethics of compassion an# a mo#el
of hope an# possibility)
Criticl Applied Linguistics s !eterosis
<sin$ (treet6s 0178=1 #istinction between autonomous an# i#eolo$ical approaches to
literacy 022@ chap) =1, /ampton 0l779b1 ar$ues that applie# lin$uistics in Aritain has
starte# to shift from its 5autonomous 5 *iew of research with connections to pe#a$o$y,
lin$uistics, an# psycholo$y to a more 5i#eolo$ical5 mo#el with connections to me#ia
stu#ies an# a more $roun#e# un#erstan#in$ of social processes) Critical applie#
lin$uistics opens the #oor for such chan$e e*en wi#er by #rawin$ on yet another ran$e
of 5outsi#e5 work 0critical theory, feminism, postcolonialism, poststructuralisrn,
antiracist pe#a$o$y1 that both challen$es an# $reatly enriches the possibilities for #oin$
applie# lin$uistics) -his means not only that critical applie# lin$uistics implies a hybri#
mo#el of research an# pra.is but also that it $enerates somethin$ that is far more
#ynamic) As with the notion of syner$y as the pro#ucti*e mel#in$ of two elements to
create somethin$ lar$er than the sum of its parts, " am usin$ here the notion of heterosis
as the creati*e e.pansion of possibilities resultin$ from hybri#ity)011 Put more simply,
my point here is that critical applie# lin$uistics is far more than the a##ition of a critical
#imension to applie# lin$uisticsB rather, it opens up a whole new array of +uestions an#
concerns, issues such as i#entity, se.uality, or the repro#uction of ,therness that ha*e
hitherto not been consi#ere# as concerns relate# to applie# lin$uistics)
-he notion of heterosis helps #eal with a final concern, the +uestion of normati*ity) "t
mi$ht be ob;ecte# that what " am sketchin$ out here is a problematically normati*e
approach: Ay #efinin$ what " mean by critical an# critical applie# lin$uistics, " am
settin$ up an approach that alrea#y has a pre#efine# political stance an# mo#e of
analysis) -here is a certain tension here: an o*er#efine# *ersion of critical applie#
lin$uistics that #eman#s a#herence to a particular form of politics is a pro;ect that is
alrea#y limite#B but " also cannot en*ision a *ersion of critical applie# lin$uistics that
can accept any an# e*ery political *iewpoint) -he way forwar# here is this: ,n
2222222222222222222222
011" am aware of the problems #iscusse# by Coun$ 017791 in this use of colonial
concepts such as hybri#ity within a postcolonial framework) (ome of these concerns are
#iscusse# later) Ne*ertheless, " fin# concepts such as hybri#ity, syncretic appopriation,
an# heterosis useful for un#erstan#in$ the #e*elopment an# potential of alternati*e
spaces)
31!4
the one han#, " am ar$uin$ that critical applie# lin$uistics must necessarily take up
certain positions an# stancesB its *iew of lan$ua$e cannot be an autonomous one that
backs away from connectin$ lan$ua$e to broa#er political concerns, an# furthermore, its
focus on such politics must be accountable to broa#er political an# ethical *isions that








put ine+uality, oppression, an# compassion to the fore) ,n the other han#, " #o not want
to su$$est a narrow an# normati*e *ision of how those politics work) -he notion of
heterosis, howe*er, opens up the possibility that critical applie# lin$uistics is in#ee# not
about the mappin$ of a fi.e# politics onto a static bo#y of knowle#$e but rather is about
creatin$ somethin$ new) As :oucault 0178!b1 put it, 5the problem is not so much one of
#efinin$ a political 6position6 0which is to choose from a pre2e.istin$ set of possibilities1
but to ima$ine an# to brin$ into bein$ new schemas of politicisation 5 0p) 17!1) -hat is
the political challen$e of critical applie# lin$uistics) -hese critical applie# lin$uistic
concerns are summariDe# in -able 1))
DO"AINS O# CRITICAL APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Critical applie# lin$uistics, then, is more than ;ust a critical #imension a##e# on to
applie# lin$uistics: "t in*ol*es a constant skepticism, a constant +uestionin$ of the
normati*e assumptions of applie# lin$uistics) "t #eman#s a resti*e problematiDation of
the $i*ens of applie# lin$uistics an# presents a way of #oin$ applie# lin$uistics that
seeks to connect it to +uestions of $en#er, class, se.uality, race, ethnicity, culture,
i#entity, politics, i#eolo$y, an# #iscourse) An# crucially, it becomes a #ynamic2 openin$
up of new +uestions that emer$e from this con;unction) "n this secon# part of the
chapter, " $i*e a rou$h o*er*iew of #omains that " see as comprisin$ critical applie#
lin$uistics) -his list is neither e.hausti*e nor #efiniti*e of the areas " co*er in this book,
but taken in con;unction with the issues raise# earlier, it presents us with two principal
ways of concei*in$ of critical applie# lin$uistics22*arious un#erlyin$ principals an#
*arious #omains of co*era$e) -he areas " summariDe briefly in this section are critical
#iscourse analysis an# critical literacy, critical approaches to translation, lan$ua$e
teachin$, lan$ua$e testin$, lan$ua$e plannin$ an# lan$ua$e ri$hts, an# lan$ua$e,
literacy, an# workplace settin$s)
Criticl Discourse Anl$sis nd Criticl Literc$
"t mi$ht be temptin$ to consi#er critical applie# lin$uistics as an amal$am of other
critical #omains) :rom this point of *iew, critical applie# lin$uistics woul# rather he
ma#e up of, or constitute the intersection of, areas such as critical lin$uistics, critical
#iscourse analysis 0C%A1, critical lan$ua$e awareness, critical pe#a$o$y, critical
sociolin$uistics, an# critical literacy) (uch a formulation is unsatisfactory for se*eral
reasons) :irst, the
3114
TA%LE &'(
Criticl Applied Linguistic Concerns
Criticl Applied
Linguistic )Clx*
Concerns
Centered on t+e ,ollo-ing:
In opposition to
.instre. pplied
linguistics )ALx*
A stron$ *iew of
applie# lin$uistics
0AL.1
Area#th of co*era$e,
inter#isciplinarity, an#
autonomy
-he weak *ersion of AL.
as lin$uistic theory
applie# to lan$ua$e
teachin$








A *iew of pra.is
stron$
-hou$ht, #esire, an# action
inte$rate# as pra.is
A hierarchy of theory an#
its application to #ifferent
conte.ts
Aein$ critical
Critical work en$a$e# with
social chan$e
Critical thinkin$ as an
apolitical set of skills
Micro an# macro
relations
/elatin$ aspects of applie#
lin$uistics to broa#er social,
cultural, an# political #omains
Eiewin$ classrooms,
te.ts, an# so on as
isolate# an# autonomous
Critical social theory
Fuestions of access, power,
#isparity, #esire, #ifference, an#
resistance
Mappin$ lan$ua$e onto a
static mo#el of society
Critical theory
Fuestions of ine+uality,
in;ustice, ri$hts wron$s, an#
compassion
A *iew of social relations
as lar$ely e+uitable
ProblematiDin$
$i*ens
-he resti*e problematiDion of
the $i*en
Acceptance of the canon
of recei*e# norms an#
i#eas
(elf2refle.i*ity Constant +uestionin$ of itself
Lack of awareness of its
own assumptions
Preferre# futures
Groun#e# ethical ar$uments for
alternati*es
Eiew that applie#
lin$uistics shoul# not aim
for chan$e
Heterosis
-he sum is $reater than the parts
an# creates new schemas of
politiciDation
-he notion that: Politics
I AL.JCAL.

314
co*era$e of such #omains is rather #ifferent from that of critical applie# lin$uisticsB
critical pe#a$o$y, for e.ample, is use# broa#ly across many areas of e#ucation) (econ#,
there are many other #omains22 :eminism, +ueer theory, postcolonialism, to name but a
few22that #o not operate un#er all e.plicit critical label but that clearly ha*e a $reat #eal
of importance for the area) -hir#, it seems more constructi*e to *iew critical applie#
lin$uistics not merely as an amal$am of #ifferent parts, a piece of bricola$e, or a
metacate$ory of critical work but rather in more #ynamic an# pro#ucti*e terms) An#
finally, crucially, part of #e*elopin$ critical applie# lin$uistics is #e*elopin$ a critical
stance towar# other areas of work, inclu#in$ other critical #omains) Critical applie#
lin$uistics may borrow an# use work from these other areas, but it shoul# certainly only
#o so critically)
Ne*ertheless, there are clearly ma;or affinities an# o*erlaps between critical applie#
lin$uistics an# other name# critical areas such as critical literacy an# critical #iscourse
analysis) Critical literacy has less often been consi#ere# in applie# lin$uistics, lar$ely
because of its $reater orientation towar# first lan$ua$e literacy, which has often not
fallen within the percei*e# scope of applie# lin$uistics) "t is possible, howe*er, to see
critical literacy in terms of the pe#a$o$ical application of critical #iscourse analysis an#
therefore a +uite central concern for critical applie# lin$uistics)
Critical #iscourse Analysis 0C%A1 an# critical literacy are sometimes also combine#
un#er the rubric of critical lan$ua$e awareness 0CLA1 since the aim of this work is to















empower learners by pro*i#in$ them with a critical analytical framework to help them
reflect on their own lan$ua$e e.periences an# practices an# on the lan$ua$e practices of
others in the institutions of which they are a part an# in the wi#er society within which
they li*e 0Clark K "*anic, 177L, p) 1L1
Critica1 approaches to literacy, accor#in$ to Luke 0177La1:
are characterise# by a commitment to reshape literacy e#ucation in the interests of
mar$inaliDe# $roups of learners, who on the basis of $en#er, cultural an# socioeconomic
back$roun# ha*e been e.clu#e# :rom access to the #iscourses an# te.ts of #ominant
economies an# cultures) 0p) 1=?1
Luke an# :reebo#y 0l77L1 e.plain that
althou$h critical literacy #oes not stan# for a unitary approach, it marks out a coalition
of e#ucational interests committe# to en$a$in$ with the possibilities that the
technolo$ies of writin$ an# other mo#es of inscription offer for social chan$e, cultural
#i*ersity, economic e+uity, an# political enfranchisement) 0p) "1
-hus, as Luke 0177La1 $oes on to ar$ue, althou$h critical approaches to literacy share an
orientation towar# un#erstan#in$ literacy 0or literacies1
31?4
as social practices relate# to broa#er social an# political concerns, there are a number of
#ifferent orientations to critical literacy, inclu#in$ :reirean2base# critical pe#a$o$y,
feminist an# poststructuralist approaches, an# te.t analytic approaches) Critical
#iscourse analysis woul# $enerally fall into this last cate$ory, aime# as it is at pro*i#in$
tools for the
critical analysis of te.ts in conte.t) (ummariDin$ work in C%A, >ress 0177!1 e.plains
that unlike #iscourse analysis or te.t Lin$uistics with their #escripti*e $oals, C%A has
5the lar$er political aim of puttin$ the forms of tests, the processes of pro#uction of
te.ts, an# the process of rea#in$, to$ether with the structures of power that ha*e $i*en
rise to them, into crisis)5 C%A aims to show how lin$uistic2#iscursi*e practices5 are
linke# to 5the wi#er socio2political structures of power an# #omination5 0p) 891) *an
%i;k 016161?1 e.plains C%A as a focus on 5the role of #iscourse in the 0re1pro#uction an#
challen$e of #ominance5 0p) =71) An# :airclou$h 017791 e.plains that critical #iscourse
analysis
aims to systematically e.plore often opa+ue relationships ,f causality an#
#etermination between 0a1 #iscursi*e practices, e*ents an# te.ts, an# 0b1 wi#er social
an# cultural structures, relations an# processesB to in*esti$ate how such practices, e*ents
an# te.ts arise out of an# are i#eolo$ically shape# by relations of power an# stru$$les
o*er power 0p) 1?1
Clearly, C%A will be an important tool for critical applie# lin$uistics)
Criticl Approc+es to Trnsltion
,ther #omains of te.tual analysis relate# to critical applie# lin$uistics inclu#e critical













approaches to translation) (uch an approach woul# not be concerne# so much with
issues such as mistranslation in itself but rather the politics of translation, the ways in
which translatin$ an# interpretin$ are relate# to concerns such as class, $en#er,
#ifference, i#eolo$y an# social conte.t) Hatim an# Mason6s 0177L1 analysis of a parallel
(panish an# En$lish te.t publishe# in the <NE(C, Courier is a $oo# e.ample of how
forms of critical #iscourse analysis across two te.ts re*eals the i#eolo$ical
un#erpinnin$s of the translation) "n this case, as they ar$ue, the En$lish translation of
(panish te.t on ancient in#i$enous Me.ican cultures re*eals in many of its aspects a
*ery #ifferent orientation towar# other cultures, literacy, an# colonialism) &hen
anti$uos me.icanos 0ancient Me.icans1 becomes "n#ians, el hombre in#i$ena
0in#i$enous man1 becomes pre2Columbian ci*iliDation, an# sabios 0wise men1 becomes
#i*iners, it is e*i#ent that a particular #iscourse or i#eolo$y is at play) Hatim an#
Mason6s analysis of le.ical, cohesi*e, an# other te.tual features lea#s them to conclu#e
that the En$lish translation here relays 5an i#eolo$y which #ownplays the a$ency22an#
the *alue22of in#i$enous Me.icans an# #issociates ))) history from #estiny5 0pp) 1982
1971)
31=4
Lookin$ more broa#ly at translation as a political acti*ity, Eenuti 0177L1 ar$ues that the
ten#encies of translations to #omesticate forei$n cultures, the insistence on the
possibility of *alue2free translation, the challen$es to the notion of authorship pose# by
translation, the #ominance of translation from En$lish into other lan$ua$es rather than
in the other #irection, an# the nee# to unsettle local cultural he$emonies throu$h the
challen$es of translation all point to the nee# for an approach to translation base# on an
ethics of #ifference) (uch a stance, on the one han#, 5ur$es that translations be written,
rea#, an# e*aluate# with $reater respect for lin$uistic an# cultural #ifferences5 0p) M1B on
the other han#, it aims at 5minoritiDin$ the stan#ar# #ialect an# #ominant cultural forms
in American En$lish5 in part as 5an opposition to the $lobal he$emony of En$lish5 0p)
1!1) (uch a stance clearly matches closely the forms of critical applie# lin$uistics " ha*e
been outlinin$: it is base# on an antihe$emonic stance, locates itself within a *iew of
lan$ua$e politics, is base# on an ethics of #ifference, an# tries in its practice to mo*e
towar#s chan$e)
&ork on translation an# colonial an# postcolonial stu#ies is also of interest for critical
applie# lin$uistics) Niran;ana 017711, for e.ample, ar$ues that:
-ranslation as a practice shapes, an# takes shape within, the asymmetrical relations of
power that operate un#er colonialism )))) "n formin$ a certain kin# of sub;ect, in
presentin$ particular *ersions of the coloniDe#, translation brin$s into bein$ o*erarchin$
concepts of reality, knowle#$e, representation) -hese concepts, an# what they allow us
to assume, completely occlu#e the *iolence which accompanies the construction of the
colonial sub;ect) 0pp) 1=2191
Postcolonial translation stu#ies, then, are able to she# li$ht on the processes by which
translation, an# the massi*e bo#y of ,rientalist, Abori$inalist, an# other stu#ies an#
translations of the ,ther, were so clearly complicit with tile lar$er colonial pro;ect
0(pi*ak, 177?1) ,nce a$ain, such work clearly has an important role to play in the
#e*elopment of critical applie# lin$uistics)
Lnguge Tec+ing








As " su$$este# earlier, lan$ua$e teachin$ has been a #omain that has often been
consi#ere# the principal concern of applie# lin$uistics) Althou$h my *iew of applie#
lin$uistics is a much broa#er one, lan$ua$e teachin$ ne*ertheless retains a si$nificant
role) "n a recent e#ition of -E(,L Fuarterly that " e#ite#, many of the #ifferent critical
concerns in relation to lan$ua$e teachin$ were well represente#) Awa# "brahim 017771,
for e.ample, #iscusses how stu#ents from non2En$lish2speakin$ African back$roun#s
stu#yin$ in :rench schools in Cana#a 5become Alack6 as they enter into the racialiDe#
worl# of North America) -his process of becomin$ Alack, as
3194
he #emonstrates, is intimately tie# up with the terms of En$lish an# popular culture with
which these stu#ents start to i#entify) Class is the principal concern a##resse# by An$el
Lin 017771 in her ar$ument that particular ways of teachin$ En$lish in Hon$ >on$ 0or
elsewhere1 may lea# either to the repro#uction or t he transformation of class2base#
ine+uality) "brahirn similarly asks what the implications are of his stu#ents i#entifyin$
with mar$inality)
Gen#er runs as a theme throu$h a number of other articles, inclu#in$ /i*era6s 017771
an# :rye6s 017771 accounts of participator1, research an# curricular in immi$rant
women6s e#ucation in the <nite# (tates) Certainly, critical applie# lin$uistics in the
#omain of lan$ua$e e#ucation woul# inclu#e many feminist approaches to Lan$ua$e
teachin$ 0e)$), (an$uinetti, 177N?B (chenke, 1771, 177M1, or feminist research a$en#as
0see (un#erlan#, 177=1) Meanwhile, +uestions of se.uality an# se.ual i#entity are the
focus of Cynthia Nelson6s 017771 analysis of a perio# of #iscussion in an En$lish as a
secon# lan$ua$e 0E(L1 classroom about the implications of two women walkin$ arm2
in2arm #own the street) Nelson shows the si$nificance of Fueer -heory for thinkin$
about se.uality an# i#entity in lan$ua$e classrooms) ,ther authors take #ifferent
confi$urations of power an# ine+uality as their focus) :or Janina Arutt2Griffler an#
>eiko (amimy 017771, for e.ample, it is the ine+ualities in the relation between the
constructs of the Nati*e an# Nonnati*e speaker that nee# to be a##resse#, a concern that
has become a ma;or topic of #iscussion in recent years 0e)$), Liu, 17771)
,ther work that falls within the ambit of critical applie# lin$uistics woul# be e#ucation
or research that follows the work of Paulo :reire 0an# see also critical literacy1)
Auerbach an# &allerstein6s 0 "78L1 or Craman6s 017881 application of :rierian principles
of problem posin$ to E(L classes are typical e.amples of this sort of work) Aasin$ her
work in a similar tra#ition, &alsh 017711 talks of critical bilin$ualism as
the ability to not ;ust speak two lan$ua$es, but to be conscious of the sociocultural,
political, an# i#eolo$ical conte.ts in which the lan$ua$es 0an# therefore the speakers1
are positione# an# function, an# the multiple meanin$s that are fostere# in each) 0p) 1L1
Arian Mor$an6s 0177L, 17781 work in a community center in -oronto also shows how
critical practice in E(L can emer$e from community concerns) As he su$$ests) 5A
community2base# , critical E(L pe#a$o$y thus, can6t mean ne$lectin$ lan$ua$e) "t
means or$aniDin$ lan$ua$e aroun# e.periences that are imme#iate to stu#ents5 01778, p)
171)
,ther critica1 approaches to +uestions aroun# lan$ua$e e#ucation inclu#e Aonny
Norton6s 017!9, 177L1 work on critical #iscourse research an# on particular ways in
which stu#ent i#entities are linke# to the processes of lan$ua$e learnin$) -here is an









increasin$ amount of much nee#e# criti2
31M4
cal analysis of the interests an# i#eolo$ies un#erlyin$ the construction an# interpretation
of te.tbooks 0see %en#rinos, 1771) -here is critical analysis of curriculum #esi$n an#
nee#s analysis, inclu#in$ a proposal for #oin$ 5critical nee#s analysis5 that 5assumes
that institutions are hierarchical an# that those at the bottom are often entitle# to more
power than they ha*e) "t seeks areas where $reater e+uality mi$ht be achie*e#5
0Aenesch, 177M, p) L?M1) Cana$ara;ah6s 0177?, " 777b1 use of critical ethno$raphy to
e.plore how stu#ents an# teachers in the periphery resist an# appropriate En$lish an#
En$lish teachin$ metho#s she#s important li$ht on classroom processes in reaction to
#ominant lin$uistic an# pe#a$o$ical forms: 5"t is important to un#erstan# the e.tent to
which classroom resistance may play a si$nificant role in lar$er transformations in the
social sphere5 01777b, p) 17M1) %i*erse as these stu#ies are, they all show an
interwea*in$ of the themes #iscusse# in the pre*ious section with a ran$e of concerns to
#o with lan$ua$e teachin$)
Lnguge Testing
As a fairly closely #efine# an# practically autonomous #omain of applie# lin$uistics an#
one that has $enerally a#here# to positi*ist approaches to research an# knowle#$e,
lan$ua$e testin$ has lon$ been fairly resistant to critical challen$es) "n a plenary a##ress
to the American Association of Applie# lin$uistics, howe*er, Elana (hohamy 0177L1
#iscusse# what she saw as crucial features of critical lan$ua$e testin$ 0CL-1) CLL starts
with the assumption that 5the act of lan$ua$e testin$ is not neutral) /ather, it is a
pro#uct an# a$ent of cultural, social, political, e#ucational an# i#eolo$ical a$en#as that
shape the li*es of in#i*i#ual participants, teachers, an# learners5 0p) 1) (he $oes on to
su$$est se*eral key features of CL-: -est takers are seen as 5political sub;ects in ?
political conte.t5B tests are 5#eeply embe##e# in cultural, e#ucational an# political
arenas where #ifferent i#eolo$ical social forms are in stru$$le,5 makin$ it impossible to
consi#er that a test is ;ust a testB CL- asks whose a$en#as are implemente# throu$h
testsB it #eman#s that lan$ua$e testers ask what *ision of society tests presupposeB it
asks whose knowle#$e the test is base# on an# whether this knowle#$e is ne$otiableB it
consi#ers the meanin$ of rest scores an# the e.tent to which this is open to
interpretationB an# it challen$es psychometric tra#itions of lan$ua$e testin$ 0an#
supports 5interpreti*e5 approaches1) accor#in$ to (hohamy, such a *iew of lan$ua$e
testin$ si$nifies an important para#i$m shift an# puts many new criteria for
un#erstan#in$ *ali#ity into play: conse+uential, systemic, interpreti*e, an# ethical, all of
which ha*e more to #o with the effects of tests than with criteria of internal *ali#ity)
(hohamy6s 0177L1 proposal for critical lan$ua$e testin$ clearly matches many of the
principles that #efine other areas of critical applie# lin$uistics: Her ar$ument is that
lan$ua$e testin$ is always political, that
31L4
e*e nee# to become increasin$ly aware of the effects 0conse+uential *ali#ity1 of tests,
an# that the way forwar# is to #e*elop more 5#emocratic5 tests in which test takers an#
other local bo#ies are $i*en $reater in*ol*ement) -hus, there is a #eman# to see a
#omain of applie# lin$uistics, from classrooms to te.ts an# tests, as inherently boun# up
with lar$er social, cultural, an# political conte.ts -his ties in with Peirce an# (tein6s
017791 concerns about #ifferent possible interpretations of te.ts in tests an# the +uestion
of whose rea#in$ is acknowle#$e#: 5if test matters are #rawn from a particular class, a
particular race, an# a particular2 $en#er, then test takers who share these characteristics
will he at an a#*anta$e relati*e to other test takers5 0p) M1) "mportantly, too, (hohamy
criticiDes not only what has $one before but also the politics of knowle#$e that informs
pre*ious approaches) -hus, there is a criti+ue of positi*ism an# psychometric testin$
with their emphases on blin# measurement rather than situate# forms of knowle#$e)
-here is a #eman# to establish what a preferre# *ision of society is an# a call to make
one6s applie# lin$uistic practice accountable to such a *ision) An# there are su$$estions
for #ifferent practices that mi$ht start to chan$e how testin$ is #one) All these are
clearly aspects of CL- that brin$s it comfortably within the ambit of critical applie#
lin$uistics)
Lnguge Plnning nd Lnguge Rig+ts
,ne #omain of applie# lin$uistics that mi$ht be assume# to fall easily into the scope of
critical applie# lin$uistics is work such as lan$ua$e policy an# plannin$ since it woul#
appear from the outset to operate with a political *iew of lan$ua$e) Cet, as " su$$este#
in the pre*ious section, it is not enou$h merely to #raw connections between lan$ua$e
an# the social worl#B a critical approach to social relations is also re+uire#) -here is
nothin$ inherently critical about lan$ua$e policyB in#ee#, part of the problem, as
-ollefson 0177l1 obser*es, has been precisely the way in which lan$ua$e policy has
been uncritically #e*elope# an# implemente#) Accor#in$ to Luke, McHoul, an# Mey
0177!1, while maintainin$ a 5*eneer of scientific ob;ecti*ity,5 lan$ua$e policy has
5ten#e# to a*oi# #irectly a##ressin$ lar$er social an# political matters within which
lan$ua$e chan$e, use an# #e*elopment) an# in#ee# lan$ua$e plannin$ itself are
embe##e#5 0p) L1)
More $enerally, sociolin$uistics has been se*erely criti+ue# by critical social theorists
for its use of a static, liberal *iew of society an# thus its inability to #eal with +uestions
of social ;ustice 0see &illiams, 1771) As Mey 017891 su$$ests, by a*oi#in$ +uestions of
social ine+uality in class terms an# instea# correlatin$ lan$ua$e *ariation wiith
superficial measures of social stratification, tra#itional sociolin$uistics toils to 5establish
a connection between people6s place in the social hierarchy, an# the lin$uistic an# other
kin#s of oppression that they are sub;ect to on #iffer2
3184
ent le*els5 0p) ?=1) Cameron 017791 has also pointe# to the nee# to #e*elop a *iew of
lan$ua$e an# society that $oes beyon# a *iew that lan$ua$e reflects society, su$$estin$
that:
"n critical theory lan$ua$e is treate# as parr of the e.planation2 &hereas sociolin$uistics
woul# say that the way " use lan$ua$e reflects or rnarks my i#entity as a particular kin#
of social sub;ect ))) the critical account su$$ests lan$ua$e is one of the thin$s that
constitutes my i#entity as a particular kin# of sub;ect) (ociolin$uistics says that how
you act #epen#s on who you areB critical theory says that who you are 0an# are taken to
be1 #epen#s on how you act) 0pp) 1921M1
-akin$ up Mey6s 017891 call for a 5critical sociolin$uistics5 0p) ?=1) therefore, critical
applie# lin$uistics woul# nee# to incorporate *iews of lan$ua$e, society, an# power that
are capable of #ealin$ with +uestions of access, power, #isparity, an# #ifference an# that
see lan$ua$e as playin$ a crucial role in the construction of #ifference)
-wo si$nificant #omains of sociolin$uistics that ha*e #e*elope# broa# critical analyses
are first on lan$ua$e an# $en#er 0Cameron, 1779B Coates, 1778B 22@chap) M1 an# secon#,
work on lan$ua$e ri$hts) Fuestions about the #ominance of certain lan$ua$es o*er
others ha*e been raise# most tellin$ly by Phillipson 01771 throu$h his notion of
0En$lish1 lin$uistic imperialism an# his ar$ument that En$lish has been sprea# for
economic an# political purposes, an# poses a ma;or threat to other lan$ua$es)
-he other si#e of this ar$ument has taken been taken up throu$h ar$uments for lan$ua$e
ri$hts 0e)$), Phillipson an# (kutnabb2>an$as, 177MB -ollefson, 1771 1) As (kutnabb2
>an$as 017881 ar$ues, 5we are still li*in$ with lin$uistic wron$s5 that are a pro#uct of
the belief in the) normality of monolin$ualism an# the #an$ers of multilin$ualism to the
security of the nation state) /oth, she su$$ests, are #an$erous myths) 5<nless we work
fast,5 she ar$ues, 5e.cisin$ the cancer of monolin$ual re#uctionism may come too late,
when the patient, the lin$uistic 0an# cultural1 #i*ersity in the worl#, is alrea#y beyon#
sa*in$6) 016O 11 &hat is propose#, then, is that the 5ri$ht to i#entify with, to maintain
an# to fully #e*elop one6s mother ton$ue0s15 shoul# be acknowle#$e# as 5a self2e*i#ent,
fun#amental in#i*i#ual lin$uistic human ri$ht5 0p) 1) Critical applie# lin$uistics, then,
woul# inclu#e work in the areas of sociolin$uistics an# lan$ua$e plannin$ an# policy
that takes up an o*ert political a$en#a to establish or to ar$ue for policy alon$ lines that
focus centrally on issues of social ;ustice)
Lnguge/ Literc$/ nd 0or1plce Settings
Another #omain of work in applie# lin$uistics that has been taken up with a critical
focus has been the work on uses of lan$ua$e an# literacy in *arious workplace an#
professional settin$s) Mo*in$ beyon# work that attempts only to #escribe the pattern of
communication or $enres of
3174
interaction between people in me#ical, le$al, or other workplace settin$s, critical
applie# lin$uistic approaches to these conte.ts of communication focus far more on
+uestions of access, power, #isparity, an# #ifference)
(uch approaches also attempt to mo*e towar# acti*e en$a$ement with an# chan$e in
these conte.ts) E.amples of this sort of work woul# inclu#e &o#ak6s 0177M1 stu#y of
hospital encounters:
"n #octor2patient interaction in the outpatient clinics we ha*e in*esti$ate#, #iscursi*e
#isor#ers establish certain routines an# ;ustify the actions of the powerful) %octors
e.ercise power o*er their patients, they ask the +uestion, they interrupt an# intro#uce
new topics, they control the con*ersaion) 0p) 1L!1
An important aspect of this work has been to #raw connections between workplace rises
of lan$ua$e an# relations of power at the institutional an# broa#er social le*els)
/ecently, the rapi# chan$es in workplace practices an# the chan$in$ nee#s of new forms
of literacy ha*e attracte# consi#erable attention) Gee, Hull, an# Lankshear 0177M1, for
e.ample, look at the effects of the new work or#er un#er new capitalism on lan$ua$e
an# literacy practices in the workplace) Poynton 0177?b1, meanwhile, #raws attention to
the #an$er that 5workplace restructurin$ 5 may e.acerbate the mar$inalise# status of
many women5 not only Aecause of the challen$e of chan$in$ workplace skills an#
technolo$ies but also because of the failure to acknowle#$e in lan$ua$e the character
an# *alue of women6s skills) &omen6s interacti*e oral skills as well as their literacy
skills ha*e often faile# to be acknowle#$e# in workplaces) "6oynton $oes on to #iscuss a
pro;ect #esi$ne# to chan$e these workplace learnin$ practices)
,ne thin$ that emer$es here is the way in which critical concerns are intertwine#)
Crawfor#6s 017771 stu#y of communication between patients, nurses, an# #octors in
Cape -own) (outh Africa, health ser*ices, for e.ample, hi$hli$hts the comple.ities of
relations between Phosa2speakin$ patierits, nurses operatin$ as interpreters, an#
pre#ominantly white #octors) As Crawfor# e.plains)
-he power relations that operate to the #etriment of patients in our health2care system
are comple. an# are unlikely to be #rastically mo#ifie# by supplyin$ a sin$le 5missin$
commo#ity5 like pai# interpretation, without the institution6s actual commitment to a
$eneral strate$y of chan$in$ to a more culturally sensiti*e patient2centere# mo#el of
care 0pp) =12=1)
Not only are the framin$ issues #iscusse# in the pre*ious section e*er present here, but
also, both the #omains #escribe# in this secticon22critical approaches to #iscourse,
translation, ,bilin$ualism, lan$ua$e policy, pe#a$o$y an# the un#erlyin$ social relations
of race, class, $en#er, an# other constructions of #ifference are all at work to$ether) -he
interrelation be2
3!4
tween the concerns 0#iscusse# earlier1 an# the #omains 0#iscusse# here1 of critical
applie# lin$uistics are outline# in :i$) ")")
CONCLUSION: 0!2 CRITICAL APPLIED LINGUISTICS3
Outline
-he two main stran#s of this openin$ chapter22#ifferent aspects an# #omains of critical
applie# lin$uistics22ha*e helpe# $i*e a broa# o*er*iew of what " consi#er this work to
co*er an# to entail) -his list, howe*er, is neither complete nor #iscrete: "t is by no means
e.hausti*e, an# the cate$ories " ha*e establishe# o*erlap &ith each other in a number of
ways) " #o not inten# in the rest of the book merely to continue to summariDe areas
#igure &'&
314
of critical applie# lin$uistic work) /ather, the intention will be to #iscuss, critically,
ma;or themes than run throu$hout this work) A number of $eneral concerns alrea#y
emer$e# from the aforementione# aspects an# #omains: How #o we un#erstan#
relations between lan$ua$e an# power' How can people resist power in an# throu$h
lan$ua$e' How #o we un#erstan# +uestions of #ifference in relation to lan$ua$e,
e#ucation, or literacy) How #oes i#eolo$y operate in relation to #iscourse' -he
followin$ chapters, therefore, #eal with the politics of knowle#$e, the politics of
lan$ua$e, the politics of te.ts, the politics of pe#a$o$y, an# the politics of #ifference
0see -able 1)?1)
Ne*ertheless, as " pause an# reflect on the ar$uments, bo.es, charts, structures, #omains,
theories, an# terms that are startin$ to proliferate here, " also ha*e my #oubts) "s this a
task with any rele*ance outsi#e the aca#emic #iscipline of applie# lin$uistics) "s this a
pointless e.ercise in positionin$, #efinin$, an# e.plainin$' (o finally: why write an
intro#uction to critical applie# lin$uistics' &hy am " #oin$ this' 0&hy in#ee#' " ask
myself, when my eyeli#s #roop an# my hea# hurts, an# " stru$$le to $et my hea# aroun#
some of the #ifficult material here)1 "t mi$ht be su$$este# that my $oal here is to #efine
an# clarify this #omain of work for myself, but while " ha*e to acknowle#$e that writin$
this book will likely attach critical applie# lin$uistics to my name 05Pennycook, !!151,
my $oal here is not to #e*elop a mo#el for critical applie# lin$uistics) /ather, my aim is
to e.plore its comple.ities) -he moti*ation comes out of 1! years of tryin$ to relate
critical work in many #omains to my own fiel#s of practice in applie# lin$uistics) "t
comes out of tryin$ to teach a course on critical applie# lin$uistics) "t comes out of the
frustration of tryin$ to fi$ure out what is $oin$ on in #ifferent #iscussions or articles on
critical #iscourse analysis, feminist pe#a$o$y or multiliteracies) An# it also comes out
of a con*iction that this stuff matters, that the many #iscussions " ha*e ha# about this
work aroun# the worl# su$$est some si$nificant share# stru$$les)
(urely, in approach to issues in lan$ua$e e#ucation, communication in the workplace,
translation, an# literacy that focuses on +uestions of power, #ifference, access, an#
#omination ou$ht to be central to our concerns) -wo last meanin$s of critical that can
also be $i*en some space here are the not ion of critical as important or crucial: a critical
moment, a critical time in one6s life, a critical illnessB an# critical as use# in maths an#
physics to su$$est the point that merits the chan$e from one state to another, as in
critical an$le or critical mass) -o the e.tent that " belie*e that this critical *ersion of
applie# lin$uistics that " am presentin$ here is crucial, important, an# #eals with some
of the central issues in lan$ua$e use an# to the e.tent that it may also si$nal a point at
which applie# lin$uistics may finally mo*e into a new state of bein$, these senses of
critical also nee# to be inclu#e# in an un#erstan#in$ of critical applie# lin$uistics)
%iscussin$ the broa#er social an# political issues to #o with literacy an# lan$ua$e
e#ucation, James Gee 0177=1 offers teachers a choice: either
34
T4le &'5
Overvie- o, t+e %oo1
C+pter Ares Covered
Criticl Notions nd
T+eories
Chapter 1: "ntro#ucin$
CAL.
General o*er*iewB
concerns an# #omains of
CAL.
Pra.isB heterosisB
problematiDin$ practiceB
ways of bein$ critical
Chapter : -he Politics
of >nowle#$e
-he role of theoryB
con;unctions between
knowle#$e an# politics in
relations to CAL.
PowerB liberalism,
structuralism, emancipatory
mo#ernismB awarenessB
probelmatiDin$ practice
Chapter ?: -he Politics
of Lan$ua$e
Critical sociolin$uisticsB
lan$ua$e an# powerB
approaches to lan$ua$e
policy an# $lobal En$lish
Lan$ua$e ri$htsB lin$uistic
imperialismB post2
colonialismB resistance an#
appropriation
Chapter =: -he Politics
of -e.ts
Critical literacyB literacy as
social practiceB critical
%iscourse an# i#eolo$yB
pro#uction an# receptionB
#iscourse analysisB critical
lan$ua$e awarenessB access
poststructuralism an#
postlin$uistics
Chapter 9: -he Politics
of Pe#a$o$y
Critical approaches to
e#ucationB theories of
social repro#uctionB critical
pe#a$o$y
(ocial, cultural, an#
symbolic capitalB structure,
a$ency, an# resistanceB
postmo#ernism an# ethics
Chapter M: -he Politics
of %ifference
Constructions of
#ifferenceB $en#er, i#entity
Performati*ityB +ueer
theoryB pe#a$o$ies of
en$a$ement
Chapter L: Applie#
Lin$uistics with an
Attitu#e
(ummary an# ar$ument
a$ainst reification of CAL.
%iffusin$ a critical attitu#e
throu$hout applie#
lin$uistics
3?4
to 5cooperate in their own mar$inaliDation by seein$ themsel*es as lan$ua$e teachers6
with no connection to such social an# political issues5 or to accept that they are
in*ol*e# in a crucial #omain of political work: 5Like it or not, En$lish teachers stan# at
the *ery heart of the most crucial e#ucational, cultural, an# political issues of our time5
0p) 17!1) Gi*en the si$nificance of the e*en broa#er #omain " am intereste# in here22
lan$ua$e, literacy, communication, translation, bilin$ualism, an# pe#a$o$y22an# the
particular concern to #o with the $lobal role of lan$ua$es, multilin$ualism, power, an#
possibilities for the creation of #ifferences22it woul# not seem too far2fetche# to su$$est
that critical applie# lin$uistics may at least $i*e us ways of #ealin$ with some of the
most crucial e#ucational, cultural, an# political issues of our time)