卡尔顿大学

Language is an essential part of what it is to be human and this program gives you the opportunity to examine how language works in real life. The field of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies develops and applies theories to solve everyday problems involving language. Course materials address such questions as how languages are taught and learned, how language competencies are evaluated, how writing is used to perform a variety of functions, how language is used in specific social contexts, how language can influence society and vice versa, how government policies influence language practices and what makes a bilingual education program effective.

Applied Linguistics emerged as a distinct discipline in the late 1970s with a concern for solving real-world problems related to language learning and teaching, language in education, language policymaking, language testing, language in society and effective communication in the workplace. Discourse Studies and Writing Studies focus on the study of text, talk, writing and, more recently, multimodal and multimedia discourse; they employ a range of research methods including case studies, ethnography, critical discourse analysis, genre analysis, and computer-assisted corpus analysis.

Our programs focus on three main areas:

Applied Linguistics: How are languages learned, taught, and assessed? How can language policies influence language practices and protect minority or endangered languages? What makes professional communication in a first or second language effective? What role does language play in creating social identities and social orders?

Discourse Studies: How is language—spoken, written, visual—used in complex organizations such as workplaces, schools and media to achieve specific goals, and what is its level of effectiveness? How are texts and other symbol systems—such as photographs and video clips—used, and why and for whose ends? How do we use language to exercise or resist power?

Writing Studies: How is writing used in academic, workplace, and community settings to construct knowledge, accomplish learning, and coordinate people’s activities? How is writing best taught and learned in these settings?

Both the programs examine each of these areas. Honours students may complete an optional Honours project, and many high-achieving students continue into our MA program.