Contemporary Topics in Applied Linguistics for Language Educators

This new free publication was conceived by editors Chantelle Warner (University of Arizona) and Julieta Fernández (University of Arizona; Victoria University of Wellington) as a response to the lack of direct engagement with current debates and conversations in textbooks used in methodology courses, and the marginalization in education about language teacher research in the work of (applied) linguists who do regularly engage with diverse questions and issues in ontologically, epistemologically, and methodologically diverse ways. The authors of individual chapters in the volume (listed below) are among those scholars. This book makes it possible for teacher educators to readily provide this diversity of perspectives to their students.

The handbook provides a comprehensive, multifaceted introduction to foundational concepts, current debates, and theoretical perspectives in applied linguistics. It is intended for preservice teachers and advanced students in second language studies, welcoming them into key contemporary conversations that shape the field.

The ten chapters examine diverse theoretical frameworks for language analysis and explore implications for research and practice in language teaching and learning. Despite their diversity, the chapters converge on a shared understanding of language as a semiotic resource used to make meaning. Learning is conceptualized as situated and embodied, while also mediated by learners’ social identities, investment, agency, literacy and instructional approaches, and language ideologies.

Each chapter integrates hands-on activities designed to foster interpretation, critical reflection, and application of theoretical constructs from the chapter, frequently illustrated through examples and data drawn from less commonly taught languages. Collectively, the volume offers reflexive, mediational tools that challenge simplified views of language as a fixed, uniform system. It advocates for inclusive, culturally responsive pedagogies that accommodate linguistic diversity across multiple educational contexts.

Contents:

Acknowledgements
Author Biographies
Introduction: by Julieta Fernández and Chantelle Warner
Chapter 1: Machine Translation and World Language Education, by Emily Hellmich and Kimberly Vinall
Chapter 2: Multimodal Meaning-Making in Second Language Teaching and Research, by Sebastien Dubreil and Natalie Amgott
Chapter 3: Disability, Access, and Inclusion in Language Education, by David Gramling and Sanya Malik
Chapter 4: Gender-Just Language Pedagogies, by Kris Knisely
Chapter 5: Critical Intercultural Language Pedagogies, by Adriana Diaz
Chapter 6: Race and Anti-racist Pedagogical Possibilities in World Language Teaching, by Hongni Gou and Wenhao Diao
Chapter 7: Decolonization and Language Teaching / Kuondoa Ukoloni na Ufundishaji wa Lugha, by Jamie A. Thomas
Chapter 8: Translanguaging Pedagogies, Emma Trentman
Chapter 9: Beyond Unit Thinking: Post-Standardization in Language Teaching, by Neriko Musha Doerr; Jisuk Park; and Kimiko Suzuki
Chapter 10: Language Policy in Multilingual Classrooms, by Hina Ashraf
Recommended References for Further Reading

This volume is published open access as a University of Arizona Pressbook by the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL); November 2025.

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For Pressbook, PDF, and EPUB, copyright @ 2025 by Julieta Fernandez and Chantelle Warner; rights for individual chapters held by respective authors. All Rights Reserved.