Abstract
Cunningham and Hall’s new edited collection asks important questions regarding the role of the contemporary applied linguist, especially how to overcome the various risks and challenges we face in a time of entrenched inequalities, discrimination and marketization of academia. Marginalized communities face further challenges to their rights and safety, and linguists who work with these groups must reconsider appropriate, ethical research methodologies and ask how our research can assist with tackling these issues. Researchers may also face risks, for example to their mental health when studying distressing data or to their reputation when studying controversial topics. This important new volume therefore aims to address a range of potential risks, vulnerabilities and challenges facing applied linguists and offer different ways of conceptualizing and overcoming them.
The 15 chapters do not provide novel analyses of linguistic data but rather critical reflections on diverse research projects. The volume is divided into four sections of three chapters each, except from the first section which features four, along with an introduction and afterword.
The first section, ‘Communities’, discusses the risks facing vulnerable groups, specifically Indigenous (Severo and Makoni, Chapter 2; Murillo, Chapter 3), Deaf (Conama, Chapter 4) and LGBTQ+ communities (Sauntson, Chapter 5), which range from erasure to physical violence. The authors also reflect on the challenges facing linguists whose research involves these communities, such as active discouragement from pursuing research. The authors – particularly Conama – highlight the potential for research-informed activism, explaining that applied linguists can work within and alongside these vulnerable communities to work towards a more equal society.
Some chapters also provide a theoretical contribution in offering new ways of thinking about risks or even applied linguistics itself. For instance, Sauntson suggests researchers could think about risks in a more positive manner by talking about ‘befriending’ risks rather than seeing them as a barrier, while Severo and Makoni contribute to discussions regarding decolonizing linguistics by demonstrating the analytical value of Indigenous epistemologies, such as relating language to the land.
The second section, ‘Policy’, discusses the risks and limitations of language policies relating to the official recognition of signed (Snoddon and Wilkinson, Chapter 8) and spoken languages (Ennser-Kananen and Saarinen, Chapter 6), as well as language learning (Lanvers, Chapter 7). Ennser-Kananen and Saarinen consider how the concept of risk, as deployed by policymakers, is future-oriented and partially fictional, since it cannot be guaranteed that anticipated risks will ever be realized. Thus, they propose the methodology of ‘counter-factual histories’ to explore what could have happened if the Finnish government recognized Swedish as a minority language rather than a national language. Lanvers explains that a lack of long-term funding and initiatives targeting underrepresented groups will be a challenge for language learning in a post-Brexit UK. Snoddon and Wilkinson argue that framing issues of sign language recognition solely in terms of disability accommodation can leave Indigenous signers in Canada vulnerable, as this does not take into account their diverse cultural and linguistic needs.
The third section, ‘Research’, reflects on projects which could be deemed ‘risky’: online extremism (Barber, Chapter 9), longitudinal research involving one’s students (Consoli, Chapter 10) and multilingual interviews involving an interpreter (Norlund Shaswar, Chapter 11). The authors provide detailed accounts of ethical decision-making and reflections on critical incidents when prior assumptions were challenged. Barber highlights the potential for harm caused by reproducing extremist material in research and offers suggestions such as careful anonymization. Consoli recalls how a student-participant wished to add him as a friend on WhatsApp. Although this could have provided ‘superb data’, he decided to settle for ‘good enough’ data because accepting the friend request would be unethical. Norlund Shaswar describes a challenging incident where an interpreter stereotyped and threatened the face of her vulnerable interviewee, concluding that researchers must remain account for power imbalances which may negatively affect their interviewees. Discussions of ethics are unfortunately often minimal, with little attention given to the sorts of decisions that had to be avoided. Therefore, this section could provide researchers working with ‘risky’ subjects a model for comprehensive accounts of the ethical decision-making process.
The final section, ‘Education’, addresses challenges facing applied linguists in educational contexts, specifically in designing a new curriculum (Konstantinidou and Stadler, Chapter 12) and in teaching English to adult migrants in the UK (Hepworth, Chapter 13) and in Pakistani schools (Haidar, Chapter 14). The authors discuss what makes for successful language education, making this section potentially useful for language teachers. Hepworth and Haidar both highlight the risks of language education that focusses solely on rote learning from a textbook, arguing that such an approach does not equip students with critical thinking tools and reinforces class stratification. Instead, educators should encourage discussion of controversial topics (Hepworth) and immersion in the target language (Haidar). Meanwhile, Konstaninidou and Stadler describe the process of launching a ‘Language and Integration’ programme for language teachers, arguing that such a curriculum ought to be designed in accordance with the needs of migrants who would be eventually taught by these students, as well as the expectations of prospective students and employers.
Overall, the collection succeeds in highlighting the ways in which applied linguists may be vulnerable to a range of risks and challenges. In an accessible writing style, it offers key points of reflection and new theoretical and methodological tools for researchers to consider when conducting risky research. Many similar critical themes recurred throughout, notably the importance of collaboration with vulnerable groups and the need for stronger institutional support. Although the editors claim in the introduction that risks facing applied linguistics are ‘often associated with new technologies and sociopolitical movements’ (p. 26), with the exception of Barber’s excellent chapter there is considerably less consideration of the risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges associated with new technologies than with new sociopolitical movements. Given the increasing importance of digital research methods, this absence was notable. Nonetheless, the volume marks an important contribution to the field of applied linguistics and would be of particular benefit to researchers studying controversial or risky subjects.