Wiljan van den Akker is a university professor, a respected academic administrator, and a published poet and writer. From a base at the Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, his three-decade long career spans three continents and includes one-on-one associations with Berkeley, UCLA and Oxford. Currently, he is the Vice-Rector for Research at…

Examines applied linguistics as a research project analogous to other disciplines and presumes a need for cross-disciplinary perspectives in language studies. Argues that applied linguistics shares a position intersecting with neighboring sciences and with all other sciences, each of which demarcates its own space in contested and shared ground.…

Multiculturalism (like crossculturalism and transculturalism) is an emergent, interdisciplinary concept--one that is rife with images. The metaphoric language of "why" (embrace multiculturalism) is filled with arguments for or against multiculturalism paired with problems and burdens, coupled with disease, and most frequently, troped as…

This book explores the subject of metaphor, using the imagery of cartography to set a course. It explores the creative aspects of thinking and learning through literature, writing, and word play, drawing connections between English and other content areas. Theory and practical applications meet in the book, linking activities and resources to…

This paper argues that separation of mathematics from most other disciplines in the college curriculum reinforces math avoidance among college students, and that this is inappropriate in general education. Ways in which mathematics and mathematical thinking can be integrated into the humanities are discussed, including the role of mathematics in…

The term "content and language integrated learning" is suggested as an umbrella term for a general pedagogical approach that includes a number of methods of teaching and learning non-language subjects through a second or foreign language. Usage of other, related terms is discussed, and distinctions are made between them. These include…

Calls on the foreign language profession to identify a field of study described as a discipline with four subfields (language, literature, linguistics, and culture). Urges that language be taught not just as language but also as a structure reflecting the verbal and nonverbal expression of the culture, through curricular outreach programs to other…

Curriculum developers and planners must realize that speaking, reading, writing, and related linguistic processes are instrumental in all areas of learning. In university departments, teachers of content subjects and language specialists should look at the curriculum as a whole. English specialists must institute a policy of language across the…

Although rich in theoretical constructs, American Indian Studies is not considered a discipline because it lacks a core assumption or paradigm. The concept of peoplehood could be that core assumption because its elements--language, sacred history, religion, and land--make up a complete system that accounts for particular behaviors of people…

Teaching medical English presupposes knowledge about its vocabulary composition. the role of Latin (and also Greek) elements in the vocabulary can be shown through statistical methods. English medical vocabulary appears to contain two kinds of Latin vocabulary elements: words of Latin origin in the general vocabulary of English and words and terms…

Discusses the role of foreign languages in the universities of Europe. The article advances the idea of establishing the use of foreign languages in practical settings in every academic discipline discusses a seminar centered on the theme of teaching languages to nonlinguists and on assessing the ability of the European universities to deal with…

While the need to strengthen the transfer of language skills across disciplines and to integrate language instruction with other components of the curriculum is recognized, it must also be recognized that the language of science has a set of symbols that are different from those that are learned for daily life, and the structures of the two…

It is argued that while college courses in French business communication aim to introduce business concepts, syllabuses and textbooks for this purpose do not integrate business skill training with business language training. Texts may contain extensive business-related vocabulary, readings, correspondence exercises, and definition of new concepts,…

Ways in which the field of applied linguistics is evolving in the changing global context are examined. After a brief review of the field's history in the late twentieth century, and of the development of a number of related professional organizations, the emergence of applied linguistics as an interdisciplinary endeavor is discussed. Major areas…